JP2010034982A - Information communication system and information communication method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information communication system for automatically inferring a communication destination corresponding to a destination and providing the communication destination to an in-vehicle communication apparatus side. <P>SOLUTION: An information communication system includes a communication apparatus 100 and a server 2001. The communication apparatus 100 includes: a storage section 20 for storing address data 21 to be used for communicating with external devices 3000; a destination specification section 30 for specifying a destination of a present vehicle; and a communication section 10 for sending the predetermined destination of the present vehicle and the address data 21 of the external devices 3000 to the server. The server 2001 includes: a communication destination inferring section 2030 that refers to an external database 2021 containing positions of the external devices 3000 so as to infer, as a communication destination, an external device 100 which is in a predetermined positional relationship with the destination of the present vehicle received from the communication apparatus 100 and is included in the address data 21 received from the communication apparatus 100; and a communication support section 2040 for sending the address data 21 of the inferred external device 3000 toward the communication apparatus 100. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information communication system and an information communication method for providing information on a communication destination according to a destination of a vehicle to an in-vehicle device.

  When the estimated arrival time to the set destination is calculated at a predetermined cycle and the difference between the previous arrival time and the current arrival time is greater than the retransmission condition determination time, the destination address obtained from the user A navigation apparatus that retransmits information is known (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-285594 A

  However, in the conventional navigation device, since the user needs to specify the destination address of the mail, the user has to perform a troublesome operation of selecting one destination address from a plurality of addresses included in the address book. There was a problem that had to be done.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the troublesomeness of the user in the operation at the time of information transmission.

  The present invention refers to an external database including the position of an external device prepared in advance and address data used for mutual communication with the external device, and is in a predetermined positional relationship with the specified destination of the own vehicle. At the same time, an external device included in the address data is estimated as a communication destination, and information is transmitted using the address data, thereby solving the above problem.

  According to the present invention, since the address data of the external terminal can be estimated according to the destination of the vehicle, it is not necessary for the user to select a transmission destination address when transmitting information. Annoyance can be reduced.

  The information providing system 10000 of this embodiment includes an in-vehicle communication device 100 that is mounted on a vehicle and has a communication function, and a server 2000 that exchanges information with the communication device 100.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the information providing system 10000. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication device 100, the server 2000, and the external device 3000 exchange information with each other via a communication network.

  This in-vehicle communication device 100 exchanges information with the navigation device 1000 and the vehicle controller 4000 of the vehicle mounted on the same vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the aspect of the external device 3000 having a communication function is not particularly limited, and the office computer (external device A) 3000 that does not move, the navigation device (external device B) 3000 mounted on the vehicle, Alternatively, it may be a mobile phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) or other mobile terminal (external device C) 3000.

<< First Embodiment >>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment will be described based on the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of the in-vehicle navigation device 1000 including the communication device 100, an example of a block configuration of the server 2000, and an example of a block configuration of the external device 3000.

  First, the navigation device 1000 including the communication device 100 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation apparatus 1000 of this embodiment includes a communication apparatus 100, a position detection unit 200 that detects the current position of the vehicle, a storage device 300 that stores information such as a travel history 301, and map information. 400, a route search unit 500 that searches for a travel route of the host vehicle, an arrival time calculation unit 600 that reaches a predetermined point such as a destination, a guide unit 700 that provides route guidance, and a user. And an input / output unit 800 for receiving input from.

  The communication device 100 exchanges information with each unit constituting the navigation device 1000, and with a vehicle controller 4000 that centrally manages information of the vehicle and the in-vehicle communication device. Moreover, these are connected by CAN (Controller Area Network) and other vehicle-mounted LAN.

  The communication device 100, the navigation device 1000 including the communication device 100, the vehicle controller 4000, the server 2000, and the external device 3000 include a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). And an operation circuit such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

  Hereinafter, each structure with which the communication apparatus 100 is provided, and the structure relevant to it are demonstrated.

  The communication device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a communication unit 10, a storage unit 20, a destination specifying unit 30, an information creation unit 40, and a transmission control unit 50. Although the specific configuration is not particularly limited, the destination specifying unit 30, the information creating unit 40, and the transmission control unit 50 are, for example, a program configured by a microcomputer and a memory and each process as a circuit. An ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) can be used.

  First, the storage unit 20 will be described. The storage unit 20 stores address data 21 used for communication with the server 2000 and other external devices 3000. The address data 21 includes information transmission / reception address data 21 associated with an identifier that identifies the server 2000, information transmission / reception address data 21 associated with an identifier that identifies each external device 3000, and the address data 21 itself. And address data for information transmission / reception associated with an identifier for specifying a certain communication device 100. The address data 21 functions as an address book including a telephone number and an e-mail address used for information exchange. External device 3000 includes communication device 100 mounted on another vehicle.

  Next, the destination specifying unit 30 will be described. The destination specifying unit 30 specifies the destination of the host vehicle. The destination specifying method is not particularly limited, and the destination input by the user via the input / output unit 800 of the navigation apparatus 1000 may be acquired and specified as the destination.

  In addition, the destination specifying unit 30 of the present embodiment has a destination estimation function 31 that estimates the destination even when the destination is not input by the user.

  The destination estimation function 31 will be described. The destination estimation function 31 refers to a travel history 301 in which a change in the current position from the departure point of the vehicle to the destination is stored in association with time, and extracts a travel history X with a common departure point of the vehicle. Then, the destination of the host vehicle is estimated based on the analysis result of the destination in the extracted travel history X.

  The travel history 301 is stored in the storage device 300 of the navigation device 100. This travel history records changes over time of the current position of the vehicle. Here, the current position of the vehicle is detected by the position detection unit 200 of the navigation apparatus 1000, and the current position and time are associated with each other and accumulated in the travel history 301 for each travel from the start of travel to the end of travel.

The position detection device 200 of this embodiment includes a GPS system 201, receives radio waves transmitted from positioning satellites with a GPS antenna, and acquires the current position of the host vehicle. In addition, the position detection device 200 measures the position of the vehicle using autonomous navigation that estimates the current position by a cumulative calculation method based on positioning data input from a gyro sensor and a distance sensor attached to a wheel. The expression mode of the current position of the vehicle is not particularly limited, and can be expressed based on latitude / longitude and other map coordinates.

  The destination estimation function 31 refers to the travel history 301 accumulated in this manner, and extracts a travel history X having a departure point that is the same as the departure point in the current travel. Then, the destination in the extracted one or more travel histories X is analyzed. In this embodiment, paying attention to the fact that there is a tendency to go to the same destination when the departure point is the same, the point with the highest number of times of becoming the destination (the point of end of travel) in the extracted travel history X As a destination. The destination estimation method is not limited to this, and the destination estimation function 31 selects a point that has become a destination in the latest traveling history X among the extracted traveling histories X (that is, a point where travel has ended). You may guess as a destination.

  Next, the communication unit 10 will be described. The communication unit 10 exchanges information with the server 2000 and the external device 3000.

  The communication unit 10 according to the present embodiment sends the destination of the host vehicle specified by the destination specifying unit 30 and the address data 21 of the external device 3000 stored in the storage unit 20 to the information center. The address data 21 includes the address of the communication device 100 and the address of the external device 3000 with which the communication device 100 transmits and receives information.

  The communication unit 10 of this example includes a wide area communication function for performing communication between the server 2000 configured on the communication network and the external device 3000. The communication unit 10 is not particularly limited, and a mobile phone network, a wireless LAN such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band) or DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), a terrestrial data broadcast wave, a satellite broadcast wave, or the like can be used. When the external device 3000 is an in-vehicle device, the communication unit 10 may include a wireless LAN having a vehicle-to-vehicle communication function for performing communication between the host vehicle and another vehicle. The wireless LAN is not particularly limited. For example, a wireless communication device that conforms to the IEEE802.11 wireless LAN standard using an ISM (Industry Science Medical) band (2.4 GHz band), a wireless communication device that conforms to the Bluetooth standard, or the like may be used. it can.

  The communication unit 10 according to the present embodiment performs communication with the server 2000 and the external device 3000 by telephone and electronic mail using a communication function.

  The communication unit 10 has a mail transmission function 11 and transmits an e-mail addressed to predetermined address data. The communication unit 10 according to the present embodiment transmits an e-mail including information on the own vehicle using the address data of the external device 3000 estimated as a communication destination acquired from the server 2000 described later.

  Next, the information creation unit 40 will be described. The information creating unit 40 has an expected arrival time acquisition function 41 and creates communication information including the expected arrival time acquired by the expected arrival time acquisition function 41.

  The estimated arrival time acquisition function 41 is based on the current position of the host vehicle detected on the vehicle side, the destination specified by the destination specifying unit 30, and the accessible map information 400. Get the estimated arrival time. Then, the information creation unit 40 creates communication information including the estimated arrival time acquired by the estimated arrival time acquisition function 41.

  Here, an example of a method by which the estimated arrival time acquisition function 41 of the information creation unit 40 acquires the estimated arrival time will be described. As described above, the current position of the host vehicle is detected by the position detection unit 200. Further, the map information 400 included in the navigation device 1000 accepts access of the expected arrival time acquisition function 41. The estimated arrival time acquisition function 41 searches the route from the current position to the specified destination with reference to the map information 400, and based on the vehicle speed of the host vehicle or the average speed set for each route, The time required to reach the destination is calculated, and the time at which the host vehicle arrives at the destination is determined from the time and the current time. Incidentally, the estimated arrival time acquisition function 41 can acquire the vehicle speed of the host vehicle from the vehicle controller 4000 via the in-vehicle LAN.

  Also, the expected arrival time acquisition function 41 of the information creation unit 40 can acquire the arrival time to the destination calculated by the arrival time calculation unit 600 of the navigation device 1000. The arrival time calculation unit 600 of the navigation device 1000 calculates the time at which the host vehicle passes the route searched by the route search unit 500 and arrives at the destination. Specifically, the route search unit 500 of the navigation device 1000 searches for a route from the current position detected by the position detection unit 200 to the destination input via the input / output unit 800 with reference to the map information 400. To do. Then, the arrival time calculation unit 600 calculates the target speed from the current position based on the average speed of the route recorded in the map information 400, the travel speed acquired from the vehicle controller 4000, the traffic jam information (VICS information) acquired from the outside, and the like. The time required to reach the ground and the time to reach the destination are calculated.

  For the route search processing by the route search unit 500 and the arrival time calculation processing by the arrival time calculation unit 600, a route search method, a required time calculation method, and the like used in a normal navigation apparatus can be used.

  Furthermore, the information creation unit 40 according to the present embodiment acquires the estimated arrival time to reach the destination at a predetermined cycle, and creates communication information according to the change.

Specifically, the information creation unit 40 of the present embodiment acquires the estimated arrival time at a predetermined interval, compares the estimated arrival time acquired last time with the estimated arrival time acquired this time, and the time difference between the two is a predetermined value. In the case above, updated communication information including the estimated arrival time acquired this time is created.

In this way, when the expected arrival time changes greatly, the update communication information including the new estimated arrival time is automatically created, which increases the time required to reach the destination due to traffic jams and accidents. Even when the estimated arrival time notified to the external device 3000 is later, the updated communication information in which the estimated arrival time is updated can be automatically notified to the external device 3000.

  Furthermore, the information creation unit 40 of the present embodiment creates communication information for notifying the external device 3000 that the current position has approached the destination. Specifically, the information creation unit 40 compares the acquired estimated arrival time with the current time, and if the difference between the estimated arrival time and the current time is less than a predetermined value, the vehicle will arrive at the destination. Create communication information including. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to automatically notify the communication partner waiting at the destination of the arrival timing of itself.

  In addition, instead of comparing the estimated arrival times, the information creating unit 40 compares the current position of the host vehicle detected on the vehicle side with the destination specified by the destination specifying unit 30, and compares the current position of the host vehicle. When the vehicle is within a predetermined distance from the destination, communication information including that the host vehicle arrives at the destination is created. In this process, the information creation unit 40

The current position of the host vehicle is acquired from the position detection unit 200.

  Next, the transmission control unit 50 will be described. The transmission control unit 50 controls transmission processing of communication information created by the information creation unit 40. The transmission control unit 50 estimated the communication information created by the information creation unit 40 via the communication unit 10 as the communication destination using the address data notified by the communication support unit 2040 of the server 2000 described later. Send to an external terminal.

  In addition, when the information creation unit 40 creates updated communication information according to a change in the estimated arrival time, the transmission control unit 50 notifies the created updated communication information by the communication support unit 2040 of the server 2000 described later. The received address data is sent to an external terminal that is presumed as a communication destination.

  Similarly, when the transmission control unit 50 creates communication information including that the information creation unit 40 arrives at the destination, the transmission support unit 2040 of the server 2000 described later notifies the created updated communication information. Using the received address data, the data is transmitted to the external terminal that is presumed as the communication destination.

  Second, the server 2000 will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the server 2000 of the present embodiment includes a server-side communication unit 2010, a server-side storage unit 2020, a communication destination estimation unit 2030, and a communication support unit 2040.

  The server-side communication unit 2010 has a communication function capable of mutual communication with the communication device 100 (including the communication device 100 mounted on the host vehicle and the communication device 100 included in the external device 3000). The communication method of the server-side communication unit 2010 is not particularly limited, and as with the communication unit 10 of the communication device 100, a mobile phone network, a wireless LAN such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band) or DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), terrestrial Data broadcast waves, satellite broadcast waves, and the like can be used.

  The server side communication unit 2010 includes a destination acquisition function 2011 and an address data acquisition function 2012. The destination acquisition function 2011 acquires the destination of each vehicle sent from the communication device 100 and stores it in the server-side storage unit 2020. The address data acquisition function 2012 acquires the address data sent from the communication device 100 and stores it in the server-side storage unit 2020.

  The server-side communication unit 2010 has a function of acquiring position information and address data of the external device 3000 from an external device 3000 described later, and storing it in an external database described later. When the external device 3000 is a non-moving device such as an office computer, the location information of the external device 3000 can be stored in the external database 2021, but the external device 3000 is a mobile body such as an in-vehicle navigation device. In this case, the server-side communication unit 2010 acquires the current position information detected on the external device 3000 side, stores the identifier of the external device 3000 and the position of the external device 300 in association with each other in the external database 2021. .

  Further, the server side communication unit 2010 acquires the detection time of the current position of the external device 300, associates the identifier of the external device 3000, the current position of the external device 300, and the detection time of the current position with an external database. 2021 is stored.

  Next, the server side storage unit 2020 will be described. The server-side storage unit 2020 has an external database 2021 that includes at least the location of the external device 3000. The external database 2021 includes information in which the identifier of the external device 3000 is associated with the position information of the external device 3000. As described above, the external database 2021 includes information in which the identifier of the moving external device 3000, the current position of the external device 300, and the detection time of the current position are associated with each other.

  The server-side storage unit 2020 stores at least temporarily the destination and address data acquired via the server-side communication unit 2010.

  Next, the communication destination estimation unit 2030 will be described. The communication destination estimation unit 2030 estimates a communication destination according to the destination of the vehicle on which the communication device 100 is mounted. The communication destination estimation unit 2030 according to the present embodiment refers to the external database 2021 including the position of the external device 3000, has a predetermined positional relationship with the destination of the host vehicle received from the communication device 100, and receives from the communication device 100. The external device 3000 included in the address data is estimated as the communication destination.

  Specifically, the communication destination estimation unit 2030 of the present embodiment refers to the external database 2021 including the position of the external device 3000, and is an external terminal located within a predetermined distance from the destination of the host vehicle received from the communication device 100. In addition, the external device 3000 included in the address data received from the communication device 100 is estimated as a communication destination.

  As described above, the communication destination estimation unit 2030 of the present embodiment uses the external device 3000 having the address data as the communication partner of the external device 3000 located in the vicinity of the destination to which the own vehicle is directed. It is estimated as a communication destination of the communication device 100 of the own vehicle.

  The condition that the communication device 100 is located in the vicinity of the destination includes the external device 3000 that has nothing to do with the user of the communication device 100, but the address data 21 included in the communication device 100 includes an address. By adding, it is possible to accurately estimate the communication destination according to the destination of the user.

Thereby, according to a user's destination, the communication destination with a high possibility that a user will contact can be proposed automatically.

  Next, the communication support unit 2040 will be described. The communication support unit 2040 sends the address data of the external device 3000 estimated by the communication destination estimation unit 2030 to the communication device 100. The transmitted address data is used in the communication apparatus 100 for communication information transmission processing.

  At this time, the communication support unit 2040 may transmit a communication information creation command using the address data to the communication device 100 together with the estimated address data. Specifically, the communication support unit 2040 uses the address data of the external device 3000 estimated by the communication destination estimation unit 2030 to issue a command to send information on the own vehicle side to the external device 3000 estimated as the communication destination. The data is sent to the communication device 100. Thereby, it is possible to cause the communication apparatus 100 to execute preparation for transmitting communication information to the estimated communication destination at the timing when the server 2000 side estimates the communication destination of the user.

  Thirdly, the external device 3000 will be described. As described above, the external device 3000 is an office computer, a navigation device mounted on another vehicle, or a portable terminal carried by a user. Of course, the external device 300 can be equipped with the communication device 100 of the present embodiment.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the external device 3000 according to the present embodiment includes an external communication unit 3010, an external storage unit 3020, and an external position detection function 3030.

  The external communication unit 3010 includes a communication function that can communicate with the communication device 100. Further, the external side communication unit 3010 may include a communication function capable of communicating with the server side communication unit 2010. The communication method of the external side communication unit 3010 is not particularly limited, and as with the communication unit 10 of the communication apparatus 100, a mobile phone network, a wireless LAN such as UWB (Ultra Wide Band) or DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), terrestrial Data broadcast waves, satellite broadcast waves, and the like can be used.

  The external communication unit 3010 can send the position information of the external device 3000 detected by the external position detection function 3030 described later and address data 3021 stored in the external storage device 3020 described later to the server 2000. .

  The external storage device 3020 stores address data 3021 used in communication with the external device 3000 in a readable manner. The address data 3021 includes an identifier of the external device 3000 and address data for communication of the external device 3000. Further, the address data 3021 can include a fixed location of the external device 3000.

  The external position detection function 3030 detects the current position of the external device 3000. The external position detection function 3030 has the same function as the position detection unit 200 of the navigation device 1000 described above. Here, a duplicate description is avoided, and the description of the position detection unit 200 is used.

  Next, an operation control procedure of the information communication system 10000 configured as described above will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  The communication device 100 monitors the start of driving of the vehicle based on the ignition switch-on information, vehicle speed information, and the like acquired from the vehicle controller 4000 (S100). When the communication device 100 determines that the vehicle has started driving, the communication device 100 proceeds to step 101. On the other hand, when the start of driving of the vehicle cannot be detected, the process returns to step S100 again and monitoring of the start of driving is continued.

  The destination specifying unit 30 determines whether or not a destination has been set. If the destination is set (input) via the input / output unit 800 of the navigation device 1000, the process proceeds to S103, and if the destination is not set even after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of traveling, the process proceeds to S102 (S101). .

  If the destination is not set, destination estimation processing is performed (S102). FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the destination estimation process.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the destination estimation function 31 acquires from the position detection unit 200 the current position when the destination is set and the date / time information (date / time, day of the week) at which the current position was detected. (S1). The current position when this destination is set can be treated as the starting point for the travel.

  The destination estimation function 31 estimates the destination of the host vehicle with reference to a travel history 301 in which changes in the current position from the departure point of the vehicle to the destination are stored in association with time.

  FIG. 5 shows one mode of the travel history 301 accumulated in the storage device 300. As shown in FIG. 5, in the travel history of the present embodiment, the date and time of the travel, day of the week, and time, the travel start point, and the travel destination (destination) are associated.

  The destination estimation function 31 of the present embodiment refers to the travel history 301, extracts the travel history X having the same current position (starting point of the vehicle) acquired in S1, and determines the destination in the extracted travel history X. Estimate the destination of the vehicle based on the analysis results.

  The destination estimation function 31 has a travel history (departure date / time, departure point, and arrival point) as shown in FIG. A search is made for those equal to (departure point) (S2).

  If the number of travel histories extracted by the search is a predetermined number or more, the number of visits to the arrival point (destination) in the travel history is further calculated (S3). Then, the destination estimation function 31 estimates the arrival point (destination) with the highest number of visits as the destination in the current travel (S4).

  At this time, when information such as day of the week and weather is accumulated in the travel history, the destination estimation function 31 further has a common travel history and weather for the day of the week (travel when it is raining). A travel history is extracted, and an arrival place (destination) in the travel history can be estimated as a destination in the current travel.

  Returning to FIG. 3, the processing after the destination is set or estimated will be described. The communication unit 10 reads the address data 21 stored in the storage unit 20 (S103). This address data 21 is information on a telephone number or an e-mail address used for the host vehicle to communicate with the server 2000 and other external devices 3000.

  The communication unit 10 sends the destination of the host vehicle specified by the destination specifying unit 30 and the address data stored in the storage unit 20 to the server 2000 using the address of the server 2000 included in the address data 21. (S104).

  The communication unit 2010 on the server 2000 side receives the destination and address data of the host vehicle from the communication device 100.

  Before receiving the destination from the communication device 100, the server-side communication unit 2010 may acquire the current position and the address data 3021 of the external device 300 from the external device 300 and store them in the external database 2021. Yes (2100). In other words, the external position detection function 3030 of the moving external device 3000 detects the current position (S3100), and the external communication unit 3010 of the external device 3000 similarly stores the detected current position and the external storage unit 3020. The stored address of the external device 3000 is sent to the server 2000 (S3101).

Then, the server-side communication unit 2010 associates the received current position of the external device 3000 with the address of the external device 3000 and stores it in the external database 2021 (S2100).

  When the communication destination estimation unit 2030 of the server 2000 acquires the destination and address data from the communication device 100, the communication destination estimation unit 2030 reads the external database 2021 (2101) and executes a communication destination estimation process (2102).

  Here, the control procedure of the communication destination estimation process will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  After reading the external database (S2101), the communication destination estimation unit 2030 searches for the external device 300 located at a point having a predetermined positional relationship with the destination acquired from the communication device 100. Specifically, the communication destination estimation unit 2030 searches for an external device located within a predetermined distance from the received destination of the host vehicle (S11).

  For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, when the communication device 100 travels with the host vehicle toward the destination T3, the server 2000 acquires the destination T3 from the communication device 100 and within a predetermined distance (broken line) of the destination T3. The external devices T4 and T5 existing in the ellipse shown in FIG. The range around this destination can be set arbitrarily, and may be within the site of the destination, or within a radius of 10 m from the location of the destination, so that the driver can specify the range. Also good.

  It is determined whether there is an external device in the vicinity (within a predetermined distance) of the destination of the host vehicle (S12). If there is an external device in the vicinity of the destination, the process proceeds to step S13. Then, the communication destination estimation unit 2030 determines whether or not the address of the external terminal located within a predetermined distance from the destination of the host vehicle is included in the address data received from the communication device 100 (S13).

  The communication destination estimation unit 2030 is an external device 3000 located within a predetermined distance from the destination of the host vehicle (Yes in S12), and the address of the external device 3000 is included in the address data of the communication device 100. In the case (Yes in S13), the external device 3000 is estimated as the communication destination of the communication device 100, and the address of the external device 3000 is transmitted to the communication device 100 (S14).

  Further, the communication destination estimation unit 2030 creates a communication information including information on the own vehicle side and transmits an instruction to send it to the external terminal estimated as the communication destination (S15).

  Returning to FIG. 3 again, the processing after the communication destination is estimated will be described. The server-side communication unit 2010 sends the address of the external device 3000 estimated as the communication destination and an e-mail creation instruction destined for the external device 300 to the communication device 100 (S2103).

  Subsequently, the information creating unit 40 of the communication device 100 creates communication information for transmitting information on the own vehicle side to the external device 3000 (S105).

  This communication information creation process will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a communication information creation process.

  The information creation unit 40 of the present embodiment creates three types of mail, and the communication control unit 50 performs transmission processing at an appropriate timing according to the type of mail.

The first e-mail is an e-mail notifying the estimated arrival time at the destination predicted when the vehicle departs, and the second e-mail is a significant change from the last time the estimated arrival time was sent. In this case, the third mail is a mail that informs the arrival at the destination when it arrives near the destination. Hereinafter, three types of mail creation processing and a transmission processing control method will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, first, the information creation unit 40 waits for reception of an address of the external device 3000 that is a communication destination (S31). When the address is received, the estimated arrival time acquisition function 41 acquires the estimated arrival time when the host vehicle reaches the destination (S32). The estimated arrival time acquisition function 41 may calculate the estimated arrival time by itself based on the current position, the destination, the map information, and the traveling speed, or the arrival time calculated by the arrival time calculation unit 600 of the navigation device 1000. You may acquire time.

  In step S33, it is confirmed whether or not to transmit the estimated arrival time (communication information) to the estimated contact information. The information creation unit 40 presents the contact information and the content of the communication information to the user via the display 801 or the speaker 802 of the navigation device, and prompts the user to confirm. The user who has received this presentation inputs the necessity of mail transmission of communication information including the estimated arrival time to the presented contact via the input device 803 (S33).

  If the user approves the transmission of the mail, the process proceeds to step S34. On the other hand, if the user refuses to send the mail, the process ends.

  In the process of step S34, the transmission control unit 50 uses the address data notified by the communication support unit 2040 of the server 2000 for the mail including the communication information created by the information creation unit 40 via the communication unit 10. Send it. As a result, the mail including the communication information is transmitted to the external device 300 estimated as the transmission destination.

  When the transmission of the mail including the communication information is completed, the process proceeds to S35.

  In the process of step S35, it is confirmed that a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous estimated arrival time is calculated, and the estimated arrival time is calculated again. The time interval for calculating the estimated arrival time can be arbitrarily set, and may be 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or set by the user for each run.

  In the next step S36, the difference between the calculated estimated arrival time and the current time is calculated, and it is determined whether or not the time required for arrival is less than a predetermined value. The predetermined value for determining arrival at the destination can be arbitrarily set, and may be 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or may be set freely by the driver.

  If it is determined in step S36 that the time until arrival is less than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S37. In step S37, since the time required for arrival is less than the predetermined time, the information creating unit 40 creates communication information including that the host vehicle will soon arrive at the destination.

  In step S37, the user is confirmed whether or not to transmit communication information indicating arrival at the destination. The information creation unit 40 presents the contact information and the content of the communication information to the user via the display 801 or the speaker 802 of the navigation device, and prompts the user to confirm. The user who has received this presentation inputs, via the input device 803, whether or not a mail transmission necessity of communication information indicating arrival at the destination is presented to the presented contact information (S37).

  If the user approves the transmission of the mail, the process proceeds to step S38. On the other hand, if the user refuses to send the mail, the process ends.

  In the process of step S38, the transmission control unit 50 uses the address data notified by the communication support unit 2040 of the server 2000 for the mail including the communication information created by the information creation unit 40 via the communication unit 10. Send it. As a result, the mail including the communication information is transmitted to the external device 300 estimated as the transmission destination. When the transmission of the mail including the communication information is completed, the process is terminated.

  Returning to step S36, if it is determined that the time until arrival is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S39. The information creation unit 40 acquires (including calculation) the estimated arrival time at predetermined intervals, and compares the estimated arrival time acquired last time with the estimated arrival time acquired this time. The time difference between the estimated arrival times can be set arbitrarily, and can be set arbitrarily by the user for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or (S39).

  In step S39, when the time difference between the two is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to step S40. On the other hand, if the time difference between the two is less than the predetermined value, the process returns to step S35.

  When it is determined that the time difference between the estimated arrival time acquired last time and the estimated arrival time acquired this time is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the information creation unit 40 creates updated communication information including the estimated arrival time acquired this time. .

  In step S40, confirmation is made as to whether or not to transmit a notification mail (update notification information) of the predicted arrival time transmitted last time to the user. The information creation unit 40 presents the contact information and the content of the communication information to the user via the display 801 or the speaker 802 of the navigation device, and prompts the user to confirm. The user who has received this presentation inputs, via the input device 803, whether or not the transmission of the updated communication information including the estimated arrival time updated to the presented contact information is necessary (S40).

  If the user approves the transmission of the mail, the process proceeds to step S41. On the other hand, if the user refuses to send the mail, the process returns to step S35.

  In the process of step S41, the transmission control unit 50 uses the address data notified by the communication support unit 2040 of the server 2000 for the mail including the updated communication information created by the information creation unit 40 via the communication unit 10. To send. As a result, the mail including the updated communication information is transmitted to the external device 300 that is estimated as the transmission destination. When the transmission of the mail including the updated communication information is completed, the process is terminated.

  Since the communication apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is configured and operates as described above, the following effects can be obtained.

  According to the communication device 100 of the present embodiment, since the address data of the external terminal device 3000 at a position corresponding to the destination of the vehicle is estimated, the user performs an operation such as selecting a transmission destination address when transmitting information. This is unnecessary, and the user's troublesomeness can be reduced.

  In other words, the external device 3000 located near the destination the user is going to go to, that is, the office computer located near the destination, the car navigation system used by friends / acquaintances, and the portable terminal are automatically selected as communication destinations. This eliminates the need for the user who drives the vehicle to search for a target address from the address book and designate it as a destination.

  Thus, for example, when a user encounters an accident or traffic jam on the way to the company and is behind the scheduled arrival time, the company's colleague / boss computer (external device) registered in advance in the address data ) By automatically inferring 3000 as a communication destination, communication information can be transmitted without performing complicated operations such as address search.

  The communication device 100 can use contact means such as sending an e-mail without performing address search or the like by acquiring the address data of the communication destination estimated according to the destination.

  In addition, the communication device 100 acquires a communication destination address data estimated according to the destination and a command for transmitting a mail addressed to the address data from the server 2000, thereby creating a mail and sending a mail. Etc. can also be automated.

  The information communication system 10000 according to the present embodiment has a tendency that information generated during traveling and information to be transmitted urgently have a high probability of being related to a partner at a destination to which the user is going. And an external device 3000 located within a predetermined distance from the destination, in particular, is estimated as a communication destination of the communication device 100 mounted on the host vehicle. Thereby, the probability that the estimated communication destination matches the user's intention can be increased, and troublesome operations such as canceling the estimated communication destination and reselecting the communication destination can be reduced.

  In addition, the information communication system 10000 according to the present embodiment refers to the travel history and estimates the destination based on the departure point of the host vehicle. Therefore, even if the destination is not set, the information communication system 10000 estimates according to the destination. Communication destination can be obtained. This makes it possible to automatically infer the communication destination even if it is a place where users such as work place frequently go and do not bother to set the destination. Communication information can be transmitted without performing complicated operations such as address search. That is, there is no need to set the destination in order to obtain the estimated address data of the communication destination.

  The information communication system 10000 of this embodiment automatically creates communication information including an estimated arrival time to reach the destination for the communication destination estimated according to the destination, and the timing at which the communication information is created To the external device 3000. Thereby, the estimated arrival time at the time of departure or the like can be notified in advance to the estimated communication destination according to the destination without performing an operation such as searching for the communication destination.

  Also, the information communication system 10000 of this embodiment automatically creates updated communication information including a new estimated arrival time when a difference of a predetermined value or more occurs between the previous estimated arrival time and the current estimated arrival time. Then, the update communication information is sent to the external device 3000 at the timing when it is created. As a result, delays due to traffic jams, accidents, traffic regulations, etc. occur, and when it is found that there is a delay in the arrival time, a new estimated arrival time can be obtained without performing operations such as searching for a communication destination. It is possible to notify the communication destination estimated according to the situation in advance.

Since the degree of delay due to traffic conditions often changes with the passage of time, it is necessary to contact the communication destination each time the situation changes. According to the information communication system 10000 of this embodiment, the arrival time A new estimated arrival time can be automatically notified without performing an operation such as searching for a communication destination at every timing when the estimated time changes.

  Furthermore, the information communication system 10000 of the present embodiment creates communication information including that the own vehicle arrives at the destination when the difference between the estimated arrival time and the current time is less than a predetermined value. It is sent to the external device 3000 at the timing when the information is created. As a result, at the timing of arrival at or near the arrival of the destination, the destination that has arrived at the destination is informed in advance according to the destination without performing operations such as searching for the destination. be able to.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device 1000 including the communication device 100 and an example of a block configuration of the server 2001. The external device 3000 according to the present embodiment is a communication device 100 + n mounted on another vehicle and has the same configuration as the communication device 100.

  In the second embodiment, when there is an external device 3000 (including a communication device 100 + n installed in another vehicle) that has existed at a common destination in the past, the external device 3000 is communicated when heading to that destination again. It is characterized in that it is presumed as a destination.

  Specifically, the server 2001 includes a point common address extracting unit 2050 that extracts address data of the external device 3000 located at a common destination.

Then, the communication device 100 generates the destination address data 22 created based on the address data extracted by the location common address extraction unit 2050, and the second destination estimation unit that estimates the destination based on the location address data. 60.

  The configuration of the information communication system 10000A of the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the information communication system 10000 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. Here, different points will be mainly described in order to avoid redundant description.

  As illustrated in FIG. 9, the communication device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a communication unit 10, a storage unit 20, a destination specifying unit 30, a second communication destination estimation unit 60, an information creation unit 40, and transmission control. Part 50.

  The communication unit 10 of the present embodiment acquires the current position of the vehicle when the vehicle has finished traveling from the vehicle, and acquires the position information of the acquired current position of the vehicle and the address data 21 stored in the storage unit 20. Are sent to the server 2001. The communication function and the like are the same as those of the communication unit 10 of the first embodiment.

  The communication unit 10 obtains the timing when the traveling of the host vehicle is completed based on the ignition switch information, the ACC on / off information, and the engine information acquired from the vehicle controller 4000. Specifically, the communication unit 10 obtains vehicle information indicating that the vehicle has stopped and travel has ended from the ignition switch off information, vehicle speed zero information, ACC off information, brake operation information, and engine off information. Can do. That is, the communication unit 10 determines the timing at which the traveling of the host vehicle has ended based on the reception of the ignition switch OFF information, the ACC OFF information, and the engine stop information acquired from the vehicle controller 4000.

  And the communication part 10 acquires the present position in the timing which driving | running | working of the own vehicle was complete | finished from the position detection part 200. FIG.

  The address data used for communication with the external device 3000 includes not only the telephone number or e-mail address of the external device 3000 but also its own telephone number or e-mail address.

  The current position and its address data at the end of travel of the communication device 100 mounted on the host vehicle, and the current position and its address data at the end of travel of the communication device 100 (external device 3000) mounted on the other host vehicle are: It is sent to the server 2001.

  Receiving this, the server side communication unit 2010 stores it in the external database 2022 including the position of the external device 3000 and the address data of the external device.

  The point common address extraction unit 2050 refers to the external database 2022, and refers to the external device 3000 (communication mounted on other vehicles) associated with the location information common to the current location when the vehicle travels acquired from the communication device 100 is completed. Address data of the external device (including the communication device 100 + n installed in another vehicle) included in the address data 21 received from the communication device 100 of the host vehicle.

  The point common address extraction unit 2050 associates the address data of the external terminal extracted by the point common address extraction unit 2050 with the current position when the vehicle has finished traveling, and sends it to the communication device 100 of the host vehicle. To do.

  The point where the vehicle has finished traveling can be estimated as the destination of the vehicle. In the present embodiment, in the past travel, vehicles having the same point at the end of travel are likely to exist at a common destination, and thus the travel of the vehicle received from the communication device 100 of the own vehicle is performed. Address data associated with a point common to the current position at the time of termination is extracted as a candidate for a communication destination.

  However, if it is estimated as a communication destination simply because the travel end point (destination) is common, there is a possibility that even the in-vehicle communication devices 101 to 100 + n and the external device 3000 that are present by chance will be candidates for the communication destination.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when it is further included in the address data of the external device received from the communication device 100, the address data is extracted as a communication destination candidate corresponding to the destination. This is because if it is included in the address data, the user of the communication device 100 can be regarded as a partner with whom the user normally contacts.

  Furthermore, if the external database 2022 includes the date and time when the vehicle finishes traveling, the address data of the external device 3000 stopped at a common destination (traveling end point) at the same time as the host vehicle is used as a candidate for the communication destination. The condition of extracting as may be added. As a result, it is possible to extract the address data of the external device 3000 that is likely to exist at a common destination at the same time as communication destination candidates.

  The communication support unit 2040 associates the address data of the external device 3000 (including the communication device 100 + n of the other vehicle) extracted by the point common address extraction unit 2050 with the position information at the end of travel, and performs communication mounted on the own vehicle. The data is sent to the apparatus 100.

  The communication unit 10 of the communication device 100 that has received the address data extracted as the communication destination candidate from the server 2001 stores it in the storage unit 20 as the point-specific address data 22. The point-specific address data 22 is information in which the address data acquired from the server 2001 is associated with position information at the end of traveling of the host vehicle.

  FIG. 10 shows an aspect of the point-specific address data 22. As shown in FIG. 10, the longitude and latitude indicating the point at the timing when each vehicle has finished traveling are associated with the address data including the telephone number and / or the mail address of the communication device 100 + n installed in the vehicle. ing. Although not shown, the timing at which the vehicle has finished traveling may be associated with the current position when the vehicle has finished traveling. As a result, the address data of the communication devices 101 to 100 + n mounted on other vehicles that have finished traveling at the same position at the same time as the communication device 100 mounted on the own vehicle, that is, the address data of the person located at the same destination at the same time Can be identified.

  The second communication destination estimation unit 60 refers to the point-specific address data 22 and estimates address data associated with a point common to the destination specified by the destination specification unit 30 as a communication destination.

  The functions of the destination specifying unit 30, the information creating unit 40, and the transmission control unit 50 are common to the destination specifying unit 30, the information creating unit 40, and the transmission control unit 50 in the first embodiment.

  Next, the accumulation process of the point-specific address data 22 will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, first, in step S51, the communication unit 10 determines whether the vehicle has finished traveling, that is, whether the vehicle has stopped. This determination is based on the ignition switch OFF information, the ACC OFF information, and the engine stop information acquired from the vehicle controller 4000 to determine whether or not the vehicle has finished traveling.

  If it is determined that the vehicle has stopped, the process proceeds to step S52. On the other hand, if it is not determined that the vehicle has stopped, the process returns to step S51 and the process is repeated.

  In step S52, the communication unit 10 of the communication device 100 sends to the server 2001 the current position when the vehicle is stopped, for example, the current data when the vehicle stops and the address data 21 used for communication with the external device 3000. .

  The server-side communication unit 2010 of the server 2001 acquires position information and address data 21 when the vehicle stops from the vehicle communication device 100.

  In step S53, the point common address extraction unit 2050 of the server 2001 searches for the address data of the external device 3000 associated with the position information common to the current position when the vehicle travel obtained from the communication device 100 is completed. . That is, the communication device 100 + n and other external devices 3000 mounted on other vehicles having a common travel end point (destination) are searched.

  In addition, the judgment whether it is a common point can be defined arbitrarily. For example, if both points to be judged belong to the site of a facility, they may be judged as common points, and if both points to be judged are within a predetermined distance, they are common. You may judge that it is a point to do. Moreover, if it is located within a radius of 10 m from the current position at the end of traveling, it may be determined that the point is a common point, or a range in which the driver can determine that the point is common may be specified.

  In step S54, if there is an external device 3000 having a common travel end point, the process proceeds to step S55, and if there is no external device 3000 having a common travel end point, the process ends (S54).

  Subsequently, in step S55, the point common address extraction unit 2050 includes, among the address data of the external device 3000 associated with the position information common to the current position when the traveling of the vehicle acquired from the communication device 100 ends. In step 52, the address data of the external device 3000 included in the address data received from the communication device 100 is extracted. Then, the communication support unit 2040 sends the address data extracted by the point common address extraction unit 2050 to the communication device 100 via the communication unit 10. In the present embodiment, the location information of the travel end point is sent to the communication device 100 together with the extracted address data.

  The communication unit 10 of the communication device 100 receives the extracted address data and the position information of the travel end point, accumulates this address data as the point-specific address data 22 associated with the position information when the travel is finished, The storage processing for the point-specific address data is terminated.

  Next, communication destination estimation processing will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 12, in step S61, it is monitored whether or not the destination is specified by the destination specifying unit 30, and if the destination is specified, the process proceeds to step S62.

  In step S <b> 62, the second communication destination estimation unit 60 refers to the point-specific address data 22 and searches for address data associated with a point common to the destination specified by the destination specifying unit 30. The determination of whether or not the points are common can be arbitrarily defined. For example, if both points to be judged belong to the site of a facility, they may be judged as common points, and if both points to be judged are within a predetermined distance, they are common. You may judge that it is a point to do. Moreover, if it is located within a radius of 10 m from the current position at the end of traveling, it may be determined that the point is a common point, or a range in which the driver can determine that the point is common may be specified.

  It is determined whether there is address data associated with a point common to the destination (S63). If there is corresponding address data, the process proceeds to step S64, and if not, the process ends.

  In step S64, the second communication destination estimation unit 60 estimates the extracted address data as a communication destination.

  Following this, creation and transmission of communication information is executed. Creation and transmission of communication information are common to the first embodiment.

  Since this embodiment is configured and operates as described above, the same effects as those of the first embodiment and the following effects are obtained.

  According to the present embodiment, when there is a partner who has been in a common place in the past, when that place is set as the destination again, it is possible to infer that partner as the communication destination.

  That is, when there is an external device (including the communication device 100 + n mounted on another vehicle) that is located at the place where the driver stayed in the past, that is, there was a friend / acquaintance in the same place as the driver in the past. In this case, the next time the driver sets the destination as the destination, the driver automatically guesses the external device (the friend / acquaintance) as the communication destination and communicates with the driver. And the search operation can be omitted.

  For example, in the past, when a driver goes to a golf course with a golf companion, the next time he goes to the same golf course again, the golf companion who has visited the golf course in the past is automatically selected as the communication destination. be able to.

For this reason, in the contact when the driver goes to the golf course, the address book and the searching operation can be omitted. In other words, when an accident or traffic jam occurs when heading to the golf course and the delay must be communicated, it is possible to communicate with the other party who wishes to be contacted without performing an address search operation.

<Third Embodiment>
Next, a third embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a block configuration of an in-vehicle navigation device 1000 including the communication device 100A. The communication apparatus 100A according to the present embodiment performs a communication destination estimation process without contacting the server.

  In the third embodiment, when there is an external device 3000 (including a communication device 100 + n mounted on another vehicle) that communicates when heading to a destination in the past, the external device is used when heading again to the destination. It is characterized in that 3000 is estimated as a communication destination.

  Specifically, the communication device 100 includes travel-specific address data 23 and a third communication destination estimation unit 70 that estimates a communication destination based on the travel-specific address data.

  The configuration of the communication apparatus 100A of the third embodiment is basically the same as that of the communication apparatus 100 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the communication apparatus 100 of the second embodiment shown in FIG. Here, different points will be mainly described in order to avoid redundant description.

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, the communication device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a communication unit 10, a storage unit 20, a destination specifying unit 30, a third communication destination estimation unit 70, an information creation unit 40, and transmission control. Part 50.

  The communication unit 10 accumulates the address data used for communication with the external device 3000 from the start of travel of the vehicle until the end of travel in the travel-specific address data 23 associated with each travel history.

  Similarly to the second embodiment, the start timing and the end timing of travel of the vehicle are acquired from the on / off information of the ignition switch acquired from the vehicle controller 4000. The communication unit 10 stores the address data of the external device 3000 communicated between the start of the travel and the end of the travel in the travel-specific address data 23 in association with the identifier of each travel history (from the travel start to the travel end). To do. The travel-specific address data 23 is stored in the storage unit 20.

  Next, the third communication destination estimation unit 70 will be described. The third communication destination estimation unit 70 refers to the address-specific address data 23 of the external device 3000 stored in the storage unit 20, and travels at a point common to the destination of the host vehicle specified by the destination specifying unit 30. The address data associated with the completed travel history is estimated as the communication destination. The functions of the destination specifying unit 30, the information creating unit 40, and the transmission control unit 50 are common to the destination specifying unit 30, the information creating unit 40, and the transmission control unit 50 in the first embodiment.

  Next, the accumulation processing of the address data for each run will be described based on the flowchart of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 14, first, in step S51, the communication unit 10 determines whether or not the vehicle has started driving in step S71. When the operation is started, the process proceeds to step S72. On the other hand, if the operation is not started, the process returns to step S71 again and the process is repeated.

  In step S72, it is determined whether or not there is communication with the external device 3000 after the start of traveling. If it is determined that there is no communication after the start of traveling, the process proceeds to step S74. On the other hand, if there is communication after the start of traveling, the process proceeds to step S73, and the address data of the external device 3000 that performed communication is temporarily stored, and then the process proceeds to step S74.

  In the process of step S74, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has stopped. If it is determined that the vehicle has stopped, that is, the travel has ended, the process proceeds to step S75, where the travel end of the vehicle is associated with the address data of the external device 3000 that communicated during the travel. The data 23 is accumulated and the registration process is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S74 that the vehicle is not stopped, the process returns to step S72 again and the process is repeated.

  Next, communication destination estimation processing will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, in step S81, it is monitored whether or not the destination is specified by the destination specifying unit 30, and if the destination is specified, the process proceeds to step S82.

  In step S <b> 82, the third communication destination estimation unit 70 refers to the travel-specific address data 23 and searches for address data associated with a point in common with the destination specified by the destination specifying unit 30. The determination of whether or not the points are common can be arbitrarily defined. For example, if both points to be judged belong to the site of a facility, they may be judged as common points, and if both points to be judged are within a predetermined distance, they are common. You may judge that it is a point to do. Moreover, if it is located within a radius of 10 m from the current position at the end of traveling, it may be determined that the point is a common point, or a range in which the driver can determine that the point is common may be specified.

  It is determined whether there is address data associated with a point common to the destination (S83). If there is corresponding address data, the process proceeds to step S84, and if not, the process ends.

  In step S84, the second communication destination estimation unit 60 estimates the extracted address data as a communication destination.

  Following this, creation and transmission of communication information is executed. Creation and transmission of communication information are common to the first embodiment.

  Since this embodiment is configured and operates as described above, the same effects as the first embodiment and the second embodiment can be obtained, and the following effects can be obtained.

  According to the present embodiment, the external device 3000 that is in contact before the vehicle arrives at the destination (traveling end point) is automatically selected as the communication destination when it goes to the same destination again next time. This saves the trouble of the driver searching the address book.

  According to this embodiment, when there is a partner who has contacted when heading to a destination in the past, when the location is set as the destination again, the partner can be estimated as the communication destination.

  That is, when there is an external device (including the communication device 100 + n mounted on another vehicle) that has contacted the driver when traveling to a destination in the past, that is, when the driver has traveled to the destination in the past. If there is a friend / acquaintance who has contacted the driver, the next time the driver sets the destination as the destination, the external device (the friend / acquaintance) is automatically inferred as the communication destination and the communication is performed. By doing so, it is possible to save the driver from searching with the address book.

  For example, in the past, if the driver has been in contact with a golf club on the course of going to a golf course, the next time he / she goes to the same golf course again, he / she will contact the golf course in the past. It is possible to automatically select an existing golf friend as a communication destination.

For this reason, in the contact when the driver goes to the golf course, the address book and the searching operation can be omitted. In other words, when an accident or traffic jam occurs when heading to the golf course and the delay must be communicated, it is possible to communicate with the other party who wishes to be contacted without performing an address search operation.

  Each embodiment described above is described in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not described in order to limit the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment is intended to include all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.

  That is, in this specification, as one aspect of the information communication system 10000, 10000A, which is an example of the information communication system according to the present invention, communication devices 100... 100 + n as examples of in-vehicle communication devices and a server as an example of an information center Although a system including 2000 or 2001 will be described, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Of course, as in the third embodiment, the external database 2021 and the communication destination estimation unit 2030 may be provided on the in-vehicle device side, and the in-vehicle device side may be configured to execute destination estimation and communication information transmission.

  Moreover, although the communication apparatus 100 grade | etc., Demonstrated the aspect contained in the navigation apparatus 1000 in this embodiment, it can also be comprised as an apparatus independent of a navigation apparatus. In addition, the communication device 100 can exchange information with the navigation device 1000, the vehicle controller 400, and other in-vehicle devices via an in-vehicle wireless LAN such as a CAN system.

  Further, in this specification, as one aspect of the navigation device 1000, the position detection device 200, the storage device 300, the map information 400, the route search unit 500, the arrival time calculation unit 600, the guidance unit 700, Although the aspect provided with the output part 800 was demonstrated, it is not limited to this.

  Further, in the present specification, as an example of the in-vehicle communication device, the storage unit 20 as one aspect of the storage unit, the destination specifying unit 30 as one aspect of the destination specifying unit, and the communication as one aspect of the communication unit Although the communication apparatus 100 ... 100 + n which has the part 10 is demonstrated, it is not limited to this.

In addition to this, a description will be given of the communication devices 100... 100 + n further including an information creation unit 40 as one aspect of the information creation means and a transmission control unit 50 as one aspect of the transmission control means. It is not a thing.

Furthermore, although communication apparatus 100 ... 100 + n which has the 2nd communication destination estimation part 60 as an aspect of a 2nd communication destination estimation means is demonstrated, it is not limited to this.

Furthermore, although communication apparatus 100 ... 100 + n which has the 3rd communication destination estimation part 70 as an aspect of a 3rd communication destination estimation means is demonstrated, it is not limited to this.

  In this specification, as an example of the information center, a server 2000 having a communication destination estimation unit 2030 as one aspect of the communication destination estimation unit and a communication support unit 2040 as one aspect of the communication support unit will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Furthermore, in this specification, as an example of the information center, a server 2001 having a point common address extraction unit 2050 as one aspect of the point common address extraction unit and a communication support unit 2040 as one aspect of the communication support unit. Although explained, it is not limited to this.

It is a figure which shows an example of the block configuration of the information provision system 10000 of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the block configuration of the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus 1000 containing the communication apparatus 100, the block configuration of the server 2000, and the block configuration of the external device 3000. It is a flowchart figure for demonstrating the operation control procedure of the information communication system 10000 of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure for demonstrating the procedure of the estimation process of a destination. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an aspect of a travel history 301 accumulated in a storage device 300. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the control procedure of the estimation process of a communication destination. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a presumed process of a communication destination. It is a flowchart figure which shows the procedure of the creation process of communication information. It is a figure which shows an example of the block configuration of the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus 1000 containing the communication apparatus 100 of the information provision system A of 2nd Embodiment, the block configuration of the server 2001, and the block configuration of the external device 3000. It is a figure which shows the one aspect | mode of the point-specific address data. It is a flowchart figure for demonstrating the control procedure of the accumulation | storage process of the address data 22 according to point in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart figure for demonstrating the estimation process of the communication destination in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the block configuration of the vehicle-mounted navigation apparatus 1000 containing the communication apparatus 100A of the information provision system A of 3rd Embodiment. An accumulation process of the address data 23 for each run in the third embodiment will be described. It is a flowchart figure for demonstrating the estimation process of the communication destination in 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10,000, 10000A ... navigation device 1000 ... navigation device 100 ... 100 + n ... communication device 10 ... communication unit 11 ... mail transmission function 20 ... storage unit 21 ... address data 22 ... location-specific address data 23 ... travel-specific address data 30 ... destination identification Unit 31 ... Destination estimation function 40 ... Information creation unit 41 ... Expected arrival time acquisition function 50 ... Transmission control unit 200 ... Position detection device 300 ... Storage device 400 ... Map information 500 ... Route search unit 600 ... Arrival time calculation unit 700 ... Guide unit 800 ... Input / output unit 801 ... Display 802 ... Speaker 4000 ... Vehicle controller 2000, 2001 server 2010 ... Server side communication unit 2011 ... Destination acquisition function 2012 ... Address data acquisition function 2020 ... Server side storage unit 2021, 2022 ... External data 2030 ... Communication destination estimation unit 2040 ... Communication support unit 2050 ... Point common address extraction unit 3000 ... External device 3010 ... External communication unit 3020 ... External storage unit 3021 ... Address data 3030 ... External position detection function 3040 ... External Side Destination Identification Department

Claims (12)

An in-vehicle communication device that is mounted on a vehicle and has a communication function, and an information communication system that includes an information center that exchanges information with the in-vehicle communication device,
The in-vehicle communication device is
Storage means for storing address data used for communication with the external terminal;
Destination specifying means for specifying the destination of the host vehicle;
Communication means for sending the destination of the host vehicle specified by the destination specifying means and the address data of the external terminal stored in the storage means to the information center;
The information center
The external database including the position of the external terminal is referred to, and the external terminal included in the address data received from the in-vehicle communication device is in communication with the destination of the own vehicle received from the in-vehicle communication device. Communication destination guessing means to guess as
An information communication system comprising: communication support means for sending address data of the external terminal estimated by the communication destination estimation means to the in-vehicle communication device. The information communication system according to claim 1,
An information communication system in which the communication means of the in-vehicle communication device further communicates with an external terminal estimated as the communication destination using the address data notified by the communication support means of the information center. The information communication system according to claim 1,
The communication support unit of the information center uses the address data of the external terminal estimated by the communication destination estimation unit and the external terminal estimated as the communication destination using the address data. An information communication system for sending a command to perform communication with the vehicle-mounted communication device. The information communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The communication destination estimation means refers to an external database including the position of the external terminal, is an external terminal located within a predetermined distance from the destination of the host vehicle received from the in-vehicle communication device, and the in-vehicle communication device An information communication system that estimates an external terminal included in address data received from a communication destination. The information communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The destination specifying means refers to the travel history in which changes in the current position from the departure point of the vehicle to the destination are stored in association with time, and the travel history with the same departure point of the vehicle is obtained. An information communication system that extracts and estimates the destination of the host vehicle based on a destination analysis result in the extracted travel history. An information communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The in-vehicle communication device is calculated based on a current position of the own vehicle detected on the vehicle side, a destination specified by the destination specifying means, and accessible map information. An information creating means for obtaining an estimated arrival time to reach a destination and creating communication information including the estimated arrival time;
Transmission control for transmitting the communication information created by the information creation means to the external terminal estimated as the communication destination using the address data notified by the communication support means of the information center via the communication means. And an information communication system. The information communication system according to claim 6,
The information creation means acquires the estimated arrival time at a predetermined interval, compares the estimated arrival time acquired last time with the estimated arrival time acquired this time, and if the time difference between the two is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, acquires the current time Create updated communication information including the estimated arrival time,
The transmission control means estimates the updated communication information created by the information creation means via the communication means as the communication destination using the address data notified by the communication support means of the information center. An information communication system for sending to an external terminal. The information communication system according to claim 6 or 7,
The information creating means compares the acquired estimated arrival time with the current time, and if the difference between the estimated arrival time and the current time is less than a predetermined value, the communication including that the host vehicle arrives at the destination Create information,
The transmission control means has inferred the communication information created by the information creation means as the communication destination through the communication means using the address data notified by the communication support means of the information center. An information communication system to be transmitted to an external terminal. An in-vehicle communication device mounted on a vehicle and having a communication function; and an information center for exchanging information with the in-vehicle communication device;
The in-vehicle communication device is
Storage means for storing address data used for communication with the external terminal;
Communication means for acquiring the current position of the vehicle when the vehicle has finished traveling from the vehicle, and transmitting the acquired position information of the current position of the vehicle and the address data to the information center; ,
The information center
Refers to an external database including the position of the external terminal acquired from an external terminal including the in-vehicle communication device mounted on another vehicle, and the current position when the traveling of the vehicle acquired from the in-vehicle communication device is completed. Point common address extraction means for extracting address data of external terminals included in the address data received from the in-vehicle communication device, which is address data of external terminals associated with common location information;
Communication support means for associating the address data of the external terminal extracted by the point common address extracting means with the current position when the vehicle has finished traveling, and sending it to the in-vehicle communication device system. An information communication system according to claim 9, wherein
The in-vehicle communication device is
Destination specifying means for specifying the destination of the host vehicle;
Refer to the address data acquired from the information center and the location-specific address data stored in association with the location information when the travel is completed, and associate the same with the destination specified by the destination specifying means. An information communication system further comprising a second communication destination estimation unit that estimates the received address data as a communication destination. Storage means for storing address data used for communication with an external device from the start of travel of the vehicle until the end of travel, and address data for each travel associated with each travel history;
Destination specifying means for specifying the destination of the host vehicle;
Refers to the address data of each external terminal stored in the storage means, and is associated with a travel history in which the travel is completed at a point common to the destination of the host vehicle specified by the destination specifying means. Third communication destination estimation means for estimating the address data of the terminal as a communication destination;
A communication unit that performs communication using address data of the external terminal estimated by the third communication destination estimation unit. Identify your vehicle ’s destination,
Refer to the external database prepared in advance, including the location of the external terminal, and the address data of the external terminal used for communication with the external terminal,
The external terminal included in the address data is estimated as a communication destination while being in a predetermined positional relationship with the specified destination of the own vehicle,
An information communication method for transmitting information on the vehicle side to an external terminal estimated as a communication destination using the estimated address data of the external terminal.

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