JP4770572B2 - COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND MOBILE BODY CONTROL SYSTEM - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device that performs communication using light as a medium, and a moving body control system that controls traveling of a moving body such as a vehicle using the communication device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an inter-vehicle communication device that transmits and receives various types of information to and from the same type of device mounted on another vehicle by optical communication is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). This inter-vehicle communication device includes a light emitter that transmits communication light related to optical communication and a light receiver that receives communication light transmitted by the light emitter, and travels forward and backward by blinking the light emitter. A message or the like is sent to another vehicle or the like, and such a message or the like can be received by a light receiver.
JP 2005-182268 A

  By the way, sunlight includes light of all wavelengths. Therefore, in the light emitter in the above-described prior art, when the influence degree of sunlight is large, even if communication light related to optical communication such as visible light or infrared light is emitted, the light receiver may not be able to receive light correctly. Similarly, in the above-described prior art light receiver, when the influence of sunlight is large, there is a possibility that communication light related to optical communication emitted by the light emitter cannot be received correctly.

  Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a communication device and a mobile control system having an optical wireless communication function that can suppress degradation of the function of optical wireless communication in consideration of the influence of sunlight that is a disturbance in optical wireless communication. And

In order to solve the above problems, as a first invention,
In a communication device that transmits information using light,
A sunlight influence judging means for judging the influence of sunlight,
Transmission output control means for controlling the light emission output at the time of information transmission,
The transmission output control means provides a communication device characterized in that the light emission output is increased as the influence of sunlight determined by the sunlight influence determination means increases.

In order to solve the above problem, as a second invention,
In a communication device that receives information using light,
A sunlight influence judging means for judging the influence of sunlight,
Receiving sensitivity control means for controlling the receiving sensitivity at the time of information reception,
The reception sensitivity control means provides a communication device, wherein the reception sensitivity is lowered as the influence of sunlight determined by the sunlight influence determination means increases.

In order to solve the above problem, as a third invention,
In a communication device that transmits and receives information using light,
A moving speed command means for transmitting a control command of the moving speed to a moving body equipped with the communication device;
A sunlight determination means for determining the influence of sunlight,
The moving speed command means transmits the control command such that the greater the influence of sunlight determined by the sunlight influence determining means, the shorter the distance from another mobile body that is a communication partner that transmits and receives the information. A communication device is provided.

The fourth invention is a communication device according to the third invention,
The moving speed command means transmits a control command for reducing the moving speed to shorten the distance from the other moving body. As a result, it is possible to safely increase the distance from the other moving body.

The fifth invention is a communication device according to the third or fourth invention,
The moving speed command means transmits the control command so that a distance from the other moving body becomes a target distance calculated in accordance with a noise amount of sunlight at a current location. . Thereby, it becomes possible to take the distance with the said mobile body according to the level of the noise by sunlight.

  In addition, the said sunlight influence determination means may determine the influence of sunlight based on the positional information and time information of mobile body itself. More specifically, it includes a solar position calculation means for calculating the solar position based on the position information and time information of the moving body itself, and the sunlight influence determination means moves the solar position and the movement calculated by the solar position calculation means. It is preferable to determine the influence of sunlight depending on whether a straight line connecting the body passes through a range in which communication light can be emitted or a range in which communication light can be received.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention
A communication device that transmits and receives information using light; and
A moving speed command means for transmitting a control command of the moving speed to a moving body equipped with the communication device;
A sunlight determination means for determining the influence of sunlight,
The moving speed command means transmits the control command such that the greater the influence of sunlight determined by the sunlight influence determining means, the shorter the distance from another mobile body that is a communication partner that transmits and receives the information. A moving body control system is provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the function fall of optical wireless communication can be suppressed in consideration of the influence of the sunlight which becomes disturbance in optical wireless communication.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a communication apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the communication device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

  The position information acquisition unit 11 acquires information on the position of the vehicle using a GPS device and a map DB (database) not shown. The GPS device is a device that specifies the position of the vehicle by two-dimensional or three-dimensional coordinate data based on information received from a GPS satellite by a GPS receiver. On the other hand, the map DB stores high-precision map information. The high-accuracy map information includes feature information and coordinate data (representative points) of each point. The feature information includes detailed numerical information about each point such as the radius, curvature, cant, road gradient, road lane number, lane width, altitude, etc. of the curve. The coordinate data is defined using the latitude and longitude at each point. In addition, since map information requires accuracy, it is updated from time to time via vehicle-to-vehicle communication, road-to-vehicle communication, communication with a management center, etc., or via a medium such as a CD or DVD. Is desirable. Further, the curve cant and the road gradient may be directly measured by an inclination sensor that detects the inclination of the vehicle.

  The position information acquisition unit 11 detects the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the change of the vehicle position detected by the GPS device, and maps the map information such as the road surface gradient and the altitude corresponding to the vehicle position detected by the GPS device. Extract from DB. The position information acquisition unit 11 transmits vehicle position information such as the detected traveling direction and the extracted map information to the sunlight influence determination unit 14. In order to detect the traveling direction of the vehicle, an orientation sensor that can detect an on-vehicle direction (for example, a direction when the reference direction is true north) may be used.

  The solar position calculation unit 12 is a time data composed of a current date and hour / minute / second obtained from a time measuring device such as a real-time clock, and coordinate data such as latitude and longitude at the current position of the vehicle and traveling direction (azimuth) data. Based on the above, the solar orbit position (solar altitude h, azimuth angle α) is calculated. The solar height h is an angle formed by the orbital position of the sun and the horizontal plane. The azimuth A is an angle formed by a great circle connecting a celestial body on the celestial sphere and the zenith with the meridian.

In order to calculate the solar altitude h and the azimuth angle A, first, the true solar time ST is calculated. True solar time ST
[Equation 1]
ST = current time + (longitude−135 °) / 15 ° + equal difference. The time difference is obtained from a table or an approximate calculation formula based on calendar data.

Next, the true sun time ST is converted into a time angle t. The hour angle t gives a value at a rate of ± 15 ° every hour before and after the sun in the middle of the sun.
[Equation 2]
t = (ST−current time) × 15
Is calculated by

And based on the time angle t, the solar height h is
[Equation 3]
h = sin ⁻¹ (sinφsinδ + cosφcosδcost)
Is calculated by Φ is the latitude at the current point, and δ is the declination of the sun (the angle formed by sunlight and the equatorial plane of the earth). Declination δ is determined from calendar data.

And the azimuth angle h is
[Equation 4]
A = sin ⁻¹ (cos δ · sint · shh)
Is calculated by

  The illuminance measurement unit 13 includes an illuminometer and measures the illuminance due to sunlight. Although the illuminance meter is mounted on the vehicle, it is desirable that the illuminometer is mounted at a location as close as possible to the mounting location of the light emitting unit 16 and the light receiving unit 18 described later.

  Based on the measurement results of the position information acquisition unit 11, the solar position calculation unit 12, and the illuminance measurement unit 13, the sunlight influence determination unit 14 is in a state in which sunlight affects optical communication between vehicles with other vehicles. It is determined whether or not there is. Detailed description of the determination of the influence of sunlight will be described later.

  The light emission control unit 15 controls the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 according to the determination result of the sunlight influence determining unit 14. When the sunlight influence determining unit 14 determines that the vehicle-to-vehicle optical communication has the influence of sunlight, the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 is increased to a predetermined value according to the degree of influence. By increasing the light emission output, it is difficult to be affected by sunlight, and information to be transmitted by optical communication can be reliably transmitted to the communication partner.

  The light reception control unit 17 controls the reception sensitivity of the light receiving unit 18 according to the determination result of the sunlight influence determination unit 14. The light reception control unit 17 can reduce the reception sensitivity of the light receiving unit 18 by using an optical filter that attenuates the amount of light reaching the light receiving element (for example, a photodiode or a phototransistor) of the light receiving unit 18. By suppressing the amount of light reaching the light receiving element of the light receiving unit 18, the amount of current that can be passed through the light receiving element itself can be prevented from being saturated. When the sunlight influence determining unit 14 determines that the vehicle-to-vehicle optical communication has the influence of sunlight, the reception sensitivity of the light receiving unit 18 is lowered to a predetermined value according to the degree of influence. By lowering the reception sensitivity, it is possible to suppress sunlight that is a noise factor for optical communication with high sensitivity by the light receiving unit 18, and relatively receive communication light related to optical communication with high sensitivity by the light receiving unit 18. It becomes possible.

  The light emitting unit 16 is a light emitting unit that emits communication light related to vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and emits light corresponding to, for example, visible light or infrared light. The light emitting unit 16 is formed by a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode or a semiconductor laser. The light emitting unit 16 blinks the communication light by driving the encoder. The light emitting unit 16 emits communication light corresponding to information to be transmitted to the communication partner with a predetermined divergence angle in accordance with a command from the communication control unit 19 described later.

  The light receiving unit 18 is a light receiving unit that receives communication light related to vehicle-to-vehicle communication. The light receiving unit 18 is formed by a light receiving element such as a photodiode or a phototransistor. The light receiving unit 18 receives communication light emitted by the light emitting unit 16 of the communication device 1 mounted on another vehicle, and transmits the light reception result to the communication control unit 19.

  The communication control unit 19 adds a transmission source ID for specifying the transmission source of the information and a transmission destination ID for specifying the transmission destination to the information to be transmitted to the communication partner in accordance with a predetermined inter-vehicle communication format. Then, the encoding process is performed to cause the light emitting unit 16 to emit light. Further, the communication control unit 19 decodes the light reception result output from the light receiving unit 18 to acquire the received information and executes a predetermined process corresponding to the received information.

  Part or all of each component of the communication device 1 described above includes a ROM that stores a control program and control data, a RAM that temporarily stores processing data of the control program, a CPU that processes the control program, It is composed of a plurality of circuit elements such as an input / output interface for exchanging information. Further, the communication device 1 is not limited to one electronic control unit, and may be composed of a plurality of electronic control units so that control is shared.

  Next, the sunlight influence determination performed by the above-described sunlight influence determination unit 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the succeeding vehicle 100, the preceding vehicle 200, and the sun that perform optical communication with each other. The succeeding vehicle 100 and the preceding vehicle 200 are equipped with the communication device 1 according to the present invention. Each vehicle is provided with a light emitting portion 16a and a light receiving portion 18a at an appropriate position (for example, the front end portion of the vehicle such as a front bumper or a front grill) where optical communication can be established with the preceding vehicle. Further, each vehicle has a light emitting portion 16b and a light receiving portion 18b attached to an appropriate position (for example, a rear bumper, a back door, a rear spoiler, or the like at the rear end of the vehicle) where optical communication can be established with the following vehicle. It has been.

  The sunlight influence determination unit 14 of the communication device 1 mounted on the succeeding vehicle 100 calculates the directivity angle area A at the point of the front distance L of the own vehicle, and the vehicle position information and the sun acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11. Based on the relationship with the solar position information calculated by the position calculation unit 12, the relationship between the solar position and the calculated directivity angle area A is compared, and the solar position is in the directivity angle area A (S1). If it determines, it will determine with optical communication having the influence of sunlight, and if it determines with there being no solar position in the directivity angle area A (S2), it will determine with optical communication having no influence of sunlight. The sun position S is determined by the orbit position (solar altitude h, azimuth angle α) of the sun calculated by the above-described sun position calculation unit 12.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the directivity angle area A and the sun position S. FIG. The directivity angle area A extends from the mounting position O of the light emitting unit 16 (or the light receiving unit 18) of the following vehicle 100 with a predetermined angle θ. The predetermined angle θ is determined according to a range angle in which the light emitting unit 16 can emit light (or a range angle in which the light receiving unit 18 can receive light). The directivity angle area A extends in a weight shape with the mounting position of the light emitting unit 16 (or the light receiving unit 18) as a vertex. The distance L is the required distance L ₁ or more at least until the preceding vehicle 200, the bottom of the size of a directional angle areas A to increase the length L (area) spreads. In FIG. 7, A ₁ indicates a directivity angle area at a distance L ₁ from the subsequent vehicle 100, and A ₂ indicates a directivity angle area at a distance L ₂ from the subsequent vehicle 100.

  The sunlight influence determining unit 14 of the communication device 1 mounted on the succeeding vehicle 100 reads the mounting position O of the light emitting unit 16 (or the light receiving unit 18) stored in the memory or the like, and the mounting position O and the solar position calculating unit 12 are read out. A linear expression connecting the sun position S calculated by the above is calculated. The sunlight influence determination unit 14 determines whether or not the linear expression passes through the directivity angle area A. When the sunlight influence determining unit 14 determines that the light passes through the directivity angle area A, the influence of sunlight is exerted on the optical communication on the assumption that the sun position S exists on the optical axis of the communication light related to the optical communication. If it is determined that there is no solar position on the optical axis of the communication light related to the optical communication and it is determined that the light does not pass through the directivity angle area A, there is no influence of sunlight on the optical communication. judge.

  In addition, it is desirable to correct the linear equation that connects the mounting position O of the light emitting unit 16 and the like to the solar position S based on the gradient or altitude at the current point of the vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition unit 11. This is because the vehicle is not necessarily in a horizontal state. Moreover, even if it is a case where the sunlight influence determination part 14 is a case where it is judged that the linear type which connects the solar position S passes the directivity angle area A, when the illumination intensity measured by the illumination intensity measurement part 13 is below a predetermined value, It may be determined that the optical communication is not affected by sunlight, and if the illuminance measured by the illuminance measurement unit 13 is greater than a predetermined value, it may be determined that the optical communication is affected by sunlight. This is because the influence of sunlight is small if the surroundings of the vehicle are dark due to rainy weather, cloudy weather, or shade.

  The operation of the communication apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation flow of the communication apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The position information acquisition unit 11 acquires vehicle position information such as the traveling direction of the vehicle (the direction of the traveling road), the gradient, and the altitude (step 10). Further, the solar position calculation unit 12 is based on the current date and time data consisting of hours, minutes, and seconds, and coordinate data such as latitude and longitude at the current position of the vehicle and traveling direction (orientation) data. The position is calculated (step 12). In addition, the illuminance measuring unit 13 measures the illuminance by sunlight (step 14). Information obtained by the position information acquisition unit 11, the solar position calculation unit 12, and the illuminance measurement unit 13 is transmitted to the sunlight influence determination unit 14.

  The sunlight influence determination unit 14 determines whether or not sunlight is in a state of affecting optical communication based on the processing results of steps 10, 12, and 14. If it is determined that there is no influence of sunlight on the optical communication as described above, the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 remains at the default value of the predetermined light emission output, and the reception sensitivity of the light receiving unit 18 is the default of the predetermined reception sensitivity. Keep the value (step 18). On the other hand, if it is determined as described above that the optical communication is affected by sunlight, the light reception control unit 17 lowers the reception sensitivity of the light reception unit 18 from the default value of the predetermined reception sensitivity, and the light emission control unit 15 The light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 is increased from the default value of the predetermined light emission output (step 20).

  Therefore, according to the communication apparatus 1 which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention, the sunlight influence determination part 14 which determines the influence of the sunlight with respect to optical communication, and the sunlight of the sunlight determined by the sunlight influence determination part 14 Since the light emission control unit 15 that increases the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 as the influence is larger is provided, it is possible to suppress degradation of the function of the optical wireless communication in consideration of the influence of sunlight that is a disturbance in the optical wireless communication. .

  That is, since sunlight includes all wavelengths, the filtering effect is low even when optical filtering is applied to a wavelength band of light such as visible light and infrared light used in optical wireless communication. Optical wireless communication communicates information by light blinking (intensity change), but since sunlight has all frequency components such as white noise (white noise), the blinking cycle of optical wireless communication is Since it is included in the frequency component, it is difficult to electrically filter. Therefore, according to the communication device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the greater the influence of sunlight, the higher the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 can be overcome to overcome sunlight. It is possible to suppress a functional deterioration that does not hold due to sunlight noise.

  Further, if the light output of the light emitting unit 16 is increased so as to always overcome sunlight, useless power consumption may always occur, and the size of the device increases (for example, with an increase in light emitting elements such as light emitting diodes). There is a risk that the heat countermeasure heat sink (heat radiator) may be increased due to an increase in size or an increase in the amount of current flowing through the light emitting element. However, according to the communication device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 is increased only when it is determined that the output of the light emitting unit 16 in the steady state is affected by sunlight. Therefore, power consumption can be suppressed as the communication device 1 as a whole.

  Moreover, according to the communication apparatus 1 which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention, the sunlight influence determination part 14 which determines the influence of the sunlight with respect to optical communication, and the sunlight of the sunlight determined by the sunlight influence determination part 14 Since the light receiving control unit 17 that lowers the reception sensitivity of the light receiving unit 18 as the influence is large is provided, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the function of the optical wireless communication in consideration of the influence of sunlight that is a disturbance in the optical wireless communication. .

  That is, as the reception sensitivity of the light receiving unit 18 increases, sunlight that becomes a noise factor for optical wireless communication can be received with high sensitivity, and therefore it is relatively difficult to receive communication light related to optical wireless communication. Therefore, according to the communication device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the reception sensitivity of the reception unit 18 is increased only when it is determined that there is an influence of sunlight while the reception sensitivity of the light reception unit 18 in a steady state is unchanged. Therefore, communication light related to optical wireless communication can be received with relatively high sensitivity by suppressing the amount of light reaching the light receiving element of the light receiving unit 18 and preventing the amount of current that can be passed through the light receiving element itself from being saturated. It is possible to suppress the functional deterioration that optical wireless communication is not established due to sunlight noise.

  Next, the communication device 1 that is the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a communication apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the configuration of the second embodiment, parts having the same or similar functions as those of the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted or simplified.

  When it is determined by the sunlight influence determination unit 14 that the optical wireless communication is affected by sunlight, the vehicle speed command unit 20 determines the desired communication quality based on the predicted noise amount of the sunlight. The distance between vehicles that satisfies the above is calculated. Since the solar trajectory position calculated by the solar position calculation unit 12 and the amount of sunlight noise at the current location of the vehicle have a correspondence relationship, a table (map) that defines the correspondence relationship is stored in advance in a memory or the like. It is possible to leave. Accordingly, the amount of sunlight noise at the current location of the vehicle can be predicted using the table based on the position of the solar orbit calculated by the solar position calculator 12. The vehicle speed command unit 20 has an S / N ratio between the signal level of communication light related to the optical communication actually obtained and the amount of sunlight noise predicted based on the table so that the S / N ratio satisfies a predetermined communication quality. Calculate the distance. The larger the SN ratio, the higher the communication quality. As the inter-vehicle distance becomes shorter, the disturbance factor decreases, and as a result, the SN ratio becomes larger. Therefore, the calculated inter-vehicle distance becomes shorter as the SN ratio that satisfies the predetermined communication quality is set to a larger value.

  Further, when the sunlight influence determination unit 14 determines that the optical wireless communication is affected by sunlight, the vehicle speed command unit 20 calculates a vehicle speed that can maintain the calculated inter-vehicle distance. . Here, when the calculated inter-vehicle distance is shorter than the current inter-vehicle distance, it is desirable to calculate a vehicle speed slower than the current vehicle speed in order to realize the inter-vehicle distance safely. The vehicle speed command unit 20 of the communication device 1 mounted on the subsequent vehicle 100 calculates both the vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle 100 and the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle 200 that maintain an inter-vehicle distance that satisfies an S / N ratio that satisfies a predetermined communication quality. Of course, the vehicle speed command unit 20 of the communication device 1 mounted in the preceding vehicle 200 may calculate the vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle 200 that maintains the inter-vehicle distance that satisfies the SN ratio that satisfies the predetermined communication quality. The vehicle speed command unit 20 of the preceding vehicle 200 has an SN ratio in which the SN ratio between the signal level of communication light actually associated with optical communication and the amount of noise of sunlight predicted based on the table satisfies a predetermined communication quality. The inter-vehicle distance that is the ratio is calculated.

  The vehicle speed command unit 20 transmits a command to the vehicle control ECU that controls the traveling speed of the vehicle so that the inter-vehicle distance and the vehicle speed calculated as described above can be realized. The vehicle speed command unit 20 instructs the vehicle control ECU mounted on the succeeding vehicle 100 to set a vehicle speed slower than the current vehicle speed of the succeeding vehicle 100 that maintains the inter-vehicle distance that satisfies the S / N ratio that satisfies the predetermined communication quality. A vehicle speed that is slower than the current vehicle speed of the preceding vehicle 200 that maintains the inter-vehicle distance that satisfies the S / N ratio that satisfies the above-described conditions is commanded to the vehicle control ECU mounted on the preceding vehicle 200 via inter-vehicle communication. The vehicle control ECU that has received a command related to the inter-vehicle distance and the vehicle speed calculated by the vehicle speed command unit 20 controls the traveling speed and the inter-vehicle distance of the vehicle according to the command.

  Now, the operation of the communication device 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is an operation flow of the communication apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Steps 30, 32, 34, 36, and 38 in FIG. 5 are the same as steps 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 in FIG.

  When it is determined by the sunlight influence determination unit 14 that the optical communication has the influence of sunlight as described above, the vehicle speed command unit 20 calculates the solar noise position and the amount of sunlight noise at the current position of the vehicle. The amount of sunlight noise at the current location of the vehicle is predicted on the basis of a table (map) that defines the correspondence relationship between and the signal level of communication light related to optical communication actually obtained and the predicted amount of sunlight noise The vehicle-to-vehicle distance at which the signal-to-noise ratio satisfies the predetermined communication quality is calculated. Further, the vehicle speed command unit 20 calculates a vehicle speed that can maintain the calculated inter-vehicle distance (step 40). Then, if necessary, the light reception control unit 17 lowers the reception sensitivity of the light reception unit 18 from the default value of the predetermined reception sensitivity, and the vehicle speed command unit 20 can realize the inter-vehicle distance and the vehicle speed calculated as described above. The control command is transmitted to the vehicle control ECU that controls the traveling speed of the vehicle (step 42).

  Therefore, according to the communication apparatus 1 which is the second embodiment of the present invention, the sunlight influence determination unit 14 that determines the influence of sunlight on the optical wireless communication and the sunlight that is determined by the sunlight influence determination unit 14 The vehicle speed command unit 20 that transmits a control command for controlling the vehicle speed of the following vehicle so as to shorten the inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle as the influence of the vehicle increases is large. In consideration of this, it is possible to suppress the degradation of the optical wireless communication function. In other words, the greater the influence of sunlight on optical wireless communication, the shorter the inter-vehicle distance, so that it is less susceptible to sunlight and suppresses functional degradation that optical wireless communication is not established due to sunlight noise. it can.

  Moreover, according to the communication apparatus 1 which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, since the distance between vehicles can be shortened, so that the influence of the sunlight with respect to optical wireless communication is large, communication is easy to be materialized only for the part shortened. Thus, the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 can be suppressed, and as a result, power consumption for increasing the light emission output of the light emitting unit 16 can be suppressed.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. Can be added.

  For example, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a vehicle control system 3 that is the third embodiment of the present invention. In the configuration of the third embodiment, parts having the same or similar functions as those of the first and second embodiments are given the same reference numerals as those of the first and second embodiments, and description thereof is omitted. Or simplify. The vehicle speed command unit 20 is not included in the communication device 1 of the first embodiment described above, but is included in the vehicle control ECU 2 such as an inter-vehicle control ECU outside the communication device 1. The communication device 1 and the vehicle control ECU 2 are components of the vehicle control system 3. The vehicle control system 3 according to the third embodiment operates similarly according to the operation flow shown in FIG.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a communication device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the communication apparatus 1 which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the vehicle control system 3 which is the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is an operation | movement flow of the communication apparatus 1 which is the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is an operation | movement flow of the communication apparatus 1 which is the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the succeeding vehicle 100, the preceding vehicle 200, and the sun which mutually perform optical communication. 4 is a diagram for explaining a relationship between a directivity angle area A and a sun position S. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Communication Device 2 Vehicle Control ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 3 Vehicle control system 11 Position information acquisition part 12 Solar position calculation part 13 Illuminance measurement part 14 Sunlight influence determination part 15 Light emission control part 16 Light emission part 17 Light reception control part 18 Light reception part 19 Communication control part 20 Vehicle speed command part 100 Subsequent vehicle 200 Leading vehicle

Claims (10)

In a communication device that transmits and receives information using optical communication with other mobile units ,
A moving speed command means for transmitting a control command for its moving speed to the control unit of the own mobile body equipped with the communication apparatus,
Solar light determining means for determining the influence of sunlight on the optical communication ,
The movement speed command means issues the control command so that the distance between the other moving body and the self-moving body decreases as the influence of sunlight on the optical communication determined by the sunlight influence determining section increases. A communication apparatus transmitting to the control unit . The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving speed command unit transmits a control command for reducing the moving speed to the control unit to shorten a distance between the other moving body and the own moving body . The moving speed command means sends the control command to the control unit so that the distance between the other moving body and the moving body becomes a target distance calculated according to the amount of sunlight noise at the current location. transmitting Te, the communication device of claim 1, 2. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sunlight influence determining unit determines the influence of sunlight on the optical communication based on position information and time information of the mobile body . Solar position calculation means for calculating the solar position based on the position information and time information of the mobile body ,
In the sunlight influence determining means, a straight line connecting the sun position calculated by the sun position calculating means and the mobile body passes through a range where communication light can be emitted or a range where communication light can be received. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the influence of sunlight on the optical communication is determined based on whether or not the light is transmitted. A communication device that transmits and receives information using optical communication with other mobile units ;
A moving speed command means for transmitting a control command for its moving speed to the control unit of the own mobile body equipped with the communication apparatus,
Solar light determining means for determining the influence of sunlight on the optical communication ,
The movement speed command means issues the control command so that the distance between the other moving body and the self-moving body decreases as the influence of sunlight on the optical communication determined by the sunlight influence determining section increases. A mobile body control system, wherein the mobile body control system transmits to the control unit . The moving body control according to claim 6, wherein the moving speed command means transmits a control command for reducing the moving speed to the control unit to shorten a distance between the other moving body and the own moving body. system. The moving speed command means sends the control command to the control unit so that the distance between the other moving body and the moving body becomes a target distance calculated according to the amount of sunlight noise at the current location. transmitting Te, the mobile control system according to claim 6 or 7. The photovoltaic effect determination unit, the mobile control system according determines, in any one of claims 6 8 the effects on optical communication of sunlight on the basis of the position information and time information of the mobile . Solar position calculation means for calculating the solar position based on the position information and time information of the mobile body ,
In the sunlight influence determining means, a straight line connecting the sun position calculated by the sun position calculating means and the mobile body passes through a range where communication light can be emitted or a range where communication light can be received. The moving body control system according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the influence of sunlight on the optical communication is determined depending on whether or not.

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