JP2004280298A - Statistical information retrieving device using inter-vehicle communication - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily acquire various statistical information by limiting vehicles in a relatively narrow block or traveling vehicles on a specific road. <P>SOLUTION: A program for retrieving data under a retrieval condition inputted by a user is prepared by a retrieval program preparing part 36, and the data are transmitted to a vehicle selected by a retrieval request output destination vehicle selecting part 35 by using inter-vehicle communication equipment. The vehicle which has received the data fetches the data in a statistical information retrieval request vehicle output data fetching part 45, and retrieves data recorded in a various information recording part 16 according to the retrieval program by its own vehicle statistical information retrieving part 44. The retrieval processing is executed by each vehicle, and the retrieval results are successively recorded, and when it is detected that a retrieval end condition is fulfilled by a statistical information retrieval end detecting part 46, the accumulated retrieval result data are transmitted to a server such as an information center by a portable telephone, and statistical processing is executed by the server, and the processing result is transmitted to the portable telephone of the retrieval request vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention uses a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device for exchanging information between vehicles by a communication device mounted on each vehicle, and uses a vehicle-to-vehicle communication that makes it possible to easily obtain statistical data of desired information. The present invention relates to an information search device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
With the recent development of communication technology, devices can communicate and exchange data in a frequency band that can be used freely without special permission, such as a communication frequency range of 2.4 to 2.5 GHz. As a result, attention has been paid particularly to means for exchanging data without connecting cables between devices.
[0003]
It is considered that a communication device equipped with such a communication means is mounted on a vehicle to transmit and receive various data and information between the vehicles. Vehicle-to-vehicle communication, which performs communication between vehicles, has attracted attention instead of road-to-vehicle communication, which performs transmission and reception of data and information between the installed communication antenna and communication means mounted on the vehicle. As described above, the inter-vehicle communication as a term corresponding to the road-to-vehicle communication is also referred to as inter-vehicle communication in that communication between vehicles is performed.
[0004]
Research and development of a system for performing inter-vehicle communication is currently being pursued in a wide field, and the communication system has not yet been established, but a mode of directly mounting a communication device for performing inter-vehicle communication as described above on a vehicle, Alternatively, an aspect in which the communication means is incorporated as one function of a navigation device which is widely mounted on a vehicle and has a communication function has been considered. By mounting such a communication device or communication means in a vehicle, communication can be automatically performed under predetermined conditions by a preset program.
[0005]
At this time, for example, when using the communication frequency band as described above, the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the vehicle is free and free of charge with vehicles within a predetermined range such as about 100 m from the own vehicle according to the usage standard of the frequency band. Can communicate. At this time, depending on the setting of the program, specific information is automatically taken from a vehicle equipped with a similar inter-vehicle communication device traveling around the vehicle under predetermined conditions, and this is used as necessary, In addition, this can be automatically transmitted to another vehicle.
[0006]
When such an automatic communication device between vehicles is used, for example, communication with a vehicle within a predetermined range such as 100 m around the own vehicle A1 during traveling as shown as "inter-vehicle communication local network" in FIG. Can collect or exchange various information and data. In actual use of such a vehicle-to-vehicle communication local network, its specifications have not been specified yet, so it is conceivable that the invention will be implemented in various forms in the future. When the user wishes to enter this network, the operation of the inter-vehicle communication device is automatically started to automatically prepare the transmission of the position, traveling direction, inter-vehicle communication ID, etc. of the own vehicle. It is conceivable to enter a basic information network for exchanging important information.
[0007]
In addition, various other optional networks may be prepared in advance, and for example, the same traveling road network may be formed by selecting a vehicle traveling on the same road in the same direction and a vehicle likely to be directly related to the traveling. . When the user wishes to enter such an optional network, the user performs an input to that effect. For example, when the vehicle is equipped with a navigation device and traveling in a predetermined direction, the inter-vehicle communicator can perform the communication. A vehicle that operates the inter-vehicle communication device and travels in the same direction on the same traveling path as the own vehicle within a suitable range, and automatically exchanges necessary information with the vehicle. Become like
[0008]
As shown in FIG. 8, in the primary inter-vehicle communication local network (A1) for the own vehicle within a predetermined communicable range around the own vehicle A1, the vehicle A4 in the figure is replaced by the own vehicle A1. And the own vehicle A1 is in the local network (A4) of the vehicle A4 within the communication range of the vehicle A4, so that the own vehicle A1 and the vehicle A4 can communicate with each other. Communication is possible. Furthermore, the vehicle A4 is also included in the inter-vehicle communication local network (A6) of the vehicle A6, which is included in the inter-vehicle communication local network (A4). Can communicate with the vehicle A6 via the local network (A4). Similarly, the local network (A6) of the vehicle A6 can communicate with the vehicles A7 and A8.
[0009]
Further, as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 8, a mobile phone is connected to the inter-vehicle communication device of the own vehicle A1, and the inter-vehicle communication device operates the mobile phone as necessary, and the information center through the telephone line. It is possible to directly access the information center server by connecting to the Internet network to which the information center server is connected. Thus, various kinds of information registered for use in advance are taken in, the statistical database is used, and the statistical processing function of the server is used, so that the statistical data can be used. In addition to the information center, it is also possible to access various URLs connected to the Internet network and take in various information. Further, such information can be made available to other vehicles via the inter-vehicle communication local network connected as described above as necessary.
[0010]
A technique for performing statistical processing to create a ranking of the use status of information registered in advance is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-117065 (Patent Document 1). Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-282683 discloses a technique of transmitting a signal to a communication device of the same type, causing the device receiving the signal to perform a predetermined operation, and then performing the same operation sequentially with another device. Reference 2).
[0011]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-117065
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-11-282683
[0012]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By using the above-mentioned inter-vehicle communication device, it is possible to automatically collect the various information as described above. Therefore, it is expected that the inter-vehicle communication device will be used for more various purposes in the future. ing.
[0013]
On the other hand, vehicles are usually equipped with audio equipment such as radios, CDs, and MDs, and are often equipped with a navigation device. A television can be watched on the monitor, and a DVD playback device is further installed on the monitor. In many cases, an image is displayed on a computer and audio is output from an audio device. In addition, a portable telephone is connected to the navigation device, and various kinds of information are taken in by connecting to the Internet.
[0014]
As described above, various information devices are connected in the vehicle in recent years, and each person uses such a device in the vehicle. It cannot be known from other vehicles. On the other hand, individual users, for example, ask what kind of music other people are listening to, what kind of artist they are listening to, and how What genre or artist is popular, what is the situation in the area where the vehicle is running, and what is the situation for each vehicle on the road where the vehicle is currently running? For example, there is a case where it is desired to obtain statistical data using the usage state of another vehicle as a popularity degree.
[0015]
At that time, for example, the popularity ranking of each region in Japan, the Kanto region, the Tohoku region, and even the prefecture level, the specialized statistics traders record and use the record store, karaoke store, and cable broadcasting. Since the data is collected or the information provider regularly collects data on the Internet and publishes the result on the Internet, it can be used.
[0016]
However, in order to obtain such statistical data, individual record stores, karaoke stores, cable broadcasting providers, and the like are regularly surveyed, or the information provider using the Internet periodically makes a survey through the Internet. It is necessary for a person who takes statistics of the ranking data, such as requesting entry of a questionnaire of the usage status and totaling the data, to collect data by questionnaire survey or the like for each user individually.
[0017]
In addition, since companies that provide information such as rankings described above have limited data collection capabilities, the number of data in small areas is extremely small, and the obtained statistical data is almost unreliable. . Therefore, when a user wants to know statistical data such as what kind of genre of music is being listened to in the district where the user is currently driving or what kind of artist is popular, this cannot be satisfied. . Similarly, it is not possible to obtain reliable data on the road on which the vehicle is currently traveling, depending on the state of the vehicle traveling on this road.
[0018]
The use of such statistical data is not limited to the music ranking as described above, but also the ranking of radio receiving stations in relatively small districts or on roads, TV audience rating rankings, and TV genre situations. The same applies when it is desired to obtain various usage statuses and ranking data, such as DVD usage status, Internet usage status, and the like.
[0019]
In order to obtain various ranking data in a relatively narrow area or on a traveling road as described above, for example, a vehicle manufacturer or a navigation device manufacturer has established an information center that provides various information to users of vehicles and products. Sometimes, such an information center conducts a questionnaire survey of users of each vehicle or equipment on the Internet or the like and aggregates the data to obtain ranking data for vehicles running on each district or each road. it can.
[0020]
However, in order to obtain statistical data such as rankings by such a method, it is not possible to determine a vehicle traveling on a specific area or a specific road at an information center. In this case, only the data of the vehicle running on a specific area or a specific road is extracted to obtain the statistical data, and a heavy load is imposed on the statistical server of the information center. Also, if the amount of extracted data is reduced to reduce the burden, reliable data cannot be obtained as in the case described above.
[0021]
Therefore, the present invention makes it easy for a user of a vehicle traveling on a relatively small area or a specific road to easily obtain statistics of various information such as a genre of music being watched and an artist ranking. It is a main object of the present invention to provide an inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device which can be obtained.
[0022]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problem, an inter-vehicle communication utilization statistical information search device according to the present invention includes inter-vehicle communication means for performing communication between vehicles, and communication vehicle selecting means for selecting a vehicle for performing communication with the inter-vehicle communication means. A search request data transmitting unit that transmits a search condition input by a user to the vehicle selected by the communication vehicle selecting unit, and a corresponding data from the information recording unit of the own vehicle according to the search request data received from another vehicle. Statistical information search means for searching, search result data transmission means for transmitting data including the search result of the own vehicle and the search condition to another vehicle selected by the communication vehicle selection means, and searching for a final search result It is provided with means for transmitting to the requesting vehicle.
[0023]
Further, the other vehicle-to-vehicle communication use statistical information search device includes a communication unit using a telephone capable of communicating with a server that performs statistical processing, and transmits the final search result data to the server using the communication unit using the telephone, The search request vehicle receives the data after the statistical processing transmitted from the server by the communication means by telephone.
[0024]
The other vehicle-to-vehicle communication use statistical information search device includes a statistical processing unit that performs statistical processing of data including a search result of the own vehicle or statistical processing of data of a final search result. Is capable of transmitting the final search result or the data after the statistical processing to the search request vehicle.
[0025]
The other vehicle-to-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, further includes a search program creating unit that creates a program for performing a search process corresponding to the search condition, The search result data and the search program are transmitted to another vehicle.
[0026]
Further, still another inter-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, in the inter-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, data of a search result transmitted to the server is obtained for each vehicle selected in order by the communication vehicle selection means. The search result data is added data.
[0027]
Further, another inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device may include, in the inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device, a self-vehicle search for determining whether or not the own vehicle satisfies a search condition received from the other vehicle. When the vehicle does not meet the condition, the search request data is transmitted to another vehicle without performing the search process on the own vehicle.
[0028]
Further, still another vehicle-to-vehicle communication use statistical information search device, wherein the search condition includes a search end condition, and the vehicle corresponding to the search end condition is transmitted to the server by the telephone communication means or to the search request vehicle. In this case, search result data is transmitted.
[0029]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the statistical information search means used in the inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search system according to the present invention is incorporated into a navigation device already equipped with a device used in the present invention such as a GPS receiver, a monitor, or the like. An example in which the functional unit can be used will be described with reference to the functional block diagram of FIG. Each functional unit in FIG. 1 can be rephrased as a unit that performs each function.
[0030]
In the navigation apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a system control unit 25 having a CPU, a ROM for storing software for controlling each function unit including a navigation function and a statistical information search unit 26 to be described later, a RAM for temporarily storing data, and the like. , So that each functional unit can be integrated and controlled. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle position detection unit 13 is connected to the system control unit 25, and the data of the GPS receiver 11, and the mileage and azimuth detection unit 12 for detecting the mileage and azimuth of the vehicle are used. Thus, the accurate position and traveling direction of the vehicle are detected. These data such as the position of the host vehicle and the traveling direction are used not only in the navigation device but also in the statistical information search unit 26 described later.
[0031]
In the instruction signal input unit 14, various instruction signals of the user are input by operation keys of a device main body, operation keys of a remote control, a touch panel, voice input, and the like. Thus, it is possible to output a search condition and the like used in the statistical information search unit 26 described later.
[0032]
The system control unit 25 is connected to the external device use information capturing unit 15 so that, for example, when a CD is played back when using an audio device, the genre and artist of the played CD can be loaded, and the radio is used. When listening, the information of the station is taken in. For example, when it is a digital broadcast, the information such as the CD is taken from the data of the received broadcast, and when the television is viewed, the information of the received station is read. At the time of broadcasting, data of various devices mounted on the vehicle can be captured from here, such as capturing various information related to the received broadcast. These pieces of information are accumulated in the various information recording sections 16 connected to the system control section 25 for a predetermined period, and the information can be searched for by the own vehicle statistical information searching section 44 of the statistical information searching section 26 described later.
[0033]
In the illustrated embodiment, a map / facility data recording medium 17 provided in a normal navigation device and a data capturing unit 18 for reading the data are provided, and a guidance route for calculating a guidance route for guiding the vehicle from the current position to the destination is provided. A calculation unit 19, a guidance route calculation unit 20, which is calculated by the guidance route calculation unit 19 and guides the vehicle along the route selected by the user, and a voice output unit for performing various guidance such as intersection guidance as necessary. From the image output unit 24, an image can be output from the image output unit 24 to the monitor 23 so that sound can be output from the speaker 22 to the speaker 21 to display maps, facilities, guidance routes, and the like, and to display statistical information obtained as a result of a statistical information search process described later. Output is possible, and all of them are also operated by the system control unit 25 in a predetermined manner in association with each other.
[0034]
The statistical information search processing unit 26, which performs the main function of the statistical information search system according to the present invention, includes, for example, a vehicle running on the National Road No. 6 where the vehicle is currently running, traveling from Hitachi to Mito in a range from Mito to Hitachi. When you want to know the ranking of singers in the J-pop genre that is being listened to by the audio equipment of the vehicle you are listening to, send the request information and search termination data to nearby vehicles to provide information. The statistical information search request processing unit 31 which performs a process for having the vehicle cooperate, and when the vehicle receives the request from the other vehicle as described above, when the vehicle can cooperate, the information of the vehicle is provided, and the search ends. When the condition is not reached, this request is further transmitted to the surrounding vehicles, and when the search end condition is reached, the collected data is transmitted to the server of the information center. And a statistical information retrieval cooperation processing unit 41 that performs management.
[0035]
The communication unit 60 includes an inter-vehicle communication unit 60 for performing communication between vehicles as shown in FIG. 8 and a mobile phone communication unit 65 for performing communication via a telephone line with a server 71 provided in an external information center or the like. In each case, the operation thereof can be controlled by the system control unit 25. In particular, when the statistical information search cooperation processing unit 41 determines that the search end condition has been reached, the mobile phone communication unit 65 automatically operates the mobile phone communication unit 65, as will be described later, and a predetermined information center or the like is determined. The collected data can be transmitted to the statistical server, and the result of the statistical processing performed by the server is transmitted to the similar mobile phone of the vehicle that has made the statistical information search request. This is to be received.
[0036]
Although the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 shows an example in which the data is transmitted to the server of the information center when the search end condition is reached, the server does not necessarily need to perform statistical processing, and It is also possible to return to the route from which the search request data was transmitted from the vehicle that has reached the condition to the search request vehicle by inter-vehicle communication or the like, or to transmit the data directly to the search request vehicle. The statistical processing at that time is a method of automatically performing statistical processing together with the previous data by a program at the time of data search, and a method of transmitting the post-statistical data to the search request vehicle after the vehicle that has reached the search end condition performs the final statistical processing. Alternatively, the final statistical processing may take various forms such as a method of performing statistical processing based on search result data collected by the search request vehicle. As described above, when performing statistical processing of the final search result in any vehicle, the system processing unit 25 serves as statistical processing means, and performs statistical processing according to a predetermined statistical processing program.
[0037]
FIG. 2 illustrates an outline of a series of operations as described above. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, when the user of the vehicle requesting statistical information wants to know the ranking as described above, The request is output to the surrounding vehicles by the inter-vehicle communication device, and the cooperative vehicle A, which is one of the surrounding vehicles, receives the request by the same inter-vehicle communication device and searches for the statistical information of the own vehicle. Then, the statistical information and the statistical information request data are transmitted to other vehicles. In the illustrated example, such processing is performed for cooperating vehicles B, C, and D, and it is determined that the search end condition has been reached in cooperating vehicle D, and the data is transmitted to the server of the information center through a telephone line using a mobile phone. The server statistically processes the data collected and accumulated by passing through each vehicle, creates the requested ranking, and transmits the data to the telephone of the mobile phone number of the vehicle requesting statistics that exists in the received data I do. Accordingly, the vehicle for requesting statistical search can satisfy the request by displaying the data on a display unit of a mobile phone or a monitor of a navigation device. Further, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the cooperative vehicle D that has reached the search end condition transmits to the search request vehicle via the inter-vehicle communication network or directly without passing through the information center.
[0038]
The statistical information search request processing unit 31 in FIG. 1 includes a search condition capturing unit 32, and when the user wants to obtain the statistical information of the ranking as described above, the various input means of the instruction signal input unit 14 are used. When a search condition is input using the search condition, the statistical information search request processing unit 31 fetches the search condition by the search condition capturing unit 32. There are various types of search conditions input by the user depending on the content of the search. For example, in the above example, vehicles traveling from Hitachi to Mito in the range from Mito to Hitachi on National Route 6 If you want to know the ranking of singers in the J-pop genre that is being listened to by audio equipment, the search range of the area is from Mito to Hitachi on National Route 6, and the driving direction is from Hitachi to Mito. Limited, the genre of J-pops in music viewing is specified, and furthermore, conditions relating to the contents of the search, such as the singer who listened the most in the last week, are input.
[0039]
If necessary, enter the gender, age range, etc. of the viewer if necessary, and enter the minimum number of conditions, for example, 20 units, in order to obtain data reliability. Is also good. Further, the telephone number of the mobile phone of the person who made the search request is input, and when the above-described search is completed in the server of the information center, the destination to which the data is transmitted is added. When identification data such as a user ID is registered in advance in the information center by user registration or the like and a mobile phone number is also registered at the same time, only the identification data of the user may be transmitted.
[0040]
As the search condition, a search end condition is always added so that the statistical information search ends somewhere. There may be various modes as the search ending condition. For example, even if the maximum number of searches such as limiting the number of search cooperation vehicles to 100 is input, or the continuation of this search is limited to the number of days within 3 days, etc. good. Such a search termination condition is always determined in each cooperating vehicle, and when the search termination condition is reached in the own vehicle, the collected data is automatically transmitted to the information center by a mobile phone, or by the inter-vehicle communication means. Enable transmission to the search request vehicle.
[0041]
The inter-vehicle communicable vehicle detection unit 33 detects a vehicle that can communicate with the inter-vehicle communicator as described above. Vehicles that can be detected by this vehicle-to-vehicle communication device are equipped with the same vehicle-to-vehicle communication device as the own vehicle, and when this is in the operating state, for example, the position of the own vehicle, the traveling direction, vehicle identification data, etc. can be transmitted, Vehicles that maintain the minimum communication function of the inter-vehicle communication device, such as the function of relaying information from a vehicle to another vehicle, and that are set to perform optional communication for statistical information search are detected. You. However, these can be set freely, and can be set to enable the operation of the statistical information search function whenever the inter-vehicle communication device is operated.
[0042]
In the statistical information search-capable vehicle detection unit 34, the user captured by the search condition capture unit 32 is selected from among the vehicles that can support the statistical information search detected by the inter-vehicle communication-capable vehicle detection unit 33. According to the input search conditions as described above, only suitable vehicles are selected except for vehicles that do not meet the conditions, for example, the vehicles in the vicinity of the own vehicle are in the reverse direction. Such traveling direction data of each vehicle can be taken in as basic data of inter-vehicle communication when communicating with surrounding vehicles at the time of operation of the inter-vehicle communication device. The search request output destination vehicle selection unit 35 selects only one vehicle that is considered appropriate, such as the closest vehicle, from vehicles that match the search conditions of the user detected by the statistical information search-capable vehicle detection unit 34. select.
[0043]
In accordance with the user's search conditions fetched by the search condition fetching unit 32, the search program creation unit 36 automatically causes the statistic information search processing unit of the vehicle that has received the statistic information search request to automatically search for each vehicle under predetermined search conditions. Create a program that can be searched from various information recording units. A system in which such a processing execution program is transmitted and a device that receives the processing execution program automatically performs the processing according to the program is widely used, and is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-26095.
[0044]
The search request data output unit 37 includes a search program created by the search program creation unit 36, various search conditions fetched by the search condition acquisition unit 32, a mobile phone number of a user of the search request vehicle, and a search end. A process for outputting conditions and the like to the vehicle selected by the search request output destination vehicle selection unit 35 is performed. The search request data output unit 37 outputs the data to the inter-vehicle communication unit 61 in the communication unit 60, and the inter-vehicle communication unit 61 captures the data by the data input / output unit 64 and sends the data to the designated vehicle. The transmission unit 63 transmits the data.
[0045]
The statistical information search cooperation processing unit 41 is a part where the vehicle designated as described above receives the transmitted search program, search condition, mobile phone number, and the like, and performs processing. This is received by the unit 62 and is taken into the statistical information search request vehicle output data take-in unit 45 from the data input / output unit 64. The data fetched here is determined by an own vehicle search condition matching determination unit 47 that determines whether or not the own vehicle actually matches the search condition. The unit 44 instructs not to perform the search processing.
[0046]
The statistical information search end detecting unit 46 detects the search end condition captured by the statistical information search request vehicle output data capturing unit 45, and when it is determined that the own vehicle satisfies the search end condition, the data output destination selecting unit Instruct 50 to output the search result data to a server such as an information center via the mobile phone communication unit 65.
[0047]
In the own vehicle statistical information search section 44, the various information recording sections 16 of the own vehicle are output from the statistical information search request vehicle output data capturing section 45 in accordance with the above various search conditions output from the statistical information search request vehicle. Search for information stored in the. The search here can be automatically performed by the search program created by the search program creation unit 36 in the vehicle for requesting statistical information search. The search result is written in a predetermined statistical data writing portion in the search result data writing section 48. Here, the first search cooperative vehicle is written in the search result data writing column at the beginning, the next search cooperative vehicle is written in the next column, and so on. The written data is output to an output unit 49 for accumulative search result data and the like, and the output unit 49 for accumulative search result data and the like are used to further retrieve search conditions from the statistical information search request vehicle captured by the statistical information search request vehicle output data acquisition unit 45. To prepare for output to the next vehicle.
[0048]
The vehicle-to-vehicle communicable vehicle detecting unit 42 detects a vehicle that can communicate with the host vehicle in a manner similar to the vehicle-to-vehicle communicable vehicle detecting unit 33 in the statistical information search request processing unit 31, and performs a statistical information search correspondence. The possible vehicle detection unit 43 selects a vehicle that is suitable for the search condition such as, for example, that the traveling direction is suitable among the detected vehicles, and outputs the vehicle to the data output destination selection unit 50. In the data output destination selection unit 50, when the statistical information search end search unit 46 determines that the vehicle satisfies the end condition of the statistical information search, the cellular phone communication unit 65 is operated to collect the statistical information data. To the search request vehicle via the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 60, or to follow the communication network in reverse. This selection can be automatically activated by setting and registering in advance in the initial setting of this apparatus.
[0049]
When the host vehicle search condition matching determination unit 47 determines that the host vehicle does not meet the predetermined search condition, the host computer does not perform the statistical information search processing and has already taken in the statistical information search request vehicle output data acquisition unit. The data 45 is output to an appropriate inter-vehicle communication vehicle detected by the own vehicle by the operation of the inter-vehicle communication unit 61. Further, after searching for the statistical information of the own vehicle and writing the statistical data as described above, if it is determined that the statistical information search has not been completed, the next vehicle-to-vehicle communication can be performed. An appropriate vehicle is selected from among them, and the data of the output unit 49 such as the accumulated search result data is transmitted to the vehicle by the inter-vehicle communication unit 61.
[0050]
The communication unit 60 is provided with the inter-vehicle communication unit 61 and the mobile phone communication unit 65 as described above. The receiving unit 62 receives search request data from the statistical information search request vehicle, Input cumulative search result data and search conditions. Further, the transmitting unit 63 outputs the accumulated search result data obtained by the own vehicle and the data such as search conditions sent from other vehicles to the next vehicle. In addition, when it is determined that the own vehicle satisfies the condition for terminating the statistical information search, the mobile phone communication unit 65 outputs the search result data accumulated in the statistical server 71 such as an information center, and the own vehicle becomes the statistical information search requesting vehicle. When there is, the data such as the statistically processed ranking is received from the server 71.
[0051]
In this system comprising a device provided with a statistical information search processing unit composed of the above functional blocks and a statistical server performing statistical processing in response to a request from this device, for example, an operation flow as shown in FIGS. Can be operated sequentially. FIG. 4 shows an operation flow of the overall outline of the inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search processing. First, a search request processing by a statistical information search request vehicle is performed (step S1). Details of this processing are shown in FIG. Next, the processing by the statistical information search cooperative vehicle is continuously performed until the statistical information search end condition is satisfied (step S2). Details of this process are shown in FIG. Thereafter, in the illustrated embodiment, the processing by the statistical data processing server is performed (step S3), but this processing is unnecessary when the statistical processing is performed by the vehicle as described above. Next, display processing of the search result by the statistical information search requesting vehicle is performed (step S4), and this operation ends (step S5). Details of steps S3 and S4 are shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the details of these processes will be described with reference to the drawings and the functional block diagram of FIG.
[0052]
In the search request processing by the statistical information search request vehicle in step S1 in FIG. 4, the search conditions are first input as shown in FIG. This input is performed by the instruction signal input unit 14 in FIG. 1. The search conditions input here are, for example, as described in the description of the search condition acquisition unit 32 in the statistical information search request processing unit 31 in FIG. If you want to know the ranking of singers in the J-pop genre, which is heard on the audio equipment of a vehicle running from Mito to Hitachi in the direction from Mito to Hitachi on Route No. The range is from Mito to Hitachi on National Highway 6, the driving direction is limited from Hitachi to Mito, and the genre of J-pop in music viewing is specified. , Etc. for the search contents are input.
[0053]
As further search conditions, if necessary, the user's gender, age range, etc. may be input, and a minimum number, for example, 20 units may be input as the minimum number. The telephone number of the mobile phone of the person who made the search request is input, and the statistical processing data can be received from the server of the information center. Further, a search end condition is always given, and as the search end condition, for example, the maximum number of searches such as limiting the number of cooperating vehicles to 100 is input, or the continuation of this search is performed in two days or less. limit.
[0054]
Next, a search program corresponding to the search condition is created (step S12). This processing is automatically performed by the statistical information search processing unit of the vehicle that has received the statistical information search request in accordance with the search condition of the user captured by the search condition capturing unit 32 of the statistical information search request processing unit 31 in FIG. A program capable of performing a search from the data in the various information recording units of each vehicle under the search conditions described above is created.
[0055]
Next, the vehicle corresponding to the search is detected (step S13). In this operation, a vehicle capable of performing inter-vehicle communication is detected by the inter-vehicle communicable vehicle detection unit 33 of the statistic information search request processing unit 31 in FIG. This is performed by detecting a vehicle that satisfies the search condition fetched in the search condition fetching unit 32.
[0056]
Thereafter, it is determined whether or not there is a vehicle satisfying the search condition (step S14). In this process, the statistical information search-capable vehicle detection unit 34 determines whether or not there is a vehicle that meets the search condition. Here, when it is determined that there is a vehicle that satisfies the search condition, in the illustrated embodiment, data such as a search program is transmitted to the first vehicle that satisfies the search condition (step S15). Proceed to S2. In the process in step S15, if there is a plurality of vehicles satisfying the search condition in step S14 without being limited to the vehicle searched first, if a specific vehicle can be narrowed down to one of the vehicles, the specific vehicle can be determined by various methods. You can select This selection process is performed by the search request output destination vehicle selection unit 35 in the statistical information search request processing unit 31 of FIG.
[0057]
The data transmitted in step S15 is data output from the search request data output unit 37 in FIG. 1, and is fetched by the search program created by the search program creation unit 36 and the search condition acquisition unit 32 as described above. The search condition, the mobile phone number of the user of the search request vehicle, the search termination condition, and the like. The vehicle selected by the search request output destination vehicle selection unit 35 and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 61 in the communication unit 60 To the vehicle selected by the search request output destination selection unit 35.
[0058]
When it is determined in step S14 that there is no vehicle that satisfies the search condition, if it is determined that there is no vehicle that satisfies the search condition, in the illustrated embodiment, it is determined that there is no vehicle that satisfies the search condition, and then the predetermined vehicle is determined. It is determined whether or not the time has elapsed (step S17). If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the search corresponding vehicle is detected again (step S13), and it is determined whether or not there is a vehicle satisfying the search condition (step S14). ) Is repeated until a vehicle meeting the search condition is detected. The determination of the elapse of the predetermined time is to set a timing for performing a determination process of whether or not to correct the search condition in step S19 to be described later. A shorter suitable time is selected.
[0059]
When it is determined in step S17 that the predetermined time has elapsed due to the repetition of such an operation, it is determined whether or not a condition for terminating the statistical information search is satisfied (step S18). As the end condition of the statistical information search, the number of days for ending the statistical information search process and the like are set, as described above. It is determined whether or not it has been reached. In addition, as the ending condition of the statistical information search, a time such as 10 minutes may be set in addition to the number of days as described above. Here, it is determined whether or not these conditions are satisfied.
[0060]
When it is determined in step S18 that the condition for terminating the statistical information search is not satisfied, in the illustrated embodiment, it is determined whether or not to correct the search condition (step S19). This determination is made when it is difficult to find a suitable vehicle under the search conditions input by the user as described above, and it is likely that the conditions need to be relaxed. It is possible to determine whether or not the user has been informed of the reconsideration of the condition and responded in response to the reconsideration of the search condition.
[0061]
When it is determined in step S19 that the search condition is to be corrected, the process returns to step S11, and the search condition is input again. Therefore, for example, if the vehicle is initially limited to “vehicles whose destination is Mito City”, and if there is no such vehicle in the vicinity, the condition is changed to “vehicles passing through Mito City”. By this correction input, it is again determined whether or not there is a vehicle that satisfies the search condition in step S14. If there is no vehicle that satisfies the search condition, the process from step S17 is repeated until a vehicle that satisfies the search condition is detected. The process is repeated until the time and the number of days that satisfy the search termination condition elapse. When it is determined in step S18 that the condition for terminating the statistical information search is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S5 in FIG. 2 in step S20, and the statistical information search request processing ends.
[0062]
In the process performed by the statistical information search cooperative vehicle in step S2 in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 6, first, the search cooperative vehicle receives data such as a search program and fetches the data (step S31). In this process, when the device shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 1 is for a search cooperation vehicle, the data is received by the inter-vehicle communication unit 61 and the data is captured by the statistical information search request vehicle output data capture unit 45. This is done by:
[0063]
Next, the vehicle determines whether or not the vehicle satisfies the search condition (step S32). Here, the statistical information search request processing unit 31 in the statistical information search request processing unit 31 determines in advance whether or not the vehicle is a vehicle that meets the search conditions. Since the determination is based on the area where the vehicle exists and the traveling direction, for example, when the search condition includes the condition of “female driver”, the vehicle receiving this data is the male driver Sometimes, it is determined here that the vehicle does not meet the search conditions.
[0064]
When it is determined in step S32 that the own vehicle satisfies the search condition, the search cooperating vehicle executes the program to search the own vehicle database (step S33). In this process, the own vehicle statistical information search unit 44 of FIG. 1 executes a program corresponding to the search condition in which the user data as the various information recording unit 16 is captured by the statistical information search request vehicle output data capture unit 45. Done by Next, it is determined whether or not the search of the own vehicle database has been completed (step S34). If not completed, step S33 is continued. If completed, the own vehicle search result is written to the statistical search result data. (Step S35). This processing is performed in the search result statistical data writing unit 48 of FIG. If it is determined in step S32 that the host vehicle does not meet the search condition, the process immediately proceeds to step S37 to detect a search-compatible vehicle.
[0065]
Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the end condition of the statistical information search is satisfied (step S36). For example, it is determined whether or not the search for 100 items, which is the search end condition, or the number of days has reached the condition such as two days. . Here, it is determined whether or not the number of searches has reached 100 or the number of days has reached the search end condition instructed in advance in the statistical information search vehicle such as two days. This determination is performed by the statistical information search end detecting unit 46 in the statistical information search cooperative processing unit 41 in FIG.
[0066]
When it is determined in step S36 that the condition for terminating the statistical information search is not satisfied, the search corresponding vehicle is detected (step S37). This detection process is performed by the vehicle-to-vehicle communicable vehicle detection unit 42 in the statistical information search cooperation processing unit 41 in FIG. Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a vehicle that satisfies the search condition exists (step S38). If it is determined that the vehicle satisfies the search condition, data such as a search program is transmitted to the vehicle that satisfies the search condition (step S41). In the received vehicle, data such as a search program is received and taken in by the search cooperative vehicle in step S31, and the same operation is repeated thereafter. This processing is performed by transmitting the data of the output unit 49 such as the accumulated search result data to the vehicle selected by the data output destination selection unit 50 in FIG.
[0067]
If it is determined in step S38 that there is no vehicle that satisfies the search condition, it is determined whether or not the end condition of the statistical information search is satisfied. Here, as described above, the number of search cases is still 100 or the number of days is 2 days. When it is determined that the condition for terminating the statistical information search is not satisfied, the process returns to step S37 to perform a process of detecting a vehicle corresponding to the search, and thereafter repeats the same operation. These operations are repeated until it is determined that the termination condition is satisfied in.
[0068]
When it is determined in step S39 that the condition for terminating the statistical information search is satisfied, the statistical information search result data is transmitted to the statistical data processing server by the mobile phone in the illustrated embodiment (step S40). This data is transmitted to the search request vehicle by the inter-vehicle communication device. Hereinafter, an example in which the processing is performed by the statistical processing server will be described in detail. After it is determined in step S39 that the termination condition of the statistical information search is satisfied, the minimum required number of searches is set as, for example, 20 in the search conditions, and two days before the number is reached. If the time limit has expired, this processing may be terminated without performing the operation of step S40.
[0069]
However, at this time, since the search request output is performed in the search request vehicle, it is unknown what the condition is, so the data is transmitted to the server for the time being as in step S40, and the server does not reach the required number of searches. A notification to that effect may be sent to the search requester's mobile phone. The transmission of the data to the server is performed by the operation of the cellular phone communication unit 65 based on a signal that the data output destination selection unit 50 detects that the statistical information search end detection unit 46 satisfies the search end condition. This is done by switching to data communication to the server. After the transmission to the server as described above, the process proceeds to step S3 in FIG. 4 in step S42. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S36 that the condition for terminating the statistical information search is satisfied, the process immediately proceeds to step S40, where the statistical information search result data is transmitted to the statistical data processing server by the mobile phone.
[0070]
The processing by the statistical data processing server in step S3 in FIG. 4 and the search result display processing by the statistical information search request vehicle in step S5 are sequentially performed as shown in FIG. In the processing by the statistical data processing server corresponding to step S3 in FIG. 4 in FIG. 7, first, the statistical data processing server receives the statistical search result data (step S51). This state is shown in FIG. 2 in a state in which the search cooperation vehicle D is transmitting data to the server of the information center by a mobile phone.
[0071]
Next, statistical processing is performed by the statistical data processing server, and processing for tabulating the processing results is performed (step S52). This processing can be easily performed by a high-speed, large-capacity computer installed in an information center. Thereafter, the data created in this way is transmitted to the vehicle requesting statistical information data. This state is shown in FIG. 2 in a state in which a server at the information center transmits to the mobile phone of the vehicle requesting statistical information via a telephone line.
[0072]
Thereafter, the search result display processing by the statistical information search request vehicle in step S4 in FIG. 4 is performed, and first, the statistical processing result by the search request vehicle is received (step S61). This is performed by receiving data from the server 71 in the mobile phone communication unit 65 in the communication unit 60 in FIG. As described above, when the statistical processing of the search results is performed by any vehicle without performing the processing by the server, the search result is received and statistical processing is performed by the vehicle requesting the statistical information search, or the statistical processing data is received. It will be. Next, the result of the statistical processing by the search request vehicle is displayed (step S62). This processing is performed by displaying the data on the monitor 23 by the image output unit 24 which has received the data via the system control unit 25. By the display processing as described above, the requester of the statistical information search can request the audio equipment of the female driver's vehicle running in the direction from Mito to Mito in the range from Mito to Hitachi on National Highway 6, for example. , The statistical information such as the ranking of singers in the genre of J-pops can be easily known.
[0073]
In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the function of the navigation device is improved by incorporating the statistical information search unit according to the present invention into the navigation device has been described, but the invention can be implemented as an inter-vehicle communication device independent of the navigation device. In this case, a GPS receiver, an instruction signal input unit, various information recording units, a monitor, and the like are connected to the inter-vehicle communication device for use.
[0074]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which data is directly transmitted and received by a mobile phone as a means for communicating with a server for performing statistical processing. However, for example, data can be transmitted and received via the Internet network. Communication using another telephone may be performed, such as using a mobile telephone provided in a vehicle instead of the telephone.
[0075]
Further, in the above embodiment, the statistical information search request processing unit 31 includes a search program creation unit 36, and creates a search program that automatically performs a search process on a search cooperative vehicle according to a search condition input by a user, Although an example in which the information is output to the search cooperation vehicle has been described, when a predetermined condition is input in advance in the statistical information search cooperation processing unit 41, a program is configured to automatically search the information of the various information recording units 16 of the own vehicle. The present invention can be embodied in various other modes, such as making it unnecessary to create a search program in the search request vehicle and transmitting its data.
[0076]
In the above-described embodiment, both the statistical information search request processing unit 31 and the statistical information search cooperative processing unit 41 perform statistical processing under specified search conditions, such as a vehicle detection unit that can communicate between vehicles and a vehicle detection unit that can handle statistical information search. Although the example in which the function units for detecting the vehicles capable of performing the information search are separately provided has been described, these may be integrated and used in both the processing units.
[0077]
【The invention's effect】
In the inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device, an inter-vehicle communication means for performing communication between vehicles, a communication vehicle selection means for selecting a vehicle for performing communication with the inter-vehicle communication means, and a search condition input by a user. Search request data transmitting means for transmitting to the vehicle selected by the communication vehicle selecting means, statistical information searching means for searching for corresponding data from the information recording means of the own vehicle based on the search request data received from another vehicle, Search result data transmitting means for transmitting data including a vehicle search result and the search condition to another vehicle selected by the communication vehicle selecting means, and means for transmitting a final search result to a search request vehicle In the above, a user of a vehicle traveling in a relatively narrow arbitrary area or a specific road may, for example, select a genre of music being viewed or a ranking of an artist. Una can be obtained easily with less processing load statistics various information.
[0078]
Further, the other vehicle-to-vehicle communication use statistical information search device includes a communication unit using a telephone capable of communicating with a server that performs statistical processing, and transmits the final search result data to the server using the communication unit using the telephone, Since the search request vehicle receives the data after the statistical processing transmitted from the server by the communication means by the telephone, various statistical processing can be performed by using an external server having a large processing capacity. The load on the onboard equipment can be reduced, and the communication between vehicles over time can be reduced as compared with the one that transmits the data from the vehicle that created the final statistical data to the search request vehicle using vehicle-to-vehicle communication. It is possible to eliminate a state in which data cannot be transmitted to the search request vehicle due to a change in the network.
[0079]
The other vehicle-to-vehicle communication use statistical information search device includes a statistical processing unit that performs statistical processing of data including a search result of the own vehicle or statistical processing of data of a final search result. Means that the final search result or the data after the statistical processing can be transmitted to the search request vehicle, the statistical processing does not depend on an external server, and only the inter-vehicle communication means is used without using a mobile phone or the like. This makes it possible to obtain statistical data.
[0080]
The other vehicle-to-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, further includes a search program creating unit that creates a program for performing a search process corresponding to the search condition, Since the search result data and the search program are transmitted to another vehicle, a vehicle that has received the search program can automatically perform a search process of the own vehicle by the received search program. And a suitable search process can be automatically performed without providing a search program.
[0081]
Further, still another inter-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, in the inter-vehicle communication usage statistical information search device, data of a search result transmitted to the server is obtained for each vehicle selected in order by the communication vehicle selection means. Since the search result data is added data, the search result data of each vehicle can be easily collected by the vehicle receiving the search request adding the search result by the bucket brigade method.
[0082]
Further, another inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device may include, in the inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device, a self-vehicle search for determining whether or not the own vehicle satisfies a search condition received from the other vehicle. When the vehicle does not meet the search conditions, the search request data is sent to other vehicles without performing the search process when the vehicle does not meet the conditions. Only suitable vehicles can be reliably selected, and statistical information data of a large number of vehicles can be obtained smoothly.
[0083]
Further, still another inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device is the inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device, wherein the search condition includes a search end condition, and a vehicle corresponding to the search end condition is transmitted by the telephone communication means. , The accumulated search result data is transmitted to the server, so that search data of excessive statistical information is not collected due to the setting of the search end condition, and the statistical data can be obtained smoothly at the end of the search condition. It becomes possible.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall overview of a statistical information search system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an overall outline of a statistical information search system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart showing the basic processing sequence in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart for performing a search request process by a statistical information search request vehicle in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart for performing processing by the statistical information search cooperative vehicle in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart for performing a process by a statistical data processing server and a search result display process by a statistical information search request vehicle in the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of communication by a conventionally proposed inter-vehicle communication device.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 GPS receiver
14 Instruction signal input section
15 External device usage information capture unit
16 Various information recording unit
23 Monitor
25 System control unit
26 Statistical information search processing unit
31 Statistical information search request processing unit
32 Search condition capture section
33 Vehicle-to-vehicle communicable vehicle detection unit
34 Statistical Information Searchable Vehicle Detector
35 Search request output destination vehicle selection unit
36 Search program creation section
37 Search request data output unit
41 Statistical Information Retrieval Cooperation Processing Department
42 Vehicle-to-vehicle communicable vehicle detection unit
43 Statistical Information Searchable Vehicle Detector
44 Own vehicle statistical information search section
45 Statistical information search request vehicle output data capture unit
46 Statistical information search end detector
47 own vehicle search condition matching determination unit
48 Search result data capture unit
49 Cumulative search result data output section
50 Data output destination selection section
60 Communication unit
61 Inter-vehicle communication unit
62 Mobile phone communication unit

Claims (7)

Vehicle-to-vehicle communication means for communicating between vehicles;
Communication vehicle selection means for selecting a vehicle to communicate with the inter-vehicle communication means,
Search request data transmission means for transmitting the search condition input by the user to the vehicle selected by the communication vehicle selection means,
Statistical information search means for searching the corresponding data from the information recording means of the own vehicle by the search request data received from another vehicle,
Search result data transmitting means for transmitting data including the search result of the own vehicle and the search condition to another vehicle selected by the communication vehicle selecting means,
An inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device, comprising: means for transmitting a final search result to a search request vehicle. A communication means by telephone capable of communicating with a server for performing statistical processing,
The data of the final search result is transmitted to a server by the communication means by the telephone, and the data after the statistical processing transmitted from the server is received by the communication means by the telephone by the search request vehicle. 2. The inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device according to 1. Statistical processing means for performing statistical processing of data including the search result of the own vehicle, or statistical processing of data of the final search result,
2. The inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device according to claim 1, wherein the inter-vehicle communication means is capable of transmitting the final search result or the data after the statistical processing to a search request vehicle. A search program creating means for creating a program for performing a search process corresponding to the search condition,
2. The inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device according to claim 1, wherein the search result data and the search program are transmitted from a search request vehicle to another vehicle. The inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search according to claim 1, wherein the search result data transmitted to the server is data in which search result data of each vehicle sequentially selected by the communication vehicle selection means is added. apparatus. A vehicle search condition matching determination unit configured to determine whether the vehicle matches the search condition received from the other vehicle; 2. The inter-vehicle communication use statistical information search device according to claim 1, wherein: The search condition includes a search end condition, and a vehicle corresponding to the search end condition transmits search result data to a server or a search request vehicle to the server by means of the telephone communication means. Communication usage statistics information retrieval device.

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