JP2013167510A - Information apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently use communication to be exemplified as inter-vehicle communication or the like.SOLUTION: A short-range radio communication unit 600 transmits/receives a radio signal for short-range communication 620. A long-range radio communication unit 700 transmits/receives a radio signal for long-range communication 720 whose communication range is longer than that of the short-range communication 620. A position detection unit 400 detects a present position of an information apparatus 100. A processing unit 200 exchanges position/movement information (being information related to the position and movement state of the self apparatus 100 and including a present position detected by the position detection unit 400) with another apparatus by the long-range communication 720 before starting the short-range communication 620. Besides, the processing unit 200 estimates a period and section capable of using the short-range communication 620 with another apparatus on the basis of position/movement information of the self apparatus and another apparatus before starting the short-range communication 620.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information device having a communication function, and more particularly to a technique for efficiently using the communication function.

  The inter-vehicle communication can be executed when the partner vehicle exists in the communicable region of the host vehicle and the host vehicle exists in the communicable region of the partner vehicle. Under such a situation in which vehicle-to-vehicle communication is possible, both vehicles first perform initial processing, and then perform data transmission / reception. The initial processing includes, for example, processing for exchanging information for communication control, processing for selecting communication conditions such as communication speed, and the like. Further, data processing such as compression and encryption is performed on the transmission data as necessary.

JP 2005-223722 A JP 2004-205387 A

  Inter-vehicle communication cannot be performed if one vehicle leaves the other party's communicable area. That is, the time during which inter-vehicle communication is possible is finite. Moreover, the length of communicable time depends on the speed of the vehicle, the traveling direction, and the like. For example, the communicable time is relatively short between vehicles passing at high speed. In consideration of time spent for initial processing and transmission data processing, the time actually allocated for data transmission / reception is further limited in the communicable time.

  From these points, it is required to efficiently use the communicable time. Such a problem also applies to communication involving a moving body other than a vehicle.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this point, and aims at providing the technique etc. for using efficiently the communication illustrated as communication between vehicles etc.

  An information device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a short-range wireless communication unit that transmits and receives a short-range communication wireless signal, and a long-range wireless that transmits and receives a long-range communication wireless signal that has a longer communication distance than short-range communication. A communication unit, a position detection unit that detects the current position of the device itself, a short-range wireless communication unit, a long-range wireless communication unit, and a processing unit connected to the position detection unit are included. Before starting the short-range communication, the processing unit exchanges the position / movement information including the current position detected by the position detection unit with the other device through the long-distance communication. Perform the process. Further, the processing unit performs a process of estimating a period and a section in which the short-range communication can be used with another device from the position / movement information of the own device and the other device before starting the short-range communication.

  According to the above aspect, the period and section in which the short-range communication can be used are estimated before the short-range communication is started. For this reason, short-distance communication can be started immediately after a situation in which short-distance communication is available is formed. In other words, if such an estimation is not performed, a situation may occur in which short-distance communication is not started even though a situation in which short-distance communication is available is formed. Therefore, according to the above aspect, it is possible to efficiently use short-range communication.

  The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a first example of a communication situation in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a first example of a communication situation in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a first example of a communication situation in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the information device according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation example of the information device according to the first embodiment. 3 is a timing chart illustrating an operation example of the information device according to the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example when short-range communication is interrupted in the first embodiment. 3 is a timing chart illustrating an operation example of the information device according to the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram for describing a second example of a communication situation in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for describing a second example of a communication situation in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a third example of a communication situation in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tracking mode in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tracking mode in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a tracking mode in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a tracking mode-related operation in the first embodiment. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a tracking mode-related operation in the first embodiment. 6 is a diagram for explaining a configuration example of a communication control file according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an information device according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

  Hereinafter, a case where the information device according to the present invention is a navigation device with a communication function, in other words, a communication device with a navigation function will be exemplified. In particular, a case where the navigation device is mounted on an automobile vehicle, that is, a case where the navigation device is a car navigation device is illustrated.

  However, the information device is not limited to these examples. For example, the information device may be mounted on a railway vehicle, an aircraft, a ship, or the like, or may be mounted on a vehicle that is remotely operated. The information device may be of a type carried by a person. In other words, the information device is a device that can accompany various types of mobile objects.

  Further, the information device can be provided not only as a car navigation device but also as a mobile phone, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or the like.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the car navigation apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. According to the example of FIG. 1, the car navigation device 100 includes a processing unit 200, a storage unit 300, a position detection unit 400, an output unit 500, a short-range wireless communication unit 600, and a long-range wireless communication unit 700. Is included.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the processing unit 200 includes a central processing unit 210 and a main storage unit 220. The central processing unit 210 is composed of, for example, one or a plurality of processors. The main storage unit 220 includes one or a plurality of storage devices such as a ROM, a RAM, and a flash memory.

  The main storage unit 220 stores various programs (a navigation program 221 and a communication control program 222 are illustrated in FIG. 1) and various data (a communication control file 230 is illustrated in FIG. 1).

  Various programs may be stored in advance in a ROM or a flash memory, or may be read from the storage unit 300 at the time of execution and stored in a RAM. Various data may be stored in a flash memory in a nonvolatile manner, or may be stored in a RAM in a volatile manner.

  The main storage unit 220 also provides a work area when the central processing unit 210 executes various programs.

  When the central processing unit 210 executes various programs, the processing unit 200 realizes various functions. For example, the navigation function is realized by executing the navigation program 221, and the communication control function is realized by executing the communication control program 222. Various functions can be realized in parallel.

  Here, the storage unit 300 is a so-called auxiliary storage unit. The storage unit 300 is configured by a storage device having a larger capacity than the main storage unit 220, such as a hard disk device. The storage unit 300 stores various data such as map data used for the navigation function. In addition, various programs may be stored in the storage unit 300 as described above.

  The position detection unit 400 detects the current position of the navigation device 100, that is, the current position of an automobile vehicle (hereinafter also simply referred to as “vehicle”) on which the navigation device 100 is mounted.

  Here, the case where the position detection part 400 is comprised by a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving part is illustrated. Specifically, the GPS receiving unit 400 is connected to a GPS receiving antenna 410, and based on information received from a GPS satellite (not shown) via the antenna 410, the own device 100 (that is, the own vehicle). Get the current position of.

  Instead of or in addition to GPS, self-contained navigation that obtains position information from information such as an acceleration sensor, a gyroscope, and a vehicle speed signal may be employed.

  The output unit 500 outputs various information to the user. In the example of FIG. 1, the output unit 500 includes a display unit 501 that outputs visual information and an audio output unit 502 that outputs auditory information.

  The short-range wireless communication unit 600 transmits and receives wireless signals for the short-range communication 620. In the example of FIG. 1, the short-range wireless communication unit 600 includes a transmission unit 601, a reception unit 602, and a baseband unit 603, and is connected to an antenna 610 for short-range wireless communication.

  In the transmission operation, transmission target data is converted into a baseband signal by the baseband unit 603, the baseband signal is converted into a radio signal for short-range communication 620 by the transmission unit 601, and the radio signal is transmitted from the antenna 610. Sent. In the reception operation, a radio signal received via the antenna 610 is converted into a baseband signal by the receiving unit 602, and the baseband signal is converted into data in a format that can be processed by the processing unit 200 by the baseband unit 603. Converted.

  The long-range wireless communication unit 700 transmits and receives a radio signal for the long-range communication 720 having a communication distance longer than that of the short-range communication 620. In the example of FIG. 1, the long-distance wireless communication unit 700 includes a transmission unit 701, a reception unit 702, and a baseband unit 703, and is connected to an antenna 710 for long-distance wireless communication.

  The transmission unit 701, the reception unit 702, and the baseband unit 703 operate in the same manner as the transmission unit 601, reception unit 602, and baseband unit 603 of the short-range wireless communication unit 600.

  Under such a configuration, the processing unit 200 controls the short-range wireless communication unit 600 and the long-range wireless communication unit 700 according to the communication control program 222, so that the navigation device 100 has the short-range communication 620 and the long-range wireless communication unit 700. Car-to-car communication using and.

  In addition, although the case where the radio signals of the short-range communication 620 and the long-range communication 720 are transmitted by radio waves is illustrated, it is also possible to employ, for example, optical communication for one or both of the short-range communication 620 and the long-range communication 720. is there. Moreover, although the case where the short-range communication 620 has a wider band than the long-range communication 720 is illustrated, it is not limited to this example.

  In the example of FIG. 1, a central processing unit 210, a main storage unit 220, a storage unit 300, a position detection unit 400, a display unit 501, an audio output unit 502, a short-range wireless communication unit 600, a long The distance wireless communication unit 700 is connected to a so-called bus type. However, other connection formats may be adopted.

  The navigation device 100 may further include another element, for example, an input unit for the user to input instructions, information, and the like.

  Next, vehicle-to-vehicle communication between the vehicles 10a and 10b equipped with the car navigation device 100 will be outlined with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 exemplify scenes in which the vehicles 10a and 10b pass each other on opposite lanes.

  Although communication between the vehicles 10a and 10b is performed between the car navigation devices 100 mounted on the vehicles 10a and 10b, in the following, for the sake of brevity, the expression "vehicles 10a and 10b communicate" is used. There is also a case.

  When the vehicles 10a and 10b approach, as shown in FIG. 2, the car navigation device 100 mounted on the vehicles 10a and 10b can transmit and receive radio signals for long-distance communication 720 to each other.

  Specifically, the vehicle 10a exists in the long-distance communicable area 721b of the car navigation device 100 of the vehicle 10b (hereinafter, sometimes expressed as “long-distance communicable area 721b of the vehicle 10b”), and In a situation where the vehicle 10b exists in the long-distance communicable area 721a of the vehicle 10a, the vehicles 10a and 10b can directly perform the long-distance communication 720.

  Alternatively, in a situation where there is a server 730 capable of relaying the long distance communication 720 in the long distance communicable area 721a of the vehicle 10a and the same server 730 exists in the long distance communicable area 721b of the vehicle 10b, The vehicles 10 a and 10 b can perform long-distance communication 720 indirectly via the server 730.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a case where the vehicles 10a and 10b use the same server 730. On the other hand, if the long distance communication 720 is transferred between the plurality of servers 730, the vehicles 10a and 10b can use different servers 730. Transfer between the servers 730 may be performed by either wireless communication or wired communication.

  In the case of indirect long-distance communication via the server 730, the vehicles 10a and 10b may not exist in the long-distance communicable areas 721b and 721a of the other party.

  Note that the server 730 may supply not only the relay of the long distance communication 720 but also the information held by the server 730 to the vehicles 10a and 10b.

  As the vehicles 10a and 10b come closer, as shown in FIG. 3, the vehicles 10a and 10b can transmit and receive radio signals for the short-range communication 620 to each other. Specifically, in a situation where the vehicle 10a exists in the short-range communicable area 621b of the vehicle 10b and the vehicle 10b exists in the short-range communicable area 621a of the vehicle 10a, the vehicles 10a and 10b directly Thus, short-range communication 620 can be performed.

  Thereafter, when the vehicles 10a and 10b pass each other and move away from each other, the vehicles 10a and 10b are separated from the short-distance communicable areas 621b and 621a of the counterpart vehicles 10b and 10a. FIG. 4 illustrates a state immediately before the vehicles 10a and 10b are disengaged from the other party's short-distance communicable areas 621b and 621a.

  In FIG. 4, for the vehicle 10 a, a point where the short distance communication 620 can be started is indicated by a black circle, and an end point of the short distance communication 620 is indicated by a black diamond. A section between them becomes a section in which the vehicle 10a can use the short-range communication 620 (hereinafter also referred to as “short-range communication-capable section”) 622a. FIG. 5 also shows the short-distance communicable section 622b of the vehicle 10b.

  Next, a more specific operation of the car navigation apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the situation changes in FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate flowcharts of the operation of the car navigation apparatus 100. FIG. 5 and 6 are connected by a connector C11.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the vehicles 10a and 10b start the long distance communication 720 (step S101), the processing unit 200 of the car navigation device 100 in each of the vehicles 10a and 10b transmits the own vehicle (more Specifically, information on the position and movement status (hereinafter also referred to as “position / movement information”) of the navigation device 100) mounted on the host vehicle is exchanged (step S102). After the information exchange, the vehicles 10a and 10b end the long distance communication 720 (step S103).

  The position / movement information includes predetermined information such as the current position of the host vehicle, the movement speed, and the movement route. The current position of the vehicle can be acquired by, for example, the position detection unit 400 (see FIG. 1). Further, the moving speed can be calculated from, for example, the current position history and the current position acquisition cycle. Or you may acquire a moving speed from the speedometer mounted in the vehicle, for example. In addition, for example, a travel route up to that point can be acquired from the current location history, and a future travel route can be estimated from the current location history and map information. Alternatively, for example, the travel route can be acquired from the route information set in the navigation function.

  Thereafter, in each of the vehicles 10a and 10b, the processing unit 200 estimates a period and a section in which the short-range communication 620 can be used between the vehicles 10a and 10b from the position / movement information of the own vehicle and the position / movement information of the opponent vehicle. (Step S104). Hereinafter, a period in which the short-range communication 620 can be used is also referred to as a “short-range communication available period”. More specifically, the start time and end time of the short-distance communicable period are estimated, and the start point and end point of the short-distance communicable section are estimated.

  The estimation of such information is, for example, a simulation of a situation that satisfies the condition that each vehicle 10a, 10b exists in the other party's short-distance communicable areas 621b, 622b based on the position / movement information of both vehicles 10a, 10b. It is possible to do so. In addition, the existing navigation technology can be applied to such a simulation.

  Next, in each of the vehicles 10a and 10b, the processing unit 200 selects a communication condition for the short-range communication 620 according to the short-range communication possible period and the short-range communication possible section estimation result (step S105). The communication condition includes, for example, predetermined information such as a communication speed, acceptance / rejection of data processing (compression, encryption, etc.) for transmission target data, and a processing format when data processing is performed.

  If it is determined in step S105 that the transmission target data is to be processed, the processing unit 200 processes the transmission target data in accordance with the determined content (step S106). If it is determined in step S105 that the transmission target data is not to be processed, step S106 is not performed.

  Thereafter, the processing unit 200 of each of the vehicles 10a and 10b monitors the position information of the own vehicle until it reaches the start point of the short-distance communicable section estimated in step S104 (steps S107 and S108).

  If the estimated start point is reached, the vehicles 10a and 10b perform the link establishment process of the short-range communication 620, thereby starting the short-range communication 620 (step S109).

  After the start of the short distance communication 620, the processing unit 200 of each vehicle 10a, 10b confirms that the current time does not exceed the estimated end time of the short distance communication possible period (step S110), and the short distance communication 620 Various data is transmitted and received (step S111). In the transmission / reception step S111, for example, the vehicle 10a requests the vehicle 10b to transmit desired data, and the vehicle 10b transmits data corresponding to the request to the vehicle 10a.

  In the transmission / reception step S111, for example, the latest position / movement information at that time is exchanged between the vehicles 10a and 10b. Then, the processing unit 200 of each of the vehicles 10a and 10b, based on the acquired position / movement information of the partner vehicle and the position / movement information of the own vehicle, manages the short-range communication possible period and the short-range communication managed by the own vehicle. The possible section is corrected (step S112).

  In addition, in the transmission / reception step S111, for example, supplementary information is exchanged between the vehicles 10a and 10b. Examples of supplementary information include traffic information (information such as signal waiting time and inter-vehicle distance) obtained up to that point. And the processing part 200 of each vehicle 10a, 10b is based on the supplementary information acquired from the other vehicle (or based on the supplementary information acquired by the own vehicle), and the short distance communication managed by the own vehicle. The possible period and the short-distance communicable section are corrected (step S112).

  The correction step S112 may be executed every time various information used for correction is acquired, or may be executed after all the various information used for correction is acquired.

  After the correction step S112, the processing by the processing unit 200 returns to step S110. If data not related to correction is received, the processing unit 200 skips the correction step S112 and returns to step S110.

  When the processing unit 200 determines in step S110 that the current time has exceeded the estimated end time of the short-distance communication possible period, the processing unit 200 sets the current position detected by the position detection unit 400 to the short distance. By comparing with the estimation result of the communicable section, it is estimated whether or not the short-range communication 620 can be continued (step S113).

  That is, when it is confirmed that the host vehicle still exists within the short-distance communicable section, the processing unit 200 determines that the short-distance communication can be continued, and executes the transmission / reception step S111. On the other hand, when it is confirmed that the host vehicle is out of the short-distance communicable section, the processing unit 200 ends the short-distance communication 620 (step S114).

  In continuation determination step S114, instead of or in addition to the above processing contents, it may be confirmed whether short-range communication 620 is actually held, for example, by analyzing the strength of received radio waves and the like.

  FIG. 7 illustrates the operation S100 in a timing chart format. For comparison, FIG. 7 also illustrates conventional inter-vehicle communication performed only by short-range communication.

  In conventional inter-vehicle communication, after the start of short-range communication, control information for communication is exchanged, communication conditions are selected based on the control information, and transmission target data is processed (compressed or the like). Then, finally, transmission / reception of the target data is performed.

  In contrast, in the car navigation apparatus 100, as described above, before starting the short distance communication 620, the position / movement information is exchanged by the long distance communication 720 (step S102), and the short distance is based on the position / movement information. The period and section in which the communication 620 can be used are estimated (step S104), the communication condition of the short-range communication 620 is selected (step S105), and the data transmitted by the short-range communication 620 is processed (step S106). FIG. 7 illustrates a case where the process of registering the position / movement information in the communication control file 230 (see FIG. 1) is performed after the data processing step S106.

  As described above, since the selection of the communication condition regarding the short-range communication 620 and the processing of the transmission target data are performed before the start of the short-range communication 620, the short-range communication possible period is effectively used as compared with the conventional inter-vehicle communication. Can do. In other words, the short-range communication 620 can be used efficiently.

  In addition, since the car navigation apparatus 100 estimates the period and section in which the short-range communication can be used before the start of the short-range communication 620, the short-range communication is promptly performed after the situation in which the short-range communication 620 can be used is formed. Communication 620 can begin. On the other hand, in the conventional vehicle-to-vehicle communication, since such estimation is not performed, there may occur a situation in which the short-range communication is not started even though the short-range communication 620 is usable. For the sake of explanation, only the start timings of the short-range communication are shown. Also in this respect, the car navigation apparatus 100 can use the short-range communication 620 efficiently.

  Further, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the car navigation device 100 corrects the estimation result of the short-distance communicable period and the short-distance communicable section based on the information exchanged after the start of the short-distance communication 620 (step S111, S112). Thereby, the estimation accuracy of the short-distance communicable period and the short-distance communicable section can be increased, and the short-distance communication 620 can be stabilized and made efficient.

  Here, the information exchange step S111 and the estimation result correction step S112 after the start of the short-range communication 620 may be performed at any timing. However, these steps S111 and S112 are the initial stage after the start of the short-range communication 620, in other words, the transmission / reception of information not related to the correction of the estimation result of the short-range communication possible period and the short-range communication possible section. It is preferable to do this first. This is because the estimated end time and the estimated end point of the short-range communication 620 can be corrected at an early stage, which contributes to stabilization and efficiency of the short-range communication 620.

  7 illustrates three execution timings of the correction step S112, but FIG. 7 does not illustrate a limited example of executing the correction step S112 three times.

  In addition, information exchange after the start of the short-range communication 620 is performed in view of the fact that the start time of the short-range communication 620 is estimated and grasped in advance and the information is exchanged in advance by the long-range communication 720. Compared with conventional information exchange in vehicle-to-vehicle communication, it can be executed in a short time. This also contributes to the efficiency of the short-range communication 620.

  Further, in the data transmission / reception step S111 that is not involved in the correction, it is possible to concentrate on the transmission / reception processing in view of the selection of the communication conditions and the optimization of the data processing before the start of the short-range communication 620. For this reason, it is possible to shorten the time compared with the data transmission / reception in the conventional inter-vehicle communication, and as a result, it contributes to the efficiency improvement of the short-range communication 620.

  In particular, in a scene where the vehicles 10a and 10b pass each other (see FIGS. 2 to 4), since the usable time of the short-range communication 620 is short, the car navigation device 100 that can perform the short-range communication 620 efficiently and stably is useful. is there.

  FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of the operation when the short-range communication 620 is disconnected. For example, when a situation such as no response to the data transmission request or no reception response to the data transmission occurs, the operation S200 is started.

  First, the processing unit 200 checks whether or not the current time has exceeded the estimated end time of the short-distance communicable period (step S201). It is checked whether the detected current position exceeds the estimated end point of the short-distance communicable section (step S202). Note that step S20 may be executed prior to step S201.

  When it is determined by the steps S201 and S202 that only one of the estimated end time of the short-distance communicable period and the estimated end point of the short-distance communicable section does not exceed the current state, the processing unit 200 It is estimated that the short-range communication 620 can be reconnected. On the other hand, when it is determined that both the estimated end time of the short-distance communicable period and the estimated end point of the short-distance communicable section do not exceed the current state, the processing unit 200 causes the short-range communication 620 to re- Estimated that connection is not possible.

  If it is estimated that reconnection is possible, the processing unit 200 executes a predetermined reconnection process (step S203), and continues the short-range communication 620 when the reconnection is successful (steps S204 and S205).

  On the other hand, when it is estimated that reconnection is impossible, and when the reconnection is not successful even if the reconnection process is executed, the processing unit 200 ends the short-range communication 620 (step S206).

  If the short-range communication 620 can be reconnected by the operation S200, the disconnected data transmission / reception can be resumed. That is, since it is not necessary to start data transmission / reception from the beginning, the target data transmission / reception can be completed promptly.

  FIG. 9 illustrates a timing chart of the operation of the car navigation device 100. According to the example of FIG. 9, the long distance communication 720 is performed periodically. Each time, steps S102, 104 to S106 (see FIG. 5) are performed, and various types of information related to the steps S102, 104 to S106 are registered in the communication control file 230. That is, the communication control file 230 is updated each time the long distance communication 720 is executed.

  On the other hand, the short-range communication 620 is performed when a use request 820 for the short-range communication 620 is generated inside or outside the car navigation apparatus 100. In the short distance communication 620, steps S111 and S112 (see FIG. 6) are performed, and information registered in the communication control file 230 is corrected by step S112.

  In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 9, there may be a plurality of short-range communication use requests 820 during one cycle of the long-range communication 720, and conversely, short-range communication during one cycle of the long-range communication 720. The usage request 820 may not occur. FIG. 9 illustrates the reconnection of the short-range communication 620 described with reference to FIG.

  In the above description, the scenes in which the vehicles 10a and 10b pass each other are illustrated, but the operations S100 and S200 are also performed in the scene in which the vehicles 10a and 10b travel in the same direction and the vehicle 10a passes the vehicle 10b as illustrated in FIGS. Is applicable.

  Also, the above operations S100, S200, etc. can be applied to the more specific example of the road network shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 12, the vehicle 10a travels on a route 11a that travels south after traveling east, the vehicle 10b travels on a route 11b that travels north, and both vehicles 10a and 10b pass on the same road on the way.

  In the example of FIG. 12, the vehicle 10 b can communicate with the server 730 through the long-distance communication 720, but the vehicle 10 a is too far away from the server 730 through the long-distance communication 720. Even in such a case, if the vehicle 10b transmits the information acquired from the server 730 to the vehicle 10a by the long-range communication 720 or the short-range communication 620 that can be used later, the vehicle 10a also receives the information. Can be obtained.

  Next, referring to FIGS. 13 to 15, an outline of the tracking mode for securing the short-range communication 620 for a longer time will be described. The tracking mode is used when the vehicles 10a and 10b equipped with the car navigation device 100 travel in the same direction and the vehicle 10a passes the vehicle 10b. Hereinafter, the vehicle 10a may be referred to as a rear vehicle 10a, and the vehicle 10b may be referred to as a front vehicle 10b.

  More specifically, in the situation of FIG. 13, the vehicles 10a and 10b are traveling in different lanes in the same direction, and the rear vehicle 10a is approaching the front vehicle 10b. Then, as shown in FIG. 14, the rear vehicle 10a changes the lane and adopts a movement route that is attached behind the front vehicle 10b, thereby maintaining the situation in which the short-range communication 620 can be used. For this reason, it is possible to secure the short-range communication 620 for a longer time than in the case of simply overtaking the forward vehicle 10b. Here, as shown in FIG. 15, the forward vehicle 10b then turns left, and the backward vehicle 10a changes the lane again and passes the vehicle 10b.

  The tracking mode-related operation S300 of the car navigation device 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 16 and 17 in addition to FIGS. 16 and 18 are connected by connectors C31, C32, and C33. The tracking mode related operation S300 is executed in the rear vehicle 10a, but is not executed in the front vehicle 10b (that is, the vehicle to be tracked).

  As illustrated in FIG. 13, when the vehicles 10a and 10b approach and the long distance communication 720 becomes available, the processing unit 200 of the vehicles 10a and 10b performs steps S101 to S108 illustrated in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a has obtained information that the front vehicle 10b makes a left turn at the next intersection in step S102 for exchanging position / movement information by the long-distance communication 720. In step S104, the short-distance communicable period and the short-distance communicable section are estimated under the condition that the tracking mode is not executed, and the information that the preceding vehicle 10b makes a left turn at the next intersection is used for the estimation. Shall be considered.

  In particular, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a determines whether or not the tracking mode can be executed before starting the short-range communication 620, more specifically, the vehicle 10a changes the lane as illustrated in FIG. Then, it is determined whether or not it is possible to follow the vehicle 10b with the available inter-vehicle distance for the short-range communication 620 (step S301). For example, the determination is based on the position / movement information of the vehicles 10a and 10b and the estimation results of the short-distance communicable period and the short-distance communicable section. In other words, it can be performed by simulation). The result of the determination of whether tracking is possible is registered in the communication control file 230.

  Returning to FIG. 16, when the vehicles 10 a and 10 b further approach and the short-range communication 620 can be used (step S <b> 302), the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10 a refers to the communication control file 230 and determines whether tracking is possible. Is confirmed (step S303).

  When it is confirmed that the tracking is possible, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a starts the tracking mode (step S304). For example, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a controls the driving of the host vehicle 10a while managing the positional relationship between the vehicles 10a and 10b by exchanging information through the short-range communication 620, various sensors, and the like, and controls the host vehicle 10a to the front vehicle 10b. Move to the back.

  Alternatively, instead of such automatic driving control, driving of the host vehicle 10a may be left to a driver (in other words, a user of the car navigation device 100). In this case, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a notifies the driver of the start of the tracking mode via the output unit 500, for example.

  Next, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a corrects the estimated end time of the short-distance communicable period (step S305). That is, since the end time estimated in step S104 before the start of short-range communication is based on the condition that the tracking mode is not executed, the estimated end time is corrected in step S305. For such correction, the latest position / movement information and the like may be exchanged between the vehicles 10a and 10b by the short-range communication 620.

  Thereafter, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a transmits and receives data by the short-range communication 620 similarly to step S111 illustrated in FIG. 6 (step S306), and appropriately performs short-range communication similarly to step S112 illustrated in FIG. The possible period and the short-distance communicable section are corrected (step S307). Steps S306 and S307 are performed until the tracking mode is terminated because the tracking mode cannot be continued or becomes unnecessary (steps S308 and S309). In the examples of FIGS. 13 to 15, the tracking mode ends at the latest just before the forward vehicle 10 b makes a left turn.

  In the tracking mode end step S309, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a updates the result of the tracking availability determination registered in the communication control file 230, for example, to the content of the end of tracking.

  According to the example of FIG. 15, the short-range communication 620 can be used after the tracking mode is ended and further after the rear vehicle 10a has overtaken the front vehicle 10b. In order to deal with such a situation, the processing unit 200 of the rear vehicle 10a transmits and receives data by the short-range communication 620 similarly to the above step S306 even after the end of the tracking mode (step S310), and similarly to the above step S307. The short-range communicable period and the short-range communicable section are corrected as appropriate (step S311). Thereafter, the processing by the processing unit 200 returns to step S303.

  If step S303 is executed after the end of the tracking mode, it is determined that tracking is impossible, and step S312 is executed unlike the above. In step S312, as in step S110 illustrated in FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the current time exceeds the estimated end time of the short-range communication 620. If it is determined that the time has not passed, the processing by the processing unit 200 proceeds to step S310. If it is determined that the time has passed, the processing unit 200 executes step S313.

  In step S313, as in step S113 illustrated in FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the short distance communication 620 can be continued. If it is determined that continuation is possible, the processing by the processing unit 200 proceeds to step S310. On the other hand, if it is determined that continuation is not possible, the writing rate 200 ends the short-range communication 620 (step S314). .

  By executing the tracking mode, it is possible to ensure the long-term use of the short-range communication 620. As a result, the communication volume is increased, the communication is stabilized, and the like. Moreover, if automatic operation control is employ | adopted as mentioned above, it is possible to perform the driving | operation for tracking mode with sufficient timing.

  In the examples of FIGS. 13 to 15, the vehicles 10 a and 10 b are initially traveling in separate lanes, but the tracking mode can be applied even when both the vehicles 10 a and 10 b are traveling in the same lane from the beginning. In addition, the tracking mode can be changed to, for example, a parallel running mode in which the vehicles 10a and 10b run side by side. In other words, the above effect can be obtained by adopting a movement route in which the vehicle 10a maintains a positional relationship in which the short-range communication 620 can be used with the opponent vehicle 10b.

  Here, FIG. 18 illustrates information stored in the communication control file 230 (that is, communication control information). According to the example of FIG. 18, fields for storing the position / movement information 231, the supplementary information 232, the situation estimation result 233 in which short-range communication is available, and the short-range communication condition 234 are provided for the host vehicle. ing. Similarly, a field for storing each data of the position / movement information 235, the supplementary information 236, the estimation result 237 of the situation in which the short-range communication can be used, and the short-range communication condition 238 is also provided for the opponent vehicle. Each information 231 to 238 is updated at the time of acquisition, for example.

  In the example of FIG. 18, the information 237 and 238 regarding the opponent vehicle is also acquired by information exchange using the short-range communication 620 and registered in the communication control file 230 of the own vehicle.

  In the example of FIG. 18, the supplementary information 232 and 236 include the result of determining whether or not the tracking mode is possible. However, since the tracking mode-related operation S300 is not executed in the forward vehicle 10b that is tracked as described above, the registration field regarding the forward vehicle 10b is empty.

  The partner vehicle No. in the communication control file 230 is registered according to a predetermined rule (ascending order or the like) at the timing when the partner vehicle is found by the long distance communication 720, for example.

  Unlike the example of FIG. 18, for example, the information 231 to 238 may be managed as separate files.

  Here, various information related to the use of the short-range communication 620, for example, the execution status of each step of the operations S100, S200, and S300 may be notified to the user by the output unit 500 (see FIG. 1). According to such notification, the user can grasp the communication status, which is convenient.

  The techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not acquire various types of information for short-range communication by long-range communication before starting short-range communication, and also start short-range communication. In addition, various processes for short-range communication are not performed before the operation.

<Embodiment 2>
FIG. 19 illustrates a block diagram of a car navigation device 100B according to the second embodiment. As can be seen by comparing FIG. 19 and FIG. 1, the car navigation device 100B does not have the long-range wireless communication unit 700, and the long-range wireless communication device 700B prepared separately from the car navigation device 100B Works in conjunction. That is, long-range wireless communication device 700B is externally attached to car navigation device 100B.

  Specifically, the car navigation device 100B includes a long-distance communication interface unit 800 that is a part connected to the long-distance wireless communication device 700B in a wired or wireless manner instead of the long-distance wireless communication unit 700. The long distance communication interface unit 800 is connected to the processing unit 200 and the like. The other configuration of the car navigation device 100B is basically the same as that of the car navigation device 100.

  The long-distance wireless communication device 700B can operate in the same manner as the long-distance wireless communication unit 700, and only needs to be able to control the processing unit 200 via the long-distance communication interface unit 800. The long-range wireless communication device 700B can be used.

  The car navigation device 100B with the long-range wireless communication device 700B connected thereto can operate in the same manner as the car navigation device 100 illustrated in the first embodiment. For this reason, the effect similar to the car navigation apparatus 100 is acquired.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be freely combined with each other within the scope of the invention, and each embodiment can be appropriately modified or omitted.

  10a, 10b Vehicle (moving body), 100, 100B Car navigation device with communication function (information equipment), 200 processing unit, 230 communication control file, 231 and 235 position / movement information, 232 and 236 supplementary information, 233 and 237 short Estimated results of situations where distance communication can be used (estimated results of periods and sections where short-range communications can be used), 234, 238 Short-distance communication conditions, 400 Position detection unit, 500 output unit, 600 Short-range wireless communication 620 Short-range communication, 621a, 621b Short-range communication available area, 622a, 622b Short-range communication available section, 700 Long-range wireless communication unit, 700B Long-range wireless communication device, 720 Long-range communication, 721a, 721b Long-range communication Possible area, 800 Long distance communication interface part.

Claims (10)

A short-range wireless communication unit that transmits and receives wireless signals for short-range communication;
A long-distance wireless communication unit that transmits and receives a radio signal for long-distance communication having a longer communication distance than the short-distance communication;
A position detector that detects the current position of the device;
It is connected to the short-range wireless communication unit, the long-range wireless communication unit, and the position detection unit, and before starting the short-range communication, information about the position and movement status of the device itself, the position Processing for exchanging position / movement information including the current position detected by the detection unit with another device by the long-distance communication, and the position of the own device and the other device before starting the short-range communication An information device comprising: a processing unit that performs a process of estimating a period and a section in which the short-range communication can be used with the other device from the movement information. A short-range wireless communication unit that transmits and receives wireless signals for short-range communication;
A long-distance communication interface unit that is wired or wirelessly connected to a long-distance wireless communication device that transmits and receives wireless signals for long-distance communication having a longer communication distance than the short-distance communication;
A position detector that detects the current position of the device;
It is connected to the short-range wireless communication unit, the long-distance communication interface unit, and the position detection unit, and before starting the short-range communication, is information on the position and movement status of the own device, the position Processing for exchanging position / movement information including the current position detected by the detection unit with another device by the long-distance communication, and the position of the own device and the other device before starting the short-range communication An information device comprising: a processing unit that performs a process of estimating a period and a section in which the short-range communication can be used with the other device from the movement information. The information device according to claim 1 or 2,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the processing unit selects communication conditions for the short-range communication according to the period in which the short-range communication is available and the estimation result of the section before starting the short-range communication. An information device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Before starting the short-range communication, the processing unit compresses and encrypts data to be transmitted by the short-range communication according to an estimation result of the period and the section in which the short-range communication can be used. An information device that performs predetermined data processing including at least one of the above. An information device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The processing unit, after starting the short-range communication, corrects the estimation result of the period and the section in which the short-range communication can be used based on information acquired from the other device through the short-range communication. Information equipment. The information device according to claim 5,
The information processing apparatus, wherein the processing unit corrects the estimation result at an initial stage after starting the short-range communication. The information device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
When the short-range communication is interrupted, the processing unit compares the estimation result of the period and the section in which the short-range communication can be used with the current time and the current position detected by the position detection unit. Information equipment for estimating whether or not the short-range communication is reconnectable. An information device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
An information device further comprising an output unit that outputs information related to use of the short-range communication to a user. An information device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The processing unit can continue the short-range communication for a longer time from the position / movement information of the own device and the other device and the estimation result of the period and the section in which the short-range communication can be used. An information device that determines whether or not a simple travel route is feasible. The information device according to claim 9,
The processing unit is an information device that controls the operation of a moving object on which the information device is mounted according to the movement route.

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