JP2018011325A - On-vehicle radio communication device and access point selection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a "on-vehicle radio communication device and access point selection method" capable of performing a radio connection by fast and surely selecting an access point suitable for a moving state of a vehicle as a connection destination.SOLUTION: An on-vehicle radio communication device comprises: an address information storage part 18" storing address information of radio equipment available as an internal access point; a radio equipment search part 19 for searching for radio equipment having the address information stored in the address information storage part 18" when it is discriminated that the vehicle is being traveled; and a connection destination selection part 16" by which, in a case where radio equipment having the address information is detected, the detected radio equipment is selected as a connection destination of the internal access point. In a case where the vehicle is being traveled, radio equipment available as the internal access point is directly detected by the search, and the radio equipment can be selected as the connection destination of the internal access point.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus and an access point selection method, and in particular, is configured to be capable of wireless connection by selecting either an internal access point existing in a vehicle or an external access point existing outside a vehicle as a connection destination. It is suitable for use in an in-vehicle wireless communication device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an in-vehicle device that can perform data communication by wirelessly connecting to an access point via a wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi when a user designates the access point is provided. In-vehicle devices that automatically select an access point to be connected are also known (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4). In the navigation device described in Patent Document 1, when a vehicle is parked in a predetermined range in a facility, the vehicle is connected to a wireless LAN through an access point of the facility, navigation information about the facility is downloaded, and the navigation information is downloaded. The facility can be displayed to guide the facility.

  Patent Documents 2 to 4 describe that an appropriate access point is selected as a connection destination from among a plurality of access points existing around a traveling vehicle. That is, in Patent Document 2, an access point that can be downloaded at the lowest cost (or promptly) is selected, a route passing through the service area of the access point is guided, and data is automatically downloaded in the service area. It is described to do.

  Patent Document 3 describes selecting an access point with a profile in order to easily set a profile such as an SSID, MAC address, security information, and connect to an access point. Further, in Patent Document 4, when a vehicle simply passes around the access point or stops around the access point by waiting for a signal, a communication line is established with the access point. In order to solve the problem that the vehicle is disconnected immediately as the vehicle moves, it is described that a communication line is established with an access point existing outside the vehicle when parking of the vehicle is detected.

  By the way, as wireless LAN access points, in addition to access points existing outside the vehicle as described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, wireless mobile phones such as mobile phones and smartphones possessed by passengers of the vehicles themselves There are also terminals (see, for example, Patent Documents 5 to 7). Patent Document 5 describes a first net access route via a public wireless LAN operator network and a second net access route via a communication device such as an in-vehicle wireless LAN and a mobile phone and a mobile communication operator network. It is described that either one is selected and connected to the Internet.

  In the case of the first network access route, connection is made to the public wireless LAN operator network via an access point outside the vehicle. On the other hand, in the case of the second network access route, the communication device functions as a wireless LAN access point in the vehicle. The wireless communication device described in Patent Document 5 is based on the detected wireless LAN signal strength and the vehicle speed, and the second network via the first network access route via the access point outside the vehicle or the communication device functioning as an in-house access point. Select one of the Internet access routes to connect to the Internet. Thereby, it is supposed that it can connect to the internet by an appropriate communication medium.

  Further, in Patent Document 6, in order to enable stable wireless communication regardless of the moving state of the vehicle, the priority of the connection destination is designated in the wireless LAN communication unit according to the type of access point and the moving speed. Is described. Specifically, it describes switching the priority to an in-vehicle access point, an out-of-vehicle access point, or an in-facility access point depending on whether the vehicle is moving, stopped, or stopped in the facility. ing. In the wireless communication device described in Patent Literature 6, the type of the access point is determined according to the moving speed of the vehicle and the change in radio wave intensity from the access point detected by the wireless communication unit.

  Patent Document 7 describes that when an in-vehicle device and a mobile terminal are wirelessly connected, if an external access point is detected, the wireless connection with the external access point is switched. In the in-vehicle device described in Patent Document 7, the access point connection is based on the position information of the own vehicle acquired from the vehicle position detecting device including the GPS provided in the own vehicle and the external access point information read from the map database. An external access point existing inside the range is detected as an external access point connectable to the in-vehicle device.

  A wireless communication apparatus that performs wireless communication by selecting either Bluetooth or a wireless LAN is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 8).

JP 2003-344046 A JP 2004-198315 A JP 2006-262175 A JP 2013-080230 A JP 2012-175686 A JP 2012-191394 A JP 2011-234218 A JP 2011-035632 A

  When wireless LAN connection is performed using a wireless mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone as an internal access point, the positional relationship between the in-vehicle device and the internal access point does not always change, and thus a communication line once established is not easily disconnected. On the other hand, the communication speed is slow. On the other hand, when a wireless LAN connection is made using an external access point existing outside the vehicle, the positional relationship between the in-vehicle device and the external access point always changes as the vehicle moves. In addition, since the communication range covered by one access point is narrow, a communication line once established is likely to be disconnected. On the other hand, the communication speed is fast.

  Thus, it is desired to make good use of such a difference in characteristics and to select either an internal access point or an external access point as appropriate according to the situation and establish a wireless LAN connection. For example, an internal access point is used to acquire data (navigation images, etc.) that is small and necessary while moving, and an external access is used to acquire unnecessary data (such as map update data and video content) while moving. It is possible to use points. This can be realized by using the techniques described in Patent Documents 5 to 7.

  However, the in-vehicle devices described in Patent Documents 5 and 6 determine whether the detected access point is an internal access point or an external access point based on a change in the strength of the radio wave received from the access point. There is a problem that it takes a certain amount of time for the judgment because it is necessary to see the change of the radio wave intensity. In addition, the radio wave strength is inherently unstable and always changes to some extent, whether it is an internal access point or an external access point. Therefore, the judgment method based on the change in radio wave strength can accurately perform internal / external judgment. There was also a problem that it was difficult.

  Further, in the in-vehicle device described in Patent Document 7, an external access point that can be connected to the in-vehicle device is detected using the external access point information stored in advance in the map database. Therefore, there is a problem that external access points that are not stored in the map database cannot be detected. In order to avoid this problem, it is necessary to always keep the external access point information stored in the map database up-to-date according to the actual situation at the site, but in reality it is very difficult.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an access point suitable for a moving state of a vehicle among an internal access point inside the vehicle or an external access point outside the vehicle is connected at high speed and reliably. The purpose is to enable wireless connection by selecting.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the present invention, when it is determined that the vehicle is traveling, an address information storage unit that stores address information of a wireless device that can be used as an internal access point is referred to. A wireless device having the address information stored in the address information storage unit is searched. If a wireless device having the address information is detected by this search, the detected wireless device is selected as a connection destination of the internal access point.

  According to the present invention configured as described above, when a vehicle is running, a wireless device that can be used as an internal access point is directly detected by searching, and the wireless device is selected as a connection destination of the internal access point. can do. As a result, among the internal access points inside the vehicle or the external access points outside the vehicle, when the vehicle is running, an internal access point suitable for the moving state can be selected as a connection destination at high speed and reliably connected. .

It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the radio | wireless communications system provided with the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the address information memorize | stored in the address information storage part by 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the whole structure of the radio | wireless communications system provided with the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 3rd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the address information memorize | stored in the address information storage part by 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the vehicle-mounted radio | wireless communication apparatus by 4th Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a wireless communication system including an in-vehicle wireless communication device according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless communication system includes an in-vehicle wireless communication device 100, a hands-free call device 200, a mobile terminal 300, and an access point 400 according to the first embodiment.

  The in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 and the hands-free communication device 200 are mounted in the vehicle. For example, the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 and the hands-free call device 200 are built in an in-vehicle device such as an in-vehicle navigation device or an audio device. The hands-free communication device 200 may be a type built in the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 or may be a type provided separately from the in-vehicle device in which the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 is built. .

  The hands-free call device 200 is wirelessly connected to the portable terminal 300 by Bluetooth (second wireless communication method described in claims) which is one of short-range wireless communication standards. When hands-free connection information including identification information of the mobile terminal 300 equipped with the Bluetooth communication function is registered in the hands-free call device 200, the mobile terminal 300 existing within the communicable range is connected to the hands-free call device 200 and the Bluetooth connection. And communication is possible. When an incoming or outgoing call is made in the mobile terminal 300 in this state, a hands-free call can be performed via the hands-free call device 200.

  The mobile terminal 300 and the access point 400 correspond to the wireless devices described in the claims. The mobile terminal 300 is a smartphone or a mobile phone possessed by a user boarding the vehicle. In addition to the Bluetooth communication function, the mobile terminal 300 is based on a wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi (the first wireless communication system described in the claims). It also has a communication function.

  When the portable terminal 300 is brought into the vehicle, the portable terminal 300 functions as an internal access point that is a wireless LAN access point existing in the vehicle. On the other hand, the access point 400 existing outside the vehicle functions as an external access point of the wireless LAN (hereinafter referred to as the external access point 400). That is, the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 is configured to be wirelessly connectable by a wireless LAN by selecting either the mobile terminal 300 or the external access point 400 which is an internal access point as a connection destination.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 according to the first embodiment has, as its functional configuration, a wireless device detection unit 11, a first address acquisition unit 12, a second address acquisition unit 13, and an inside / outside determination unit 14. , A traveling state determination unit 15, a connection destination selection unit 16, a wireless connection unit 17, and an address information storage unit 18. Note that the hands-free call device 200 includes a BT address storage unit 21.

  Each of the functional blocks 11 to 17 can be configured by any of hardware, DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and software. For example, when configured by software, each of the functional blocks 11 to 17 is actually configured by including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like of a computer, and is stored in a recording medium such as a RAM, ROM, hard disk, or semiconductor memory. Is realized by operating.

  The BT address storage unit 21 stores hands-free connection information necessary for the hands-free call device 200 to make a hands-free call by making a Bluetooth connection with the mobile terminal 300. This hands-free connection information includes a Bluetooth address (hereinafter referred to as BT address). The BT address is identification information that can uniquely identify the mobile terminal 300 registered in the hands-free call device 200 by Bluetooth pairing.

  The address information storage unit 18 is used when the mobile terminal 300 that can be used as an internal access point of the wireless LAN (first address information) and the mobile terminal 300 are connected to the hands-free call device 200 via Bluetooth. The BT address (second address information) is stored in association with each other. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of address information stored in the address information storage unit 18. In the example of FIG. 3, regarding the two mobile terminals 300, the MAC address as the wireless LAN connection information and the BT address as the Bluetooth connection information are stored in association with each other. This address information is stored in advance by the user operating an operation unit (not shown).

  The wireless device detection unit 11 detects wireless devices that can be connected by a first wireless communication method (wireless LAN) that performs wireless communication using an access point. A vehicle on which the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 is mounted moves as the vehicle travels. As the vehicle moves, the external access point 400 to which the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 can be connected via a wireless LAN frequently changes. Therefore, the wireless device detection unit 11 periodically detects the external access point 400 that can be connected to the wireless LAN at the current position.

  When the mobile terminal 300 is brought into the vehicle, the wireless device detection unit 11 detects the mobile terminal 300 as an access point that can be connected via a wireless LAN. That is, the wireless device detection unit 11 detects one or more wireless devices (the mobile terminal 300 and / or the external access point 400, or both) that can be connected by the wireless LAN according to the current position of the vehicle.

  The first address acquisition unit 12 acquires, as first address information, address information of the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 and used when wirelessly connected via a wireless LAN. The first address information acquired here is the MAC address of the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11.

  The second address acquisition unit 13 acquires from the hands-free call device 200 a BT address stored in advance in the BT address storage unit 21 of the hands-free call device 200 as address information used when wirelessly connecting via Bluetooth. For example, the second address acquisition unit 13 is synchronized with the timing at which the wireless device is regularly detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 and the MAC address of the wireless device is acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12. A BT address is acquired from the free call device 200.

  The inside / outside determination unit 14 includes one or more wireless devices detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 based on the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 and the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13. It is determined whether the device is a portable terminal 300 or an external access point 400 as an internal access point. Specifically, the inside / outside determination unit 14 stores the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 in the address information storage unit 18 in association with the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13. If the MAC address matches, the wireless device having the MAC address is determined to be an internal access point.

  That is, the fact that the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 is stored in the address information storage unit 18 in association with the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13 is the MAC address. The wireless device shown is not the external access point 400 that does not make a Bluetooth connection with the in-vehicle hands-free communication device 200, but is paired with the hands-free communication device 200 and the BT address is registered in the BT address storage unit 21. It means that it is the portable terminal 300. That is, since it means that the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 is the portable terminal 300 existing in the vehicle, it can be determined that this is an internal access point.

  On the other hand, when the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 is not stored in the address information storage unit 18 in association with the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13, the inside / outside determination unit 14 The wireless device having the MAC address is determined as the external access point 400.

  The traveling state determination unit 15 determines a traveling state whether or not the vehicle is traveling. For example, the traveling state determination unit 15 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling based on vehicle speed information acquired through an in-vehicle network such as CAN (Controller Area Network). The traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is traveling when the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than a predetermined value.

  The method for determining whether or not the vehicle is running is not limited to this. For example, it may be determined that the vehicle is running when the parking brake is not used based on the parking brake information acquired via the in-vehicle network. In this case, it is determined that the vehicle is not traveling only when the vehicle is parked using the parking brake, and it is determined that the vehicle is traveling when the vehicle is simply stopped due to a signal or the like.

  The traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is traveling when the vehicle current position detected by the current position detection device (autonomous navigation sensor or GPS receiver) provided in the navigation device is moving. You may do it.

  The connection destination selection unit 16 converts any wireless device determined as an internal access point or an external access point by the internal / external determination unit 14 according to the traveling state of the vehicle determined by the traveling state determination unit 15 to the wireless LAN. Select as the connection destination. That is, when the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is traveling, the connection destination selection unit 16 uses the inside / outside determination unit 14 among one or more wireless devices detected by the wireless device detection unit 11. A wireless device determined to be an internal access point (mobile terminal 300) is selected as a connection destination. On the other hand, when the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is not traveling, the connection destination selection unit 16 uses the inside / outside determination unit 15 among the one or more wireless devices detected by the wireless device detection unit 11. A wireless device determined to be the access point 400 is selected as a connection destination.

  When there are a plurality of wireless devices that are determined to be internal access points (portable terminals 300) by the internal / external determination unit 14, these are displayed as a list on a display screen (not shown), and one of them is selected by the user Let The connection destination selection unit 16 selects the mobile terminal 300 selected by the user as the connection destination. Similarly, when there are a plurality of wireless devices determined to be the external access point 400 by the inside / outside determination unit 15, these are displayed as a list on a display screen (not shown), and the user is allowed to select any one. The connection destination selection unit 16 selects the external access point 400 selected by the user as the connection destination.

  The wireless connection unit 17 connects to the wireless device selected by the connection destination selection unit 16, that is, either the mobile terminal 300 or the external access point 400, and performs communication by wireless LAN.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment configured as described above. Note that the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 starts when the power of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 is turned on.

  First, the wireless device detection unit 11 detects a wireless device that can be connected by a wireless LAN at the current position (step S1). Next, the first address acquisition unit 12 acquires the MAC address of the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 (step S2). The second address acquisition unit 13 acquires the BT address stored in advance in the BT address storage unit 21 of the hands-free call device 200 from the hands-free call device 200 (step S3).

  Next, the inside / outside determination unit 14 includes the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12, the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13, and the address information stored in the address information storage unit 18. Based on the above, it is determined whether one or more wireless devices detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 are the portable terminal 300 as the internal access point or the external access point 400 (step S4).

  Moreover, the traveling state determination unit 15 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling (step S5). In addition, although the example which performs the determination of a driving | running state after the inside / outside determination of an access point is demonstrated here, a process order is not limited to this. For example, the process of step S5 may be performed immediately after step S1, and the determination of the running state may be performed before the access point inside / outside determination.

  The connection destination selection unit 16 selects, as the connection destination, one of the wireless devices determined by the internal / external determination unit 14 as an internal access point or an external access point according to the vehicle driving state determined by the driving state determination unit 15. To do. That is, when the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is traveling, the connection destination selection unit 16 selects the mobile terminal 300 that is an internal access point as a connection destination (step S6). On the other hand, when the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is not traveling, the connection destination selection unit 16 selects the external access point 400 as a connection destination (step S7).

  Then, the wireless connection unit 17 connects to the wireless device selected by the connection destination selection unit 16 and performs communication by wireless LAN (step S8). Thereafter, the wireless device detection unit 11 determines whether or not a certain time has elapsed since the previous wireless device was detected (step S9). If it is detected that a certain time has elapsed, the process returns to step S1, and the wireless device detection unit 11 detects the wireless device again.

  On the other hand, if the certain time has not yet elapsed, the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 determines whether or not the power is turned off (step S10). If the power is not turned off, the process returns to step S9. On the other hand, when the power of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 is turned off, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 ends.

  As described above in detail, in the first embodiment, when the wireless device detection unit 11 detects one or more wireless devices that can be connected by a wireless LAN, address information using the MAC address acquired from the wireless device. By comparing with the address information in the storage unit 18, it is determined whether the detected wireless device is the mobile terminal 300 or the external access point 400 of the internal access point. On the other hand, the traveling state determination unit 15 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling. Then, either the mobile terminal 300 or the external access point 400 is selected as a wireless LAN connection destination according to the determined running state.

  According to the first embodiment configured as described above, it is determined whether the detected wireless device is the mobile terminal 300 or the external access point 400 for a certain period of time, unlike when the state change of the radio wave intensity is observed. No need to wait. Moreover, it is not fixed information such as radio wave intensity that is constantly fluctuating, or information that always needs to be updated, such as access point information stored in the map database. An inside / outside determination of the access point is performed using a correct MAC address. As a result, whether the wireless device is an internal access point or an external access point is determined quickly and reliably, and any access point suitable for the moving state of the vehicle is selected as a connection destination and wirelessly connected. Can do.

(Second Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The overall configuration of a wireless communication system including the in-vehicle wireless communication device according to the second embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 according to the second embodiment. In FIG. 5, those given the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and therefore redundant description is omitted here.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment does not include the address information storage unit 18 shown in FIG. Further, an inside / outside determination unit 14 ′ is provided instead of the inside / outside determination unit 14. The inside / outside determination unit 14 ′ has the MAC address when a part of the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 is common with a part of the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13. The wireless device is determined to be the mobile terminal 300 of the internal access point.

  Generally, as shown in FIG. 3, both the MAC address and the BT address are used as information indicating the vendor ID in the first 3 bytes. It has been confirmed that this vendor ID is the same for each manufacturer. Therefore, the fact that the value of the first 3 bytes of the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 matches the value of the first 3 bytes of the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13 means that the MAC address This means that the wireless device indicated by is paired with the hands-free communication device 200 and the BT address is provided by the same vendor as the portable terminal 300 registered in the BT address storage unit 21.

  Here, it is considered that the same vendor provides both the portable terminal 300 and the external access point 400 as a case. Therefore, the vendor ID indicated by the first 3 bytes of the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 matches the vendor ID indicated by the first 3 bytes of the BT address acquired by the second address acquisition unit 13. In this case, it can be determined that the wireless device indicated by the MAC address is not the external access point 400 but the mobile terminal 300.

  According to the second embodiment configured as described above, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to store the MAC address of the mobile terminal 300 in advance in association with the BT address.

(Third embodiment)
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a wireless communication system including the in-vehicle wireless communication device according to the third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in the third embodiment, the wireless communication system does not include the hands-free call device 200.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 according to the third embodiment. In FIG. 7, components having the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2 have the same functions, and thus redundant description is omitted here. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 according to the third embodiment does not include the second address acquisition unit 13 illustrated in FIG. 2. Further, instead of the inside / outside determination unit 14 and the address information storage unit 18, an inside / outside determination unit 14 "and an address information storage unit 18" are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the address information storage unit 18 ″ stores the MAC address of the portable terminal 300 that can be used as an internal access point of the wireless LAN. For example, the address information storage unit 18 ″ of the portable terminal 300 owned by a family who always gets on the vehicle. The MAC address is stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″. The MAC address is stored in advance by the user operating an operation unit (not shown).

  The inside / outside determination unit 14 ″ matches the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 (corresponding to the address acquisition unit described in claims) with the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″. In this case, the wireless device having the MAC address is determined to be the mobile terminal 300 of the internal access point.

  According to the third embodiment configured as described above, the MAC acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 is stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″ even when the in-vehicle device does not include the hands-free call device 200. By comparing with the MAC address that is present, it is possible to quickly and reliably determine whether the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 is the mobile terminal 300 or the external access point 400 of the internal access point.

(Fourth embodiment)
The fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The overall configuration of a wireless communication system including the in-vehicle wireless communication device according to the fourth embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 according to the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 9, components having the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 7 have the same functions, and thus redundant description is omitted here. As shown in FIG. 9, the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 according to the fourth embodiment further includes a wireless device search unit 19. Further, in place of the wireless device detection unit 11 and the connection destination selection unit 16, a wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ and a connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ are provided.

  When the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is traveling, the wireless device search unit 19 searches for the mobile terminal 300 having the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″. The device detection unit 11 detects an unspecified wireless device within a communicable range from the current position. On the other hand, the wireless device search unit 19 is stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″. Only the specific mobile terminal 300 indicated by the MAC address is searched.

  When the wireless device search unit 19 detects the mobile terminal 300 having the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″, the connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ moves the detected mobile terminal 300 to the wireless LAN. It should be noted that a plurality of MAC addresses are stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″, and a plurality of portable terminals 300 are detected as a result of searching for the portable terminals 300 indicated by the MAC addresses. In this case, this is displayed as a list on a display screen (not shown) and the user is allowed to select one of them. The connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ selects the mobile terminal 300 selected by the user as the connection destination.

  On the other hand, when the mobile device 300 having the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″ is not detected by the wireless device search unit 19, the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ However, since the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ detects the wireless device when the mobile terminal 300 is not found by the search by the search unit 19, in this case, the wireless device detection unit 11 ″. What is detected by 'is the external access point 400. In this case, the connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ uses the external access point 400 detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ as the connection destination. select.

  When there are a plurality of external access points 400 detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 ″ ′, these are displayed as a list on a display screen (not shown), and the user is allowed to select any one. The connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ selects the external access point 400 selected by the user as the connection destination.

  The wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ detects a wireless device that can be connected by the wireless LAN even when the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is not traveling. In this case, the inside / outside determination unit 14 ″ stores the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 for the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ in the address information storage unit 18 ″. It is determined whether the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ is the mobile terminal 300 of the internal access point or the external access point 400 according to whether or not it matches the address. Then, the connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ selects the external access point 400 determined by the inside / outside determination unit 14 ″ as the connection destination of the wireless LAN.

  Also in this case, when there are a plurality of wireless devices that are determined to be the external access point 400 by the inside / outside determination unit 14 ″, these are displayed as a list on a display screen (not shown), and the user is allowed to select one of them. The connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ selects the external access point 400 selected by the user as the connection destination.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus 100 configured as shown in FIG. 9 according to the fourth embodiment. Note that the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 starts when the power of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 is turned on.

  First, the traveling state determination unit 15 determines whether or not the vehicle is traveling (step S11). When the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is traveling, the wireless device search unit 19 searches for the mobile terminal 300 having the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″ (step S12). Then, the wireless device search unit 19 determines whether or not the mobile terminal 300 having the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″ has been detected (step S13).

  When the mobile terminal 300 having the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″ is detected, the wireless device search unit 19 notifies the connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ accordingly. The connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ selects the portable terminal 300 (internal access point) detected by the wireless device search unit 19 as the connection destination of the wireless LAN (step S14).

  On the other hand, when the mobile terminal 300 having the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″ is not detected, the wireless device search unit 19 notifies the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ accordingly. In response, the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ detects a wireless device that can be connected via the wireless LAN (step S15). As described above, the external access point 400 is detected here. In this case, the connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ selects the external access point 400 detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ as the connection destination (step S16).

  In step S11, when the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is not traveling, the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ detects a wireless device that can be connected by the wireless LAN (step S17). Next, the first address acquisition unit 12 acquires the MAC address of the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ (step S18). Furthermore, the inside / outside determination unit 14 ″ checks the MAC address acquired by the first address acquisition unit 12 with the MAC address stored in the address information storage unit 18 ″, thereby allowing the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″ to It is determined whether the detected wireless device is the mobile terminal 300 of the internal access point or the external access point 400 (step S19).

  Then, the connection destination selection unit 16 ′ ″ selects the external access point 400 determined by the inside / outside determination unit 14 ″ as the connection destination from one or more wireless devices detected by the wireless device detection unit 11 ′ ″. (Step S20) After selecting the mobile terminal 300 or the external access point 400 as a connection destination in any of Step S14, Step S16, or Step S20, the wireless connection unit 17 connects to the selected wireless device. Then, communication by wireless LAN is performed (step S21).

  Thereafter, the traveling state determination unit 15 determines whether or not a certain time has elapsed since the previous traveling state was determined (step S22). When it is detected that a certain time has elapsed, the process returns to step S11, and the traveling state determination unit 15 determines the traveling state again. On the other hand, when the predetermined time has not yet elapsed, the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 determines whether or not the power is turned off (step S23). If the power is not turned off, the process returns to step S22. On the other hand, when the power of the in-vehicle wireless communication device 100 is turned off, the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 ends.

  As described above in detail, in the fourth embodiment, when the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is traveling, the wireless device search unit 19 searches for the mobile terminal 300 used as the internal access point. If it exists in the vehicle and is detected by the search, the portable terminal 300 is selected as a connection destination of the wireless LAN. On the other hand, if the mobile terminal 300 is not found as a result of the search, or if the traveling state determination unit 15 determines that the vehicle is not traveling, the wireless device detection unit 11 '' 'and the inside / outside determination unit 14 " The external access point 400 is detected and selected as a connection destination.

  In the fourth embodiment configured as described above, when the vehicle is traveling, the mobile terminal 300 can be directly detected and selected as the connection destination of the wireless LAN. On the other hand, when the vehicle is not running, the access point inside / outside determination is performed using the MAC address of the wireless device, and the external access point 400 can be selected as the connection destination of the wireless LAN. As a result, whether the wireless device is an internal access point or an external access point is determined quickly and reliably, and any access point suitable for the moving state of the vehicle is selected as a connection destination and wirelessly connected. Can do.

  In the fourth embodiment, the configuration in the case where the hands-free call device 200 is not provided as in the third embodiment is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, it is good also as a structure provided with the hands-free call apparatus 200 similarly to 1st Embodiment or 2nd Embodiment.

  Further, in the first to fourth embodiments, the wireless LAN such as Wi-Fi has been described as an example of the first wireless communication method, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, WiMAX may be used as the first wireless communication method.

  In addition, each of the first to fourth embodiments described above is merely an example of a specific example for carrying out the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is interpreted in a limited manner. It must not be. That is, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist or the main features thereof.

11, 11 '''Wireless device detection unit 12 First address acquisition unit 13 Second address acquisition unit 14, 14', 14 "Inside / outside determination unit 15 Traveling state determination unit 16, 16 '''Connection destination selection unit 17 Wireless connection Unit 18, 18 "address information storage unit 19 wireless device search unit 100 in-vehicle wireless communication device 200 hands-free call device 300 portable terminal (internal access point)
400 External access point

Claims (4)

An in-vehicle wireless communication device configured to be wirelessly connectable by selecting either an internal access point that is an access point that exists in a vehicle or an external access point that is an access point that exists outside a vehicle as a connection destination ,
An address information storage unit for storing address information of a wireless device that can be used as the internal access point;
A traveling state determination unit that determines a traveling state of whether or not the vehicle is traveling;
A wireless device search unit for searching for a wireless device having address information stored in the address information storage unit, when the traveling state determination unit determines that the vehicle is traveling;
An in-vehicle device comprising: a connection destination selection unit that selects the detected wireless device as a connection destination of the internal access point when the wireless device having the address information is detected by the wireless device search unit Wireless communication device. When the wireless device having the address information is not detected by the wireless device search unit, the wireless device search unit further includes a wireless device detection unit that detects a wireless device that can be wirelessly connected using the access point,
The in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connection destination selection unit selects a wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit as a connection destination of the external access point. The wireless device detection unit detects a wireless device that can be wirelessly connected using the access point when the traveling state determination unit determines that the vehicle is not traveling,
An address acquisition unit for acquiring address information of the wireless device detected by the wireless device detection unit;
An inside / outside determination unit that determines whether one or more wireless devices detected by the wireless device detection unit are the internal access point or the external access point based on the address information acquired by the address acquisition unit And further comprising
The in-vehicle wireless communication device according to claim 2, wherein the connection destination selection unit selects a wireless device determined as the external access point by the inside / outside determination unit as a connection destination. An access point in an in-vehicle wireless communication apparatus configured to be wirelessly connectable by selecting either an internal access point that is an access point that exists in the vehicle or an external access point that is an access point that exists outside the vehicle as a connection destination The selection method of
A first state in which a traveling state determination unit of the in-vehicle wireless communication device determines a traveling state of whether or not the vehicle is traveling;
Address information that stores address information of a wireless device that can be used as the internal access point when the wireless device search unit of the vehicle-mounted wireless communication device determines that the vehicle is traveling by the traveling state determination unit A second step of referring to the storage unit and searching for a wireless device having the address information stored in the address information storage unit;
When the wireless device having the address information is detected by the wireless device search unit, the connection destination selection unit of the in-vehicle wireless communication device selects the detected wireless device as a connection destination of the internal access point. 3. An access point selection method comprising: 3 steps.