JP2013127736A - Inter-vehicle communication system and on-vehicle device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inter-vehicle communication system capable of easily photographing an image of a driver himself/herself driving a vehicle, and to provide an on-vehicle device usable for constructing the inter-vehicle communication system.SOLUTION: When receiving an information acquisition request from a subsequent vehicle (S21: Y), whether or not the subject vehicle falls under a preceding vehicle is determined in S22 and, when the subject vehicle falls under the preceding vehicle, a data communication relation with the subsequent vehicle is constructed. When the communication relation is constructed and another system does not use a rear camera in the subject vehicle (s23: N), photographing by the rear camera is executed (S27), and the photographed picture is transmitted to the subsequent vehicle (S29). Therefore, a driver of the subsequent vehicle, by just transmitting the information acquisition request by an operation, can easily obtain the picture of the driver himself/herself driving the subsequent vehicle along with a scenery and landscape as the background.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that performs communication between vehicles, and more specifically, can be used to construct a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that performs communication between two vehicles positioned in front and back, and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. The present invention relates to an in-vehicle device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a vehicle travels to a sightseeing spot or the like, a driver often leaves the vehicle and photographs a landscape or scenery. Therefore, in order to make more effective use of such scenery and landscape photos, when the driver gives an instruction to start shooting through the input means, the camera is attached to the vehicle to take a picture of the scenery and landscape. A system for transmitting to a wireless network in association with the current position has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-107927 A

  However, if you want to take a picture of the driver driving the vehicle with the scenery and scenery as the background and leave it in memory, you can ask the passengers of the accompanying vehicle to take pictures. Tough. Therefore, the present invention provides a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that can easily capture an image of the driver driving the vehicle, and an in-vehicle device that can be used to construct the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. It was made as a purpose.

  The inter-vehicle communication system of the present invention made to achieve the above object includes a first in-vehicle device mounted in a first vehicle and a second in-vehicle device mounted in a second vehicle, and at least the first vehicle When the second vehicle is located behind the vehicle, the first communication unit provided in the first vehicle-mounted device and the second communication device provided in the second vehicle-mounted device can communicate with each other. In the communication system, the first in-vehicle device includes an imaging unit capable of imaging a rear image including a succeeding vehicle of the first vehicle, and an imaging request transmitted from the second communication unit. When receiving, the request responding unit instructs the image capturing unit to capture the rear image, and transmits the rear image captured by the image capturing unit to the second communication unit via the first communication unit in response to the instruction. And the second in-vehicle device includes: Request transmission means for transmitting the imaging request to the first communication means via two communication means, and the rear image transmitted from the first communication means in response to the imaging request transmitted by the request transmission means. And image receiving means for receiving via the second communication means.

  In the inter-vehicle communication system of the present invention configured as described above, when the second vehicle is positioned at least behind the first vehicle, the first communication means included in the first in-vehicle device mounted on the first vehicle; Communication with each other is possible with the second communication means provided in the second in-vehicle device mounted on the second vehicle. And the request transmission means with which the 2nd vehicle-mounted apparatus was equipped transmits an imaging request to a 1st communication means via a 2nd communication means. When the first communication unit receives the imaging request, the request handling unit included in the first in-vehicle device instructs the imaging unit included in the first in-vehicle device to capture the rear image including the vehicle following the first vehicle. In response to the instruction, the rear image captured by the imaging unit is transmitted to the second communication unit via the first communication unit. Then, the image receiving means included in the second in-vehicle device receives the rear image transmitted from the first communication means in response to the imaging request transmitted by the request transmission means via the second communication means. .

  For this reason, the driver of the second vehicle simply transmits the imaging request via the request transmission means, and the driver himself / herself is driving the image of the second vehicle together with the scenery and scenery as the background. Images can be easily captured. Note that the present invention does not limit the processing of the rear image received by the image receiving means, and the rear image may be displayed on the display means, and is a storage medium that is removable from the second in-vehicle device. Or may be transferred via wireless communication means.

  In the present invention, the second in-vehicle device includes second position detecting means for detecting a position of the second vehicle, and the request transmitting means is configured to detect the second vehicle detected by the second position detecting means. The position is transmitted together with the imaging request, and the first in-vehicle device receives the first position detecting means for detecting the position of the first vehicle and the first communication means together with the imaging request from the second communication means. Determining means for determining whether the second vehicle is located behind the first vehicle based on the position of the second vehicle and the position of the first vehicle detected by the first position detecting means; The request handling unit may instruct the imaging unit to capture the rear image when the determination unit determines that the second vehicle is positioned behind the first vehicle.

  In this case, the request transmitting unit of the second in-vehicle device transmits the position of the second vehicle detected by the second position detecting unit provided in the second on-vehicle device together with the imaging request. Then, the first in-vehicle device performs the following control by the first position detection means and the determination means provided in itself. That is, the first position detection means detects the position of the first vehicle, and the determination means detects the position of the second vehicle received by the first communication means together with the imaging request from the second communication means and the first position detection means. Whether or not the second vehicle is located behind the first vehicle is determined based on the position of the first vehicle. The request handling unit instructs the imaging unit to capture the rear image when the determination unit determines that the second vehicle is located behind the first vehicle. Therefore, in this case, it is possible to satisfactorily transmit an image including the second vehicle imaged by the imaging unit from the first communication unit to the second communication unit.

  Further, an in-vehicle device of the present invention made to achieve the above object is an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, an imaging means capable of capturing a rear image including a succeeding vehicle of the vehicle, and a rear of the vehicle. When the second vehicle having the second communication means is located, the first communication means capable of mutual communication with the second communication means, and the imaging request transmitted from the second communication means. When the first communication means receives it, the imaging means is instructed to take the rear image, and the rear image taken by the imaging means in response to the instruction is sent to the second communication means via the first communication means. And a request response means for transmitting to the network.

  If the vehicle mounted with the vehicle-mounted device configured as described above is the first vehicle-mounted device, the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system can be easily constructed by combining the vehicle and the second vehicle. be able to. In the inter-vehicle communication system, as described above, the driver of the second vehicle can easily capture an image of the driver driving the second vehicle together with the scenery and scenery as the background. it can.

It is a block diagram showing the structure of the vehicle-mounted apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a flowchart showing the process of the succeeding vehicle of the vehicle-to-vehicle communication system using the vehicle-mounted apparatus. It is a flowchart showing the process of the preceding vehicle of the inter-vehicle communication system.

[Overall Configuration of Embodiment]
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle device 1 to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the in-vehicle device 1 is configured around a control unit 10 configured by a microcomputer.

  That is, the in-vehicle device 1 includes a rear camera 21 (corresponding to an imaging unit) that is provided on the outer surface of the rear portion of the vehicle on which the in-vehicle device 1 is mounted and images the rear of the vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as imaging). The rear camera 21 is connected to the CPU 12 via the camera driver 11 provided in the control unit 10. The CPU 12 is connected to a communication driver 14 that communicates with the outside via the antenna 13, and further, a back guide monitor 23 for the driver of the vehicle to view an image captured by the rear camera 21 described above. , The rear electron mirror 25 and the like are connected via a CAN (Controller Area Network) 15. The rear camera 21 is configured to be able to capture a wide range that can include the entire following vehicle. The CPU 12 is also connected to a GPS device and a car navigation device (not shown).

  Further, the CPU 12 is connected to a memory 18 for storing video (image) data taken by the rear camera 21, data transmitted / received via the communication driver 14, data used for processing in the CPU 12, and the like. . The driver's seat of the vehicle is provided with a display 29 that is also used for displaying a map when the car navigation device is used. In addition to the camera driver 11, CPU 12, communication driver 14, CAN 15, and memory 18, the control unit 10 includes a display driver 19. The display 29 is connected to the CPU 12 via the display driver 19. Controlled by.

  The inter-vehicle communication system of the present embodiment is configured by two vehicles that are mounted on such an in-vehicle device 1 and run in tandem. In the following description, a vehicle that travels ahead of the two vehicles is referred to as a preceding vehicle, and a vehicle that travels rearward of the two vehicles is referred to as a succeeding vehicle. Here, the preceding vehicle corresponds to the first vehicle, the in-vehicle device 1 mounted on the vehicle corresponds to the first in-vehicle device, and the communication driver 14 of the in-vehicle device 1 corresponds to the first communication unit. The succeeding vehicle corresponds to the second vehicle, the in-vehicle device 1 mounted on the vehicle corresponds to the second in-vehicle device, and the communication driver 14 of the in-vehicle device 1 corresponds to the second communication means. The following vehicle does not necessarily have to include the rear camera 21.

  In addition, the communication between the communication driver 14 of the preceding vehicle and the communication driver 14 of the subsequent vehicle may be wireless communication using general radio waves, but may be communication using 3G or WiFi (registered trademark). Although 3G can be used regardless of the distance between vehicles, a communication fee is charged. In contrast, WiFi has a limited distance between vehicles capable of communication, but can transmit and receive large amounts of information with no communication fee. As in the present embodiment, two vehicles traveling in tandem can be stably maintained at a relatively close distance between the vehicles, so that WiFi can be used well.

[Control of in-vehicle device of following vehicle]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing processing executed by the CPU 12 of the in-vehicle device 1 of the following vehicle. Note that the CPU 12 repeatedly executes this process once every predetermined period, for example, every 100 ms, while the driver performs an operation of instructing an imaging request for the own vehicle via the display 29 configured as a touch panel.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in this process, first, an information acquisition request (corresponding to an imaging request) is transmitted to the preceding vehicle via the communication driver 14 at S1 (S represents a step: the same applies hereinafter). In S1, the current position of the succeeding vehicle is also acquired from the GPS device or the car navigation device (corresponding to the second position detecting means), and the position is also transmitted along with the information acquisition request. In subsequent S2, it is determined whether or not an OK for the information acquisition request has been received from the preceding vehicle. If OK has not been received (S2: N), the process is temporarily terminated as is, and if OK has been received (S2: Y), the process proceeds to S3. In S3, a message indicating that the information is being acquired is displayed on the display 29, and further, a captured video transmitted from the preceding vehicle is displayed on the display 29 as will be described later, and the process is temporarily terminated.

[Control in the in-vehicle device of the preceding vehicle]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the process executed by the CPU 12 of the vehicle-mounted device 1 of the preceding vehicle. The CPU 12 repeatedly executes this process every predetermined period, for example, once every 100 ms.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in this process, first, in S21, it is determined whether or not the information acquisition request transmitted from the following vehicle is received via the communication driver 14. If an information acquisition request has not been received (S21: N), the process is temporarily terminated as is, and if an information acquisition request has been received (S21: Y), the process proceeds to S22. In S22, the current position of the preceding vehicle is also acquired from the GPS device or the car navigation device (corresponding to the first position detecting means), and the position is compared with the position of the subsequent vehicle attached to the information acquisition request. Thus, it is determined whether or not the own vehicle corresponds to the preceding vehicle. If the vehicle corresponds to the preceding vehicle, a data communication relationship with the following vehicle is established in S22. When using WiFi, in S22, it is determined not only whether or not the own vehicle is a preceding vehicle relative to the following vehicle, but also whether or not the distance between the following vehicle is within the WiFi communication propagation distance, The communication relationship is established only when it is within the communication propagation distance.

  In subsequent S23, it is determined whether or not the other system is using the rear camera 21 in the own vehicle. If the other system is using the rear camera 21 (S23: Y), the process is temporarily terminated as it is. To do. Even when the communication relationship is not established in S22 described above, an affirmative determination is similarly made in S23, and the process is temporarily terminated as it is.

  On the other hand, if the communication relationship is established in S22 and the other system does not use the rear camera 21 in the host vehicle (S23: N), the process proceeds to S25, and the information acquisition request is answered. OK is transmitted to the following vehicle via the communication driver 14. Then, as described above, an affirmative determination is made in S2 of FIG. 2, and the processing of the in-vehicle device 1 of the succeeding vehicle shifts to the display in S3.

  Returning to FIG. 3, in S27 following S25, imaging by the rear camera 21 is executed, and in S29, the captured image is transmitted to the succeeding vehicle via the communication driver 14, and the process is temporarily ended. Then, the captured video is displayed on the display 29 in the process of S3 in the succeeding vehicle.

[Effects of the embodiment and modifications thereof]
As described above, in this embodiment, the driver of the succeeding vehicle simply transmits the information acquisition request by operation (S1), and the image of the driver driving the succeeding vehicle is used as the background. You can easily shoot with scenery and scenery. Moreover, in the present embodiment, after confirming the positional relationship between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle based on the GPS device or the car navigation device (S22), shooting (S27) and transmission / reception of the captured video (S29, S3) are performed. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily transmit an image including the succeeding vehicle to the succeeding vehicle.

  In the above processing, S1 corresponds to a request transmission unit, S3 corresponds to an image reception unit, S27 to S29 correspond to a request response unit, and S22 corresponds to a determination unit. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the captured video transmitted from the preceding vehicle is not only displayed on the display 29 by the process of S3, but may be stored and stored in the memory 18. The captured video data stored in this manner may be copied to another portable storage medium such as a removable disk via USB or Bluetooth (registered trademark), or may be transferred to a network via WiFi. It may be attached to an e-mail or the like and transmitted to a personal computer. In these cases, the captured video does not necessarily have to be displayed on the display 29.

  Further, in the embodiment, while the driver of the following vehicle performs an operation to instruct the photographing request of the own vehicle, the information acquisition request is repeatedly transmitted (S1), and the captured image is also repeatedly transmitted accordingly. However, (S29), the captured video from when the driver of the succeeding vehicle gives an instruction to start the shooting until the end of the shooting may be sent from the preceding vehicle in a lump. In that case, the in-vehicle device 1 of the succeeding vehicle transmits a command for instructing the start of shooting and a command for instructing the end of the shooting to the preceding vehicle, and the in-vehicle device 1 of the preceding vehicle stores the captured video in the meantime in the memory 18. In addition, when the command for instructing the end of photographing is received, the photographed video may be transmitted to the succeeding vehicle at once.

  Various modifications can be considered for the process of S22. For example, when communication between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle is possible when the rear number plate of the preceding vehicle and the front number plate of the following vehicle face each other using optical communication such as infrared rays, There is also no need to obtain the current position of. Further, the vehicle-mounted device 1 of the following vehicle transmits the vehicle registration number of the own vehicle, and the vehicle-mounted device 1 of the preceding vehicle searches for the vehicle equipped with the number plate on which the vehicle registration number is described by image analysis and searches for the vehicle. May be transmitted.

  Further, when the second vehicle equipped with the second communication means is located behind the vehicle, the vehicle-mounted device can be mutually communicated with the second communication means. When the first communication means receives the data transmission request transmitted from the first communication means and the second communication means, the data corresponding to the data transmission request is sent to the second communication via the first communication means. An in-vehicle device characterized by comprising request response means for transmitting to the means is also conceivable.

  In a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system constructed by combining a vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle device configured in this way and a second vehicle equipped with a second communication means, the data transmission request transmitted from the second communication means When one communication means receives, the request response means transmits data corresponding to the data transmission request to the second communication means via the first communication means. That is, this inter-vehicle communication system can be applied not only to the rear image captured by the imaging means but also to arbitrary data. In the second vehicle, if a data transmission request for the data is transmitted, the corresponding data is transmitted to this data. It can be obtained from a preceding vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle device.

  In that case, the present invention can also be applied to an inter-vehicle communication system in which data other than the captured video is communicated between the preceding vehicle and the following vehicle. For example, when a request is received from a succeeding vehicle, an image showing the traffic condition, traffic jam information acquired from VICS (registered trademark), or a road surface slip state detected by an ABS system provided in the preceding vehicle, etc. You may send from. In such a case, information may be transmitted sequentially between three or more vehicles traveling in tandem in a so-called bucket relay form so that the information can be used more effectively.

  However, it may not always be preferable if the above-mentioned photographed images or the like are sent to a vehicle behind the vehicle. Therefore, only information that is highly shared, such as traffic jam information and slip conditions, is stored in the shared folder in the memory 18 with the information acquired from the preceding vehicle and the information acquired by the own vehicle, and information on the shared folder is stored. May be transmitted sequentially. Such a process can be easily realized by omitting S27 in FIG. 3 and replacing S29 with the process of transmitting information in the shared folder. Furthermore, when information is sequentially transmitted in this way, the merit of using WiFi with no communication fee is increased.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... In-vehicle apparatus 10 ... Control part 12 ... CPU
14 ... Communication driver 18 ... Memory 21 ... Rear camera 29 ... Display

Claims (3)

A first on-vehicle device mounted on the first vehicle; and a second on-vehicle device mounted on the second vehicle, wherein the first on-vehicle device is located at least behind the first vehicle. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system that enables mutual communication between the first communication means provided by the second communication means and the second communication means provided by the second in-vehicle device,
The first in-vehicle device is
Imaging means capable of capturing a rear image including a vehicle following the first vehicle;
When the first communication unit receives the imaging request transmitted from the second communication unit, the imaging unit is instructed to capture the rear image, and the rear image captured by the imaging unit in response to the instruction is transmitted to the imaging unit. Request response means for transmitting to the second communication means via the first communication means;
With
The second in-vehicle device is
Request transmission means for transmitting the imaging request to the first communication means via the second communication means;
Image receiving means for receiving, via the second communication means, the rear image transmitted from the first communication means in response to the imaging request transmitted by the request transmission means;
A vehicle-to-vehicle communication system comprising: The second in-vehicle device includes second position detecting means for detecting the position of the second vehicle,
The request transmission means transmits the position of the second vehicle detected by the second position detection means together with the imaging request,
The first vehicle-mounted device includes a first position detecting unit that detects a position of the first vehicle, a position of the second vehicle that the first communication unit receives from the second communication unit together with the imaging request, and the first vehicle unit. Determining means for determining whether or not the second vehicle is located behind the first vehicle based on the position of the first vehicle detected by the first position detecting means;
2. The request responding unit instructs the imaging unit to capture the rear image when the determining unit determines that the second vehicle is located behind the first vehicle. The vehicle-to-vehicle communication system described. An in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle,
Imaging means capable of capturing a rear image including a vehicle following the vehicle;
First communication means capable of mutual communication with the second communication means when a second vehicle provided with the second communication means is located behind the vehicle;
When the first communication unit receives the imaging request transmitted from the second communication unit, the imaging unit is instructed to capture the rear image, and the rear image captured by the imaging unit in response to the instruction is transmitted to the imaging unit. Request response means for transmitting to the second communication means via the first communication means;
A vehicle-mounted device comprising:

Images