JP3674239B2 - Information providing system and information providing center - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an information providing system and an information providing center, and more particularly to processing when an abnormality occurs in an in-vehicle device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a system for diagnosing failures of various devices (on-vehicle devices) mounted on a vehicle has been proposed.
[0003]
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-15096 discloses the following failure diagnosis apparatus. That is, when a maintenance staff inputs a request for required maintenance manual data to the portable fault diagnosis device, a request for manual data is transmitted to the host computer by wireless communication, and the host computer transmits the corresponding maintenance manual data to the CD-ROM. And the searched maintenance manual data is transmitted to the portable fault diagnosis device. Then, the maintenance manual data is displayed on the display of the portable trouble diagnosis device, so that the maintenance staff can perform the diagnosis work while watching this.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, even in the prior art described above, there is a problem that a maintenance staff (or user) must finally diagnose and repair the vehicle while referring to the manual data, which causes a heavy burden. Further, for example, even if an abnormality occurs in any on-vehicle device during traveling, the device cannot be used until it is repaired at a repair shop or the like. For example, when an abnormality occurs in a map database of a navigation system that has been increasingly installed in vehicles in recent years, map data cannot be displayed on the navigation screen, so that the user cannot effectively use the navigation system.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to automatically diagnose the abnormality even when an abnormality occurs in the vehicle-mounted device and to perform a function that is impaired. An object is to provide an information providing system and an information providing center that maintain smooth running.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is an information providing system that transmits and receives data between an in-vehicle device and an information center, and the on-vehicle device side includes an abnormality transmitting unit that transmits information on an abnormality of the in-vehicle device to the information center, Data receiving means for receiving data from the information center, and on the information center side, determination means for determining an abnormal function of the in-vehicle device based on the information, and proxy processing according to the abnormal function possess a selecting means for selecting, a data transmitting means for transmitting data necessary for the proxy process in the vehicle device, said selecting means selects the proxy process in accordance with the communication conditions of the vehicle device, The communication condition is presence or absence of continuous communication with the in-vehicle device . By executing the agency process corresponding to the function of the vehicle-mounted device damaged by the abnormality at the information providing center, smooth running can be maintained under the support of the information providing center even if an abnormality occurs. In addition, in the “substitute processing”, in addition to completely substituting the impaired function, in addition to substituting only the main part of the impaired function for simplification, the impaired function is replaced with another equivalent process. The case of replacement is also included. Here, depending on the nature of the impaired function, continuous communication may be desirable between the vehicle and the information providing center for the agency process, whereas the vehicle may not be able to ensure continuous communication depending on the driving environment. There is also. Therefore, by selecting a proxy process according to the presence or absence of continuous communication, a more appropriate proxy process can be executed.
[0009]
The present invention is also an information providing center for providing various information to a vehicle, based on receiving means for receiving information on abnormal equipment transmitted from the vehicle, and information on abnormal equipment transmitted from the vehicle. A processing unit that performs at least a part of the impaired function of the abnormal device, and a transmission unit that transmits a processing result of the processing unit to the vehicle, the processing unit being connected to the vehicle. A proxy process according to the presence or absence of communication is performed. The function of the in-vehicle device is completely or partially processed at the information providing center without the restriction of in-vehicle, so that various abnormal situations of the in-vehicle device can be dealt with, and the vehicle can run smoothly. .
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0011]
FIG. 1 shows a configuration block diagram on the in-vehicle device side. A GPS (or DGPS) 10, an ECU (electronic control unit) 12 for in-vehicle navigation (abbreviated as in-vehicle navigation in the figure), a map database 14, and various sensors 16 such as a vehicle speed sensor and a yaw rate sensor are provided and detected by the GPS 10 Position data and position data detected by the sensor are supplied to the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12 through the data bus 1 or directly. The in-vehicle navigation ECU 12 is composed of a microcomputer, and detects the current position of the vehicle based on these input data. And the map data memorize | stored in the map database 14 comprised by CD-ROM etc. are read, and the map data and current position which were read on the display 18 are superimposed and displayed. The voice recognition ECU 20 recognizes the voice of the destination or the like input by the user from the microphone 22 and supplies the voice to the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12, and synthesizes the guidance voice based on the signal from the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12 and outputs it from the speaker 24. . The guidance voice is a voice for guiding the user according to a recommended route to the destination obtained by searching by the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12, and for example, when a left turn is to be made at the guidance target intersection, a predetermined distance before the target intersection ( For example, at 700 m), “Turn left at the next intersection” is output. The operation unit 26 is configured by a switch, a touch switch, or the like provided in the vicinity of the display 18 for inputting to the system whether or not the user accepts a destination, a transit point, or an agency of the information providing center described later. Used for. The communication ECU 28 controls data transmission / reception with the information providing center. The communication ECU 28 transmits data of each in-vehicle device to the information providing center via the communication device (interface) 30 and the antenna 32, and is sent from the information providing center. Data is received and supplied to each device. The travel control ECU 34 drives a throttle actuator and a brake actuator in order to execute constant speed travel in which the vehicle travels at a vehicle speed set by the user and inter-vehicle control travel that maintains a constant inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle. A VICS (Vehicle Information Communication System) ECU 36 extracts the traffic information contained in the FM multiplex broadcast or light (or radio wave) signal received by the FM receiver 38 or the beacon transmitter / receiver 40 and supplies the traffic information to the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12. The in-vehicle navigation ECU 12 displays restriction information or the like included in the traffic information on the display 18 or updates the route obtained by searching with the newly acquired traffic information and presents it to the user.
[0012]
In this way, in a configuration in which a plurality of devices are connected to each other via a common bus 1 (or LAN), each ECU such as the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12, the communication ECU 28, and the travel control ECU 34 has its own diagnosis (diagnosis) function. The communication ECU 28 periodically communicates with each ECU connected to the bus (LAN) to monitor its operation state (polling). Then, it is always monitored whether each ECU is operating normally, whether it is not connected, or some abnormality has occurred, and when it is not operating normally, the data is transmitted to the information center.
[0013]
FIG. 2 shows a configuration on the information providing center 100 side of the present embodiment. The main configuration is a communication interface (I / F) 100a, a processing device 100b, and a storage device 100c. The communication interface (I / F) 100a receives data related to an abnormality transmitted from the in-vehicle device and sends it to the processing device 100b. Supply. Further, the processing device 100b is configured by a computer, and functions thereof include a diagnosis (diagnosis) function for specifying an abnormal function of the in-vehicle device based on data relating to the abnormality, and a route to the destination instead of the navigation function of the in-vehicle device. There are a route calculation function for searching, a voice synthesis function for generating guidance voice and the like instead of the voice synthesis function of the in-vehicle device, and the like. The storage device 100c stores various information such as data on vehicles and on-vehicle equipment, data on roadside facilities including map data, and collected traffic information, and the processing device 100b reads out these information as appropriate to mount the vehicle. To the machine. One of the important functions of the information providing center in the present embodiment is to completely or partially substitute the function of the vehicle-mounted device in which an abnormality has occurred, and the information that the conventional information providing center has It is a further advancement of the provided functions.
[0014]
Hereinafter, the processing of the in-vehicle device and the processing of the information providing center will be described.
[0015]
FIG. 3 shows processing on the vehicle-mounted device side. As described above, the communication ECU 28 constantly monitors whether or not each ECU is operating normally. When an abnormality is found, the communication ECU 28 transmits data relating to the abnormality to the information providing center 100 (S101). In the figure, the data relating to the abnormality is referred to as “diag data”, which means that the information providing center 100 is basic data for specifying the function of the vehicle-mounted device in which the abnormality has occurred (diagnosis: diagnosis). doing. When the diagnosis data is transmitted, the information providing center 100 transmits a processing menu corresponding to the result of the diagnosis as will be described later, so that the communication ECU 28 receives the processing menu (S102) and displays the processing menu on the display 18. . In this processing menu, for example, “OK” or “NO” touch switches are displayed together with a message such as “I will perform the *** function on behalf of now.” When “OK” indicating that processing is desired is input from the operation unit 26 (YES in S103), the communication ECU 28 transmits an “OK” signal to the information providing center 100 (S104). Since the information providing center 100 that has received the “OK” signal from the user transmits data for acting as a function of the vehicle-mounted device that has been damaged due to an abnormality as described later, this data is received (S105). ) And continue traveling while relying on the proxy processing of the information providing center 100. On the other hand, when the user does not want the proxy processing by the information providing center 100, “NO” is input from the operation unit 26 (NO in S103). In this case, the data for the proxy process is not transmitted from the information providing center 100.
[0016]
FIG. 4 shows processing of the information providing center 100. When receiving the diagnosis data from the in-vehicle device, the processing device 100b identifies the function in which the abnormality has occurred based on the diagnosis data (S201). Specifically, for example, when abnormal data of the voice recognition ECU 20 is transmitted from the communication ECU 28 of the in-vehicle device, a function for recognizing a voice (a destination, etc.) input from the microphone 22 by the user and a guidance voice from the speaker 24 When the function to output is specified to be impaired and abnormal data of the map database 14 is transmitted, it is specified that the function of reading the map data in the navigation function is impaired. Further, when abnormal data of the FM receiver 38 or the beacon transceiver 40 is transmitted, it is specified that the function of acquiring traffic information in the VICS is impaired, and when abnormal data of the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12 is transmitted, When it is specified that the navigation function itself is impaired and abnormal data of the display 18 is transmitted, it is specified that the information display function in navigation or VICS is impaired. When the abnormal function of the in-vehicle device is specified as described above, the processing device 100b determines whether or not continuous communication with the vehicle side is necessary in order to substitute for the next impaired function (S202). This determination takes into account that, depending on the function to be substituted, proxy data may always have to be transmitted to the vehicle side, but it is not always necessary to transmit the data at a fixed interval. Specifically, for example, continuous communication is necessary when acting as a navigation function, and continuous communication is not necessary when acting as a voice recognition function, a display function, or a traffic information acquisition function.
[0017]
When continuous communication is necessary, for example, when acting as a navigation function, it is next determined whether or not the road on which the vehicle is running is a road where continuous communication is possible (S203). This determination can be made by comparing the route data to the destination transmitted from the in-vehicle device with the diagnosis data or before and after transmitting the diagnosis data and the map data stored in the storage device 100c. Only the destination data may be transmitted from the machine, the route to the destination may be calculated by the processing device 100b, and it may be determined whether there is an obstacle such as a tunnel on the route. If there is no obstacle such as a tunnel on the road of the vehicle and data can be received continuously from the information providing center 100, it is confirmed whether or not there is a communication capacity corresponding to the amount of data to be transmitted. (S210). If there is sufficient communication capacity, after confirming whether or not the human interface (HMI) function of the display 18, microphone 22, speaker 24, operation unit 26, etc. is normal (S215), the vehicle-mounted device A processing menu is transmitted (S216). If the user wants to perform proxy processing by the information providing center 100, an “OK” signal is transmitted (see S104). When this is received (YES in S217), the data is transferred on behalf of the impaired function. A proxy process for transmission to the vehicle side is performed (S218). For example, in the case of an abnormality in the in-vehicle navigation ECU 12, since the navigation function of the in-vehicle device is substituted, the destination data and the current position data detected by the GPS 10 and the sensor 16 are sent to the in-vehicle device to the information providing center 100. The route to the destination is calculated based on the current position data and the destination data. In calculating the route, map data stored in the storage device 100c is used. When a route is obtained, guidance data is sequentially transmitted to the vehicle side in order to guide the vehicle along the route. When the function to be substituted does not require continuous communication (NO in S202), the substitution process is performed after confirming whether the HMI function is operating normally (S218). Specifically, for example, in the case of an abnormality in the FM receiver or the beacon transmitter / receiver 40, the traffic information acquisition function in the VICS of the in-vehicle device is substituted, so the traffic information stored in the storage device 100c is stored at an appropriate timing (traffic At the timing when the information is updated). Further, when the voice recognition ECU 20 is abnormal, the vehicle is requested to send the voice data of the user input from the microphone 22 to the information providing center 100, and the sent voice data is recognized and the result is obtained. Send to the vehicle side.
[0018]
On the other hand, if there is an obstacle such as a tunnel on the runway even if the proxy process requires continuous communication, or if continuous communication is possible but there is not enough communication capacity, the HMI function may be abnormal. If there is, there is a transition to the partial proxy processing mode for substituting a part of the impaired function because complete proxy processing is impossible (S204). In this mode, first, a function menu Mi (i = 1, 2,...) For partial substitution is extracted. For example, when a navigation function that originally requires continuous communication is partially substituted by non-continuous communication, the vehicle is guided by a function or a guidance arrow that transmits map data in the vicinity of the intersection when the vehicle reaches the vicinity of the intersection where the vehicle should turn left or right Extract features. Further, when the navigation function is partially substituted under the abnormality of the display 18, a function of transmitting guidance data such as a right / left turn as voice data instead of the guidance arrow is extracted. In addition, when the traffic information acquisition function of discontinuous communication is partially performed under the abnormality of the display 18, a function of transmitting traffic jam information or the like as voice data is extracted. After extracting the partial substitution function menu Mi, it is checked whether or not there is a communication capacity necessary to execute a certain function menu Mi (S205). If the communication capacity is insufficient, the function menu Mi is executed. Since i cannot be incremented, i is incremented by 1 (S206), and the same determination is made for the next function menu Mi. When there is no function menu Mi having a data amount that can be sufficiently transmitted with the communication capacity with the vehicle (NO in S207), the information providing center 100 cannot perform the function of the in-vehicle device that is impaired. A message such as “Do you want to connect to the operator?” Is sent to the vehicle. When the user transmits “OK” to this (YES in S208), the user is connected to an operator such as a repair shop or a dealer stored in advance in the storage device 100c (S209). After the connection with the operator, the user and the operator speak directly by voice.
[0019]
If the communication capacity with the vehicle is sufficient (Yes in S205) and there is a function menu Mi that can be transmitted, whether or not the in-vehicle device HMI function necessary for the function menu operates normally. After confirming (S211), a message such as "Do you want to perform the Mi function from now on? Are you sure?" Is transmitted (S212). When the user desires function substitution, data for substituting the Mi function is transmitted to the vehicle side (S214).
[0020]
As described above, the substitute function is selected according to the communication conditions such as the communication capacity and the presence / absence of continuous communication, and the processing result is transmitted to the vehicle side, so that the impaired function of the in-vehicle device can be complemented.
[0021]
FIG. 5 schematically shows an example when the impaired function of the vehicle-mounted device is substituted as described above. An abnormality occurs in the navigation ECU 12 of the in-vehicle device, and the information providing center 100 tries to perform the navigation function. However, since there is no communication capacity necessary for transmitting the map data or the like, a complete proxy is impossible, and the partial proxy is performed. This is the case. (A) is a normal display screen before the occurrence of an abnormality, and the map data read from the map database 14 and the current position are displayed. If an abnormality occurs in the navigation ECU 12 in this state, the current position does not move on the screen and is fixed even though the current position is changed because the vehicle is actually traveling. Then, the communication ECU 28 transmits an abnormality of the navigation ECU 12 to the information providing center 100. The information providing center 100 extracts a function for substituting the navigation function and transmits a function menu to the vehicle.
[0022]
An example of the function menu is shown in (B), and “OK” and “NO” touch switches are displayed together with a message “Switch to center guidance due to navigation failure”. When the user operates the “OK” switch, the signal is transmitted to the information providing center 100, and the information providing center 100 executes partial substitution of the navigation function. In this partial substitution process, since large-capacity data such as map data cannot be transmitted, current position data transmitted from the vehicle (current position detection is possible because GPS 10 and sensor 16 are operating normally). Based on this, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is approaching the guidance target intersection. If the vehicle is approaching, an arrow graphic indicating a right / left turn is transmitted to guide the vehicle.
[0023]
(C) shows an example in which an arrow graphic transmitted from the information providing center 100 is displayed on the display 18. Here, an arrow graphic indicating that a right turn is to be displayed is displayed together with a message “turn right at X intersection”. Yes. In the normal navigation screen, the current position is displayed together with the map data, and such guidance notification is separately made at the guidance target intersection. However, in the partial proxy processing of the information providing center 100, simple navigation is performed due to communication capacity restrictions. The function is executed. The partial agency process by the information providing center 100 is continued until the vehicle reaches the destination, and ends when the guidance to the destination is completed as shown in (D), and finally, as shown in (E). Displays a message such as “Navi ECU defective. Please bring it to X dealer” to prompt the user to repair.
[0024]
As described above, in this embodiment, when the abnormality occurs in the in-vehicle device, the function that the information providing center 100 has impaired is determined, and the function is performed in substitution or partial substitution in consideration of the communication condition with the vehicle. Smooth running can be maintained while utilizing the functions of other in-vehicle devices that have not occurred.
[0025]
In addition, since the information providing center 100 having a large-capacity database and processing device substitutes the functions of the vehicle-mounted device, the range of functions that can be substituted can be expanded, and various abnormalities of the vehicle-mounted device can be flexibly dealt with.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the information providing system and the information providing center of the present invention, it is possible to execute an appropriate function substitution according to an abnormality that has occurred in the in-vehicle device, and even when an abnormality occurs due to this, smooth operation is possible. Traveling can be maintained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram on an in-vehicle device side of an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of an information providing center according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart on the in-vehicle device side of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart on the information providing center side of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of function substitution according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
10 GPS (or DGPS), 12 On-vehicle navigation (navigation) ECU, 14 Map database, 16 Sensor, 18 Display, 20 Voice recognition ECU, 22 Microphone, 24 Speaker, 26 Operation unit, 28 Communication ECU, 30 Communication device, 32 Antenna , 34 travel control ECU, 36 VICS ECU, 38 FM receiver, 40 beacon transceiver, 100 information providing center, 100a communication I / F (interface), 100b processing device, 100c storage device.

Claims (2)

An information providing system for transmitting and receiving data between an in-vehicle device and an information center,
On the in-vehicle device side,
An abnormality transmitting means for transmitting information on abnormality of the vehicle-mounted device to the information center;
Data receiving means for receiving data from the information center;
The information center side has
Determination means for determining an abnormal function of the in-vehicle device based on the information;
A selection means for selecting a proxy process according to the abnormal function;
Data transmission means for transmitting data necessary for the agency process to the in-vehicle device;
Have a said selecting means, the controlling means chooses a proxy process according to the communication conditions with the in-vehicle device, wherein the communication condition includes information providing system characterized in that it is a presence or absence of a continuous communication with the vehicle device . An information providing center for providing various information to a vehicle,
  Receiving means for receiving information on abnormal equipment transmitted from the vehicle;
  Processing means for performing at least a part of the impaired function of the abnormal device based on information on the abnormal device transmitted from the vehicle;
  Transmitting means for transmitting the processing result of the processing means to the vehicle;
  And the processing means performs a proxy process according to the presence or absence of continuous communication with the vehicle.

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