JP6428707B2 - Information communication system for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information communication system for a vehicle that transmits vehicle information to the outside of the vehicle.

  Vehicles such as passenger cars are equipped with various electronic control modules (ECUs) for performing various controls such as powertrain control, body control, and vehicle control. In addition, an operation data recorder (ODR: Operation Data Recorder) that records various operating conditions of the vehicle may be installed. Various information (vehicle information) related to the vehicle collected from such various in-vehicle devices is useful for vehicle failure diagnosis and maintenance management.

  Vehicle information is stored, analyzed, and processed in an external device such as a center device. To obtain vehicle information, the center device writes vehicle information to a memory device such as a USB memory and connects the USB memory to a PC. It is inconvenient because it is necessary to transmit vehicle information from the PC to the center device via the Internet. In order to solve such a problem, a technique for transmitting diagnostic information of a running vehicle to a center device using a dedicated communication module or mobile phone capable of bidirectional communication is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2006-25048 A

  It is advantageous in terms of cost to use a mobile terminal possessed by a passenger, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, as a transmitter for transmitting vehicle information, rather than mounting a communication module dedicated to transmitting vehicle information as in the prior art described above. It is preferable. However, since the mobile terminal is not a dedicated transmitter for vehicle information, for example, the mobile terminal cannot be transmitted to the center device unless the mobile terminal is operated due to running out of battery or the mobile terminal is not brought into the vehicle. . If such a forgotten portable terminal is left or is not operated, vehicle information cannot be transferred to the center device even if a vehicle failure occurs, and the center device does not receive the vehicle information, It is determined that there is no abnormality. As a result, the failure of the vehicle may be left unattended.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention can prevent vehicle information from being transmitted due to forgetting to bring a mobile terminal into the vehicle in a vehicle information communication system that uses a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone as a vehicle information transmitter. It is an object to be able to determine the possibility of vehicle abnormality.

An information communication system for a vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention is collected by an information collection unit that collects vehicle information from an in-vehicle device, a communication interface to which a mobile terminal brought into the vehicle is connected, and an information collection unit A vehicle information device having a control unit that transfers vehicle information to a mobile terminal via a communication interface. The mobile terminal transfers vehicle information transferred from the vehicle information device to the center device. If the next new drive information is not received within a predetermined period after receiving the drive information related to the driving performance of the vehicle generated for each drive as vehicle information, there is a possibility of vehicle abnormality or communication system abnormality It is determined that there is a sex. If the center device periodically checks the reception status of the drive information at intervals shorter than the predetermined period and determines that the drive information is not received, the predetermined period has elapsed since the previous drive information was received. Determine whether or not. Alternatively, the center device increases or decreases the predetermined period based on the reception intervals of the latest multiple times of drive information. Alternatively, if the center device receives failure information indicating vehicle failure as vehicle information after a state in which the next new drive information cannot be received after receiving the previous drive information for a certain period of time or more, It is determined that there is a possibility.

  According to the present invention, in a vehicle information communication system that uses a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a smartphone as a vehicle information transmitter, even if vehicle information cannot be transmitted due to forgetting to bring a mobile terminal into the vehicle or the like, The possibility can be determined.

1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle information communication system according to an embodiment. Configuration diagram of an in-vehicle system according to an example The figure which shows the environment setting screen of the in-car communication and the outside communication of the portable terminal Sequence diagram showing a procedure for transferring vehicle information between the in-vehicle information device, the portable terminal, and the center device Flow chart of vehicle abnormality determination process in center device Timing chart according to an example when both the vehicle and the communication system are normal Timing chart according to another example when both vehicle and communication system are normal Timing chart according to an example when the vehicle is abnormal and the communication system is normal Timing chart according to an example when the vehicle is normal and the communication system is abnormal Timing chart according to an example when both the vehicle and the communication system are abnormal Timing chart according to an example when the vehicle is normal and the mobile terminal is forgotten to be brought in or is not operating Timing chart according to an example when the vehicle is abnormal and you forget to bring your mobile terminal or do not operate it Timing chart according to an example when the vehicle is not used for a long time or is scrapped

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed descriptions of already well-known matters and repeated descriptions for substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid the following description from becoming unnecessarily redundant and to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

  In addition, the inventors provide the accompanying drawings and the following description in order for those skilled in the art to fully understand the present invention, and these are intended to limit the subject matter described in the claims. is not.

  FIG. 1 shows an outline of a vehicular information communication system according to an embodiment. The vehicle information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment includes an in-vehicle information device (CMU: Connectivity Master Unit) 10, a mobile terminal 20 (DTU: Data Transfer Unit), and a center device 30. Among these, the in-vehicle information device 10 and the portable terminal 20 are arranged in the vehicle 101, and the center device 30 is arranged outside the vehicle (remote location).

  The vehicle 101 is an automobile that travels by the power of a prime mover such as an internal combustion engine, a hybrid engine, or an electric motor, and is typically a passenger car.

  The in-vehicle information device 10 is an in-vehicle device arranged on a dashboard or a center console of the vehicle 101. The in-vehicle information device 10 includes a small display device (not shown) having a touch panel function, and can perform various operations such as car navigation, an in-vehicle AV device, in-vehicle air conditioning, and vehicle settings by a touch operation. ing.

  The in-vehicle information device 10 has a function of collecting vehicle information of the vehicle 101. The vehicle information here is information obtained from various in-vehicle devices of the vehicle 101. In addition to raw data detected by the in-vehicle devices (for example, GPS (Global Positioning System) information and time information), in-vehicle information Processing data (for example, heater control analysis data, brake analysis data, etc.) analyzed and processed in the device is also included.

  The mobile terminal 20 is a mobile information terminal or a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook PC possessed by a passenger. The portable terminal 20 is brought into the vehicle 101 and connected to the in-vehicle information device 10 by wire and / or wireless. As will be described later, a plurality of portable terminals 20 can be simultaneously connected to the in-vehicle information device 10. In addition, one mobile terminal 20 can be connected to the in-vehicle information device 10 using two communication interfaces, wired and wireless. By connecting the mobile terminal 20 to the in-vehicle information device 10, the rider can operate the mobile terminal 20 on the in-vehicle information device 10 side. For example, music content, video content, and radio possessed by the mobile terminal 20 are operated by the in-vehicle information device 10 to be played back by the in-vehicle AV device, a short message is viewed by the in-vehicle information device 10, and the hands using the in-vehicle information device 10 You can make free calls.

  The portable terminal 20 has a carrier communication function such as 3G, LTE (Long Term Evolution), and GSM (Global System for Mobile communication). By starting a dedicated application (application program) on the mobile terminal 20, the mobile terminal 20 receives vehicle information from the in-vehicle information device 10 and transmits the vehicle information to the center device 30 by wireless communication via the electric communication line 102. Functions as a transmitter to forward to.

  The telecommunication line 102 includes a public mobile communication network provided by telecommunication carriers (communication carriers) such as 3G, LTE, and GSM, the Internet, a wide area network (WAN), and a local area network (LAN).

  The center device 30 is a device that receives vehicle information transferred from the mobile terminal 20 via the telecommunication line 102, and accumulates, analyzes, and processes the received vehicle information. For example, the center device 30 includes a plurality of servers. A back-end server 30A is arranged at the end on the telecommunication line 102 side. The back-end server 30A mainly functions as a communication platform, receives vehicle information transferred from the mobile terminal 20, and accumulates it. The back-end server 30A is connected to another server such as the region server 30B through a WAN or a LAN. The region server 30B appropriately reads and analyzes and processes the stored information of the backend server 30A. The information analyzed and processed by the region server 30B is used for maintenance of the vehicle 101 and for providing high value-added services.

  As described above, in the vehicle information communication system 100 according to the present embodiment, the vehicle is not a dedicated communication device mounted on the vehicle 101 but a general-purpose portable terminal such as a smartphone possessed by the passenger of the vehicle 101. The information is transferred to the center device 30.

  Next, a configuration example of the in-vehicle system of the vehicle 101 will be described. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of an in-vehicle system according to an example.

  The vehicle 101 includes a PCM (Powertrain Control Module) 41 that controls the operation of the power train including the engine, a TCM (Transmission Control Module) 42 that controls the transmission, a wiper, a door lock, a room light, a blinker, a tail lamp, and a keyless. Various control systems such as BCM (Body Control Module) 43 that controls electrical components such as security, DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) 44 that controls engine torque to prevent vehicle slipping and maintain vehicle running stability An electronic control module (ECM) is mounted on the vehicle. These in-vehicle devices are connected to an in-vehicle bus 50 such as a CAN (Controller Area Network).

  The in-vehicle information device 10 is also connected to the in-vehicle bus 50. Specifically, the in-vehicle information device 10 includes an information collection unit 11, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 12, a memory 13, and communication interfaces (I / F) 14A and 14B. These components are connected to the internal bus 18.

  The information collection unit 11 is a module that collects vehicle information from the various on-vehicle devices. The information collecting unit 11 is connected to the in-vehicle bus 50 via an interface for connecting to the in-vehicle bus 50 such as a CAN bus interface.

  The memory 13 includes volatile memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), and non-volatile memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory) and flash memory. The memory 13 stores a program for operating the in-vehicle information device 10 (in the case of ROM or flash memory), temporarily stores vehicle information collected by the information collecting unit 11 (in the case of RAM), It can be accumulated over a period (in the case of a flash memory).

  The communication interfaces 14 </ b> A and 14 </ b> B are interfaces that connect the in-vehicle information device 10 and the portable terminal 20. The communication interface 14 </ b> A is a short-range wireless interface such as Bluetooth (registered trademark), and the in-vehicle information device 10 and the mobile terminal 20 communicate with each other by the wireless 201. The communication interface 14 </ b> B is a wired interface such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), and the in-vehicle information device 10 and the mobile terminal 20 are connected by a cable 202 and communicate through the cable 202.

  A plurality of portable terminals 20 can be simultaneously connected to the in-vehicle information device 10 using all of the communication interfaces 14A and 14B. In particular, the communication interface 14B has a plurality of ports, and a plurality of portable terminals 20 can be simultaneously connected to the plurality of ports. In the example of FIG. 2, the communication interface 14B has two ports, and can be connected to a maximum of three portable terminals 20 together with the communication interface 14A.

  When the user (passenger) functions the mobile terminal 20 as a transmitter that transmits vehicle information from the in-vehicle information device 10 to the center device 30, the user (passenger) may arbitrarily set a communication environment inside and outside the vehicle related to communication of vehicle information. it can. FIG. 3 shows an environment setting screen for in-vehicle communication and external communication of the mobile terminal 20. For example, it is possible to set whether to use each of Bluetooth and USB as in-vehicle communication. In addition, it is possible to set whether or not to use each of carrier communication and Wi-Fi communication as external communication.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the CPU 12 controls the overall operation of the in-vehicle information device 10 in accordance with a program stored in the memory 13. For example, the CPU 12 collects vehicle information from the in-vehicle device by the information collecting unit 11 and analyzes and processes the collected information as necessary to generate an electronic file having a predetermined data structure. The generated electronic file is stored in the memory 13.

  The CPU 12 stores a plurality of electronic files according to the information type, for example, a file holding cumulative data of travel distance and fuel consumption (for convenience, file A); travel time for one drive (period from ignition on to off), File that holds mileage, fuel consumption, ignition off location and time (for convenience, file B); warning lamp lighting information, vehicle fault code, and vehicle status information for several seconds before and after warning lamp lighting (For convenience, it is referred to as a file C); a file (referred to as a file D for convenience) that holds indicator lamp lighting information and vehicle state information for several seconds before and after the indicator lamp lighting is generated. The file generation timing is, for example, when the file A and the file B are ignition off, the file C is when the warning lamp is lit, and the file D is when a safety device such as ABS (Antilock Brake System) is activated. The file A and the file B are examples of “drive information” in the claims, and the file C and the file D are examples of “failure information”.

  Further, the CPU 12 reads the file from the memory 13 at a predetermined timing, and transfers the file to the portable terminal 20 through the interface that is set to be usable in the communication environment setting among the communication interfaces 14A and 14B. The portable terminal 20 transfers the transferred file to the center device 30 via the telecommunication line 102. The file read and transmission timings by the CPU 12 are, for example, when the file A and the file B are in the ignition off state, and immediately after the file C and the file D are generated.

  FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating a procedure for transferring vehicle information among the in-vehicle information device 10, the mobile terminal 20, and the center device 30. A procedure for transferring vehicle information among the in-vehicle information device 10, the mobile terminal 20, and the center device 30 will be described with reference to FIG. It is assumed that the mobile terminal 20 is connected to the communication interface 14A or 14B and can communicate with the in-vehicle information device 10 and can communicate with the center device 30 via the telecommunication line 102.

  When a file for storing vehicle information is generated in the in-vehicle information device 10 and a trigger for transmitting the file to the center device 30 occurs, the in-vehicle information device 10 issues a connection request to the mobile terminal 20 (S11). When the portable terminal 20 receives the connection request, the portable terminal 20 checks whether or not the mobile terminal 20 is in a state where it can be connected to the in-vehicle information device 10. S21).

  When receiving the connection permission, the in-vehicle information device 10 issues a file transfer request to the portable terminal 20 (S12). When receiving the transfer request, the portable terminal 20 issues a file transfer permission to the in-vehicle information device 10 (S22). When receiving the transfer permission, the in-vehicle information device 10 transfers the file storing the vehicle information to the mobile terminal 20 via the communication interface 14A or 14B (S13).

  The portable terminal 20 receives the file from the in-vehicle information device 10 and notifies the in-vehicle information device 10 of the reception result (S23). Subsequently, the mobile terminal 20 transfers the received file to the center device 30 via the telecommunication line 102 (S24).

  The center apparatus 30 receives a file from the portable terminal 20 and notifies the reception result to the portable terminal 20 (S31). Based on the reception result notified from the mobile terminal 20, the mobile terminal 20 determines whether or not the file has been transferred to the center apparatus 30 (S 25).

  If the file has not been correctly transferred to the center device 30, the portable terminal 20 sends a file retransmission request to the in-vehicle information device 10 (S26). When receiving the retransmission request, the in-vehicle information device 10 again transfers the file storing the vehicle information to the portable terminal 20 via the communication interface 14A or 14B (S13).

  On the other hand, if the file can be correctly transferred to the center device 30, the center device 30 accumulates the vehicle information stored in the received file and performs analysis / processing (S32). Further, the portable terminal 20 requests the in-vehicle information device 10 to delete the file that has been successfully transferred (S27).

  When receiving the deletion request, the in-vehicle information device 10 deletes the file that has been successfully transferred to the center device 30 via the portable terminal 20 (S14). Subsequently, the in-vehicle information device 10 requests the portable terminal 20 to delete the file that has been successfully transferred from the file list (S15).

  The portable terminal 20 manages files to be received from the in-vehicle information device 10 and transferred to the center device 30 using a file list. When receiving the deletion request, the portable terminal 20 deletes the file name of the file transferred to the center device 30 from the file list (S28). In this way, by using the file list, it is possible to grasp on the mobile terminal 20 side whether or not the file that has been transferred to the center device 30 has been deleted from the memory 13 of the in-vehicle information device 10.

  According to the above procedure, the mobile terminal 20 such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a notebook PC brought into the vehicle by the passenger of the vehicle 101 functions as a transmitter that transmits vehicle information from the in-vehicle information device 10 to the center device 30. Can be made.

  By the way, since the portable terminal 20 is not a dedicated transmitter for vehicle information, for example, if the dedicated application is not activated, does not operate due to running out of battery, or is not brought into the vehicle in the first place, the portable terminal 20 is the center device 30. Vehicle information cannot be transferred to. If the vehicle information transfer impossible state due to such a portable terminal 20 continues, even if a failure occurs in the vehicle 101, the center apparatus 30 determines that there is no abnormality in the vehicle 101 because it does not receive the vehicle information. . In order to eliminate such erroneous determination, the center device 30 performs the following vehicle abnormality determination process.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the vehicle abnormality determination process in the center device 30. The center device 30 temporarily stores the received vehicle information in a buffer (not shown) (S301). The center device 30 can determine whether the vehicle information has been received by checking the buffer at a predetermined interval (for example, 10 minutes). That is, the center device 30 stores the received vehicle information in a buffer until a trigger is issued at a predetermined interval from a timer (not shown) (NO in S302), and when the trigger is issued (YES in S302), the buffer , It is confirmed whether or not a drive file has been received (S303). Note that the drive file is the above-mentioned file A (file that holds cumulative data of travel distance and fuel consumption), file B (file that holds travel time, travel distance, fuel consumption, ignition off location and time of one drive), and the like It is.

  If the drive file has been received (YES in S303), the center device 30 extracts drive information such as the travel distance, travel time, and fuel consumption from the drive file, and the vehicle identification number (VIN: Vehicle) of the vehicle 101. The drive information is registered in an unillustrated database together with (Identification Number) (S304).

  On the other hand, if the drive file has not been received (NO in S303), the center apparatus 30 determines whether or not a predetermined period has elapsed since the previous drive file reception (S305). The predetermined period is a period sufficiently longer than the above-described interval, and is several days, for example. The elapsed time since the previous drive file reception can be obtained, for example, from the difference between the previous drive file reception date and the current date and time.

  If the predetermined period has elapsed since the previous drive file reception (YES in S305), it is considered that the vehicle 101 has not been used for a long time, while the vehicle 101 has been used but the vehicle 101 has failed or It is also assumed that the vehicle information cannot be transferred to the center device 30 due to an abnormality in the communication system (a part including the communication interfaces 14A and 14B and the mobile terminal 20 in the CMU 10). Therefore, the center device 30 determines that there is a possibility of an abnormality in the vehicle 101 or an abnormality in the communication system in consideration of the worst case when a predetermined period has elapsed since the previous drive file reception, and the dealer determines that Notification is made (S306). Upon receiving the notification, the dealer can contact the owner of the vehicle 101 to check whether there is an abnormality in the vehicle 101 or the communication system. The center device 30 may directly notify the owner of the vehicle 101 of the possibility of the abnormality of the vehicle 101 or the abnormality of the communication system.

  After registering the drive information in the database, or when the predetermined period has not elapsed since the previous drive file reception (NO in S305), the center device 30 refers to the buffer to determine whether or not a failure file has been received. Is confirmed (S307). Note that the failure file includes the above-mentioned file C (file that holds warning lamp lighting information, vehicle system failure code, and vehicle status information for several seconds before and after the warning lamp lights) and file D (indicator lamp lighting information and indicator lamp lighting). A file that holds vehicle state information for several seconds before and after.

  If a failure file has been received (YES in S307), the center apparatus 30 extracts failure information from the failure file and registers the failure information together with the vehicle identification number of the vehicle 101 in a database (not shown). (S308). Further, the center device 30 refers to the failure history registered in the database and determines whether or not a failure has occurred in the vehicle 101 (S309). For example, when failure information of a certain part of the vehicle 101 is reported many times, it can be determined that the part is broken. On the other hand, if failure information is reported only once from a certain part of the vehicle 101 and no failure information is reported thereafter, it can be determined that the part is naturally recovered and is currently normal.

  As a result of the failure determination, if the center device 30 determines that a failure has occurred in the vehicle 101 (YES in S309), the center device 30 notifies the dealer of the vehicle failure (S310). By receiving the notification of the vehicle failure, the dealer can guide the maintenance by contacting the owner of the vehicle 101 or the like. The center device 30 may directly notify the owner of the vehicle 101 of the vehicle failure.

  On the other hand, if a failure file has not been received (NO in S307), or if it is determined that no failure has occurred in the vehicle 101 (NO in S309), the vehicle abnormality determination process is terminated and the next timer trigger is The received vehicle information is buffered until it occurs.

  The predetermined period described above may be a fixed value or may be increased or decreased according to the past drive file reception status. When the drive file reception interval is short, the vehicle 101 is used relatively frequently. Conversely, when the drive file reception interval is long, the vehicle 101 is not used much. Therefore, for example, an average value of the reception intervals of the most recent drive file is calculated, and a predetermined number of times (for example, 500% of the average reception interval) is set as a predetermined period each time. Good. Thereby, the vehicle abnormality determination process can be performed with higher accuracy by reflecting the use frequency of the vehicle 101 in the vehicle abnormality determination process.

  Next, various situations assumed when the vehicle information generated by the in-vehicle information device 10 is transferred to the center device 30 via the portable terminal 20 will be exemplified, and examples of vehicle abnormality determination will be described for each situation.

  FIG. 6 is a timing chart according to an example when both the vehicle 101 and the communication system are normal. If both the vehicle 101 and the communication system are normal, a drive file is generated for each drive in the in-vehicle information device 10 and transferred to the mobile terminal 20, and the mobile terminal 20 transfers the transferred drive file to the center device 30. . Therefore, since center apparatus 30 receives the next new drive file within a predetermined period after receiving a certain drive file, it can be determined that there is no abnormality in both vehicle 101 and the communication system.

  FIG. 7 is a timing chart according to another example when both the vehicle 101 and the communication system are normal. Even if the vehicle 101 is normal, a failure file may be generated accidentally. As in FIG. 6, the center device 30 receives the next new drive file within a predetermined period after receiving a certain drive file, but may receive a failure file that is generated accidentally. is there. However, the center device 30 does not immediately determine that there is an abnormality in the vehicle 101 even if an accidental failure file is received (NO in step S309 in the determination flow of FIG. 5). In this case, after determining that there is no abnormality in both the vehicle 101 and the communication system, the center device 30 may observe whether the same failure information is reported again.

  FIG. 8 is a timing chart according to an example when the vehicle 101 is abnormal and the communication system is normal. Since a failure has occurred in the vehicle 101, failure files are frequently generated and transferred to the center device 30. In this case, the center apparatus 30 determines that a failure has occurred in the vehicle 101 (YES in step S309 in the determination flow of FIG. 5), and notifies the dealer or the like of the vehicle failure.

  FIG. 9 is a timing chart according to an example when the vehicle 101 is normal and the communication system is abnormal. The in-vehicle information device 10 generates a drive file for each drive and tries to transfer the drive file to the mobile terminal 20, but cannot transfer the drive file from the in-vehicle information device 10 to the mobile terminal 20 due to an abnormality in the communication system. Or since the drive file cannot be transferred to the center apparatus 30 even if the portable terminal 20 receives the drive file, the center apparatus 30 does not receive the drive file. If such a state continues for a long time and the next new drive file cannot be received within a predetermined period after receiving a certain drive file, the center device 30 may have an abnormality in the vehicle 101 or the communication system. (YES in step S305 in the determination flow of FIG. 5), the dealer is notified accordingly.

  FIG. 10 is a timing chart according to an example when both the vehicle 101 and the communication system are abnormal. Since a failure has occurred in the vehicle 101, the in-vehicle information device 10 frequently generates a failure file and tries to transfer the failure file to the portable terminal 20. 20, neither the drive file nor the failure file can be transferred, or even if the portable terminal 20 receives the drive file and the failure file, the drive file and the failure file cannot be transferred to the center device 30. Do not receive. If such a state continues for a long time and the next new drive file cannot be received within a predetermined period after receiving a certain drive file, the center device 30 may have an abnormality in the vehicle 101 or the communication system. (YES in step S305 in the determination flow of FIG. 5), the dealer is notified accordingly.

  Comparing FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the vehicle 101 is normal in the situation of FIG. 9 and thus it is not necessary to perform urgent maintenance. However, in the situation of FIG. 10, the vehicle 101 is abnormal and needs to be maintained as soon as possible. However, since the center device 30 cannot distinguish between the situations of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, it is determined that there is a possibility of abnormality of the vehicle 101 or communication system in any situation in consideration of the worst case. And notify the dealer or the like to that effect.

  FIG. 11 is a timing chart according to an example when the vehicle 101 is normal and the mobile terminal 20 is forgotten to be brought in or is not in operation. A drive file is generated for each drive in the in-vehicle information device 10 and transferred to the mobile terminal 20, and the mobile terminal 20 transfers the transferred drive file to the center device 30. Here, if you forget to bring the mobile terminal 20 into the car, or if the battery runs out or the dedicated application is not activated, a pseudo communication system failure occurs, and the drive file is transferred from the in-vehicle information device 10 to the mobile terminal 20. The center device 30 does not receive the drive file because the drive file cannot be transferred to the center device 30 even if the portable terminal 20 receives the drive file. However, when the abnormal abnormality of the communication system is recovered, the center device 30 receives the next new drive file within a predetermined period after receiving a certain drive file, so there is no abnormality in both the vehicle 101 and the communication system. Can be determined.

  FIG. 12 is a timing chart according to an example when the vehicle 101 is abnormal and the mobile terminal 20 is forgotten to be brought in or is not in operation. Since a failure has occurred in the vehicle 101, the in-vehicle information device 10 frequently generates a failure file and tries to transfer the failure file to the mobile terminal 20. However, because of a pseudo communication system abnormality, the in-vehicle information device 10, neither a drive file nor a failure file can be transferred to the mobile terminal 20, or even if the mobile terminal 20 receives the drive file and the failure file, the drive file and the failure file cannot be transferred to the center device 30. However, when the pseudo communication system abnormality is recovered, the center device 30 receives the failure file within a predetermined period after receiving a certain drive file. In this way, if a failure file is received after a state where the next new drive information cannot be received after receiving the previous drive information for a certain period or more, a pseudo communication system abnormality has occurred, It is highly probable that a failure file was missed during that time. Therefore, in such a case, the center device 30 may determine that there is a possibility of failure of the vehicle 101 and notify the dealer or the like to that effect.

  FIG. 13 is a timing chart according to an example when the vehicle 101 is not used for a long period of time or is a scrapped vehicle. When the vehicle 101 is not used for a long time or is scrapped, a drive file is not generated and no vehicle information is transmitted to the center device 30. That is, the next new drive file cannot be received within a predetermined period after receiving a certain drive file. However, since the center device 30 cannot distinguish whether it is caused by an abnormality in the vehicle 101 or the communication system, or because the vehicle 101 has not been used or disposed of for a long time, the worst case is considered. Then, it is determined that there is a possibility of abnormality in the vehicle 101 or the communication system (YES in step S305 in the determination flow of FIG. 5), and the dealer is notified of this. That is, the center apparatus 30 performs the same failure determination as the situations of FIGS.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, vehicle information is transmitted due to, for example, forgetting to bring the mobile terminal 20 into the vehicle in the vehicle information communication system 100 using the mobile terminal 20 such as a mobile phone or a smartphone as a vehicle information transmitter. Even if it becomes impossible, the possibility of abnormality of the vehicle 101 can be determined.

  As described above, the embodiments have been described as examples of the technology in the present invention. For this purpose, the accompanying drawings and detailed description are provided.

  Accordingly, among the components described in the accompanying drawings and the detailed description, not only the components essential for solving the problem, but also the components not essential for solving the problem in order to illustrate the above technique. May also be included. Therefore, it should not be immediately recognized that these non-essential components are essential as those non-essential components are described in the accompanying drawings and detailed description.

  Moreover, since the above-mentioned embodiment is for demonstrating the technique in this invention, a various change, replacement, addition, abbreviation, etc. can be performed in a claim or its equivalent range.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Information communication system for vehicles 10 In-vehicle information device 11 Information collection unit 12 CPU (control unit)
14A communication interface 14B communication interface 20 portable terminal 30 center device 41 PCM (vehicle equipment)
42 TCM (In-vehicle equipment)
43 BCM (vehicle equipment)
44 DSC (vehicle equipment)

Claims (3)

An information collection unit for collecting vehicle information from in-vehicle devices;
A communication interface to which a mobile terminal brought into the car is connected;
An in-vehicle information device having a control unit that transfers vehicle information collected by the information collection unit to the portable terminal via the communication interface;
The portable terminal transfers vehicle information transferred from the in-vehicle information device to a center device,
The center device is
If it is not possible to receive the next new drive information within a predetermined period after receiving the drive information related to the driving performance of the vehicle generated for each drive as vehicle information, there is a possibility of vehicle abnormality or communication system abnormality It is determined that there is, and
If it is determined that the drive information has not been received by periodically confirming the reception status of the drive information at intervals shorter than the predetermined period, whether or not the predetermined period has elapsed since the previous drive information was received Determine
A vehicle information communication system. An information collection unit for collecting vehicle information from in-vehicle devices;
A communication interface to which a mobile terminal brought into the car is connected;
An in-vehicle information device having a control unit that transfers vehicle information collected by the information collection unit to the portable terminal via the communication interface;
The portable terminal transfers vehicle information transferred from the in-vehicle information device to a center device,
The center device is
If it is not possible to receive the next new drive information within a predetermined period after receiving the drive information related to the driving performance of the vehicle generated for each drive as vehicle information, there is a possibility of vehicle abnormality or communication system abnormality It is determined that there is, and
Increase or decrease the predetermined period based on the reception interval of the latest multiple times of drive information
A vehicle information communication system. An information collection unit for collecting vehicle information from in-vehicle devices;
A communication interface to which a mobile terminal brought into the car is connected;
An in-vehicle information device having a control unit that transfers vehicle information collected by the information collection unit to the portable terminal via the communication interface;
The portable terminal transfers vehicle information transferred from the in-vehicle information device to a center device,
The center device is
If it is not possible to receive the next new drive information within a predetermined period after receiving the drive information related to the driving performance of the vehicle generated for each drive as vehicle information, there is a possibility of vehicle abnormality or communication system abnormality It is determined that there is, and
If failure information indicating vehicle failure is received as vehicle information after a period of more than a certain period after receiving the previous drive information, the next new drive information cannot be received, and it is determined that there is a possibility of vehicle abnormality Do
A vehicle information communication system.

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