JP2016053890A - Information terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store the characteristic information of a vehicle even during long-distance test driving while achieving miniaturization, weight reduction and low cost.SOLUTION: An information terminal 102 includes an acceleration sensor 152 for detecting acceleration information about the acceleration of the information terminal itself, a GPS sensor 154 for deriving absolute position information about the absolute position of the information terminal itself, a first storage part 162 for holding characteristic information including vehicle information, the acceleration information and the absolute position information measured within a predetermined period of time, a second storage part 164 for holding information independently of the first storage part, and a storage control unit 174 for transferring, when predetermined conditions for a vehicle are satisfied, the characteristic information of a relative specific period held in the first storage part and using the point of time of satisfying the predetermined conditions as a reference to the second storage part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an information terminal that stores vehicle characteristic information.

  When a test run is performed during vehicle development, a drive recorder that stores characteristic information such as the vehicle speed, yaw rate, and steering angle of the vehicle is used (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP2013-237424A JP 2004-61374 A

  Since the drive recorder is a dedicated device, it is necessary to check the operation of the hardware after manufacturing, and the manufacturing cost increases. Further, if the storage capacity of the drive recorder is increased to store all the characteristic information during the test running of the vehicle, the weight and volume of the drive recorder are increased and the cost is increased. On the other hand, if the storage capacity of the drive recorder is small, the amount of characteristic information that can be stored in one test run is reduced, and the distance over which the test run can be continued is limited.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an information terminal capable of storing characteristic information of a vehicle even in a long-distance test running while achieving reduction in size and weight and cost.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an information terminal according to the present invention is an information terminal that communicates with a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information indicating the state of a vehicle in a state where the information terminal is positioned in the vehicle, and the information terminal itself An acceleration sensor for detecting the acceleration information of the vehicle, a GPS sensor for deriving the absolute position information of the information terminal itself, and characteristic information including vehicle information, acceleration information, and absolute position information measured within a predetermined time. When the first storage unit, the second storage unit that holds information independently of the first storage unit, and the predetermined condition related to the vehicle are satisfied, the time point that satisfies the predetermined condition held in the first storage unit is a reference And a storage control unit that transfers characteristic information for a relative specific period to the second storage unit.

  You may further provide the radio | wireless communication part which performs radio | wireless communication with a vehicle information acquisition part.

  The predetermined condition may be a condition relating to a weight acting on the vehicle specified based on the acceleration information.

  When it is determined that the vehicle is stopped based on the connection state of the vehicle, the storage control unit may transmit the characteristic information stored in the second storage unit to the server via the communication line.

  According to the present invention, vehicle characteristic information can be stored even in a long-distance test run while reducing the size and weight and reducing the cost.

It is the schematic which shows the outline of a test driving assistance system. It is a functional block diagram which shows the schematic structure of the sensor system of a vehicle. It is a functional block diagram which shows the schematic structure of an information terminal. It is a flowchart which shows roughly the flow of the data transfer process between memory | storage parts. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the data transfer process between memory | storage parts. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the data transfer process to a server roughly.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The dimensions, materials, and other specific numerical values shown in the embodiments are merely examples for facilitating understanding of the invention, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same function and configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted, and elements not directly related to the present invention are not illustrated. To do.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the test travel support system 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the test travel support system 100 includes an information terminal 102 and a server 104.

  The information terminal 102 is a general-purpose computer that is configured by, for example, a tablet terminal and is thin, light, and highly portable, and can execute various programs by installing a corresponding application. The information terminal 102 functions as a so-called drive recorder by executing a dedicated application in a state where the information terminal 102 is positioned in the vehicle 106.

  The information terminal 102 communicates with the base station 108 through a wireless communication line. The information terminal 102 collects vehicle information of the vehicle 106 to which the information terminal 102 is fixed, establishes communication with the server 104 via the communication line 110 such as the base station 108 and the Internet, and the collected vehicle information is described later. Characteristic information to which other information is added is transmitted to the server 104.

  The server 104 establishes communication with the plurality of information terminals 102 via the communication line 110 and the base station 108 and stores the characteristic information transmitted from the information terminal 102 that is fixed to each of the plurality of vehicles 106.

  Hereinafter, the configurations of the vehicle 106 and the information terminal 102 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a sensor system of the vehicle 106. In FIG. 2, a solid arrow indicates a data flow, and a broken arrow indicates a control signal flow. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 106 includes a vehicle speed sensor 120, a yaw rate sensor 122, a rudder angle sensor 124, a throttle flow rate sensor 126, a crank angle sensor 128, and an ECU (Engine Control Unit: vehicle information acquisition unit). 130, a spark plug 132, a fuel injection device 134, and a vehicle communication unit 136.

  The vehicle speed sensor 120 measures the vehicle speed of the vehicle 106 and outputs a signal indicating the measured value to the ECU 130.

  The yaw rate sensor 122 measures the yaw rate of the vehicle 106 and outputs a signal indicating the measured value to the ECU 130.

  The steering angle sensor 124 measures the steering angle of the steering wheel of the vehicle 106 and outputs a signal indicating the measurement value to the ECU 130.

  The throttle flow sensor 126 measures the throttle opening of the vehicle 106 and outputs a signal indicating the measured value to the ECU 130.

  The crank angle sensor 128 measures the crank angle of the vehicle 106 and outputs a signal indicating the measured value to the ECU 130.

  The ECU 130 is configured by a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit (CPU), a ROM storing a program, a RAM as a work area, and the like, and includes various sensors (a vehicle speed sensor 120, a yaw rate sensor 122, a steering angle sensor 124, an aperture). The entire engine is controlled based on signals output from a flow sensor 126, a crank angle sensor 128, and the like.

  For example, the ECU 130 controls the ignition timing by the spark plug 132, the fuel injection timing by the fuel injection device 134, the fuel injection amount, and the like from the measured value of the crank angle sensor 128 and the like.

  Further, ECU 130 outputs measurement values acquired from various sensors to vehicle communication unit 136. Here, the measurement values collected in the ECU 130 are associated with the time of measurement by the ECU 130, and the time axis is synchronized. These measurement values are vehicle information indicating the state of the vehicle 106.

  The vehicle communication unit 136 performs wireless communication with the information terminal 102 and transmits a measurement value output from the ECU 130, that is, vehicle information, to the information terminal 102. As the wireless communication method, for example, short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), wireless LAN (Local Area Network), or the like is used.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the information terminal 102. In FIG. 3, a solid line arrow indicates a data flow, and a broken line arrow indicates a control signal flow. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the information terminal 102 includes a wireless communication unit 150, an acceleration sensor 152, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 154, a charging switch 156, a battery B, a display unit 158, and an operation unit 160. A first storage unit 162, a second storage unit 164, and a central control unit 166.

  For example, the information terminal 102 is detachably fixed near the center of the vehicle 106 in the front-rear direction and the left-right (width) direction of the vehicle 106.

  The wireless communication unit 150 performs wireless communication with the vehicle communication unit 136 of the vehicle 106 to acquire vehicle information of the vehicle 106 and output the vehicle information to the central control unit 166.

  The acceleration sensor 152 measures the acceleration in each of the three axes of the information terminal 102 itself, and outputs a signal indicating the measured value to the central control unit 166. Here, the information terminal 102 is fixed to the vehicle 106 so that the three-axis direction of the information terminal 102 and the three-axis direction of the vehicle 106 coincide with each other. The sensor 152 measures the acceleration of the vehicle 106 by measuring the acceleration of the information terminal 102 itself. That is, the acceleration sensor 152 acquires acceleration information related to the acceleration of the vehicle 106.

  With this acceleration information, it is possible to analyze the vibration of the vehicle 106 (information terminal 102). Here, since the acceleration sensor 152 can measure the acceleration of each of the three axes, vibration generated in the vehicle 106 can be analyzed in detail.

  The GPS sensor 154 acquires information on the absolute position (for example, latitude and longitude) of the information terminal 102 itself via GPS and outputs the information to the central control unit 166. Here, since the information terminal 102 is fixed to the vehicle 106 and moves integrally with the vehicle 106, the GPS sensor 154 measures the absolute position of the information terminal 102 itself, thereby obtaining the absolute position information of the vehicle 106. Will be getting. That is, the GPS sensor 154 acquires absolute position information regarding the absolute position of the vehicle 106.

  As described above, the information terminal 102 is detachably fixed, for example, in the vicinity of the center of the vehicle 106 in the front-rear direction and the left-right (width) direction of the vehicle 106. Therefore, the acceleration information and the absolute position information indicate the approximate center acceleration and absolute position of the vehicle 106.

  The charging switch 156 is a switch that switches on / off charging of the battery B of the information terminal 102 when the accessory power supply of the vehicle 106 and the information terminal 102 are connected by a charging cable.

  The display unit 158 includes a liquid crystal display, an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, or the like. The operation unit 160 includes, for example, a touch panel arranged so as to be superimposed on the surface of the display unit 158, and receives a user operation input.

  The first storage unit 162 and the second storage unit 164 include a RAM, a flash memory, an HDD, and the like. The first storage unit 162 and the second storage unit 164 hold information independently of each other. Also, the first storage unit 162 is a so-called FIFO (First In First Out), unlike the second storage unit 164.

  The central control unit 166 manages and controls the entire information terminal 102 by a semiconductor integrated circuit including a central processing unit (CPU), a ROM storing programs, a RAM as a work area, and the like. Then, the central control unit 166 performs setting, activation, stop, and the like of the application in accordance with the operation input performed via the operation unit 160. In this embodiment, it is assumed that an application that causes the information terminal 102 to function as a drive recorder is activated.

  The central control unit 166 also functions as a charge control unit 170, a display control unit 172, and a storage control unit 174. The charge control unit 170 monitors the remaining capacity of the battery B, and when the battery B is fully charged, turns off the charge switch 156 and stops charging. Further, when the remaining capacity of the battery B is less than a predetermined threshold value, the charging switch 156 is turned on to start charging.

  The display control unit 172 displays an image serving as a user interface of the application on the display unit 158. In addition, the display control unit 172 causes the display unit 158 to display vehicle information output from the wireless communication unit 150, acceleration information output from the acceleration sensor 152, absolute position information output from the GPS sensor 154, and the like. Hereinafter, the vehicle information, the acceleration information, and the absolute position information are collectively referred to as characteristic information indicating the characteristics of the vehicle 106.

  The storage control unit 174 causes the first storage unit 162 and the second storage unit 164 to store the characteristic information according to a predetermined procedure. Hereinafter, the storage control processing by the storage control unit 174 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically showing the flow of data transfer processing between storage units. The process shown in FIG. 4 is repeatedly executed at a preset interval.

  The first storage unit 162 always stores the measured characteristic information, and retains the characteristic information for a predetermined time by overwriting the characteristic information with the latest characteristic information while sequentially erasing the measurement time from the past. ing. That is, the first storage unit 162 stores characteristic information measured within a predetermined time. The storage control unit 174 transfers the characteristic information stored in the first storage unit 162 to the second storage unit 164 by the data transfer process between the storage units shown in FIG.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the storage control unit 174 determines whether or not a predetermined condition related to the vehicle 106 is satisfied (S200).

  Here, the predetermined condition is a condition relating to a weight acting on the vehicle 106 specified based on the acceleration information. Specifically, in the information terminal 102, evaluation items such as the direction of weighting (vibration) acting on the vehicle 106 (information terminal 102), the maximum value of weighting, the interval of weighting (interval), and the frequency of weighting are set. Suppose that Among these evaluation items, the predetermined condition is that the value of one or more evaluation items selected by the user is included in the setting range set by the user.

  If the predetermined condition is not satisfied (NO in S200), the data transfer process between the storage units is terminated. If the predetermined condition is satisfied (YES in S200), the storage control unit 174 determines whether or not a preset standby time has elapsed since the predetermined condition was satisfied (S202). If the standby time has not elapsed (NO in S202), the system waits until the standby time has elapsed. The effect of providing the waiting time here will be described in detail later.

  When the standby time has elapsed (YES in S202), the storage control unit 174 transfers the characteristic information data for a specific period held in the first storage unit 162 to the second storage unit 164 (S204), and the storage unit The data transfer process between them ends.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining data transfer processing between storage units. In FIG. 5, the characteristic information data is represented as data D01 to D11, and the larger the number after D, the later measured characteristic information is.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the storage control unit 174 causes the first storage unit 162 to sequentially hold the characteristic information. The first storage unit 162 is a FIFO, and at the time of FIG. 5A, the previously measured characteristic information data D01 and D02 are erased from the first storage unit 162 and later measured data. D06 and D07 are newly stored in the first storage unit 162.

  Thus, the 1st memory | storage part 162 hold | maintains the data (the data D03-D07 in FIG. 5A) of the characteristic information measured within the predetermined time.

  Then, it is assumed that the predetermined condition regarding the weighting is satisfied at the time point A, and the data D07 becomes the data of the characteristic information measured at the time point A when the predetermined condition is satisfied.

  In this case, the storage control unit 174 waits until the standby time elapses from the time point A. This waiting time is shorter than a predetermined time. As a result, after the standby time has elapsed, some of the data D03 to D07 stored in the first storage unit 162 is still stored in the first storage unit 162.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5B, it is assumed that data D08 and D09 are newly held in the first storage unit 162 and data D03 and D04 are erased during the standby time. The storage control unit 174 transfers the characteristic information data D05 to D09 held in the first storage unit 162 to the second storage unit 164 at the timing when the standby time has elapsed. The second storage unit 164 holds the characteristic information data D05 to D09 transferred from the first storage unit 162 in association with the identifier (for example, No3 in FIG. 5B).

  As described above, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the storage control unit 174 transfers the characteristic information held in the first storage unit 162 to the second storage unit 164. The first storage unit 162 only needs to hold only the characteristic information measured within a predetermined time. The second storage unit 164 sets a predetermined condition among the characteristic information held in the first storage unit 162. It is only necessary to hold characteristic information for a specific period based on the time point when it is satisfied.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to continuously store the characteristic information in the storage unit over the entire period during the test running, and it is not necessary to mount a large-capacity storage unit. As a result, it is possible to store only necessary portions of the characteristic information of the vehicle 106 even in the long-distance test running while reducing the size and weight of the information terminal 102 and reducing the cost.

  Further, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the storage control unit 174 transfers the characteristic information held in the first storage unit 162 to the second storage unit 164 after a preset standby time. As described above, since the standby time is shorter than the predetermined time, in addition to the characteristic information data D07 measured when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the characteristic information data D05, D06, measured before and after satisfying the predetermined condition, D08 and D09 are stored in the second storage unit 164. Therefore, it is possible to automatically accumulate data for a period estimated to be useful for analyzing the state of the vehicle 106.

  At this time, the user can arbitrarily set how many seconds before and after satisfying the predetermined condition, the characteristic information measured in the second storage unit 164 is stored. That is, the predetermined time and the waiting time can be arbitrarily set by the user.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart schematically showing the flow of data transfer processing to the server 104. As shown in FIG. 6, the storage control unit 174 determines whether power can be supplied from the accessory power supply of the vehicle 106 to the information terminal 102 via the charging cable (whether a significant voltage value is detected). (S250). If power supply is possible (YES in S250), the data transfer process to the server 104 is terminated.

  When power cannot be supplied from the accessory power supply (NO in S250), the storage control unit 174 determines whether communication with the vehicle communication unit 136 of the vehicle 106 is possible via the wireless communication unit 150 (S252). . If communication is possible (YES in S252), the data transfer process to the server 104 is terminated.

  If communication with the vehicle communication unit 136 is impossible (NO in S252), neither power feeding nor wireless communication is possible, so the storage control unit 174 determines that the vehicle 106 is stopped ( In step S254, the characteristic information data stored in the second storage unit 164 is transferred to the server 104 (S256), and the data transfer process to the server 104 ends. At this time, the data transferred to the server 104 is deleted from the second storage unit 164.

  As described above, when the storage control unit 174 determines that the vehicle 106 is stopped based on the connection state of the vehicle 106, the storage controller 174 sends the characteristic information stored in the second storage unit 164 to the server 104 via the communication line. Send. This eliminates the need to manually transfer data to the server 104 at the end of the test run. In addition, for example, when the data stored in the second storage unit 164 is transferred and the data stored in the second storage unit 164 is erased after a break in the test run, the second storage unit 164 is stored in the remaining test runs. Sufficient remaining capacity can be secured.

  As mentioned above, although preferred embodiment of this invention was described referring an accompanying drawing, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to this embodiment. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and these are naturally within the technical scope of the present invention. Is done.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a tablet terminal is used as the information terminal 102 has been described. However, the information terminal 102 may be a smartphone, a future phone, a laptop computer, or the like without being limited to the tablet terminal. However, when a general-purpose tablet terminal is used, it can be suitably applied because it is general-purpose and inexpensive, has excellent portability, and includes the wireless communication unit 150, the acceleration sensor 152, and the GPS sensor 154 in advance. Further, since the acceleration sensor 152 mounted on the general-purpose tablet terminal is a high-performance sensor corresponding to the three-axis directions, it is possible to perform a detailed analysis on the weight acting on the vehicle 106.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the first storage unit 162 and the second storage unit 164 are separate storage devices has been described, but the storage area that functions as the first storage unit 162 in one storage device. In addition, a storage area that functions as the second storage unit 164 may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the predetermined condition is satisfied, the storage control unit 174 transfers the characteristic information data held in the first storage unit 162 to the second storage unit 164 after a standby time shorter than the predetermined time. Explained the case. In this configuration, the second storage unit 164 can hold the characteristic information before and after satisfying the predetermined condition.

  However, the storage control unit 174 does not necessarily need to transfer the characteristic information at the time when the predetermined condition is satisfied to the second storage unit 164 as in the above-described embodiment. Further, only a part of the characteristic information among the characteristic information for a predetermined time held in the first storage unit 162 may be transferred to the second storage unit 164. That is, of the characteristic information held in the first storage unit 162, the length of the specific period during which the characteristic information to be transferred to the second storage unit 164 is measured may be equal to or shorter than a predetermined time.

  That is, the storage control unit 174 transfers the characteristic information data stored in the first storage unit 162 for a specific period relative to the time point when the predetermined condition is satisfied to the second storage unit 164. It will be good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the information terminal 102 includes the wireless communication unit 150 has been described. In this configuration, wiring for wired communication is not necessary on the vehicle 106 side, and the work for wiring on the vehicle 106 side can be omitted. Further, instead of the wireless communication unit 150, a communication unit that communicates with the ECU 130 by wire may be provided.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case has been described in which the predetermined condition is a condition relating to the weight acting on the vehicle 106 specified based on the acceleration information, but the predetermined condition may be arbitrarily set. For example, a voice recognition function may be installed in the information terminal 102, and a predetermined condition may be provided regarding the content of the recognized voice.

  However, by setting the predetermined condition as a condition relating to the weight acting on the vehicle 106 specified based on the acceleration information, the characteristic information of a period useful for analysis of the steering stability and the riding comfort characteristic of the vehicle 106 can be efficiently used. Can be extracted and stored in the second storage unit 164.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the storage control unit 174 determines that the vehicle 106 is stopped, the storage control unit 174 transmits the characteristic information data stored in the second storage unit 164 to the server 104 via the communication line. Explained the case. However, the storage control unit 174 may transmit the characteristic information data stored in the second storage unit 164 to the server 104 via the communication line, for example, in response to a manual operation input. The configuration may be such that the transfer processing to the server 104 is not performed without providing the server 104.

  The present invention can be used in an information terminal that stores vehicle characteristic information.

102 information terminal 106 vehicle 130 ECU (vehicle information acquisition unit)
150 wireless communication unit 152 acceleration sensor 154 GPS sensor 162 first storage unit 164 second storage unit 174 storage control unit

Claims (4)

An information terminal that communicates with a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information indicating a state of the vehicle in a state where the vehicle is positioned in the vehicle,
An acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration information of the information terminal itself;
A GPS sensor for deriving absolute position information of the information terminal itself;
A first storage unit for storing characteristic information including the vehicle information, the acceleration information, and the absolute position information measured within a predetermined time;
A second storage unit that holds information independently of the first storage unit;
When the predetermined condition relating to the vehicle is satisfied, the characteristic information for a specific period relative to the time point when the predetermined condition is satisfied, which is stored in the first storage unit, is transferred to the second storage unit A storage control unit,
An information terminal comprising:   The information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication with the vehicle information acquisition unit.   The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is a condition related to a weight acting on the vehicle specified based on the acceleration information.   If it is determined that the vehicle is stopped based on the connection state of the vehicle, the storage control unit transmits the characteristic information stored in the second storage unit to a server via a communication line. The information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information terminal is an information terminal.

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