JP2004310335A - System for controlling apparatus mounted on vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a system for controlling an apparatus mounted on a vehicle, which may allow for each vehicle to use information on vehicle positions collected by a center. <P>SOLUTION: The system for controlling the apparatus mounted on the vehicle has a method comprising; a step S10 for determining whether the apparatus has received the information on other vehicle positions from the center; a step S20 for estimating, if the information has been received, the present position for the other vehicle based on a speed data and a direction data of the other vehicle, which enables a user to estimate the present position of the other vehicle without any real-time data for the other vehicle transmitted from a center 10; a step S40 for determining whether or not the other vehicle is positioned on the same road of user's own vehicle; and a step S50 for controlling a head lamp action of the user's own vehicle if the other vehicle is positioned on the same road of the user's own vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device control system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a vehicle allocation system that collects position information of taxi vehicles transmitted from a plurality of taxi vehicles and distributes the taxi vehicles using the collected position information. According to this vehicle allocation system, for example, the position of the vehicle is detected using a position detector such as a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver provided for each vehicle, and information on the detected position is transmitted to the center. This center collects position information transmitted from each vehicle, grasps the current position of each vehicle, and efficiently dispatches vehicles.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The above-described position information of each vehicle is used only in the center.For example, the collected position information is distributed to each vehicle, and each vehicle uses the position information of another vehicle to control the on-board equipment. A controlling system is currently under consideration. However, there are the following problems in realizing a system using location information distributed from such a center.
[0004]
In other words, it takes a lot of processing time until the center collects the position information transmitted from each vehicle and then distributes it from the center to each vehicle. Therefore, the position information distributed from the center to each vehicle is not real-time information, and may not match the actual state of the other vehicle.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an in-vehicle device control system that can use position information collected at a center in each vehicle.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The on-vehicle device control system according to claim 1 receives a mobile body information including a position, a speed, and a traveling direction of the mobile body transmitted from the mobile body, and is mounted on a vehicle and a center that distributes the mobile body information, Communication means for receiving the moving body information distributed from the center; estimated position calculating means for calculating the current estimated position of the moving body based on the moving body information received by the communication means; and a position for detecting the current position of the vehicle Detecting means, determining means for determining whether or not the estimated position of the moving body and the current position of the vehicle satisfy a predetermined positional relationship, and operating the equipment mounted on the vehicle based on the determination result of the determining means. And control means for controlling.
[0007]
As described above, the in-vehicle device control system of the present invention estimates the current position of the moving object based on the information of the moving object transmitted from the center. Therefore, even if the vehicle information of the moving object distributed from the center is not real-time information, the current estimated position of the moving object can be grasped. This makes it possible to realize a system that controls on-vehicle equipment using the estimated position of the moving object.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle-mounted device control system, the communication unit includes a short-range communication unit that receives moving body information transmitted from another vehicle located near the current position of the vehicle.
[0009]
Thereby, since the moving body information of the other vehicle located near the own vehicle can be obtained without passing through the center, it is possible to obtain information in near real time. As a result, a highly accurate estimated position of the moving object can be calculated.
[0010]
According to the in-vehicle device control system of the third aspect, the center aggregates the mobile body information for each predetermined area based on the position information included in the received mobile body information, and provides the vehicle located in the predetermined area to the vehicle. And distributing the aggregated mobile body information. As a result, it is possible to distribute only the information of the moving object located around each vehicle.
[0011]
In the vehicle-mounted device control system according to the fourth aspect, the vehicle includes a map data storage unit that stores map data, and the determination unit determines whether the estimated position of the moving object is located on the same road as the vehicle. If the determining unit determines that the estimated position of the moving object is located on the same road as the vehicle, the control unit determines whether the high beam of the headlamp of the vehicle is in accordance with the distance between the estimated position of the moving object and the current position of the vehicle. / Low beam switching is controlled.
[0012]
For example, at night, when the headlamps are lit with the high beam, the headlamps are switched on with the low beam according to the distance to the moving body, or when the moving body is at a position that has passed the own vehicle. If so, switch to a high beam. As a result, it is possible to assist the driving operation of the driver.
[0013]
In the in-vehicle device control system according to claim 5, the mobile unit is configured by a portable mobile communication device, the center receives mobile unit information including an identification code set for each mobile unit, and the determination unit includes: The control unit determines whether the identification code and the vehicle code set for each vehicle satisfy a predetermined relationship, and the control unit determines that the identification code and the vehicle code satisfy the predetermined relationship by the determination unit. In this case, the operation of the equipment mounted on the vehicle is controlled according to the distance between the estimated position of the moving object and the current position of the vehicle.
[0014]
For example, by setting the identification code and the vehicle code assigned to a portable communication device such as a mobile phone so as to correspond to the user in advance, the mobile phone can be collated with the vehicle. Thereby, since the positional relationship between the vehicle owner and the vehicle can be grasped, for example, when the vehicle owner approaches the vehicle, the engine is activated, the air conditioner in the vehicle compartment is activated, or As described in claim 6, each door of the vehicle can be unlocked. When the owner of the vehicle leaves the vehicle, each door of the vehicle can be locked.
[0015]
The vehicle-mounted device control system according to claim 7, further comprising speed detection means for detecting the speed of the vehicle, and direction detection means for detecting the direction of travel of the vehicle, wherein the communication means determines the position, speed, and direction of travel of the vehicle. And transmitting the moving body information to the center and transmitting the moving body information to another vehicle located near the current position of the vehicle. As a result, another moving body can acquire information on the own vehicle.
[0016]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a vehicle-mounted device control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0017]
(1st Embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device control system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device control system includes a center 10, a mobile phone 20 owned by a user, a vehicle 30, and a roadside beacon 40.
[0018]
Each of these components can transmit and receive data by wireless communication, as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the vehicle 30 transmits vehicle information (a) to the roadside beacon 40, and the roadside beacon 40 transmits this vehicle information (a) to the center 10. On the other hand, the center 10 transmits the peripheral road condition information (b) to the roadside beacon 40, and the roadside beacon 40 transmits the peripheral road condition information (b) to the vehicle 30.
[0019]
In addition, the mobile phone 20 transmits the communication device information (c) to the center 10. Further, when the transmission request (d) is transmitted from the mobile phone 20, the center 10 transmits a response request (e) to the transmission request (d) to the mobile phone 20. The details of the vehicle information (a), the surrounding road condition information (b), the communication device information (c), the transmission request (d), and the response request (e) will be described later.
[0020]
The mobile phone 20 shown in FIG. 1 includes a detection unit (not shown) for detecting the position, speed, and traveling direction of the mobile phone 20, a storage unit, and a display unit. The detection unit receives the radio waves from the GPS satellites and the radio waves from the base station, and detects the position (latitude / longitude, etc.), speed, and traveling direction of the mobile phone 20 using the received signals.
[0021]
As the storage unit, for example, a rewritable storage medium such as a memory card is used, and an identification code set for each mobile phone 20 is stored in advance. The identification code can be changed by the user. The display unit is configured by a liquid crystal display or the like, and can display a map indicating the current position of the mobile phone 20 on the screen.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 3, the mobile phone 20 transmits communication device information (c) composed of detection data of the position, speed, and heading detected by the detection unit and an identification code at predetermined time intervals via a mobile phone network. To the center 10. When the mobile phone 20 transmits a transmission request (d) to the center 10, vehicle information (a) of a vehicle code corresponding to the identification code of the mobile phone 20 is transmitted from the center 10 as a request response (e). .
[0023]
For example, a user who owns the mobile phone 20 and the vehicle 30 changes the identification code of the mobile phone 20 to the same code as the vehicle code set for each vehicle 30. As a result, the center 10 transmits the vehicle information (a) of the vehicle code that matches the identification code. As a result, the user can use the mobile phone 20 to receive the vehicle information of the vehicle 30 owned by the user from the center 10. By superimposing and displaying the current position of the vehicle 30 included in the received vehicle information on the map display of the mobile phone 20, it is possible to grasp the current position of the vehicle 30 owned by the user.
[0024]
The roadside beacon 40 shown in FIG. 1 is provided on a road and relays communication between the center 10 and the vehicle 30. The roadside beacon 40 communicates with the vehicle 30 by, for example, a 5.8 GHz-band Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) used in an automatic toll collection system (Electronic Toll Collection, ETC) or the like. In this narrow area communication, communication with the vehicle 30 existing within a communication area of about several tens of meters is possible. The roadside beacon 40 is connected to the center 10 using a communication line such as a mobile phone network.
[0025]
In the present embodiment, as described above, the communication between the vehicle 30 and the center 10 is connected via the roadside beacon 40, but the vehicle 30 and the center 10 are connected without communication via the roadside beacon 40. May be used.
[0026]
The center 10 receives the communication device information (c) transmitted from the mobile phone 20, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, vehicle information (a) composed of vehicle position, speed, heading direction data and vehicle code transmitted from the vehicle 30 via the roadside beacon 40 is collected.
[0027]
In the center 10, the collected communication device information (c) and the vehicle information (a) are transmitted based on the position data included in the collected communication device information (c) and the vehicle information (a). The information is collected and stored for each predetermined area such as around the installation location.
[0028]
Further, as shown in the figure, the center 10 transmits the communication device information and the vehicle information (peripheral road condition information) arranged for each area around the installation location of the roadside beacon 40 to the vehicles existing in the communication area of the roadside beacon 40. 30. When the vehicle 30 and the center 10 are connected to each other without communication via the roadside beacon 40, the surrounding road condition information may be transmitted to the vehicle 30 existing in the predetermined area. Thus, the center 10 can distribute only information on other vehicles 30 and the mobile phone 20 located around the vehicle 30.
[0029]
Further, as described above, when receiving the transmission request from the mobile phone 20, the center 10 transmits the vehicle information of the vehicle code that matches the identification code of the mobile phone 20 to the mobile phone 20.
[0030]
As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle 30 includes a position detection unit 31, a speed detection unit 32, an azimuth detection unit 33, a map data input unit 34, a display 35, a communication device 36a, a communication device 36b, a lamp ECU 37, a door ECU 38, And a control unit 39.
[0031]
The control unit 39 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, and a bus line connecting these components. An execution program is written in the ROM, and the CPU and the like execute predetermined arithmetic processing according to the execution program. The ROM stores a vehicle code set for each vehicle 30.
[0032]
The position detector 31 is configured by a GPS receiver (not shown) that detects the current position of the vehicle 30 based on radio waves from GPS satellites, and the like. The information (latitude / longitude, etc.) of the current position detected by the position detector 31 is periodically output to the controller 39.
[0033]
The speed detector 32 is a wheel speed sensor provided for each rolling wheel of the vehicle 30, and detects the rotation speed of the rolling wheel. The detected signal is output to the control unit 39, and the speed of the vehicle 30 is calculated from the detected signal.
[0034]
The azimuth detecting unit 33 includes, for example, a well-known geomagnetic sensor, gyroscope, or the like. The geomagnetic sensor is for detecting the absolute direction of the vehicle 30. On the other hand, the gyroscope is for detecting the relative orientation of the vehicle 30, and may employ sensors such as a vibration gyroscope, an optical fiber gyroscope, and a gas rate gyroscope. The absolute azimuth (traveling direction) of the traveling direction of the vehicle 30 is detected from the geomagnetic sensor and the detection signal of the gyroscope.
[0035]
The map data input device 34 is a device for inputting various data including map data, background data, landmark data, and the like. As a storage medium for storing various data, a writable storage medium such as a memory card or a hard disk is used in addition to a read-only storage medium such as a CD-ROM or a DVD-ROM. Here, link data and node data constituting the map data will be described.
[0036]
First, a link divides each road on the map into a plurality of nodes such as intersections, branches, and junctions, and defines each node as a link. Is configured. This link data includes a unique number (link ID) for identifying the link, a link length indicating the length of the link, coordinates of the start and end of the link (latitude / longitude, etc.), a road name, a road type, a road width, and the number of lanes. It consists of each data of.
[0037]
Also, the node data describes a node ID, a node coordinate, a node name, and a link ID of all the links connected to the nodes, each node having a unique number for each node where each road on the map intersects, merges, or branches. It is composed of data such as connection link ID and intersection type.
[0038]
The display 35 is constituted by, for example, a liquid crystal display. On the screen of the display 35, the own vehicle position mark corresponding to the current position of the vehicle input from the position detector 31 and the input from the map data input unit 34. A road map around the vehicle 30 generated by map data, background data, landmark data, and the like can be displayed.
[0039]
The communication device 36 a is a communication device used for communication with the roadside beacon 40. The communication device 36b is a communication device used for short-distance vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and is capable of communication connection with another vehicle 30 existing within a predetermined distance. The communication device 36 b transmits the same information as the vehicle information (a) transmitted to the roadside beacon 40 to the other vehicles 30. In addition, the vehicle information (a) transmitted from another vehicle 30 is received.
[0040]
By the inter-vehicle communication using the communication device 36b, information of another vehicle 30 located near the vehicle 30 can be obtained without passing through the center 10. Therefore, it is possible to obtain information on another vehicle 30 near real time.
[0041]
The lamp ECU 37 executes control such as turning on / off of each lighting device such as a head lamp, a small lamp, and a blinker, and switching between a high beam and a low beam of the head lamp, in response to an instruction signal from the control unit 39. The door ECU 38 executes control such as a lock / unlock operation of each door of the vehicle 30 according to an instruction signal from the control unit 39.
[0042]
As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 39 controls the vehicle information including the current position, speed, heading direction data detected by each of the position detection unit 31, the speed detection unit 32, and the direction detection unit 33, and the vehicle code. (A) is transmitted to the roadside beacon 40 every predetermined time.
[0043]
When the surrounding road condition information (b) transmitted from the roadside beacon 40 or the vehicle information (a) transmitted from the other vehicle 30 is received, the current state of the other vehicle 30 or the mobile phone 20 is received. Estimate the position. Then, the positional relationship between the other vehicle 30 located around the vehicle 30 and the owner of the mobile phone 20 is grasped, and the control of the operation of switching the high beam / low beam of the head lamp of the vehicle 30 is executed according to this positional relationship. I do.
[0044]
Next, the process of controlling the beam switching of the headlamp in the vehicle 30 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S10, it is determined whether the vehicle information (a) transmitted from another vehicle 30 or the surrounding road condition information (b) transmitted from the center 10 via the roadside beacon 40 has been received. Here, when the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S20, and when the determination is negative, the process enters the standby state.
[0045]
In step S20, the position of the other vehicle 30 or the mobile phone 20 at the present time is estimated using the data of the position, speed, and heading of the received vehicle information (a) or communication device information (c). .
[0046]
For the method of estimating the current position, for example, a time difference between the transmission time of the surrounding road condition information (b) including the vehicle information (a) or the communication device information (c) and the current time is calculated, and the calculated time difference is calculated. Calculate the estimated travel distance from time and speed. Then, a point moved from the point indicated by the position data to the azimuth indicated by the traveling azimuth data by the estimated moving distance is estimated as the current position.
[0047]
In step S30, the road conditions around the vehicle 30 are updated. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the estimated position of another vehicle existing around the vehicle 30 or the owner (person) of the mobile phone 20 may be displayed on the screen of the display 35. Thereby, the driver of the vehicle 30 can grasp the surrounding situation.
[0048]
In step S40, it is determined whether another vehicle or person is located on the same road as vehicle 30. Here, if a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to step S50; if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S10.
[0049]
In step S50, the operation of the headlamp of the vehicle 30 is controlled. For example, since the high beam of the headlamp has a brightness that allows the user to check an obstacle 100 m ahead, the occupant or person of another vehicle existing ahead of this distance may be dazzled. Therefore, when the headlamp is lit with the high beam at night, control to switch to the low beam is performed. In the daytime, when the headlamp is turned off, the headlamp may be turned on for the purpose of actively informing other vehicles or people of the presence of the vehicle 30.
[0050]
Further, in the nighttime, when another vehicle or a person is at a position passing the vehicle 30 and the headlamp is lit with the low beam, control is performed to switch to the high beam.
[0051]
As described above, the in-vehicle device control system of the present embodiment estimates the current positions of the mobile phone 20 and the other vehicle 30 based on the information about the mobile phone 20 and the other vehicle 30 transmitted from the center 10. Therefore, even if the information distributed from the center 10 is not real-time information, it is possible to estimate the position of a person existing around the vehicle 30 or the position of another vehicle 30.
[0052]
Then, when the estimated position and the current position of the vehicle 30 are on the same road, it is possible to execute turning on / off of a headlamp and switching between a high beam and a low beam according to the distance. Thereby, it is possible to assist the driving operation of the driver of the vehicle 30.
[0053]
(Modification 1)
In step S50 of FIG. 6, the operation of the headlamp of the vehicle 30 is controlled, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a curve in which the current position of the vehicle 30 and a person or another vehicle 30 are blinded. It is determined whether or not the vehicle is located on a road. If the result of this determination is affirmative, the horn of the vehicle 30 may be controlled to operate. Thus, the approach of the vehicle 30 can be positively notified to the other vehicles 30 and people.
[0054]
(Second embodiment)
Since the second embodiment has much in common with the first embodiment, a detailed description of the common parts will be omitted, and different parts will be mainly described below.
[0055]
In the vehicle-mounted device control system according to the present embodiment, the identification code of the communication device information (c) included in the surrounding road condition information (b) received from the center 10 via the roadside beacon 40 in the vehicle 30 and the vehicle code of the vehicle 30 Are determined, and if these satisfy a predetermined relationship, control such as a lock / unlock operation of each door of the vehicle 30 is executed in accordance with the distance between the mobile phone 20 and the vehicle 30. Different in that.
[0056]
Hereinafter, control processing of the door locking / unlocking operation in the vehicle 30 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. Steps S10 to S30 in the figure are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.
[0057]
In step S40a, it is determined whether or not the identification code included in the communication device information (c) corresponds to the vehicle code of the vehicle 30. When the user who owns the mobile phone 20 and the vehicle 30 has previously changed the identification code of the mobile phone 20 to the same code as the vehicle code set for each vehicle 30, the two codes match. It is determined whether or not. Here, if a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to step S50a; if a negative determination is made, the process proceeds to step S10.
[0058]
In step S50a, the lock / unlock operation of each door of the vehicle 30 is controlled. For example, when the distance between the estimated position of the mobile phone 20 having the identification code corresponding to the vehicle code of the vehicle 30 and the current position of the vehicle 30 is shorter than a predetermined distance, the owner of the vehicle 30 approaches the vehicle 30 Is determined to be unlocked, the doors of the vehicle 30 are unlocked. If the distance between the estimated position of the mobile phone 20 and the current position of the vehicle 30 is longer than a predetermined distance, it is determined that the owner of the vehicle 30 is away from the vehicle 30 and the doors of the vehicle 30 are closed. Perform a lock.
[0059]
As in the in-vehicle device control system of the present embodiment, the vehicle 30 that receives the communication device information by transmitting the communication device information including the identification code from the mobile phone 20 to the center 10 performs collation with the vehicle code. be able to. Thereby, it can be determined whether or not the owner of the vehicle 30 exists near the vehicle 30. Then, it is possible to control the locking / unlocking operation of each door of the vehicle 30 based on the determination result.
[0060]
(Modification 2)
In the present embodiment, the operation of locking / unlocking each door of the vehicle 30 is controlled. For example, when the owner of the vehicle 30 approaches the vehicle 30, the engine is operated or the vehicle interior is controlled. The air conditioner may be operated. When the owner of the vehicle 30 leaves the vehicle 30, the operation of the engine may be stopped.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a vehicle-mounted device control system according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a data transmission / reception relationship between components constituting the on-vehicle device control system according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a time chart of data transmission and reception between the center 10 and the mobile phone 20 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of each component mounted on the vehicle 30 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a time chart of data transmission and reception among the vehicle 30, the roadside beacon 40, and the center 10 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process of controlling beam switching of a headlamp in the vehicle 30 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an estimated position of another vehicle or a person existing around the vehicle 30 according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control process of a door locking / unlocking operation in a vehicle 30 according to the second embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 Center 20 Mobile phone 30 Vehicle 37 Lamp ECU
38 Door ECU
39 control unit 40 roadside beacon

Claims (7)

A center that receives moving body information including the position, speed, and heading of the moving body transmitted from the moving body, and distributes the moving body information,
Mounted on the vehicle,
Communication means for receiving mobile object information distributed from the center;
Estimated position calculating means for calculating a current estimated position of the moving object based on the moving object information received by the communication means,
Position detecting means for detecting a current position of the vehicle,
Determining means for determining whether or not the estimated position of the moving object and the current position of the vehicle satisfy a predetermined positional relationship;
A control unit for controlling an operation of a device mounted on the vehicle based on a result of the determination by the determination unit. The on-vehicle device control system according to claim 1, wherein the communication unit includes a short-range communication unit that receives the moving body information transmitted from another vehicle located near the current position of the vehicle. The center aggregates the mobile body information for each predetermined area based on the position information included in the received mobile body information, and distributes the aggregated mobile body information to the vehicles located in the predetermined area. The in-vehicle device control system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The vehicle includes map data storage means for storing map data,
The determining means determines whether the estimated position of the moving object is located on the same road as the vehicle,
When the determining unit determines that the estimated position of the moving object is located on the same road as the vehicle, the control unit determines whether the vehicle is moving in accordance with a distance between the estimated position of the moving object and the current position of the vehicle. The on-vehicle device control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein switching of high beam / low beam of the headlamp is controlled. The mobile object is configured by a portable mobile communication device,
The center receives moving body information including an identification code set for each moving body,
The determination means determines whether the identification code and a vehicle code set for each vehicle satisfy a predetermined relationship,
The control means, when the determination means determines that the identification code and the vehicle code satisfy a predetermined relationship, according to a distance between an estimated position of the moving object and a current position of the vehicle. The in-vehicle device control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the operation of a device mounted on the vehicle is controlled. 6. The on-vehicle device control system according to claim 5, wherein the control unit controls locking / unlocking of a door of the vehicle. The vehicle includes a speed detection unit that detects a speed of the vehicle, and a direction detection unit that detects a traveling direction of the vehicle,
The communication means transmits moving body information including the position, speed, and heading of the vehicle to the center,
The in-vehicle device control system according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the short-range communication unit transmits the moving body information to the other vehicle located near a current position of the vehicle.

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