JP2008294721A - Inter-vehicle communication device and inter-vehicle communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inter-vehicle communication device which can reduce an amount of communication traffic and thereby can prevent a communication failure by a method wherein an inter-vehicle communication device mounted on a relay vehicle integrates information on the relay vehicle and information on other vehicles and transmits information on the relay vehicle added with information on the other vehicles. <P>SOLUTION: The inter-vehicle communication device comprises: a vehicle state detecting means 11 for detecting information on the vehicle whereon the inter-vehicle communication device is mounted; an inter-vehicle communication transmitting means 14 for transmitting the information on the above vehicle to other vehicles; and an inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13 for receiving vehicle information received from the other vehicles. The inter-vehicle communication device also includes an information-on-other-vehicle integrating means 12 which integrates the information on its own vehicle and the information on other vehicles and generates information on its own vehicle added with the information on the other vehicles, which is transmitted by the inter-vehicle communication transmitting means 14. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system, and particularly relates to a reduction in communication traffic.

  Conventionally, an inter-vehicle communication system has been designed so that each vehicle-to-vehicle communication device mounted between vehicles communicates directly without intervention of an infrastructure such as a roadside device, so that drivers can safely support driving and provide entertainment information. We are trying to realize the provision. However, if there is another large vehicle or structure between the transmission source vehicle and the transmission destination vehicle, the information transmitted from the transmission source vehicle may be caused by shadowing, that is, the presence of a blind spot in wireless communication. There was a problem that could not be received.

As a countermeasure to this problem, a method for enabling communication between a transmission source vehicle and a transmission destination vehicle by hopping using a surrounding relay vehicle, that is, relaying communication data by a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle. Has been taken.
As such a method, for example, “the inter-vehicle communication device 5 is a device that directly and wirelessly communicates vehicle information between vehicles, and corresponds to the inter-vehicle communication means of the present invention. When the vehicle information of the vehicle is received, the vehicle information is output to the ECU 6. The ECU 6 stores the vehicle information in the RAM 6a, while the inter-vehicle communication device 5 includes the first vehicle information generating device 2 and the second vehicle information. When the ECU 6 has a command for transmitting the vehicle information of the own vehicle obtained from the generation device 3, the vehicle information of the surrounding other vehicle detected by the other vehicle detection device 4, and the vehicle information of the other vehicle received by the inter-vehicle communication device 5 from the ECU 6. The vehicle information stored in the RAM 6a of the ECU 6 is transmitted "(for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-227978 A

  However, for example, when there are a large number of vehicles in a narrow range, such as an intersection composed of a plurality of crowded lanes, the amount of communication traffic transmitted from these vehicles becomes enormous, and the packets transmitted or the transmission itself are not sent off. Occurs, and communication may fail.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle collects the vehicle information of the own vehicle and the vehicle information of the other vehicle, so that the other vehicle It is to obtain a vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that can reduce communication traffic volume and prevent communication failure by transmitting own vehicle information to which information is added.

  The inter-vehicle communication device according to the present invention includes a vehicle state detection unit that detects own vehicle information, an inter-vehicle communication transmission unit that transmits the own vehicle information to another vehicle, and an inter-vehicle communication reception that receives vehicle information transmitted from the other vehicle. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication device comprising: means for collecting own vehicle information and vehicle information of other vehicles, and further comprising other vehicle information aggregating means for generating own vehicle information to which the vehicle information of other vehicles is added; The means transmits the own vehicle information to which the vehicle information of the other vehicle is added.

  In the inter-vehicle communication device according to the present invention, the other vehicle information aggregating unit aggregates the information of the own vehicle and the information of the other vehicle, generates information of the own vehicle to which the information of the other vehicle is added, and stores the information of the other vehicle. Since the added vehicle information is transmitted by the inter-vehicle communication transmission means, the communication traffic amount can be reduced and communication failure can be prevented.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
1 is a block diagram showing an inter-vehicle communication apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The inter-vehicle communication apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a vehicle state detection unit 11, other vehicle information aggregation unit 12, an inter-vehicle communication reception unit 13, an inter-vehicle communication transmission unit 14, a determination unit 15, and an information output unit 16.

  The vehicle state detection unit 11 detects information about the host vehicle (for example, the position and speed of the host vehicle) and transmits it to the other vehicle information aggregation unit 12. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication receiving unit 13 transmits the information on the other vehicle (for example, the position and speed of the other vehicle) received by wireless communication from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmitting unit 14 of the other vehicle to the other vehicle information collecting unit 12.

  The other vehicle information aggregating unit 12 aggregates the information on the other vehicle received from the inter-vehicle communication receiving unit 13 and the information on the own vehicle detected by the vehicle state detecting unit 11, and generates own vehicle information to which the information on the other vehicle is added. . Thereafter, the other vehicle information aggregating unit 12 transmits the own vehicle information to which the information on the other vehicle is added to the inter-vehicle communication transmitting unit 14.

  Here, the added information on the other vehicle is, for example, the information on the other vehicle (for example, the position and speed of the other vehicle) received from the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13 when the data is not compressed. When data compression is performed, for example, it is a difference from the own vehicle such as a relative position or a relative speed of another vehicle with respect to the own vehicle. Only the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the host vehicle may be used. Further, the behavior of another vehicle relative to the host vehicle (for example, traveling in the same direction, approaching, etc.) may be used. Further, when data compression is performed, only the presence or absence of other vehicles around the own vehicle may be used.

  The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmitting unit 14 transmits the own vehicle information to which the information on the other vehicle received from the other vehicle information collecting unit 12 is added to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication receiving unit 13 of the other vehicle by wireless communication.

  The determination means 15 determines whether the other vehicle is in a predetermined range and is in a predetermined behavior based on the information on the own vehicle detected by the vehicle state detection means 11 and the information on the other vehicle received by the inter-vehicle communication reception means 13. Determine whether. When the other vehicle is in a predetermined range and behaves in a predetermined manner, the determination means 15 determines whether or not there is a need for notification due to the reason that the other vehicle interferes with the safe driving of the own vehicle. If it is determined that notification is necessary, the information is output to the information output means 16. The information output means 16 notifies the driver of the information received from the determination means 15. The notifying means for the driving vehicle may display the position of the other vehicle on a monitor installed in the own vehicle, or may notify the presence of another vehicle that interferes with the safe driving of the own vehicle by voice. . The light emitting element may be caused to emit light to notify the presence of another vehicle that hinders safe driving of the host vehicle.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship among the transmission source vehicle A, the relay vehicle B, and the transmission destination vehicle C according to the first embodiment. The transmission source vehicle A, the relay vehicle B, and the transmission destination vehicle C are traveling in the same direction. The transmission source vehicle A cannot perform direct communication with the transmission destination vehicle C due to shadowing by the relay vehicle B, that is, the presence of a blind spot in wireless communication.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a transmission operation of own vehicle information of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission source vehicle A in the first embodiment. When the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission source vehicle A starts service (operation) (step S111), the vehicle state detection unit 11a causes the vehicle information of the transmission source vehicle A (for example, the position and speed of the own vehicle). Is detected (step S112). The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmission unit 14a that has transmitted the vehicle state of the transmission source vehicle A via the other vehicle information aggregation unit 12a transmits the vehicle state to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication reception unit 13b of the relay vehicle B by wireless communication (step S113). ). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the service has ended (step S114). If it is determined that the service has not ended, the process proceeds to step S112, and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service has ended, the process proceeds to step S115, and the service is ended.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of transmitting information of the transmission source vehicle A and the host vehicle of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle B according to the first embodiment. When the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle B starts service (operation) (step S121), the vehicle state detection unit 11b detects the own vehicle information of the relay vehicle B (step S122). Moreover, the information of the transmission origin vehicle A is received by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication receiving means 13b (step S123).

  The other vehicle information aggregating unit 12b aggregates the own vehicle information of the relay vehicle B transmitted from the vehicle state detecting unit 11b and the information of the transmission source vehicle A transmitted from the inter-vehicle communication receiving unit 13b, and information on the transmission source vehicle A The own vehicle information to which is added is generated (step S124). The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmission unit 14b transmits the own vehicle information to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A is added to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication reception unit 13c of the transmission destination vehicle C by wireless communication (step S125). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the service has ended (step S126). If it is determined that the service has not ended, the process proceeds to step S122 and step S123, and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service has ended, the process proceeds to step S127, and the service is ended.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the notification operation of the transmission source vehicle A of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission destination vehicle C in the first embodiment. When the service (operation) is started for the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission destination vehicle C (step S131), the vehicle state detection unit 11c detects the own vehicle information of the transmission destination vehicle C (step S132). Further, the information on the relay vehicle B to which the information on the transmission source vehicle A is added is received by the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13c (step S133).

  The determination means 15c determines that the transmission source vehicle A is within a predetermined range from the information of the own vehicle information detected by the vehicle state detection means 11c and the information of the relay vehicle B added with the information of the transmission source vehicle A received from the inter-vehicle communication reception means 13c. Then, it is determined whether or not it is in a predetermined behavior (step S134). When the determination means 15c determines that the transmission source vehicle A is not within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S137 for determining whether or not the service has ended. On the other hand, if it is determined by the determination means 15c that the transmission source vehicle A is in a predetermined range and is performing a predetermined behavior, it is determined whether or not notification to the driver is necessary (step S135). If the determination unit 15c determines that there is no need for notification, the process proceeds to step S137 for determining whether or not the service has ended. On the other hand, if the determination unit 15c determines that there is a need for notification because the transmission source vehicle A interferes with the safe driving of the transmission destination vehicle C, the information output unit 16c allows the driver to travel safely. Useful information such as the presence of the transmission source vehicle A that is a hindrance is notified (step S136). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the service has ended (step S137). If it is determined that the service has not ended, the process proceeds to step S132 and step S133, and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service has ended, the process proceeds to step S137 and the service is ended.

  In the first embodiment, in order to simplify the explanation and facilitate understanding, an example in which three vehicles, a transmission source vehicle A, a relay vehicle B, and a transmission destination vehicle C, travel in the same direction and transmit to the rear of the vehicle. However, it is possible to implement the present invention regardless of the position of the three vehicles and the traveling direction (or may be stopped). For example, the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle B can also transmit information on the relay vehicle B to which information on the transmission source vehicle A existing on the side or rear is added to the transmission destination vehicle C.

  Further, even when there are a plurality of transmission source vehicles A, the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle B sends the information of the relay vehicle B to which the information of all the transmission source vehicles A is added to the transmission destination vehicle C. It is possible to send.

  FIG. 6 is a relationship diagram between the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device according to the first embodiment and the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the conventional vehicle-to-vehicle communication device. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a ratio between the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device according to the first embodiment and the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the conventional vehicle-to-vehicle communication device. In these figures, there are x vehicles in an area where a certain service can be provided, and the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on all the vehicles transmits the own vehicle information which is a packet of information length 1 within a certain period. If you are comparing the amount of communication traffic. Note that the number of hoppings is only one time, which is the smallest reduction, and when hopped data is received, the inter-vehicle communication device of the receiving destination does not hop the data again. In other words, each vehicle does not hop vehicle information that does not match the data transmission source. In addition, the communication success rate r (0 ≦ r ≦ 1) with other vehicles is compared as r = 0.9 (communication success rate is 90%). That is, when shadowing exists between the transmission source vehicle and the transmission destination vehicle, the communication fails, and this probability is 1−r = 0.1 (the communication failure rate is 10%). Further, in the inter-vehicle communication device of the first embodiment, the information length a per other vehicle added to the own vehicle information is compared as a = 0.01.

The amount of communication traffic transmitted from a conventional inter-vehicle communication device within a certain period is the sum of the amount of communication traffic of own vehicle information transmitted from all vehicles and the amount of communication traffic of other vehicles hopped by all vehicles. It becomes. The communication traffic amount of the own vehicle information transmitted from all the vehicles is the information length 1 of the own vehicle multiplied by the total number of vehicles x, and is x. When attention is paid to a certain vehicle Z, the communication traffic volume of other vehicles hopped by this vehicle Z is obtained by multiplying the number r (x−1) of the vehicles successfully communicated with the vehicle Z by the information length 1 of each vehicle. R (x-1). Accordingly, the communication traffic amount of other vehicles hopped by all the vehicles is obtained by multiplying r (x−1) by the total number x of vehicles, and becomes r (x−1) x. Therefore, the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the conventional inter-vehicle communication device within a certain period is x + r (x−1) x = rx ² + (1−r) x.

The amount of communication traffic transmitted from the inter-vehicle communication device according to the first embodiment is the amount of communication traffic of the own vehicle information to which information on other vehicles transmitted from all vehicles is added. When attention is paid to a certain vehicle Z, the information length of the other vehicle added to the own vehicle information transmitted by the vehicle Z is added to the own vehicle information for the number r (x−1) of the vehicles successfully communicated with the vehicle Z. Multiplied by the information length a per other vehicle, which is ar (x-1). Accordingly, the communication traffic amount of the own vehicle information to which the information of the other vehicle transmitted from the vehicle Z is added is the information length 1 of the own vehicle and the information length ar (x− of the other vehicle added to the own vehicle information. 1) and 1 + ar (x−1). Therefore, the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus according to the first embodiment is {1 + ar (x−1)} x = arx ² + (1−ar) x.
At this time, the ratio of the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device according to the first embodiment to the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the conventional vehicle-to-vehicle communication device is {rx ² + (1-r) x} / { arx ² + (1−ar) x}.

  From FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, compared with the communication traffic amount transmitted from the conventional inter-vehicle communication device, the communication traffic amount transmitted from the inter-vehicle communication device according to the first embodiment It can be seen that the increase in the amount of communication traffic due to the increase in the number of units is suppressed.

  In the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus configured as described above, the information of the transmission source vehicle A can be transmitted over a wide range by notifying the information of the transmission source vehicle A by the relay vehicle B. For this reason, even when the transmission source vehicle A and the transmission destination vehicle C cannot communicate directly, for example, when the relay vehicle is a large vehicle, the presence of the transmission source vehicle A is transmitted at an earlier time point. It is possible to notify the driver of the preceding vehicle C. Therefore, the reliability of the inter-vehicle communication device is improved.

  In the conventional inter-vehicle communication apparatus, the relay vehicle B needs to separately transmit two packets of the own vehicle information of the relay vehicle B itself and the information of the hopped transmission source vehicle A. However, in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus according to the first embodiment, the other vehicle information aggregation unit 12b includes the own vehicle information of the relay vehicle B transmitted from the vehicle state detection unit 11b and the transmission source vehicle A transmitted from the inter-vehicle communication reception unit 13b. The host vehicle information to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A is added is generated, and the host vehicle information to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A is added is transmitted to the transmission destination vehicle C. For this reason, even when the information of the transmission source vehicle A is transmitted without being compressed at all, the control information such as the header included in the packet can be reduced by one packet. Furthermore, the amount of communication traffic can be further reduced by compressing the dividing method of the transmission source vehicle A.

  In addition, the inter-vehicle communication device according to the first embodiment can suppress an increase in the amount of communication traffic even when the number of vehicles increases as compared with the conventional inter-vehicle communication device. It is possible to prevent the communication from failing due to the see-off of itself.

  If the determination means 15c determines that there is a need for notification, for example, because the transmission source vehicle A hinders safe driving of the transmission destination vehicle C, the information output means 16c prevents the driver from traveling safely. Useful information such as the presence of the transmission source vehicle A is notified. For this reason, the driver of the destination vehicle C can know the danger that cannot be recognized directly.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment, the information of the transmission source vehicle A is transmitted to the transmission destination vehicle C via the relay vehicle B. That is, the information of the transmission source vehicle A is transmitted to the transmission destination vehicle C through one relay. However, the information of the transmission source vehicle A can be transmitted to the transmission destination vehicle C via a plurality of relay vehicles, that is, via a plurality of relays. In the second embodiment, items not particularly described are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the same functions are described using the same reference numerals.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an inter-vehicle communication apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The inter-vehicle communication apparatus according to the first embodiment includes a vehicle state detection unit 11, an inter-vehicle communication transmission unit 14, an inter-vehicle communication reception unit 13, another vehicle information aggregation unit 12, a determination unit 15, an information output unit 16, and another vehicle information extraction unit 17. It is made up of.

  The vehicle state detection unit 11 detects information about the host vehicle (for example, the position and speed of the host vehicle) and transmits it to the other vehicle information aggregation unit 12. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication receiving unit 13 transmits the other vehicle information (for example, the position and speed of the other vehicle) received by wireless communication from the vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmitting unit 14 of the other vehicle to the other vehicle information extracting unit 17. The other vehicle information extraction means 17 adds information other than the vehicle that directly transmitted information to the own vehicle from the information on the other vehicle received from the inter-vehicle communication reception means 13 (that is, the information of the vehicle that directly transmitted information to the own vehicle). And information on vehicles other than the vehicle that directly transmits information to the host vehicle). Thereafter, the other vehicle information extraction unit 17 organizes overlapping information from the information on the other vehicle received from the inter-vehicle communication reception unit 13 to obtain one other vehicle information. For example, by exchanging vehicle ID based on a license plate or the like as information and identifying the vehicle ID, the overlapping information is arranged to be one other vehicle information. Thereafter, information on the vehicle that has transmitted information directly to the host vehicle and information on a vehicle other than the vehicle that has transmitted information directly to the host vehicle are transmitted to the other vehicle information aggregation means 12.

  The other vehicle information aggregating unit 12 aggregates the information on the other vehicle received from the other vehicle information extracting unit 17 and the information on the own vehicle detected by the vehicle state detecting unit 11, and generates own vehicle information to which the information on the other vehicle is added. To do. Thereafter, the other vehicle information aggregating unit 12 transmits the own vehicle information to which the information on the other vehicle is added to the inter-vehicle communication transmitting unit 14.

  Here, the added information on the other vehicle is, for example, the information on the other vehicle (for example, the position and speed of the other vehicle) received from the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13 when the data is not compressed. When data compression is performed, for example, it is a difference from the own vehicle such as a relative position or a relative speed of another vehicle with respect to the own vehicle. Only the relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the host vehicle may be used. Further, the behavior of another vehicle relative to the host vehicle (for example, traveling in the same direction, approaching, etc.) may be used. Further, when data compression is performed, only the presence or absence of other vehicles around the own vehicle may be used.

  The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmitting unit 14 transmits the own vehicle information to which the information on the other vehicle received from the other vehicle information collecting unit 12 is added to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication receiving unit 13 of the other vehicle by wireless communication.

  The determination means 15 determines whether the other vehicle is in a predetermined range and is in a predetermined behavior based on the information on the own vehicle detected by the vehicle state detection means 11 and the information on the other vehicle received by the inter-vehicle communication reception means 13. Determine whether. When the other vehicle is in a predetermined range and behaves in a predetermined manner, the determination means 15 determines whether or not there is a need for notification due to the reason that the other vehicle interferes with the safe driving of the own vehicle. If it is determined that notification is necessary, the information is output to the information output means 16. The information output means 16 notifies the driver of the information received from the determination means 15. The notifying means for the driving vehicle may display the position of the other vehicle on a monitor installed in the own vehicle, or may notify the presence of another vehicle that interferes with the safe driving of the own vehicle by voice. . The light emitting element may be caused to emit light to notify the presence of another vehicle that hinders safe driving of the host vehicle.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship among the transmission source vehicle A, the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle, the relay vehicle E closer to the transmission destination vehicle, and the transmission destination vehicle C in the second embodiment. The relay vehicle D near the transmission source vehicle, the relay vehicle E near the transmission destination vehicle, and the transmission destination vehicle C are traveling in the same direction. The transmission source vehicle A cannot perform direct communication with the transmission destination vehicle C due to shadowing by the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle, that is, the presence of a blind spot in wireless communication.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a transmission operation of own vehicle information of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission source vehicle A in the second embodiment. When the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission source vehicle A starts a service (operation) (step S211), the vehicle state detection unit 11a obtains the vehicle information of the transmission source vehicle A (for example, the position and speed of the own vehicle). ) Is detected (step S212). The inter-vehicle communication transmission means 14a, which has transmitted the own vehicle state of the transmission source vehicle A via the other vehicle information extraction means 17a and the other vehicle information aggregation means 12a, transmits the own vehicle state by wireless communication to the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle. Is transmitted to the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13d (step S213). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the service has ended (step S214). If it is determined that the service has not ended, the process proceeds to step S212, and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service is finished, the process proceeds to step S215, and the service is finished.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation of transmitting information of the transmission source vehicle A and the own vehicle of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle in the second embodiment. When the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle D close to the transmission source vehicle starts service (operation) (step S221), the vehicle state detection unit 11d obtains the own vehicle information of the relay vehicle D close to the transmission source vehicle. Detection is performed (step S222). Further, the information (position, speed, etc.) of the transmission source vehicle A is received by the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13d (step S223).

  The other vehicle information aggregating unit 12d transmits the vehicle information of the relay vehicle D near the transmission source vehicle transmitted from the vehicle state detection unit 11d and the transmission transmitted from the inter-vehicle communication reception unit 13d via the other vehicle information extraction unit 17d. The information of the former vehicle A is collected and the own vehicle information to which the information of the sender vehicle A is added is generated (step S224). The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmission unit 14d transmits the own vehicle information to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A is added to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication reception unit 13e of the relay vehicle E near the transmission destination vehicle by wireless communication (step S225). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the service has ended (step S226). If it is determined that the service has not ended, the process proceeds to step S222 and step S223, and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service has ended, the process proceeds to step S227, and the service is ended.

  FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation of transmitting information of the transmission source vehicle A and the host vehicle of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle E closer to the transmission destination vehicle in the second embodiment. When the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the relay vehicle E close to the transmission destination vehicle starts service (operation) (step S231), the vehicle state detection unit 11e uses the vehicle state detection unit 11e to obtain the own vehicle information of the relay vehicle E close to the transmission destination vehicle. Detection is performed (step S232). Further, the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13e receives the information of the relay vehicle D close to the transmission source vehicle to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A is added (position, speed, etc. of the transmission source vehicle A) (step S233). The other vehicle information extraction unit 17e is configured to obtain information on the transmission source vehicle A from the information (position, speed, etc.) of the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle to which the transmission source vehicle A information received by the inter-vehicle communication reception unit 13e is added. Position, speed, etc.) are extracted (step S234).

  The other vehicle information aggregating unit 12e includes the own vehicle information of the relay vehicle E near the transmission destination vehicle transmitted from the vehicle state detecting unit 11e, the information on the transmission source vehicle A transmitted from the other vehicle information extracting unit 17e, and the transmission source. The relay vehicles D closer to the vehicle are aggregated, and the own vehicle information to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A and the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle is added is generated (step S235). The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmission unit 14e transmits the own vehicle information with the information of the transmission source vehicle A and the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle to the vehicle-to-vehicle communication reception unit 13c of the transmission destination vehicle C by wireless communication (step S236). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the service has ended (step S237). If it is determined that the service has not ended, the process proceeds to step S232 and step S233, and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service has ended, the process proceeds to step S238, and the service is ended.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the notification operation of the transmission source vehicle A of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission destination vehicle C in the second embodiment. When the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on the transmission destination vehicle C starts service (operation) (step S231), the vehicle state detection unit 11c detects the own vehicle information of the transmission destination vehicle C (step S232). Further, the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13c receives the information of the relay vehicle E near the transmission destination vehicle to which the information of the transmission vehicle A and the relay vehicle D close to the transmission source vehicle is added (step S233).

  The determination means 15c is a relay near the transmission destination vehicle to which the own vehicle information detected by the vehicle state detection means 11c and the information of the transmission source vehicle A and the transmission vehicle D close to the transmission source vehicle received from the inter-vehicle communication reception means 13c are added. From the information of the vehicle E, it is determined whether or not the transmission source vehicle A is in a predetermined range and is performing a predetermined behavior (step S234). When the determination means 15c determines that the transmission source vehicle A is not within the predetermined range, the process proceeds to step S237 for determining whether or not the service has ended. On the other hand, if it is determined by the determination means 15c that the transmission source vehicle A is in the predetermined range and is in a predetermined behavior, it is determined whether or not notification to the driver is necessary (step S235). If the determination unit 15c determines that there is no need for notification, the process proceeds to step S237 for determining whether or not the service has ended. On the other hand, when the determination unit 15c determines that there is a need for notification for reasons such as preventing safe traveling, the information output unit 16c notifies the driver of useful information (step S236). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the service has ended (step S237). If it is determined that the service has not ended, the process proceeds to step S232 and step S233, and the above steps are repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the service has ended, the process proceeds to step S237, and the service is ended.

  In the second embodiment, in order to simplify the explanation and facilitate understanding, 4 of the transmission source vehicle A, the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle, the relay vehicle E closer to the transmission destination vehicle, and the transmission destination vehicle C. Although an example has been described in which the pedestal travels in the same direction and transmits to the rear of the vehicle, the present invention can be implemented regardless of the position of the four vehicles and the traveling direction (or may be stopped). Is possible. For example, when four vehicles are running or stopped in different directions, the relay vehicle D near the transmission source vehicle has the own vehicle information to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A existing on the side or behind is added. The relay vehicle E close to the transmission destination vehicle is notified, and the relay vehicle E close to the transmission destination vehicle notifies the transmission destination vehicle C of the information of the transmission source vehicle A received and extracted from the relay vehicle E close to the transmission source vehicle. It is also possible.

  Further, even when there are three or more relay vehicles, each relay vehicle can notify the transmission destination vehicle C while sequentially receiving and extracting the information of the transmission source vehicle A. At this time, there is a possibility that the relay vehicle or the transmission destination vehicle C obtains the information of the same transmission source vehicle A by receiving the own vehicle state to which the information of the transmission source vehicle A is added from a plurality of relay vehicles. There is. However, as described above, the information of the same transmission source vehicle A that has been duplicated by the other vehicle information extraction means 17 can be organized.

  Furthermore, even when there are a plurality of transmission source vehicles A, the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on each relay vehicle transmits information on the relay vehicles to which information on all transmission source vehicles A is added to the transmission destination vehicle C. Is possible.

  In the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus configured as described above, the information of the transmission source vehicle A is notified via the relay vehicle D closer to the transmission source vehicle and the relay vehicle E closer to the transmission destination vehicle, so that the transmission source vehicle can be further broadened. A information can be transmitted. For this reason, it becomes possible to notify the driver of the transmission destination vehicle C of the presence of the transmission source vehicle A at an even earlier time. Therefore, the reliability of the inter-vehicle communication device can be further improved.

  Further, the other vehicle information extracting means 17 is information other than the vehicle that has transmitted the information directly to the own vehicle from the information of the other vehicle received from the inter-vehicle communication receiving means 13 (that is, the information of the vehicle that has transmitted the information directly to the own vehicle). (Information on vehicles other than vehicles that sent information directly to the host vehicle) is extracted and the overlapping information is organized, so that even if the number of vehicles increases, the increase in communication traffic volume is further suppressed Can do.

It is a block diagram which shows the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the transmission origin vehicle A, the relay vehicle B, and the transmission destination vehicle C in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which shows the transmission operation | movement of the own vehicle information of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus mounted in the transmission origin vehicle A in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission operation | movement of the transmission origin vehicle A of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus mounted in the relay vehicle B in Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the own vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the notification operation | movement of the transmission origin vehicle A of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus mounted in the transmission destination vehicle C in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a relationship diagram of the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the inter-vehicle communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the conventional inter-vehicle communication apparatus. It is a relationship diagram of the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the inter-vehicle communication apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the amount of communication traffic transmitted from the conventional inter-vehicle communication apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of the transmission origin vehicle A in the Embodiment 2 of this invention, the relay vehicle D near the transmission origin vehicle, the relay vehicle E near the transmission destination vehicle, and the transmission destination vehicle C. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which shows the transmission operation | movement of the own vehicle information of the communication apparatus between vehicles mounted in the transmission origin vehicle A in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission operation | movement of the transmission origin vehicle A of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus mounted in the relay vehicle D close | similar to the transmission origin vehicle in this Embodiment 2 and the own vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the transmission operation | movement of the transmission origin vehicle A of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus mounted in the relay vehicle E near the transmission destination vehicle in Embodiment 2 of this invention, and the own vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows the notification operation | movement of the transmission origin vehicle A of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus mounted in the transmission destination vehicle C in Embodiment 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  11 vehicle state detection means, 12 other vehicle information aggregation means, 13 inter-vehicle communication reception means, 14 inter-vehicle communication transmission means, 15 determination means, 16 information output means, 17 other vehicle information extraction means, A transmission source vehicle, B relay vehicle, C Transmission destination vehicle, D Relay vehicle closer to the transmission source vehicle, E Relay vehicle closer to the transmission destination vehicle.

Claims (5)

Vehicle state detection means for detecting own vehicle information;
Vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmitting means for transmitting the vehicle information to other vehicles;
Vehicle-to-vehicle communication receiving means for receiving vehicle information transmitted from another vehicle;
In the inter-vehicle communication device equipped with
Further comprising other vehicle information collecting means for collecting the own vehicle information and the vehicle information of the other vehicle, and generating own vehicle information to which the vehicle information of the other vehicle is added;
The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmission means includes:
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication device that transmits own vehicle information to which vehicle information of the other vehicle is added. Organizing the vehicle information of the other vehicles that are duplicated received by the inter-vehicle communication receiving means,
2. The inter-vehicle communication device according to claim 1, further comprising another vehicle information extracting means for obtaining vehicle information of one other vehicle. The other vehicle information collecting means is
The host vehicle information detected by the vehicle state detection unit and the vehicle information of the other vehicle extracted by the other vehicle information extraction unit are aggregated to generate host vehicle information to which the vehicle information of the other vehicle is added,
The vehicle-to-vehicle communication transmission means includes:
The vehicle-to-vehicle communication device according to claim 2, wherein the vehicle information to which the vehicle information of the other vehicle is added is transmitted. Determining means for determining whether or not the other vehicle interferes with safe driving of the own vehicle from the own vehicle information detected by the vehicle state detecting means and the vehicle information of the other vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication receiving means; ,
When it is determined by the determination means that the other vehicle will interfere with safe driving of the own vehicle,
The inter-vehicle communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising information output means for notifying the driver of the host vehicle of the presence of another vehicle that interferes with safe driving. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system comprising a plurality of vehicle-to-vehicle communication devices according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The vehicle-to-vehicle communication receiving means of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication device mounted on one vehicle;
The inter-vehicle communication transmitting means of the inter-vehicle communication device mounted on another vehicle,
Communicating wirelessly,
An inter-vehicle communication system comprising a plurality of inter-vehicle communication devices according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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