JP2013128187A - External communication device connection control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, without installation of on-vehicle-device compatible communication software into a smart phone etc., a variety of software is not usable on the on-vehicle device side, and in order to install the on-vehicle-device compatible communication software, troublesome installation with reference to a manual etc. is required.SOLUTION: By the connection of the on-vehicle device to an external communication device to perform socket communication with the external communication device, it is discriminated whether or not the external communication device provides associated communication software, depending on whether or not the communication is successful. If no provision of communication software is discriminated, a mail including a URL leading to the associated communication software is transmitted to the external communication device. The associated communication software may be provided on the on-vehicle device side. Also, preferably, the mail address is provided in a management server. The on-vehicle device is a navigation device, and the external communication device is a smart phone.

Description

  The present invention relates to an external communication device connection control system in which an external communication device such as a smartphone is connected to an in-vehicle device such as a navigation device and the software can be used.

  In recent years, external communication devices such as mobile phones and smartphones are always carried around and various functions are used. For this reason, it may be desired to use a similar function using software in addition to a simple external communication function in a vehicle navigation device or the like, even when riding in a vehicle. In particular, various functions necessary for driving can be downloaded using the function of the external communication connection device, and the driving can be enjoyed more by the function.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when there is a navigation device 1 as an in-vehicle device, the manufacturer of this navigation device is equipped with a server 3, and when driving conditions of everyday driving are taken in, it is necessary during driving and useful. There are cases where various types of information that are aggregated and provided by the user, such as vehicle information, user behavior information, and information that is specifically requested from services used by the user, are accumulated.

  In addition, an Internet network is connected to this server, and various information can be taken in. Also. Connected with SNS (social network service) cloud service departments that have been used in recent years, it is now possible to process and distribute information into easy-to-understand information even during operation. ing.

  Such various types of information can be captured by a device having specific software such as a mobile phone or a smartphone, but cannot be captured by a navigation device that does not have specific software. That is, when the smartphone 2 is equipped with software that can connect to the server 3 and capture these information, the software captures information such as the position of the vehicle, the destination, the driving situation, and the reproduced music. be able to.

  However, even if software that captures external information exists in a smartphone or the like, such information cannot be used when there is no communication software compatible with the vehicle-mounted device. In particular, WEB server authentication support function, destination transfer, function to move the current location to a smartphone, etc. when getting off the vehicle, on-board device specified URL proxy display function, map display function around specified coordinates, satellite photo display function, Functions such as trackball use function (gesture transfer function), illuminance sensor transfer function, temperature sensor transfer function, browser bookmark and history transfer function, information proxy display function for character strings, etc. It cannot be used without software.

  The in-vehicle device outputs a message for prompting confirmation of setting or operation of the mobile terminal for displaying the attached data when the attached data information corresponding to the music data transmitted from the mobile terminal cannot be displayed. A technique for accessing an external information providing server and guiding the details of the setting or operation method of the mobile terminal is disclosed in Patent Document 1.

JP 2010-145717 A

  As mentioned above, there are various types of information outside, but it is not possible to use this by not having the function of performing socket communication with this smartphone. Various information can be captured.

  This connection method is described in an instruction manual or the like and described in a manual. However, it is troublesome for a person who intends to use the connection method to take out and examine the manual or the like. Therefore, a user who has not previously installed the socket communication function cannot use it immediately.

  That is, in the prior art, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to connect the in-vehicle device and the smartphone so that socket communication is possible, this is performed by an instruction to install the in-vehicle device compatible communication software from the in-vehicle device side to the smartphone side. Implemented by installing.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the in-vehicle device and the smartphone are connected with the in-vehicle device compatible communication software installed, and when the communication request for socket communication is sent from the in-vehicle device to the smartphone, the communication is successful from the smartphone side. Is returned, and a response such as confirmation of necessary software is made.

  On the other hand, when in-vehicle device compatible communication software is not yet installed in the smartphone, if there is a socket communication start request from the in-vehicle device side to the smartphone side as shown in FIG. 9, there is no response from the smartphone side and communication fails To do.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the user refers to the manual, etc., and requests an installation file from the Internet server by specifying an e-mail number, etc., and installs the e-mail from the Internet server to the smartphone. A file is transmitted, and communication between the in-vehicle device and the smartphone succeeds for the first time.

  In this way, if the in-vehicle device compatible communication software is not installed in the smartphone or the like, various originally usable software cannot be used on the in-vehicle device side. The main purpose is to solve the problem that it is necessary and troublesome to install by looking at manuals.

  In order to solve the above problems, the external communication device connection control system according to the present invention connects the in-vehicle device and the external communication device, performs socket communication with the external communication device, and supports the external communication device depending on whether or not communication is possible. When the in-vehicle device is equipped with the corresponding communication software presence / absence determining means for determining whether or not the communication software is provided, and the corresponding communication software presence / absence determining means determines that the corresponding communication software is not provided in the external communication device, the in-vehicle device side The in-vehicle device is provided with proxy mail transmitting means for transmitting a mail including a URL having corresponding communication software to an external server from an external server.

  The external communication device connection control system according to the present invention is characterized in that, in the external communication device connection control system, when the corresponding communication software is present in the in-vehicle device, the external communication device connection control system is fetched from the in-vehicle device.

  The external communication device connection control system according to the present invention is characterized in that in the external communication device connection control system, a mail address of the proxy mail exists in a management server.

  The external communication device connection control system according to the present invention is characterized in that in the external communication device connection control system, the external communication device is a smartphone.

  The external communication device connection control system according to the present invention is characterized in that in the external communication device connection control system, the in-vehicle device is a navigation device.

  Since the present invention is configured as described above, various software that can be originally used cannot be used unless the vehicle-mounted device-compatible communication software is installed in an external communication device such as a smartphone. External communication that solves the trouble of installing and installing the software by looking at the manual etc., and can install compatible communication software on external communication equipment without looking at the manual etc. It can be a device connection control system.

It is a functional block diagram of the Example of this invention. It is an operation | movement flowchart of the Example. It is another operation | movement flowchart of the Example. It is another operation | movement flowchart of the Example. It is an example of a model / mail address correspondence table of the same embodiment. It is an example of the URL sending mail address of the same Example. It is a figure which shows the example of a communication software request | requirement for vehicle equipment from a vehicle equipment to a smart phone. It is a figure which shows an example when the communication software is provided in the smart phone. It is a figure which shows an example when the corresponding | compatible communication software is not provided in the smart phone. It is a figure which shows the example of a response | compatibility at the time of not providing corresponding | compatible communication software with the conventional smart phone. It is a figure which shows the aspect from which various information is collected and utilized by an external server.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an external communication device connection control system according to the present invention, and shows a functional block diagram in which the present invention can be implemented in various modes. In addition, in the same figure, the function part which performs each function can be said to be a means which performs each function.

  The functional block diagram shown in FIG. 1 shows a vehicle navigation device 1 or the like in the present invention, a smartphone 2 as a typical example of an external communication device, a service unit of a navigation device manufacturer or a vehicle manufacturer provided separately. 3 shows an example in which three departments of the server 3 exist independently.

  In the corresponding communication software presence / absence confirmation unit 4 of the in-vehicle device 1, the socket communication request unit 5 exists so that the in-vehicle device socket communication response unit 11 confirms whether or not the corresponding communication software 15 exists in the smartphone 2. When the corresponding communication software exists, normal communication is performed, and the response confirmation unit 6 can confirm the response, so that it is understood that the corresponding communication software exists in the smartphone. For example, it is determined by trying whether or not the server socket on the smartphone side (use the port number that is not used in normal processing) is open. Therefore, it is usually assumed that the communication software is resident on the smartphone.

  On the other hand, when the corresponding communication software 15 is not yet installed, it is not possible to communicate by socket communication, and it is understood that the corresponding communication software is not yet installed in this smartphone. In the illustrated embodiment, the corresponding communication software is present as an example corresponding to the communication software 9 in the vehicle-mounted device 1 and may be present as the corresponding communication software 17 for installation in the server 3. Note that. Since normal mail is not socket communication, it can communicate.

  The registered mail address acquisition unit 7 does not have the corresponding communication software 9 in the in-vehicle device, and uses the communication function of the smartphone in the in-vehicle device 1 when the corresponding communication software has to be installed from the server 3 to the smartphone. Then, the function of fetching the correspondence table 19 between the model of the specific device and the mail address collected on a regular basis is performed on the mail transmission unit 18 of the server 3.

  The proxy mail transmission request unit 8 requests the mail transmission unit 18 of the server 3 to transmit the proxy mail to the smartphone 2, and the in-vehicle device 1 and the smartphone 2 perform mail communication using a normal communication function. It can be carried out. As a result, the smartphone 2 can receive the corresponding communication software for installation by accessing a specific URL from the mail transmission unit 18, and can install the corresponding communication software by clicking the URL.

  In the corresponding communication software 9, when the in-vehicle device includes the corresponding communication software as described above, the corresponding communication software capturing unit 16 captures and installs the corresponding communication software 13 in the smartphone 2. Can be used as However, when the corresponding communication software 9 is not included in the in-vehicle device 1, the corresponding communication software for installation must be taken in from the server as will be described later.

  The external information capturing unit 10 captures and uses various information from the server 3 by using the function of the smartphone 2 in order to capture and use various external information as a usage form of the in-vehicle device 1. For this purpose, the in-vehicle device 1 needs to be connected to the smartphone 2 by means of specific software so as to be communicable, and accordingly, the corresponding communication software 13 needs to be installed.

  The in-vehicle device socket communication response unit 11 in the smartphone 2 has an inquiry as to whether or not communication is possible from the socket communication request unit 5 of the in-vehicle device corresponding communication software presence / absence confirmation unit 4, and when the corresponding communication software does not yet exist, Indicates that communication is not possible, and indicates that communication is possible when corresponding communication software exists. However, in reality, it is tested whether socket communication can be performed from the in-vehicle device 1 to the smartphone 2, and it can be seen that the corresponding communication software 15 already exists when communication is possible, and the corresponding communication software 15 exists when communication is not possible. The operation of not knowing is done.

  In the mail acquisition unit 12, when the smart phone 2 receives an instruction from the proxy mail transmission request unit 8 of the in-vehicle device 1 to the mail transmission unit 18 of the server 3 to receive the proxy mail by a normal smartphone communication function. , Receive an email with a URL. In the file installation unit 13, the corresponding communication software 15 can be installed by the installation corresponding communication software 20 by clicking the URL described in the mail with the mail URL click unit 14.

  As described above, when the corresponding communication software 19 exists in the in-vehicle device 1, the corresponding communication software capturing unit 16 acquires and installs the corresponding communication software 19. In the external information capturing unit 17, as described above, when the external information capturing unit 10 of the in-vehicle device 1 wants to use the various collected information 21 collected by the server 3, this is captured by the specific software of the smartphone 2. In addition, it is taken in and used by the in-vehicle device by the socket communication function.

  In the mail transmission unit 18 of the server 3, when there is a request from the registered mail address acquisition unit 7 of the in-vehicle device 1 for the model / mail address correspondence table 19, the correspondence table of the models and mail addresses collected on a daily basis is requested. Output this. The correspondence table between the model and the e-mail address is registered here when a new car is purchased or each time a navigation device or the like is purchased. In the communication software for installation 20, when this URL is transmitted to the smartphone, the installation can be performed by clicking the URL.

  As shown in the figure, the collection information 21 is processed and distributed to various information 22 of the vehicle, travel information 23, various information 24 obtained by connecting to the Internet, cloud services such as SNS, etc., even in driving. Cloud linkage information 25 to be used. These pieces of information can be used on the in-vehicle device side by installing the corresponding communication software on the smartphone 2.

  The present invention comprising the functional block diagram as shown in FIG. 1 can be operated in sequence as shown in the operation flow diagram of FIG. That is, FIG. 2 shows an example in the case where the corresponding communication software is not in the in-vehicle device main body in the embodiment of the present invention. by the time. A request to start socket communication is made from the in-vehicle device side, so there is no communication software on the smartphone, so socket communication cannot be performed, a communication error occurs, and communication is not possible because the corresponding communication software does not exist on the connected smartphone. Displays a dialog stating that the software needs to be installed.

  Next, the registered mail address is acquired from the in-vehicle device to the customer management server. This function is performed by requesting the model / email address correspondence table of the customer management server that is currently collecting data from the customer management server using the communication function of the smartphone connected to the in-vehicle device. The model / mail address correspondence table at this time is as shown in FIG. 5, and this is returned.

  A proxy mail is transmitted so as to send a corresponding communication software to the mail address designated by the selected mail address according to the correspondence table of the model of the vehicle-mounted device and the mail address. At that time, a display as shown in FIG. 6 is made, and a display such as “Install the smartphone cooperation software” or “Specify the e-mail address to send the download destination” is made. In addition, a display for registering a registered mail address or a new mail address is also made.

  By sending such a mail, a mail with a URL arrives at the designated mail from the customer management server. The incoming mail display is displayed on the smartphone, and the user visually recognizes this and clicks the URL of the mail. As a result, the smartphone requests the customer management server for an installation file, transmits the installation file from the customer management server, and installs the corresponding communication software.

  Through such a series of processing, if there is no compatible communication software in the in-vehicle device, the smartphone operates normally by installing the corresponding communication software in the customer management server, including the customer management server using the smartphone, Various information can be used on the vehicle-mounted device side by software.

  When the corresponding communication software is in the in-vehicle device, the corresponding communication software can be installed as shown in FIG. In other words, when socket communication is tried as a communication start request, it is found that the corresponding software does not exist due to the transmission of an error from the smartphone, and a request for installing the corresponding communication software is made to the in-vehicle device. Thereby, the installation file which is corresponding communication software is transmitted from the in-vehicle device side, and thereby the corresponding communication software is installed. This function may inquire whether the vehicle-mounted device has a corresponding communication shift before inquiring whether the server has compatible communication software.

  Further, when the corresponding communication software is already installed in the smartphone as described above, as shown in FIG. 4, when the smartphone is turned on and the communication software is activated, a communication start request is made and the socket is started. When communication is tried, communication is performed correspondingly, and it is understood that the corresponding communication software is installed in the smartphone.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 In-vehicle apparatus 2 Smartphone 3 Server 4 Corresponding communication software existence confirmation part 5 Socket communication request part 6 Response confirmation part 7 Registration mail address acquisition part 8 Proxy mail transmission request part 9 Corresponding communication software 10 External information capture part 11 In-vehicle apparatus socket communication Response unit 12 Mail acquisition unit 13 File installation unit 14 Mail URL click unit 15 Corresponding communication software 16 Corresponding communication software fetching unit 17 External information fetching unit 18 Mail sending unit 19 Model / mail address correspondence table 20 Corresponding software 21 for installation Collected information 22 Vehicle information 23 Travel information 24 Internet information 25 Cloud cooperation information

Claims (5)

Connects the in-vehicle device to the external communication device, performs socket communication with the external communication device, and determines whether or not the external communication device has the corresponding communication software based on whether or not the communication is possible. Ready for the machine,
When the corresponding communication software presence / absence determining means determines that the corresponding communication software is not provided in the external communication device, a mail including a URL having the corresponding communication software is transmitted from the in-vehicle device to the external server to the external server. An external communication device connection control system characterized in that a proxy mail transmission means is provided in an in-vehicle device.   2. The external communication device connection control system according to claim 1, wherein when the corresponding communication software exists in the in-vehicle device, the communication software is taken in from the in-vehicle device.   The external communication device connection control system according to claim 1, wherein a mail address of the proxy mail exists in a management server.   The external communication device connection control system according to claim 1, wherein the external communication device is a smartphone.   The external communication device connection control system according to claim 1, wherein the in-vehicle device is a navigation device.

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