KR101836816B1 - In-vehicle terminal having validity period, and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a vehicle terminal having a valid period and an operation method thereof. A method for operating a vehicle terminal having a valid period, the method comprising: receiving driving information from the vehicle during the valid period and transmitting the driving information to the vehicle management server; receiving, from the communication company server or the vehicle management server Controlling a connection between the vehicle and the vehicle terminal in an end mode in accordance with the control signal, receiving the end message from the vehicle terminal in response to the control signal, And a control step of controlling the vehicle to the end mode by using the vehicle terminal. According to the present invention, unnecessary power consumption and unnecessary information generation after expiration of validity period can be prevented by a simple method such as message transmission.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an in-vehicle terminal having a valid period,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a vehicle terminal and an operation method thereof, and more particularly, to a vehicle terminal having a validity period and an operation method thereof.

In recent years, vehicle terminals for various purposes have been attached and utilized. Some vehicle terminals, such as a navigation system, provide convenience to the driver, but there are also vehicle terminals that are attached to a plurality of vehicles to provide information to the vehicle management system.

For example, a company that needs to manage a large number of vehicles, such as a rental car company, a bus company, a taxi company, or a courier company, attaches the aforementioned vehicle terminal to a management vehicle, To manage a plurality of vehicles.

In this case, the vehicle terminal receives the driving information of the vehicle through a sensor provided in the vehicle, or can generate position information through a GPS module or the like, which is held by itself, and is generally supplied with power from the vehicle.

As described above, the vehicle terminal included in the vehicle management system only has to perform functions according to the purpose only during a period in which the contract relationship with the vehicle management company is valid. Therefore, when the contract is terminated, it is no longer necessary to provide the running information to the business .

However, since the conventional vehicle terminal operates separately from the termination of the contract in the off-line, the end of the communication service of the communication company, and the end of the communication service use due to the exhaustion of data, the vehicle terminal continues to operate even when the operation is unnecessary, There is a problem of continuously generating and storing vehicle information which can be adversely affected.

In addition, if the driver is contracted to operate the vehicle under the management of the vehicle management company and to pay the vehicle management company regularly, the driver may move away from the vehicle management system, In such a case, it is necessary to induce the payment of the fee using the terminal for the vehicle.

Accordingly, there is a need for a vehicle terminal for preventing and solving a crime caused by a malfunction due to a vehicle terminal attached to a vehicle without being collected after termination of a contract, a disadvantage due to generation of unnecessary running information, An additional function is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle terminal capable of preventing unnecessary power consumption and unnecessary information generation after a validity period expires by a simple method of transmitting a message and an operation method thereof.

The present invention also provides a vehicle terminal capable of preventing a crime by controlling a vehicle by a simple method of transmitting a message when the driver does not return the vehicle terminal or expends the expense for extending the validity period after expiration of the valid period, It is another purpose to provide a method.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of operating a vehicle terminal having a valid period, the method comprising: receiving driving information from the vehicle during the valid period and transmitting the received driving information to the vehicle management server; Receiving a message for expiration of validity from a management server, generating a control signal using the received message, controlling a connection between the vehicle and the vehicle terminal according to the control signal in an end mode, And controlling the vehicle terminal in a termination mode by using the vehicle terminal or controlling the vehicle in a termination mode by using the vehicle terminal.

The vehicle terminal of the present invention may further include a vehicle information receiving unit that receives the running information from the vehicle in the valid period, the vehicle information transmitting unit transmits the running information to the vehicle management server, A communication unit for receiving a message for expiration of validity from a management server, a control unit for confirming the contents of the message and performing a control function according to contents of the confirmed message, A connection control unit for controlling the connection of the vehicle terminal in the end mode, a terminal control unit for controlling the vehicle terminal in the end mode, and a vehicle control unit for controlling the vehicle in the end mode using the vehicle terminal .

According to the present invention as described above, unnecessary power consumption and unnecessary information generation after the expiration of the validity period can be prevented by a simple method such as message transmission.

In addition, according to the present invention, when the driver does not return the vehicle terminal after expiration of the validity period or does not pay the expense for extending the validity period, the crime can be prevented by controlling the vehicle by a simple method such as message transmission.

1 is a view for explaining a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a view for explaining a vehicle terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a view for explaining a method of operating a vehicle terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a view for explaining a method of operating a vehicle terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a diagram for explaining a method for controlling a vehicle in a termination mode according to an embodiment of the present invention in more detail.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings, which are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the invention in unnecessary detail. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and all combinations described in the specification and claims can be combined in any manner. It is to be understood that, unless the context requires otherwise, references to singular forms may include more than one, and references to singular forms may also include plural forms.

1 is a view for explaining a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1, a vehicle management system may include a vehicle terminal 100 attached to a vehicle 10 to receive driving information from the vehicle 10, a communication company server 200, and a vehicle management server 300 .

The vehicle terminal 100 receives driving information such as fuel consumption information, mileage, accelerator pedal and brake pedal operation, gear operation, speed, acceleration, and revolutions per minute from various sensors provided in the vehicle 10, Vehicle information such as status can be collected. The travel information and the vehicle information collected by the vehicle terminal 100 may be transmitted to the vehicle management server 300. [ In addition, the vehicle terminal 100 may include a sensor or a GPS module. In this case, the vehicle terminal 100 may collect the driving information and the vehicle information itself and transmit the collected information to the vehicle management server 300.

The vehicle terminal 100 can receive a message from the communication company server 200 or the vehicle management server 300. The communication company server 200 receives the charging information, the amount of remaining data, the amount of data used, A period of time, a remaining communication network utilization period, and the like. From the vehicle management server 300, a message including the contract period with the vehicle management company, billing information, contract end date, remaining contract date, notification information of the vehicle management company, and the like can be received.

The communication company can provide a subscriber identity module (SIM) so that the vehicle terminal 100 can use its wired / wireless communication network during a contract period. The vehicle terminal 100 can use the subscriber identity module to communicate with the communication server server And can transmit and receive data to and from the vehicle management server 200 and the vehicle management server 300. The communication company server 200 can transmit billing information, amount of remaining data, data usage amount, communication period available time, remaining communication network usage period, and the like to the vehicle terminal 100 according to the communication network utilization.

The vehicle management server 300 is a server managed by a company that intends to use the vehicle management system. The server 300 can periodically or irregularly receive driving information, vehicle information, and the like from the vehicle terminal 100, And transmits control signals to the vehicle terminal 100 as needed to control the vehicle terminal 100 or to transmit necessary information.

For example, when the vehicle management server 300 is a courier company, the vehicle management server 300 can transmit information necessary for the delivery of goods to the vehicle terminal 100, such as the delivery time, place, route, . When the vehicle terminal 100 includes a GPS module, the vehicle management server 300 receives the positional information from the vehicle terminal 100 and determines whether the vehicle 10 performs the delivery work well through the designated route Etc. in real time. In addition, the vehicle management server 300 stores the identification information of the vehicle 10 and the driver information for driving the vehicle 10 in the identification information of the vehicle terminal 100 and stores the information together so as to efficiently manage the vehicle 10 .

2 is a view for explaining a vehicle terminal having a validity period according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2, a vehicle terminal 100 according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include a vehicle information receiving unit 110, a communication unit 130, and a controller 150. The vehicle terminal 100 may include a sensor unit 170, a GPS module A storage unit 190, a database (not shown), and a power storage unit (not shown).

The validity period may be set in the vehicle terminal 100, and the validity period may be set according to the setting of the subscriber identity module included in the vehicle terminal 100, and may be changed according to a contract with a communication company or a vehicle management company. In addition, the expiration date may be based on usable data given according to the amount paid. If the validity period is determined by the amount of available data, the validity period can be regarded as the period until the available data is exhausted.

The vehicle information receiving unit 110 receives the running information from the vehicle in the valid period. Here, the travel information may include at least one of registered user identification information, vehicle identification information, mileage, speed, acceleration, revolutions per minute, fuel consumption, break operation information, and location information.

The communication unit 130 transmits the travel information to the vehicle management server and receives a message for expiration of validity from the communication company server 200 or the vehicle management server 300 before expiration of the valid period. The message for expiration of expiration may include the expiration date of the expiration date, but includes information that indicates the expiration date of the expiration date, such as the remaining expiration date and information on the amount of remaining usable data.

The control unit 150 generates a control signal using the received message, and performs a control function according to the control signal. More specifically, the control unit 150 includes a connection control unit 153 for interrupting power supply to the vehicle terminal, a terminal control unit 155 for deleting the information stored in the vehicle terminal, a vehicle control unit for forcibly controlling the parts of the vehicle 157). ≪ / RTI >

When the message is received through the communication unit 130, the control unit 150 parses the message and analyzes the main content included in the message. For example, the control unit 150 may extract keywords related to 'valid period' stored in advance from the message, and may extract information related to the date or time. The previously stored valid term related keywords can be created, changed and added according to the setting. In addition to the keywords directly indicating the period information as described above, a keyword indicating the valid period indirectly such as 'residual data' may be used . When the keyword and the term information are extracted, the control unit 150 can check the validity period of the vehicle terminal 100 according to a predetermined algorithm.

The message may include content related to billing, and the received message may be a message requesting payment within a period of time. In this case, since the expiration date of the expiration date can be regarded as expiring if the expense is not paid within the expiration date, the control unit 150 judges that the expiration date of the expiration date is the expiration date, The control signal can be controlled to be activated according to the termination mode when the validity period expires.

The control unit 150 can generate the control signal using the validity period information that has been confirmed. For example, when the expiration date validated by the message analysis arrives, a control signal for controlling the connection between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle terminal 100 in the termination mode may be generated according to the preset contents. Since the generation of the control signal according to the contents of the message may vary depending on the user setting, the contents described in this specification should be understood as a description of one embodiment.

In another embodiment, when the valid period is indicated by the amount of remaining data, the controller 150 controls the vehicle terminal 100 to operate in the normal mode according to the valid period until the remaining data becomes 0, It is possible to generate a conditional control signal for controlling the vehicle terminal 100 to the end mode.

In another embodiment of the generated control signal, the control unit 150 may generate a conditional control signal for controlling the vehicle 10 to the end mode through the vehicle terminal 100 when the validity period expires.

When the control unit 150 generates the conditional control signal and is waiting for the control signal to be activated at the expiration date of the valid period or blocks the power supply to the vehicle terminal 100 according to the control signal, The control unit 150 determines whether or not to terminate the termination mode from the communication company server 200 or the vehicle management server 300 due to a user action, Mode, the power supply interruption for the vehicle terminal 100, the forced control of the vehicle 10, and the end mode for deleting the information stored in the vehicle terminal 100 are restored to the normal mode .

The connection control unit 153 that cuts off the power supply to the vehicle terminal 100 can shut off the power supply circuit between the vehicle and the vehicle terminal. More specifically, the connection control section 153 can cut off the fuse included in the power supply circuit by controlling the current flowing in the power supply circuit to exceed the limit current in the termination mode. In another embodiment, the connection control unit 153 may disconnect the leakage voltage by opening a fuse included in the power supply circuit. In this case, the power supplied to the vehicle terminal 100 may be cut off.

In another embodiment, the connection control section 153 can block the power supply circuit between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle terminal 100 as well as the control line for transmitting the control signal in the same manner.

The vehicle terminal 100 can prevent the vehicle terminal 100 from unnecessarily consuming the power of the vehicle 10 and can eliminate the possibility of malfunction of the vehicle 10 connected with the vehicle 10 even after the expiration of the valid period have.

According to the above embodiment in which the power supply circuit is shut off, power is no longer supplied to the vehicle terminal 100, so that control of the vehicle 10 using the vehicle terminal 100 becomes impossible. In addition, since the vehicle terminal 100 can not physically operate, the vehicle terminal 100 can perform all functions such as positional information collection performed in the normal mode, startup control through key box control, information transmission / reception with the vehicle management server 300, There is an effect to be interrupted.

The terminal control unit 155 for deleting the information previously stored in the vehicle terminal 100 can delete the information stored in the vehicle terminal 100 and control each module of the vehicle terminal 100 to be inoperative. For example, the terminal control unit 155 controls the operation of the vehicle terminal 100, such as running information stored in a database (not shown) of the vehicle terminal 100, position information received from the GPS satellites in the valid period, vehicle control information of the vehicle terminal, At least one of the management server list can be deleted, and the generation of additional information can be stopped. Here, the vehicle control information includes information on checking and managing the start of the vehicle through an ignition device such as an ignition coil or a spark plug of the vehicle or a starting device such as a start relay, a forced deceleration record due to abnormal driving, And log information that controls the vehicle through the vehicle terminal 100 during the valid period.

The vehicle control section 157 that controls the start of the vehicle 10 waits until a start end signal is received from the vehicle 10 when the start of the vehicle 10 is turned on and starts the vehicle 10 from the start The vehicle 10 can be controlled to the start-stop mode if the end signal is received or the vehicle 10 is in the off-state. In the start stop mode, when the start command is received from the user, the start device of the vehicle is controlled so that the vehicle does not start.

Thus, by controlling the vehicle 10 managed by the vehicle management server 300 in the validity period not to run normally according to the contract content, or to prevent the vehicle 10 from being started when it is determined that the vehicle 10 is stolen, It can be facilitated. According to the above embodiment, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an accident due to the forced start of the vehicle during traveling by waiting until the start end signal is received while the vehicle is running.

According to an embodiment in which the components of the vehicle 10 are forcibly controlled, the vehicle controller 157 controls at least one of a windscreen wiper, an emergency light, and a car horn, regardless of user operations Can be operated. In the case where the driver does not pay the cost even after the expiration of the expiration date, the additional functions of the vehicle which do not affect the driving are operated regularly / irregularly, so that the user's attention can be raised. In addition, a warning sound may be generated by using a speaker of the vehicle 10, or the interior lamp of the vehicle may be turned on.

The sensor unit 170 may be included in the vehicle terminal 100 when the vehicle terminal 100 independently generates the traveling information. When the vehicle terminal 100 generates driving information or vehicle information using only information received from the vehicle 10, the sensor unit 170 may not be included in the vehicle terminal 100, In the case of the tracking terminal, the sensor unit 160 can include the sensor unit 160 because it is necessary to grasp a situation where the vehicle is abnormally moved in a state in which the traveling information is not collected through the vehicle 10 (state in which the starting is turned off). The sensor unit 170 may include a velocity sensor, a lateral acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, a steering angle sensor, a three-axis acceleration sensor, and the like for detecting the speed of the vehicle. It must be able to operate even when power is not supplied from the vehicle 10, so that it can operate in the ultra low power mode.

The GPS module 190 is a module for receiving the satellite signals from the GPS satellites and determining the position of the vehicle terminal 100. The position information generated by the GPS module 190 is included in the running information, Lt; / RTI >

Hereinafter, a method of operating a vehicle terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, the vehicle terminal receives the running information from the vehicle during the valid period (S110), and transmits the received running information to the vehicle management server (S130). This is the operation of the vehicle terminal in the normal mode within the validity period, and steps S110 and S130 may be repeated until an external event occurs. The driving information may include at least one of registered user identification information, vehicle identification information, mileage, speed, acceleration, revolutions per minute, fuel consumption, brake operation information, and position information.

In operation S160, the vehicle terminal generates a control signal by using the received message (S160). The operation of the vehicle terminal is described below. The control signal generated in step S160 may be a term conditional control signal that is activated when a time limit comes, and may be a signal generated when a time limit is reached, unlike the embodiment shown in Fig.

If the message received at step S150 includes the expiration date of the expiration date or the remaining data usage amount information, the vehicle terminal confirms whether the expiration date of the expiration date arrives at the predetermined period or irregularly, or whether the remaining data is exhausted (S170) Step S 190 may be performed when the user arrives, when the remaining data is exhausted, or when the expiration date comes. When the control signal is activated at the corresponding day or time, the vehicle terminal blocks power supply to the vehicle terminal in accordance with the control signal (S190A), deletes the pre-stored information in the vehicle terminal (S190B) (S190C)

Whether or not to perform the step in step S190 may vary according to a predetermined algorithm, and may vary according to the control signal generated using the message. For example, when a validity period expiration message due to non-payment of expenses is received, the vehicle may be preset to control the vehicle to a shutdown mode. If a validity period expiration message is received from the communication company server or the vehicle management server, To the end mode. Note that these combinations may vary depending on user settings, so that embodiments of each step can achieve various combinations.

In addition, in step S190A, the vehicle terminal may block the power supply circuit between the vehicle and the vehicle terminal in controlling the power supply to the vehicle terminal. More specifically, the vehicle terminal may cut off the fuse included in the power supply circuit by controlling a current exceeding the limit current to flow to the power supply circuit, and may cut off the power supply to the vehicle terminal by opening the fuse.

In addition, in step S190B, when the vehicle terminal performs control to delete the information stored in the terminal for the vehicle, the information about the travel information, the position information received from the GPS satellite in the valid period, the vehicle control information of the vehicle terminal, At least one of the lists can be deleted.

According to the embodiment of FIG. 4, when the vehicle terminal receives the end mode release request in response to a user action from the communication company server or the vehicle management server during operation of the vehicle terminal (S200), the vehicle terminal performs control to the end mode The control signal for the vehicle and the terminal of the vehicle, the vehicle, or the vehicle terminal can be restored to the normal mode (S300).

According to one embodiment of the step S190C for limiting starting of the vehicle with reference to FIG. 5, the vehicle terminal determines whether the vehicle is in the ON state (S192). If the vehicle is in the ON state, the start end signal is received from the vehicle (S194). If the start of the vehicle is turned off or a start-stop signal is received from the vehicle in the standby state (S96), the vehicle is controlled to the start-stop mode (S198). When the start command is received from the user in the start stop mode, the start device of the vehicle can be controlled so that the vehicle does not start.

Also, although not shown in the drawings, in another embodiment of the step S190, the vehicle terminal can operate at least one of a windscreen wiper, an emergency light, and a car horn irrespective of the user's operation have. This can be performed when an expiration date has elapsed or when an emergency situation occurs in which a suspicion of taking over a vehicle occurs. If a separate message is not received after receiving a message specifying the expiration date, a control signal May be preset by the user.

The above-described method may be implemented in a vehicle terminal through an application program stored in a computer-readable medium for executing any one of the embodiments.

Some embodiments omitted in this specification are equally applicable if their implementation subject is the same. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to be exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, The present invention is not limited to the drawings.

10: Vehicle
100: vehicle terminal
200:
300: vehicle management server

Claims (10)

A method of operating a vehicle terminal (1) for receiving driving information from a vehicle (1) during a valid period of a network usable period and transmitting the received driving information to a vehicle management server
Receiving the driving information from the vehicle and transmitting the received driving information to the vehicle management server, so that the vehicle management server performs the vehicle management;
Receiving a message including information on expiration of the network availability period from a communication company server before expiration of the validity period;
Extracting a valid period expiration time by analyzing the received message, and generating a preset control signal when the valid period expires;
The power supply to the vehicle terminal is interrupted or at least one of a windscreen wiper, an emergency light, and a car horn is periodically / irregularly operated regardless of user operations And a control step of operating the vehicle terminal.
A method of operating a vehicle terminal that receives driving information from a vehicle during a valid period, which is a contract period with a vehicle management company, and transmits the received driving information to a vehicle management server,
Receiving driving information from the vehicle during the valid period and transmitting the received driving information to the vehicle management server so that the vehicle management server performs the vehicle management;
Receiving a message from the vehicle management server before expiration of the expiration date, the message including information about expiration of the contract term;
Extracting a valid period expiration time by analyzing the received message, and generating a preset control signal when the valid period expires;
The power supply to the vehicle terminal is interrupted or at least one of a windscreen wiper, an emergency light, and a car horn is periodically / irregularly operated regardless of user operations And a control step of operating the vehicle terminal.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the power supply to the vehicle terminal is interrupted,
And controlling a current exceeding a limit current to flow to the power supply circuit between the vehicle and the vehicle terminal, and cutting the fuse included in the power supply circuit.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the control step comprises:
Further comprising the step of deleting at least one of the running information, the position information received from the GPS satellites during the valid period, the vehicle control information of the vehicle terminal, and the vehicle management server list registered in the vehicle terminal How it works.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the running information includes at least one of registered user identification information, vehicle identification information, mileage, speed, acceleration, revolutions per minute, fuel consumption, break operation information, and location information.
3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,
Wherein the control step comprises:
Controlling the vehicle to a start-stop mode if the start-up end signal is received from the vehicle or the start-up of the vehicle is off; And controlling the vehicle such that the vehicle does not start when a start command is received from the user in the start-stop mode.
A vehicle terminal for receiving driving information from a vehicle in a valid period of a network usable period and transmitting the received driving information to a vehicle management server,
A vehicle information receiving unit that receives driving information from a vehicle during an effective period;
A communication unit for transmitting the driving information to the vehicle management server and receiving a message including information on the expiration of the communication network usable period from the communication company server before expiration of the valid period;
A controller for analyzing the received message to extract a valid period expiration time, generating a control signal preset at the expiration of the valid period, and performing a control function according to the control signal,
The control unit
A terminal device control section for interrupting power supply to the vehicle terminal and at least one of a windscreen wiper, an emergency light, and a car horn is periodically / irregularly operated regardless of a user operation And a vehicle control unit for controlling the vehicle.
A vehicle terminal for receiving driving information from a vehicle during an expiration period that is a contract period with a vehicle management company and transmitting the received driving information to a vehicle management server,
A vehicle information receiving unit that receives driving information from a vehicle during an effective period;
A communication unit for transmitting the driving information to the vehicle management server and receiving a message including information on the expiration of the contract period from the vehicle management server before expiration of the valid period;
A controller for analyzing the received message to extract a valid period expiration time, generating a control signal preset at the expiration of the valid period, and performing a control function according to the control signal,
The control unit
A terminal device control section for interrupting power supply to the vehicle terminal and at least one of a windscreen wiper, an emergency light, and a car horn is periodically / irregularly operated regardless of a user operation And a vehicle control unit for controlling the vehicle. delete delete

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