JP6520627B2 - In-vehicle communication device, vehicle, information providing system, and information providing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-vehicle communication device that transmits a request for providing information to an information providing device, a vehicle including the in-vehicle communication device, an information providing system, and an information providing method.

  With the development of IT technology in recent years, in order to support safe, secure and comfortable driving, technologies for vehicles such as automobiles to acquire necessary information from the outside have been developed. For example, an information providing device that transmits traffic information and the like to a navigation system mounted on a vehicle is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-257401 A

  The amount of data provided to an on-vehicle communication device in which an information providing device such as Patent Document 1 is mounted on a vehicle tends to increase in recent years. Also, when the data requested by the in-vehicle communication device to the information providing device is, for example, map information or image data, the amount of data that the information providing device has to provide is further increased, and the load on the information providing device is increased. There is a problem of

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides an on-vehicle communication device capable of reducing the load of the information providing device, a vehicle including the on-vehicle communication device, an information providing system, and an information providing method. With the goal.

  An on-vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention is an on-vehicle communication device that transmits a request for providing information to an information providing device, and a receiving unit that receives predetermined information provided by the information providing device; A communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication with an in-vehicle communication device, and when the reception unit receives predetermined information, control is performed to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit. And a stop unit for stopping transmission of the information provision request when predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit.

  A vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the on-vehicle communication device according to the above-described invention.

  An information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is an information providing system including: an information providing device; and a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles and transmitting a request for information providing to the information providing device. Each in-vehicle communication device includes a receiving unit for receiving predetermined information provided by the information providing device, a communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device, and a predetermined receiving unit. When information is received, a control unit that controls the provision of the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit, and acquisition of predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit And a stop unit for stopping transmission of the information provision request.

  An information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an information providing device, and a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles and transmitting a request for information provision to the information providing device. In an information providing method, in one in-vehicle communication device, a receiving unit receives predetermined information provided by the information providing device, and a communication unit performs inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device. The control unit controls to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit, and the other in-vehicle communication device performs a communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication. When predetermined information is acquired from the one in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit, the stopping unit stops transmission of the information provision request.

  According to the present invention, the load on the information providing device can be reduced.

It is an explanatory view showing an example of composition of an information service system of this embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus of this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of a mode that information is shared by the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus of this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the prior art example of transmission / reception of the information between a telematics server and a vehicle. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of transmission / reception of the information between the telematics server by the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus of this Embodiment, and a vehicle. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example in the case of stopping the request | requirement of the information provision by the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus of this Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the paging area on a road network. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process sequence of the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus of this Embodiment.

Description of an embodiment of the present invention
An on-vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention is an on-vehicle communication device that transmits a request for providing information to an information providing device, and a receiving unit that receives predetermined information provided by the information providing device; A communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication with an in-vehicle communication device, and when the reception unit receives predetermined information, control is performed to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit. And a stop unit for stopping transmission of the information provision request when predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit.

  A vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the on-vehicle communication device according to the above-described invention.

  An information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention is an information providing system including: an information providing device; and a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles and transmitting a request for information providing to the information providing device. Each in-vehicle communication device includes a receiving unit for receiving predetermined information provided by the information providing device, a communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device, and a predetermined receiving unit. When information is received, a control unit that controls the provision of the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit, and acquisition of predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit And a stop unit for stopping transmission of the information provision request.

  An information providing method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an information providing device, and a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles and transmitting a request for information provision to the information providing device. In an information providing method, in one in-vehicle communication device, a receiving unit receives predetermined information provided by the information providing device, and a communication unit performs inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device. The control unit controls to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit, and the other in-vehicle communication device performs a communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication. When predetermined information is acquired from the one in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit, the stopping unit stops transmission of the information provision request.

  The receiving unit receives predetermined information provided by the information providing apparatus. The predetermined information is, for example, traffic information such as congestion information, congestion information or accident information, or map information, but it is not limited thereto. The communication unit performs inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device mounted in another vehicle.

  When the receiving unit receives the predetermined information, the control unit controls to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit. The stop unit stops transmission of the information provision request when the predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit. For example, when the in-vehicle communication device of one vehicle provides predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device of another vehicle via the communication unit, the other in-vehicle communication device requests the information providing device to provide information. Stop doing.

  As described above, when the on-vehicle communication device of one vehicle transmits a request for providing information to the information providing device and the predetermined information is received from the information providing device, the information received using the inter-vehicle communication is transmitted to the other To other in-vehicle communication devices of the vehicle. That is, information is shared using inter-vehicle communication. Then, since the other on-vehicle communication device stops the request for providing information to the information providing device, the information providing device does not need to transmit the predetermined information to the other on-vehicle communication device, and the information providing device The load involved in transmitting information can be reduced.

  In the on-vehicle communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit acquires predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit, the acquired predetermined information is transmitted via the communication unit. Control is performed to provide another in-vehicle communication device different from the other in-vehicle communication device.

  When the control unit acquires predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device through the communication unit, the control unit provides the acquired predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device different from the other in-vehicle communication device through the communication unit. Control to

  For example, when the on-vehicle communication device of one vehicle A acquires information from the on-vehicle communication device of another vehicle B by inter-vehicle communication, the on-vehicle communication of another vehicle C different from the other vehicle is performed using inter-vehicle communication. Provide to the device. Not only the in-vehicle communication device of the vehicle A but also the in-vehicle communication device of the vehicle C stop the request for information provision to the information providing device, the information providing device is not limited to the in-vehicle communication device of the vehicle A, It is not necessary to transmit predetermined information to the in-vehicle communication device, and the load of transmitting information of the information providing device can be further reduced.

  The in-vehicle communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a transmitting unit that transmits the information provision request to the information providing device at each transmission point of a predetermined cycle, and the stopping unit is connected to another in-vehicle communication device. If the transmission time point is reached while the predetermined request stop time elapses from the acquisition time when the predetermined information is acquired, the transmission of the information provision request is stopped.

  The transmitting unit transmits a request for providing information to the information providing apparatus at each transmission point of a predetermined cycle. That is, the on-vehicle communication device of each vehicle transmits a request for providing information at a predetermined cycle. The predetermined cycle can be set as appropriate, for example, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and the like. The stop unit stops the transmission of the information provision request when the transmission time point is reached while the predetermined request stop time elapses from the acquisition time point when the predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device. The predetermined required stop time can be set to a time specific to each in-vehicle communication device of each vehicle. As a result, since the request for providing information is stopped during the request stop time, the load relating to the transmission of the information of the information providing device can be reduced.

  An on-vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an identification information acquiring unit that acquires identification information indicating that the vehicle exists in any one of a plurality of regions allocated in advance, and the communication unit The identification information of the in-vehicle communication device is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device, and it is further determined whether the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit matches the identification information of the other in-vehicle communication device. The control unit controls to provide the predetermined information received by the reception unit to another in-vehicle communication device determined by the determination unit to have the identification information match.

  The identification information acquisition unit acquires identification information indicating that it is present in any one of a plurality of areas allocated in advance. The area may be, for example, a cell (paging area) which is an area covered by one base station of the mobile telephone mobile communication network. In this case, a paging area ID can be used as identification information. The area is not limited to one cell, and may be an area unit in which a plurality of cells are integrated.

  The communication unit acquires identification information of the in-vehicle communication device from another in-vehicle communication device. The determination unit determines whether the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit matches the identification information of another in-vehicle communication device. That is, the determination unit of the in-vehicle communication device of one vehicle determines whether another in-vehicle communication device of another vehicle is present in the same area (for example, the same paging area).

  The control unit controls to provide predetermined information received by the reception unit to another in-vehicle communication device determined by the determination unit to have the identification information match. That is, the control unit provides information to other in-vehicle communication devices of other vehicles existing in the same area (for example, the same paging area). Thereby, information can be shared using the identification information acquired by the in-vehicle communication device. Further, since the vehicle to which the information should be shared is determined using the identification information, it is possible to easily identify the on-vehicle communication device (vehicle) to which the information should be shared.

  An on-vehicle communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a traffic information acquisition unit for acquiring traffic information including traffic congestion information, and a change unit for changing the predetermined cycle based on the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit. Equipped with

  The traffic information acquisition unit acquires traffic information including traffic congestion information. The change unit changes the predetermined cycle based on the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquisition unit. For example, if it is determined based on the acquired traffic information that it is necessary to frequently receive information from the information providing apparatus, the predetermined cycle is shortened (for example, 5 minutes is changed to 3 minutes). . Also, if it is determined based on the acquired traffic information that it is not necessary to receive provision of information from the information providing device at a high frequency, the predetermined cycle is extended (for example, 5 minutes is changed to 15 minutes) . As a result, since the information provision request is transmitted according to the necessity of the information provision, it is possible to suppress the degradation of the information provision service while reducing the load on the information provision device.

  The in-vehicle communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a change unit that changes the predetermined cycle based on the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.

  The change unit changes the predetermined cycle based on the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit. For example, if the relationship between the paging area and the update frequency of the information provided by the information providing apparatus is defined in advance, the predetermined cycle can be changed according to the paging area, so the necessary update frequency of the required information can be optimized. Can be obtained by

[Details of the Embodiment of the Present Invention]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vehicle communication apparatus, a vehicle, an information providing system, and an information providing method according to the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an example of the configuration of an information providing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information providing system includes a telematics server 200 as an information providing device, a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices 100 mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles 1, and the like. Note that the information providing system can also include a plurality of vehicles 1 on which the in-vehicle communication device 100 is mounted.

  The telematics server 200 is a server for distributing or providing telematic information to the in-vehicle communication device 100 (vehicle 1). The telematics server 200 can collect probe information from the probe vehicle, and can transmit, for example, map information, recommended route information, road traffic information, and the like in response to a request from the in-vehicle communication device 100. Communication between the in-vehicle communication device 100 and the telematics server 200 uses, for example, a mobile telephone network in a band of 800 MHz to 2 GHz (for example, LTE [Long Term Evolution], 4G, 3G, etc.), 2.4 GHz There is one using a wireless LAN (e.g., WiFi etc.) in the band of, but not limited to these. As shown in FIG. 1, the flow of information from the in-vehicle communication device 100 to the telematics server 200 is referred to as upload, and the flow of information from the telematics server 200 to the in-vehicle communication device 100 is referred to as download.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the on-vehicle communication device 100 according to the present embodiment. The on-vehicle communication device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 10 that controls the entire device, a first communication unit 11, a second communication unit 12, a storage unit 13 that stores predetermined information, a stop unit 14, a determination unit 15, A change unit 16 and the like are provided.

  The first communication unit 11 has functions as a receiver and a transmitter, and uses, for example, a cellular phone network (for example, LTE [Long Term Evolution]) in a band of 800 MHz to 2 GHz. It is not limited.

  The first communication unit 11 receives predetermined information provided by the telematics server 200. The predetermined information is, for example, traffic information such as congestion information, congestion information or accident information, or map information, but it is not limited thereto.

  In addition, the first communication unit 11 transmits a request for providing information to the telematics server 200 at each transmission point of a predetermined cycle. That is, the in-vehicle communication device 100 of each vehicle 1 transmits a request for providing information at a predetermined cycle. The predetermined cycle can be set as appropriate, for example, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and the like.

  The second communication unit 12 has a function as a communication unit, and performs inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device 100 mounted on another vehicle 1 different from the host vehicle. The inter-vehicle communication uses, for example, a mobile phone network in a band of 800 MHz to 2 GHz (for example, LTE [Long Term Evolution], 4G, 3G, etc.), a wireless LAN in a band of 2.4 GHz (for example, WiFi etc.) Although it utilizes ITS (Intelligent Transport System) radio | wireless, it is not limited to this.

  When the first communication unit 11 receives the predetermined information from the telematics server 200, the control unit 10 transmits the received predetermined information to the other in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the other vehicles 1 via the second communication unit 12. Control to provide. That is, the control unit 10 controls the second communication unit 12 to transmit the information received from the telematics server 200 to the other in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the other vehicles 1.

  When the stopping unit 14 acquires predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device 100 of another vehicle 1 via the second communication unit 12, the stopping unit 14 stops the transmission of the information provision request to the telematics server 200. For example, when the on-vehicle communication device 100 of one vehicle provides the predetermined information to the other on-vehicle communication device 100 of the other vehicle via the second communication unit 12, the other on-vehicle communication device 100 Since predetermined information is acquired via the communication unit 12, the request for provision of information to the telematics server 200 is stopped.

  In addition, when the control unit 10 acquires predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device 100 of another vehicle 1 via the second communication unit 12, the acquired predetermined information is transmitted to the second communication unit 12. Control is performed to provide another in-vehicle communication device 100 different from the other in-vehicle communication device 100.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of how information is shared by the on-vehicle communication device 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, 1g, 1h and 1j are traveling on the road. An on-vehicle communication device 100 is mounted on each vehicle. Moreover, the arrow shown with a broken line in FIG. 3 represents inter-vehicle communication. In the example of FIG. 3, it is assumed that the in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1 a transmits a request for information to the telematics server 200 and receives predetermined information from the telematics server 200.

  The in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1a transmits the information received from the telematics server 200 to the other in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the other vehicles 1b, 1c, and 1e.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the on-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1c acquires predetermined information from another on-vehicle communication device 100 of another vehicle 1a by inter-vehicle communication, the acquired predetermined information is It transmits to the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus 100 of the vehicle 1d (another vehicle different from the vehicle 1a) by communication.

  Similarly, when the in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1e acquires predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device 100 of another vehicle 1a by inter-vehicle communication, the acquired predetermined information is transmitted to the vehicle 1f by inter-vehicle communication. It transmits to the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus 100 of 1g (another vehicle different from the vehicle 1a).

  Similarly, when the in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1g acquires predetermined information from another in-vehicle communication device 100 of another vehicle 1e by inter-vehicle communication, the acquired predetermined information is transmitted to the vehicle 1h by inter-vehicle communication. It transmits to the vehicle-mounted communication apparatus 100 of 1j (another vehicle different from the vehicle 1e).

  As described above, when the on-vehicle communication device of one vehicle transmits a request for providing information to the information providing device and the predetermined information is received from the information providing device, the information received using the inter-vehicle communication is transmitted to the other To other in-vehicle communication devices of the vehicle. That is, information is shared using inter-vehicle communication. Then, since the other on-vehicle communication device stops the request for providing information to the information providing device, the information providing device does not need to transmit the predetermined information to the other on-vehicle communication device, and the information providing device The load involved in transmitting information can be reduced. Further, particularly in a situation where the load on the information providing apparatus is increased, such as at the time of a disaster, it can be said that the merit of being able to reduce the load is great.

  In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 3, when the on-vehicle communication device of a certain vehicle A acquires information from the on-vehicle communication device of another vehicle B by inter-vehicle communication, it is different from the other vehicle using inter-vehicle communication. To other vehicle C's in-vehicle communication devices. Since not only the in-vehicle communication device of the vehicle A but also the in-vehicle communication device of the vehicle C stop providing the information to the telematics server 200, the telematics server 200 is not limited to the in-vehicle communication device of the vehicle A but also the vehicle C There is no need to transmit the predetermined information to the in-vehicle communication device, and the load on the transmission of the information of the telematics server 200 can be further reduced.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a conventional example of transmission and reception of information between a telematics server and a vehicle. As shown in FIG. 4, the on-vehicle communication devices of the plurality of vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e each transmit a request for providing information to the telematics server. The telematics server transmits predetermined information to each of the vehicles (in-vehicle communication devices) that have transmitted the request. As can be seen from FIG. 4, since the telematics server needs to transmit information to each vehicle separately, the load for transmitting information is large. In addition, when each of the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e periodically transmits a request for providing information, the load on the telematics server is further increased.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an example of transmission and reception of information between the telematics server 200 and the vehicle by the on-vehicle communication device 100 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1a transmits a request for information to the telematics server 200, and the telematics server 200 transmits predetermined information to the in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1a.

  Then, the in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1a transmits the information received from the telematics server 200 to the other in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the other vehicles 1b, 1c, and 1e. Further, the in-vehicle communication device 100 of the vehicle 1c acquires predetermined information from the other in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the other vehicles 1a by inter-vehicle communication, and the acquired predetermined information is transmitted by the inter-vehicle communication. And the on-vehicle communication device 100).

  Then, since the in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the vehicles 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e stop transmitting the request for information, the telematics server 200 sends the information to the in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the respective vehicles 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e. Since it is not necessary to transmit and the amount of download data can be reduced, the load on the transmission of information of the telematics server 200 can be reduced.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an example in the case where the request for the provision of information by the on-vehicle communication device 100 of the present embodiment is stopped. As described above, the first communication unit 11 transmits a request for providing information to the telematics server 200 each time transmission time of the predetermined cycle T is reached. In the example of FIG. 6, the request timing (transmission time) is repeated at a predetermined cycle T.

  As shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device 100 of another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication at time t1. The stop unit 14 reaches the request timing (transmission time) from the acquisition time (time t1 in FIG. 6) at which the predetermined information is acquired from the other on-vehicle communication device 100 to the elapse of the predetermined request stop time Ts. If so, stop sending the information request.

  The required stop time Ts can be set to a time specific to each on-vehicle communication device of each vehicle. As a result, since the request for providing information is stopped during the request stop time Ts, it is possible to reduce the load for transmitting the information of the telematics server 200.

  The first communication unit 11 has a function as an identification information acquisition unit, and acquires identification information indicating that it is present in any one of a plurality of areas assigned in advance. The area may be, for example, a cell (paging area) which is an area covered by one base station of the mobile telephone mobile communication network. In this case, a paging area ID can be used as identification information. The area is not limited to one cell, and may be an area unit in which a plurality of cells are integrated.

  The second communication unit 12 acquires identification information of the in-vehicle communication device from the other in-vehicle communication device 100. The determination unit 15 determines whether the identification information acquired by the first communication unit 11 matches the identification information acquired from the other in-vehicle communication device 100. That is, the determination unit 15 of the in-vehicle communication device 100 of one vehicle 1 determines whether or not the other in-vehicle communication devices 100 of the other vehicle 1 exist in the same area (for example, the same paging area).

  The control unit 10 controls to provide predetermined information received from the telematics server 200 to another in-vehicle communication device 100 determined by the determination unit 15 that the identification information matches. That is, control unit 10 provides information to another in-vehicle communication device 100 of another vehicle 1 existing in the same area (for example, the same paging area). Thereby, information can be shared using the identification information acquired by the in-vehicle communication device 100. Further, since the vehicle 1 to which the information is to be shared is determined using the identification information, it is possible to easily identify the on-vehicle communication device 100 (the vehicle 1) to which the information is to be shared.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an example of a paging area on a road network. FIG. 7 shows four paging areas P1, P2, P3 and P4. Note that broken lines indicating each paging area are schematically illustrated, and do not represent the actual shape of the paging area. In each of the paging areas P1 to P4, a base station (not shown) of the mobile communication system is installed. The base station transmits a predetermined control signal (paging area ID) to the in-vehicle communication device 100 in its own paging area. The in-vehicle communication device 100 stores the received paging area ID in the storage unit 13.

  Thus, information can be shared using the paging area ID (identification information) acquired by each on-vehicle communication device 100. Further, since the vehicle 1 to which information is to be shared is determined using the paging area ID (identification information), it is possible to easily identify the on-vehicle communication device 100 (vehicle 1) to which information is to be shared.

  The change unit 16 changes the predetermined cycle based on the paging area ID (identification information) acquired by the first communication unit 11. For example, if the relationship between each paging area and the update frequency of the information provided from the telematics server 200 is defined, the predetermined cycle can be changed according to the paging area, so the necessary update frequency of the required information can be changed. Can be obtained by

  The first communication unit 11 and the second communication unit 12 have a function as a traffic information acquisition unit, and acquire traffic information including traffic jam information.

  The change unit 16 changes the predetermined cycle based on the traffic information acquired by the first communication unit 11 or the second communication unit 12. For example, if it is determined based on the acquired traffic information that it is necessary to receive provision of information from the telematics server 200 frequently, the predetermined cycle is shortened (for example, 5 minutes is changed to 3 minutes) . Also, if it is determined based on the acquired traffic information that it is not necessary to receive the provision of information from the telematics server 200 frequently, the predetermined cycle is extended (for example, 5 minutes is changed to 15 minutes) . As a result, since the information provision request is transmitted according to the necessity of the information provision, it is possible to suppress the decrease in the information provision service while reducing the load on the telematics server 200.

  Next, the operation of the in-vehicle communication device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of the processing procedure of the on-vehicle communication device 100 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, for the sake of convenience, the subject of the process will be described as the control unit 10.

  The control unit 10 determines whether it is a request timing for information provision (S11), and when it is a request timing (YES in S11), transmits a request for information provision to the telematics server 200 (S12). The timing of the request can be set as appropriate, for example, every three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes, and thirty minutes.

  The control unit 10 determines whether or not the information is received from the telematics server 200 (S13), and when the information is not received (NO in S13), the process of step S13 is continued. When the information is received from the telematics server 200 (YES in S13), the control unit 10 provides the received information to another vehicle (in-vehicle communication device) through inter-vehicle communication (S14), and performs the process of step S18 described later. Do.

  When it is not the request timing (NO in S11), the control unit 10 determines whether information is acquired from another vehicle (vehicle-mounted communication device) by inter-vehicle communication (S15), and information is acquired (S15) YES), stop the request for information provision (S16). The control unit 10 provides the information acquired by inter-vehicle communication to another vehicle (vehicle-mounted communication device) by inter-vehicle communication (S17), and performs the process of step S18 described later.

  When information is not acquired from another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication (NO in S15), the control unit 10 performs a process of step S18 described later. The control unit 10 determines whether to end the processing (S18), and if the processing is not ended (NO in S18), repeats the processing after step S11 and ends the processing (YES in S18). Finish.

  In the above embodiment, the telematics server is taken as an example of the information providing apparatus, but the information providing apparatus is not limited to the telematics server, and may be a server for providing information to a vehicle (vehicle-mounted communication apparatus). For example, it may be another information distribution server or the like.

  The disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated not by the above description but by claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to claims.

Reference Signs List 1 vehicle 10 control unit 11 first communication unit 12 second communication unit 13 storage unit 14 stop unit 15 determination unit 16 changing unit 100 in-vehicle communication device 200 telematics server

Claims (9)

An on-vehicle communication device for transmitting a request for providing information to an information providing device, comprising:
A receiving unit that receives predetermined information provided by the information providing apparatus;
A communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device;
A control unit configured to perform control to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit when the reception unit receives the predetermined information;
And a stop unit for stopping transmission of the information provision request when predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit. The control unit
When predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device through the communication unit, control is performed to provide the acquired predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device different from the other in-vehicle communication device through the communication unit. The on-vehicle communication device according to claim 1. And a transmission unit for transmitting the information provision request to the information providing apparatus at each transmission point of a predetermined cycle.
The stopping unit is
The transmission of the request for provision of information is stopped when the transmission time point is reached while the predetermined request stop time elapses from the acquisition time point when predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device. An in-vehicle communication device according to Item 2. An identification information acquisition unit configured to acquire identification information indicating presence in any of a plurality of areas allocated in advance;
The communication unit is
Acquiring identification information of the in-vehicle communication device from another in-vehicle communication device;
And a determination unit that determines whether the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit matches the identification information of the other in-vehicle communication device,
The control unit
4. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 3, wherein control is performed to provide the predetermined information received by the reception unit to another in-vehicle communication device determined by the determination unit to have the identification information match. A traffic information acquisition unit that acquires traffic information including traffic congestion information;
The on-vehicle communication device according to claim 3, further comprising: a changing unit that changes the predetermined cycle based on the traffic information acquired by the traffic information acquiring unit.   5. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 4, further comprising: a change unit that changes the predetermined cycle based on the identification information acquired by the identification information acquisition unit.   A vehicle comprising the on-vehicle communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An information providing system comprising: an information providing device; and a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles and transmitting a request for providing information to the information providing device.
Each in-vehicle communication device is
A receiving unit that receives predetermined information provided by the information providing apparatus;
A communication unit for performing inter-vehicle communication with another in-vehicle communication device;
A control unit configured to perform control to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit when the reception unit receives the predetermined information;
An information providing system, comprising: a stop unit that stops transmission of the information provision request when predetermined information is acquired from another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit. An information providing method by an information providing system, comprising: an information providing device; and a plurality of in-vehicle communication devices mounted on each of a plurality of vehicles and transmitting a request for information provision to the information providing device,
One in-vehicle communication device is
A receiving unit that receives predetermined information provided by the information providing apparatus;
The communication unit performs inter-vehicle communication with other in-vehicle communication devices,
When the predetermined information is received, the control unit controls to provide the received predetermined information to another in-vehicle communication device via the communication unit,
The other in-vehicle communication device is
The information provision method in which a stop unit stops transmission of the request for provision of information when predetermined information is acquired from the one in-vehicle communication device via a communication unit that performs inter-vehicle communication.

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