JP2006260001A - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device which can easily designate a communication-targeted communication device. <P>SOLUTION: The reaction force of a haptic device is controlled in correspondence to the existing position of a communication-possible vehicle. That is, the reaction force at the rotational position of a track ball corresponding to a position, at which the communication-possible vehicle exists, is controlled so that the reaction force may be weaker than that of the periphery. Consequently, a driver can grasp the position, at which the vehicle exists, as the sense of touch, when he operates the haptic device, to reduce dependence on his own eyesight. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a technique for providing information for a driver to easily determine whether a parking space exists in a parking lot has been considered (for example, prior art 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-62500). In the technology described in the prior art 1, when the door lock of the vehicle is released, the key is inserted, and the engine is started, the communication device transmits departure information indicating that the vehicle will start in the near future. Further, when the vehicle engine is stopped, the key is removed, and the door is locked, the communication device transmits parking information indicating that parking is to be performed to the surroundings. The communication device that has received the departure information and the parking information causes the display device to display vehicle information (for example, number, vehicle type, color, and classification) of the departure vehicle and the parked vehicle. As a result, the driver who is looking for a parking space knows whether the vehicle in which the occupant is present or the vehicle in the vicinity of the vehicle in the vicinity of the own vehicle is a vehicle that will start or park. can do.

Prior art 1

  Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-62500

  However, since the communication device of the above technology does not have a mechanism for identifying a communication device to be communicated, if there are many communication devices that transmit departure information and parking information in the vicinity of the own vehicle, the parking space is The driver who is looking for may be difficult to specify which vehicle corresponds to the information. Further, when using a protocol that requires authentication and setting of a channel to be used for communication, it is necessary to select a communication device to be communicated in some form.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a communication device capable of easily specifying a communication device to be communicated.

  The communication device according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above problem, includes a communication unit having a predetermined wireless communication area, a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information that is information related to various states of the vehicle, and a communication. Selection information receiving means for receiving selection information for selecting a target communication apparatus from a user, communication apparatus information output means for outputting information on other communication apparatuses, information output means for outputting various information, and various controls Control means to execute.

  Then, the control means causes the communication apparatus information output means to output information related to other communication devices that can communicate via the communication means, and causes the communication information with the other communication apparatuses corresponding to the selection information received by the selection information reception means. The vehicle information acquisition means receives the same information as the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means from another communication device, and the vehicle information acquisition means acquires the received vehicle information to the information output means Transmission control means for transmitting vehicle information to another communication device via the communication means when the vehicle information is requested from the other communication device via the communication means. Note that “information related to other communication devices that can communicate via communication means” here refers to information that can identify a communication device such as information related to the direction, location, and type of the communication device. means.

  According to such a communication device, even when there are a large number of communication devices capable of communicating in the vicinity of the host vehicle, the user acquires vehicle information by inputting selection information to the selection information receiving means. Can be narrowed down to one. As a result, only the vehicle information of the target vehicle is acquired, and the user does not need to search for the target vehicle information from a large number of vehicle information, so that the target vehicle information can be easily obtained.

  Even if the communication protocol is a protocol that requires authentication and setting of the channel to be used for communication, the communication target is uniquely determined by using the selection information input to the selection information receiving means by the user. Therefore, the communication means can perform authentication processing and setting of the channel to be used for the communication device to be communicated. As a result, the above-described protocol can be used, and versatility in communication is enhanced, and a highly secure protocol and a high-function protocol can be used.

  By the way, the vehicle information transmitted by the transmission control unit may be the information itself acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, or may be information generated based on the information. For example, as described in claim 2, the transmission control means includes information indicating whether the vehicle is in a parking continuation state or a state in which the vehicle is about to start based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means. You may make it produce | generate and transmit the produced | generated information to another communication apparatus as vehicle information.

  If it is such a communication apparatus, the user (for example, driver | operator) of the communication apparatus of the receiving side will transfer to the state which will start from now whether the selected vehicle is a parking continuation state by the information output by the information output means. You can know either. As a result, it is possible to save the time and effort of visiting the parking lot many times to find an empty space, and the vehicle can be efficiently parked in the parking space.

  Further, as the selection information receiving means described above, for example, a mechanical key device, a touch panel formed integrally with a liquid crystal display or the like can be considered, and in particular, another communication device as described in claim 3 is available. It is good to be comprised by the haptic device which has the reaction force corresponding to the position of the vehicle mounted. The term “haptic device” here refers to a device that can give the operator the feeling of touching an object, such as a joystick type, a trackball type, or various forms. Can be considered. Further, “reaction force corresponding to the position of the vehicle” means that, for example, an operation in the direction in which the vehicle exists can be performed by a lighter operation than in other directions.

  If this is the case, the driver can recognize the position and direction of the vehicle only by operating the haptic device, and can confirm the vehicle position information displayed on the display means or visually check the vehicle. The vehicle can be selected without checking the position of the vehicle.

  Furthermore, as described in claim 4, the haptic device may have a light emitting function corresponding to the position of the vehicle. Specifically, for example, a part in the direction in which the vehicle is present in the operation unit of the haptic device is caused to emit light.

If it is in this way, the position of the vehicle can be recognized both as a touch and as a sight only with a haptic device.
By the way, it is preferable that the communication device can exchange not only vehicle information but also voice information. That is, as described in claim 5, the communication device further includes a voice input unit that inputs a user's voice and a voice output unit that outputs a voice to the user, and the control unit further includes selection information. The voice input by the voice input unit is transmitted to the other communication device corresponding to the selection information received by the reception unit through the communication unit, and the voice received from the other communication device through the communication unit is output as the voice output unit. It is good to make it output to.

  If it is like this, you can exchange various information by voice, for example, thanks to the driver who gave you the way or voiced the parking space in a hurry. You can say thanks to the voice.

  Further, the “information relating to other communication devices that can be communicated” used when the reception control means causes the communication device information output means to output information relating to other communication devices that can communicate via the communication means. As described, it is preferable to make a response request by simultaneous broadcast to other communication devices existing in a predetermined wireless communication area via communication means, and to configure based on the response information.

  If it becomes like this, the information regarding the other communication apparatus which can communicate rapidly can be provided to a user.

  Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the following embodiments, and various forms can be adopted as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

[Description of configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a navigation device 20 in which the function of the communication device of the present invention is incorporated.

  The navigation device 20 is mounted on a vehicle, and a position detector 21 that detects the current position of the vehicle, an operation switch group 22 for inputting various instructions from a user, and various instructions as with the operation switch group 22 are input. A remote control terminal (hereinafter referred to as a remote control) 23a that is possible and separate from the main body of the navigation device 20, a remote control sensor 23b that inputs a signal from the remote control 23a, and an external communication device that communicates with the outside 24, a map data input device 25 for inputting data from a map storage medium in which map data, voice data, and the like are recorded, a display unit 26 for displaying a map and various information, and various guide voices are output. The same as the voice output unit 27 for performing the operation, the microphone 28 for outputting an electric signal based on the voice spoken by the user, and the operation switch group 22. The haptic device 31 that can input various instructions to the navigation apparatus 20 and the in-vehicle LAN communication section 33 that communicates with various ECUs connected to the in-vehicle LAN, and the position detector described above. 21, the operation switch group 22, the remote control sensor 23 b, the external communication device 24, the map data input device 25, the microphone 28, the haptic device 31, and various processes according to the input from the in-vehicle LAN communication unit 33. , A display unit 26, an audio output unit 27, and a control unit 29 for controlling the haptic device 31.

  The position detector 21 receives a radio wave from a GPS (Global Positioning System) artificial satellite via a GPS antenna (not shown) and outputs a received signal, and a magnitude of rotational motion applied to the vehicle. A gyroscope 21b for detecting the distance, a distance sensor 21c for detecting a distance traveled from the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, and the like, and a geomagnetic sensor 21d for detecting the traveling direction from the geomagnetism. Then, based on the output signals from these sensors 21a to 21d, the control unit 29 calculates the position, direction, speed, etc. of the vehicle. Although there are various methods for obtaining the current position based on the output signal from the GPS receiver 21a, either a single positioning method or a relative positioning method may be used.

  The operation switch group 22 includes a touch panel configured integrally with the display surface of the display unit 26, mechanical key switches provided around the display unit 26, and the like. The touch panel and the display unit 26 are laminated and integrated. There are various types of touch panels such as a pressure-sensitive method, an electromagnetic induction method, a capacitance method, or a combination of these methods. It may be used.

  The external communicator 24 has a function of directly communicating with the same kind of navigation device mounted on another vehicle. Note that this communication uses a short-range wireless communication mechanism such as Bluetooth or wireless LAN.

  The map data input device 25 is a device for inputting various data stored in a map data storage medium (not shown) (for example, a hard disk or a DVD-ROM). Map data storage media include map data (node data, link data, cost data, background data, road data, name data, mark data, intersection data, facility data, etc.), voice data for guidance, voice recognition data, etc. Is remembered. Instead of inputting these data from the map data storage medium, these data may be input via a communication network.

  The display unit 26 is a color display device such as a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, or a CRT, and any of them may be used. The display screen of the display unit 26 includes a mark indicating the current location identified from the current position of the vehicle detected by the position detector 21 and the map data input from the map data input device 25, a guidance route to the destination, and a name. Additional data such as landmarks and various facility marks can be displayed in an overlapping manner. Also, facility guides can be displayed.

The voice output unit 27 can output facility guides and various guidance voices input from the map data input device 25.
The microphone 28 outputs an electric signal (voice signal) based on the inputted voice to the control unit 29 when the user inputs (speaks) voice. The user can operate the navigation device 20 by inputting various sounds to the microphone 28.

  The in-vehicle LAN communication unit 33 is connected to the in-vehicle LAN and is connected to an engine ECU (not shown), a key entry system ECU, a door lock ECU, and the like, and communicates with these ECUs.

  The control unit 29 is configured around a well-known microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, SRAM, I / O, and a bus line connecting these components, and is based on a program stored in the ROM and RAM. Various processes. For example, the current position of the vehicle is calculated as a set of coordinates and traveling directions based on each detection signal from the position detector 21, and a map or the like near the current position read via the map data input device 25 is displayed on the display unit 26. The optimal route from the current position to the destination is calculated based on the processing to be performed, the map data stored in the map data input device 25, and the destination set according to the operation of the operation switch group 22 or the remote controller 23a. A route calculation process, a route guidance process for guiding the route by displaying the calculated route on the display unit 26 or outputting it as a voice to the voice output unit 27, and the like are executed. The control unit 29 is configured to supply power even when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned off, and whether or not to supply power to each unit according to the command of the control unit 29 is determined. It is configured so that it can be controlled.

  Next, the haptic device 31 will be described with reference to the explanatory diagram of FIG. FIG. 2 depicts a haptic device 31 (cross-sectional view), a control unit 29 (block diagram) that controls the haptic device 31, and a function selection switch 22 a (block diagram) that constitutes one of the operation switch groups 22. Yes. Note that the control unit 29 is drawn with only a portion necessary for controlling the haptic device 31.

The haptic device 31 mainly includes a trackball holding unit 51, a trackball unit 52, an actuator unit 53, and a trackball position detection unit 54.
The trackball holding unit 51 is a housing that holds the trackball unit 52, the actuator unit 53, the trackball position detection unit 54, and the like so as to surround the inside.

  The trackball portion 52 is formed of a semi-transparent hemisphere, and is configured to be rotatable in all directions within a predetermined range with the center point of the hemisphere as a fulcrum. Further, a protrusion 55 is provided on the uppermost part of the hemisphere so that it can be easily operated by the driver by being caught by the driver (user). The hemisphere has a return characteristic, and the protrusion 55 returns to a predetermined position when the driver releases the hand. In addition, an LED unit 56 is arranged inside the hemisphere, and emits light according to a command from the control unit 29. The trackball unit 52 is configured to be pressed in the direction of the arrow 57.

  The actuator unit 53 is for giving a reaction force characteristic to the trackball unit 52, and based on a control signal from the control unit 29, the actuator unit 53 can be used for the rotation operation and the pressing operation of the trackball unit 52 described above. It has a function to limit in stages.

The trackball position detection unit 54 has a function of detecting a rotation operation and a pressing operation of the trackball unit 52 and outputting the detected rotation operation to the control unit 29.
On the other hand, the control unit 29 includes an input unit 41, an arithmetic processing unit 42, a memory unit 43, a driver circuit 44, and an output unit 45.

The input unit 41 receives a signal from the function selection switch 22a and a signal from the trackball position detection unit 54.
The arithmetic processing unit 42 performs various calculations based on the program stored in the memory unit 43 and outputs control data for controlling the haptic device 31 to the driver circuit 44. In the calculation, a part of the data is stored in the memory unit 43 as necessary.

  The memory unit 43 includes a ROM unit and a RAM unit. The ROM unit includes information necessary for controlling a program used by the arithmetic processing unit 42 and the haptic device 31 (for example, initial setting values and correction values of the actuator unit 53). Information such as values) is stored. The RAM unit temporarily stores data according to a command from the arithmetic processing unit 42.

The driver circuit 44 generates a control signal for controlling the haptic device 31 based on the control data from the arithmetic processing unit 42 and outputs the control signal to the output unit 45.
The output unit 45 outputs the control signal received from the driver circuit 44 to the haptic device 31. The control signal is transmitted to the actuator unit 53 and the LED unit 56 of the haptic device 31.

  The function selection switch 22a is a switch for selecting an operation target by the haptic device 31, and a “navigation function”, an “air conditioner function”, an “audio function”, and the like can be selected.

  Next, the installation state of the haptic device 31 will be described using the explanatory diagram of FIG. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the haptic device assembly 61 including the haptic device 31 is installed on the armrest portion of the seat, and can be operated with the driver sitting on the seat and placing the arm on the armrest portion. In place. In FIG. 3A, the haptic device assembly 61 is installed on the left armrest portion of the seat, but may be installed on the right armrest portion of the seat.

  FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram showing the haptic device assembly 61, and the haptic device assembly 61 includes a haptic device 31 and a support portion 63. Among these, the opposite side of the support portion 63 to the haptic device 31 is fixed to the armrest portion, and the haptic device 31 is movably mounted on the haptic device 31 side. Therefore, the driver can adjust the haptic device 31 to a position where it can be easily operated, and can move the haptic device 31 to a position that does not get in the way when sitting on the seat.

[Description of operation]
Next, among the various processes executed by the control unit 29 of the navigation device 20, processes characteristic of the present invention will be described. In addition, description is abbreviate | omitted about the process which a normal navigation apparatus performs, for example, the process which calculates the route to the input destination, and guides.

(1) Parking Space Confirmation Processing First, the parking space confirmation processing that is executed by the control unit 29 when the ignition of the vehicle on which the navigation device 20 is mounted is turned on (when the engine is started) is illustrated in FIG. This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When starting the execution of the parking space confirmation process, the control unit 29 first initializes the haptic device 31 (S105). “Initialization” here refers to starting energization of the actuator unit 53 based on information such as an initial set value and a correction value of the actuator unit 53 stored in the memory unit 43 described above.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the haptic device 31 is currently in a control prohibited state (S110). This determination is performed by determining whether or not the operation switch group 22 is set in advance to prohibit use of the haptic device 31 and whether or not the vehicle is in the automatic driving mode. When the haptic device 31 is in a control prohibited state (a state where the use of the haptic device 31 is prohibited or the vehicle is in an automatic driving mode) (S110: Yes), the rotation of the trackball unit 52 of the haptic device 31 is performed. The reaction force against the operation or the pressing operation is maximized (S115). Then, the process returns to S110.

  On the other hand, when the haptic device 31 is not in the control prohibition state (S110: No), it is determined whether or not the driver has pressed the parking space confirmation button (the button assigned to one of the operation switch groups 22) ( S120). If the parking space confirmation button has not been pressed (S120: No), the process returns to S110. On the other hand, if the parking space confirmation button has been pressed (120: Yes), it exists in the surroundings via the external communication device 24. A response command is broadcast to the navigation device mounted on the other vehicle (S125).

  Subsequently, the process branches depending on whether or not there is even one response within a predetermined time (for example, within 5 seconds) with respect to the response command broadcast in S125 (S130). If there is no response within the predetermined time, a message indicating that there is no communicable vehicle in the vicinity is displayed on the display unit 26 and the voice output unit 27 outputs a voice (S135). Then, the process returns to S110.

  On the other hand, if there is even one response within the predetermined time (S130: Yes), the relative position of each vehicle that has responded to the own vehicle is calculated based on the vehicle position information included in the response ( S140). Then, execution of the reaction force control of the haptic device 31 corresponding to each calculated relative position is started. A specific example of the reaction force control will be described later.

  Subsequently, it is determined whether the driver has operated the haptic device 31 to select / determine a vehicle (S150). When the vehicle selection / determination has not been made (S150: No), the process returns to S125. When the vehicle selection / determination has been made (S150: Yes), the navigation device of the selected / determined vehicle is connected. A communication connection is established (S155).

  When the communication connection is established, a vehicle information request command is transmitted using the communication connection (S160), and vehicle information is received (S165). Details of the vehicle information will be described later.

  When vehicle information is received in S165, it is determined whether or not departure information is included in the vehicle information (S170). When departure information is included (S170: Yes), the display unit 26 displays that the vehicle that has transmitted the vehicle information is a vehicle that is about to leave, and the audio output unit 27 outputs a sound ( S180).

  On the other hand, when departure information is not included in the received vehicle information (S170: No), it is determined whether or not parking information is included in the vehicle information (S185). If parking information is included (S185: Yes), the display unit 26 displays that the vehicle that has transmitted the vehicle information is a parked vehicle, and the audio output unit 27 outputs a sound ( S190). On the other hand, when parking information is not included in the received vehicle information (S185: No), the process is returned to S110.

(2) Parking information writing process Next, the parking information writing process that is started by the control unit 29 when the ignition of the vehicle on which the navigation device 20 is mounted is turned off (when the engine is stopped). Will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When starting the execution of the parking information writing process, the control unit 29 first determines whether or not the engine of the vehicle is in a stopped state, the ignition key is removed, and the door is locked (S210). . Information necessary for determining these states is acquired from the engine ECU, the key entry system ECU, and the door lock ECU via the in-vehicle LAN communication unit 33, respectively.

  If it is determined in S210 that any one of the above conditions is not satisfied (S210: No), it is determined whether or not the engine is in a starting state (S220). If it is determined in S220 that the engine is in the starting state (S220: Yes), the present process (parking information writing process) is terminated. On the other hand, if it is determined in S220 that the engine is not in the starting state (S220: No), the process returns to S210.

  In S210 described above, when it is determined that all the above conditions are satisfied (S210: Yes), the system waits for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) (S230), and determines whether or not the state satisfying the above conditions continues (S230). S240). In S240, when it is determined that the state satisfying the above condition does not continue (S240: No), the process proceeds to S220.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in S240 that the state satisfying the above condition continues (S240: Yes), information indicating parking is written in the vehicle information storage area provided in the RAM provided in the control unit 29 (S250). ). Here, the vehicle information stored in the vehicle information storage area will be described with reference to the explanatory diagram of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the vehicle information includes a vehicle type, a color, a number, and a vehicle state. Among these, the vehicle type, the color, and the number are set in advance, and are normally treated as not being changed. On the other hand, the vehicle state can be rewritten in a parking information writing process or a departure information writing process described later. In addition, the vehicle state is configured by either one of information (parking information) indicating the parking state or information (departure information) indicating that the vehicle is close to the departure.

Returning to FIG. 5, when the process in S <b> 250 is finished, the present process (parking information writing process) is finished.
(3) Departure information writing process Next, the departure information writing process that is executed by the control unit 29 when the ignition of the vehicle on which the navigation device 20 is mounted is turned on (when the engine is started). Will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The departure information writing process is executed in parallel with the parking space confirmation process described above.

  When starting the execution of the departure information writing process, the control unit 29 first waits for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) (S310). Then, it is determined whether or not the engine is in an operating state (S320). Information necessary for determining this state is acquired from the engine ECU via the in-vehicle LAN communication unit 33.

  When it is determined in S320 that the engine is in an operating state (S320: Yes), information indicating departure is written in the vehicle information storage area provided in the RAM provided in the control unit 29 (S330), and this processing is performed. The (departure information writing process) is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S320 that the engine is not in an operating state, that is, the engine is in a stopped state (S320: No), this processing (departure information writing processing) is terminated.
(4) Response process Next, a response executed by the control unit 29 when a response command similar to the response command broadcast in S125 of the parking space confirmation process described above is received from a navigation device mounted on another vehicle. The process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When starting the execution of the response process, the control unit 29 first calculates the current position of the vehicle based on the output signal output from the position detector 21 (S410).
Then, information (vehicle position information) indicating the current position calculated in S410 is transmitted to the vehicle navigation apparatus that has transmitted the response command (S420). This transmission is only transmitted unilaterally in response to the response command without establishing an explicit communication connection with the destination navigation device.

Then, when the transmission is finished, this processing (response processing) is finished.
(5) Vehicle information transmission process Next, the control unit 29 receives a command similar to the communication connection establishment request command transmitted in S155 of the parking space confirmation process described above from a navigation device mounted on another vehicle. The vehicle information transmission process to be executed will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When starting the execution of the vehicle information transmission process, the control unit 29 first establishes a communication connection (S510). Here, “communication connection” means a connection defined in a communication protocol to be used, and means a connection state in which authentication, error control, flow control, and the like are performed according to the protocol.

  When the communication connection is established, the vehicle information (see FIG. 6) stored in the vehicle information storage area provided in the RAM of the control unit 29 is used to establish a communication connection establishment request command using the established communication connection. Is transmitted to the navigation device that has transmitted (S520). When the transmission of the vehicle information is finished, this processing (vehicle information transmission processing) is finished.

(6) One Communication Example Next, the navigation device 20 (hereinafter referred to as “navigation device A” in this section) and another navigation device (hereinafter, referred to as “navigation device A” in this section) having the same configuration as this navigation device 20. An example of communication performed by “Navigation device B” will be described with reference to the communication sequence diagram of FIG.

  First, when a vehicle equipped with the navigation device B enters the parking lot and is parked in the parking space, the navigation device B executes a parking information writing process (see FIG. 5) (S610).

  Next, when a vehicle equipped with the navigation device A enters the parking lot and the driver presses the parking space confirmation button, the parking space confirmation process (see FIG. 4) is executed, A response command is broadcast to the vehicle (S620). This step corresponds to S125 of the parking space confirmation process described above.

  The navigation apparatus B that has received the response command executes response processing (see FIG. 8) (S630). And in this response process, the navigation apparatus A is transmitted with vehicle position information.

  The navigation apparatus A that has received the vehicle position information makes a communication connection establishment request to one vehicle selected and determined by the driver from the vehicles that have received the vehicle position information (S640). This step corresponds to the process in S155 of the parking space confirmation process described above.

  Receiving the communication connection establishment request, the navigation apparatus B performs communication connection establishment request permission to the navigation apparatus A (S650), and establishes a communication connection with the navigation apparatus A. The step of S650 corresponds to the process in S510 of the vehicle information transmission process described above.

  When the navigation device A confirms that the communication connection has been established, the navigation device A transmits a vehicle information request command to the navigation device B (S660). This step corresponds to S160 of the parking space confirmation process described above.

The navigation apparatus B that has received the vehicle information request command transmits vehicle information (S670). This step corresponds to S520 of the vehicle information transmission process described above.
The navigation apparatus A that has received the vehicle information notifies the driver of the vehicle state based on the received information (S680). This step corresponds to S180 and S190 of the parking space confirmation process described above.

(7) About light emission of haptic device Next, light emission of the LED part 56 of the haptic device 31 is demonstrated using explanatory drawing shown in FIG. Now, a vehicle arrangement as shown on the right side of FIG. 11 (a), that is, two vehicles (vehicles A and B) on the left rear side of the host vehicle (the vehicle on which the navigation device 20 is mounted) and a vehicle 1 on the rear right side. It is assumed that there is a base (vehicle C) and there is a response from those vehicles to the response command. In this case, as shown on the left side of FIG. 11 (a), the trackball portion 52 is caused to emit light from the LED portion 56 (not shown) so that the trackball portion 52 corresponds to the relative positional relationship between the vehicle that has responded and the own vehicle. The front side as viewed from the driver emits light (see the light emitting area 52a and the light emitting area 52b). That is, the trackball portion 52 is divided into four areas, right front, left front, right rear, and left rear, based on the host vehicle. Of these, the area corresponding to the right rear (light emitting area 52a) and the left rear are included. The corresponding area (light emitting area 52b) emits light.

For this reason, the driver can recognize the presence direction of the vehicle that has responded to the response command only by looking at the trackball portion 52 of the haptic device 31.
When the driver rotates the trackball unit 52 with his fingertip, as shown on the left side of FIG. 11B, the emission color of the sub-region of the light-emitting region changes according to the vehicle selection. . That is, the light emission color of the light emission sub-region 52bb corresponding to the position of the vehicle A changes when the vehicle A is selected, and the light emission sub-region 52ba corresponding to the position of the vehicle B when the vehicle B is selected. When the emission color changes and the vehicle C is selected, the emission color of the emission region 52a corresponding to the position of the vehicle C changes.

For this reason, the driver can recognize the presence direction of the currently selected vehicle only by looking at the trackball portion 52 of the haptic device 31.
(8) Reaction Force of Haptic Device Next, the reaction force of the haptic device 31 (specifically, the trackball portion 52) will be described with reference to an explanatory diagram shown in FIG. When the vehicle arrangement is as shown on the right side of FIGS. 11A and 11B, the reaction force distribution in the rotatable range of the trackball portion 52 is shown in FIG. That is, the weak reaction force regions 52a, 52b, and 52c that have a weak reaction force compared to the reaction force of the entire range of the trackball portion 52 are relative to the vehicles A, B, and C (see FIG. 11), respectively. Exists corresponding to the position. The maximum rotatable range of the trackball portion 52 corresponds to, for example, a 20 m range centered on the own vehicle.

Therefore, the driver can recognize the relative position of the vehicle that has responded to the response command only by operating the trackball portion 52, based on the strength of the reaction force.
(9) Screen Example Displayed on Display Unit Next, a screen displayed on the display unit 26 will be described using the screen example shown in FIG. FIG. 13A shows a screen example 710 displayed on the display unit 26 when a vehicle is selected and determined (S145 to S150 in FIG. 4) in the parking space confirmation process.

  In the screen example 710, the current reaction force distribution state of the trackball portion 52 and the position of the pointer are displayed on the left side. Specifically, the states of the weak reaction force regions 711, 712, and 713 having a weak reaction force compared to the reaction force of the entire region are displayed, and among them, the weak reaction force region 712 that overlaps the current pointer position. Is displayed in a color different from other weak reaction force regions. In addition, when the position of the pointer does not overlap the weak reaction force area, it is displayed by an arrow or the like.

  In addition, the screen example 710 displays the current situation around the host vehicle on the right side. Specifically, a model of a vehicle (vehicle A, vehicle B, vehicle C) that has responded to the response command is displayed in consideration of the relative position. Note that these vehicle models are displayed in a different color or the like so that the currently selected vehicle can be recognized in conjunction with the vehicle selection status by the trackball unit 52.

FIG. 13B is a screen example 720 when displaying on the display unit 26 whether the vehicle is in the vicinity of departure or parked (S180, S190 in FIG. 4).
The screen example 720 displays a list of vehicles that responded to the response command, and only the vehicle information acquired is displayed with the number, vehicle type, color, and classification filled in. The classification item is displayed as “departure” when the vehicle is close to the departure, and is displayed as “parking” when the vehicle is parked.

[Effect of the embodiment]
Next, the main effects of the above-described embodiment will be described.
According to the navigation device 20 described above, in a state where it is necessary to pay sufficient attention to the surrounding situation such as driving, the driver can detect the surrounding communicable vehicle only with an operational feeling (reaction force of the haptic device 31). The positional relationship can be grasped, and the vehicle to be communicated can be selected. At that time, by looking at the haptic device 31 that is the operation target, it is possible to know the direction in which the vehicle is present and also the direction in which the vehicle in the selected state is present. In other words, the operation target and the line-of-sight target are in agreement, and the driver can intuitively select and determine the vehicle in a short time without looking at the display unit 26 or the like.

  In addition, since the positional relationship of the surrounding communicable vehicles and the selected vehicle are displayed on the display unit 26, the driver can display a screen displayed on the display unit 26 as necessary. By confirming this, it is possible to grasp the positional relationship of vehicles that can communicate with each other more accurately and the vehicle in the selected state.

[Other Embodiments]
(1) The trackball portion 52 of the haptic device 31 may be configured to be transparent, and the LED portion 56 may be configured to emit light as illustrated in FIG. The explanatory diagram shown in FIG. 14 (a) is an explanatory diagram in which only the trackball portion 52 is taken out and drawn from above, but only the LED portion 56 in the direction in which the vehicle has responded (front and rear, left and right directions) is lit. It is preferable that the emission color changes according to the selection. Further, the explanatory diagram shown in FIG. 14B is obtained by changing the setting method of the light emitting area of the trackball portion 52 described with reference to FIG. In other words, the light emitting area of the trackball unit 52 described with reference to FIG. 11 is divided into four areas on the right front, left front, right rear, and left rear on the basis of the host vehicle. As shown in the explanatory diagram shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle may be divided into four regions, front, rear, right, and left, based on the host vehicle. It may be further subdivided.

  (2) It is preferable that the navigation device 20 can exchange not only vehicle information but also audio information. If this is the case, for example, it is possible to thank the driver who has hurriedly vacated the parking space by voice.

[Correspondence with Claims]
The correspondence between the terms used in the embodiment and the terms described in the claims is shown. The external communication device 24 corresponds to communication means, the position detector 21 and the in-vehicle LAN communication unit 33 correspond to vehicle information acquisition means, the haptic device 31, the operation switch group 22 and the remote control 23a correspond to selection information reception means, The haptic device 31 and the display unit 26 correspond to communication device information output means, the display unit 26 and the sound output unit 27 correspond to information output means, the sound output unit 27 corresponds to sound output means, and the microphone 28 inputs sound. The control unit 29 corresponds to control means (reception control means and transmission control means).

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of a navigation apparatus. It is explanatory drawing regarding a haptic device. It is explanatory drawing regarding attachment of a haptic device. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a parking space confirmation process. It is a flow chart for explaining parking information writing processing. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating vehicle information. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the departure information writing process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a response process. It is a flowchart for demonstrating a vehicle information transmission process. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of communication. It is explanatory drawing explaining light emission of a haptic device. It is explanatory drawing explaining the reaction force of a haptic device. It is an example of a screen displayed on a display part. It is explanatory drawing explaining light emission of a haptic device.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Navigation apparatus, 21 ... Position detector, 21a ... GPS receiver, 21b ... Gyroscope, 21c ... Distance sensor, 21d ... Geomagnetic sensor, 22 ... Operation switch group, 22a ... Function selection switch, 23a ... Remote control, 23b ... Remote control sensor, 24 ... external communication device, 25 ... map data input device, 26 ... display unit, 27 ... audio output unit, 28 ... microphone, 29 ... control unit, 31 ... haptic device, 33 ... in-vehicle LAN communication unit, 41 ... Input unit, 42 ... arithmetic processing unit, 43 ... memory unit, 44 ... driver circuit, 45 ... output unit, 51 ... trackball holding unit, 52 ... trackball unit, 53 ... actuator unit, 54 ... trackball position detection unit, 55 ... Projection part, 56 ... LED part, 61 ... Haptic device assembly, 63 ... Support part.

Claims (6)

A communication device mounted on a vehicle and capable of communicating information directly between vehicles,
A communication means having a predetermined wireless communication area;
Vehicle information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle information that is information relating to various states of the vehicle;
Selection information receiving means for receiving selection information for selecting a communication device to be communicated from a user;
Communication device information output means for outputting information relating to other communication devices;
Information output means for outputting various information;
Control means for executing various controls;
With
The control means includes
Information on other communication devices that can communicate via the communication means is output to the communication device information output means, and other communication devices corresponding to the selection information received by the selection information reception means via the communication means. Receiving control means for receiving information similar to the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means from the other communication device, and outputting the received information to the information output means;
Transmission control means for transmitting the vehicle information to the other communication device via the communication means when the vehicle information obtained by the vehicle information obtaining means is requested from the other communication device via the communication means. When,
Having
A communication device characterized by the above. The communication device according to claim 1,
The transmission control means generates information indicating whether the vehicle is in a parking continuation state or transitions to a state of starting from the vehicle based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition means, and the generated information To the other communication device as the vehicle information,
A communication device characterized by the above. The communication device according to claim 1 or 2,
The selection information receiving means is configured by a haptic device having a reaction force corresponding to a position of a vehicle on which the other communication device is mounted;
A communication device characterized by the above. The communication device according to claim 3.
The haptic device further has a light emitting function corresponding to the position of the vehicle,
A communication device characterized by the above. In the communication apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4,
further,
Voice input means for inputting user's voice;
Audio output means for outputting audio to the user;
With
The control means further transmits the voice input by the voice input means to the other communication device corresponding to the selection information received by the selection information reception means via the communication means, and the communication means Causing the audio output means to output audio received from the other communication device via
A communication device characterized by the above. In the communication apparatus in any one of Claims 1-5,
The reception control means broadcasts information related to the other communication apparatus to be output to the communication apparatus information output means to the other communication apparatuses existing in the predetermined wireless communication area via the communication means. Making a response request by and configuring based on the response information,
A communication device characterized by the above.