JP7673602B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to an information processing device.

Conventionally, there is known an information processing system for recording vehicle charts that contain information useful when assessing a vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1, etc.).

JP 2010-9572 A

There is room for improvement in the way vehicle records are created.

The purpose of this disclosure, made in light of these circumstances, is to keep the vehicle information recorded in the chart in an appropriate state.

An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a control unit that acquires information related to a vehicle and records the information in a medical record of the vehicle. The control unit updates the vehicle information recorded in the medical record of the vehicle at an update frequency set in the vehicle information. When an event related to the vehicle occurs, the control unit updates the vehicle information recorded in the medical record of the vehicle at the timing when the event related to the vehicle occurs, regardless of the update frequency set in the vehicle information.

According to an information processing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, vehicle information recorded in the medical chart can be kept in an appropriate state.

1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system according to an embodiment.

(Configuration example of information processing system 1)
1, an information processing system 1 according to an embodiment includes a server 10 and a vehicle 20. The server 10 and the vehicle 20 are configured to be able to communicate with each other. The server 10 and the vehicle 20 may be configured to be able to communicate with each other via a network. The number of each of the servers 10 and the vehicles 20 is not limited to one, and may be two or more.

The information processing system 1 records the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle 20 as a medical record of the vehicle 20. The medical record of the vehicle 20 is utilized for trading the vehicle 20 in the used car market, etc. The information processing system 1 may provide the medical record of the vehicle 20 to a user who buys and sells the vehicle 20, or to a dealership that distributes the vehicle 20. An example configuration of the information processing system 1 is described below.

<Server 10>
The server 10 includes a server control unit 11, a server storage unit 12, and a server communication unit 13. The server 10 may include one or more server devices capable of communicating with each other. The server 10 is also referred to as an information processing device.

The server control unit 11 controls at least a part of each component of the server 10. The server control unit 11 is also simply referred to as a control unit. The server control unit 11 may be configured to include one or more processors. In this embodiment, the "processor" is a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these. The server control unit 11 may be configured to include one or more dedicated circuits. The dedicated circuits may include, for example, an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The server control unit 11 may be configured to include a dedicated circuit instead of a processor, or may be configured to include a dedicated circuit together with a processor.

The server memory unit 12 stores vehicle information of the vehicle 20 that is recorded as the medical record of the vehicle 20. The server memory unit 12 is also simply referred to as a memory unit. The server memory unit 12 may be configured to include, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, or an optical memory, or may be configured to include an electromagnetic storage medium such as a magnetic disk, but is not limited to these. The server memory unit 12 may function, for example, as a main memory device, an auxiliary memory device, or a cache memory. The server memory unit 12 stores any information used in the operation of the server 10. For example, the server memory unit 12 may store a system program, an application program, or the like. At least a part of the server memory unit 12 may be included in the server control unit 11.

The server communication unit 13 includes a communication module configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle 20. The communication module may include, but is not limited to, a communication module compatible with mobile communication standards such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation). The server communication unit 13 is also simply referred to as a communication unit.

<Vehicle 20>
The vehicle 20 may be an automobile driven by an engine, an electric vehicle driven by a motor, or a hybrid vehicle driven by a combination of an engine and a motor. The vehicle 20 is not limited to these, and may be various types of automobiles.

The vehicle 20 includes a vehicle control unit 21 and a vehicle communication unit 22. The vehicle control unit 21 and the vehicle communication unit 22 are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via an in-vehicle network such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) or a dedicated line.

The vehicle control unit 21 controls each component of the vehicle 20. The vehicle control unit 21 may include one or more processors. The vehicle control unit 21 may include one or more dedicated circuits instead of a processor, or may include one or more dedicated circuits together with a processor. The vehicle control unit 21 may be configured to further include a memory unit.

The vehicle communication unit 22 may be configured to include a communication module configured to be able to communicate with the server 10. The communication module may include, but is not limited to, a communication module compatible with a mobile communication standard such as 4G or 5G. The vehicle communication unit 22 may be configured to include, for example, an in-vehicle communication device.

(Example of operation of information processing system 1)
The server control unit 11 of the server 10 acquires or generates information (vehicle information) about the vehicle 20 and records it in the medical record of the vehicle 20. The vehicle control unit 21 of the vehicle 20 outputs the vehicle information, or information or data for generating the vehicle information, to the server 10. The server control unit 11 updates the vehicle information recorded in the vehicle 20 at an update frequency set for each item of the vehicle information. In this way, the vehicle information is updated to new information. When an event related to the vehicle 20 occurs, the server control unit 11 updates the vehicle information recorded in the medical record at the timing when the event related to the vehicle 20 occurs, regardless of the update frequency set in the vehicle information. In this way, when the user wants to grasp the latest vehicle information, the vehicle information recorded in the medical record is updated to the latest information. When the vehicle information is updated at the timing when an event occurs, the load on the server 10 can be reduced compared to when the update frequency is simply shortened.

The vehicle information may include, for example, the distance traveled by the vehicle 20 (distance measured by the odometer) or fuel economy, warning history regarding braking, oil pressure, or coolant temperature, etc., history of collisions involving the vehicle 20, speed or acceleration data of the vehicle 20, engine RPM, etc.

The vehicle information may further include diagnosis results of the state of each component of the vehicle 20. The diagnosis results are generated based on data of each component of the vehicle 20 when the vehicle 20 is being driven. The items to be diagnosed are also referred to as diagnosis items. The diagnosis items correspond to the components of the vehicle 20 to be diagnosed. The diagnosis may be performed, for example, with the state of the engine, suspension, transmission, brake pressure, motor system, or battery as the diagnosis items. The diagnosis may be performed when the ignition of the vehicle 20 is turned on.

The server control unit 11 may set the update frequency for each item of vehicle information. The update frequencies for at least some of the items of vehicle information may be set to the same frequency. The update frequencies for each item of vehicle information may be set to different frequencies.

The server control unit 11 may, for example, acquire data generated by the vehicle control unit 21 while the vehicle 20 is traveling, and store the data in the server storage unit 12. The data generated by the vehicle control unit 21 while the vehicle 20 is traveling is also referred to as traveling data. The traveling data may include various data, such as the engine speed of the vehicle 20, the speed or acceleration of the vehicle 20, or the timing when the brakes are activated. The traveling data may be generated, for example, every second. The generation frequency of the traveling data is not limited to once per second, and may be set to various other frequencies.

The server control unit 11 may process the driving data collectively to generate information representing the driving history of the vehicle 20 as vehicle information. The driving data includes a huge amount of data. Therefore, the processing load of the driving data is large. Therefore, the server control unit 11 may process the driving data collectively during the night. In this case, the server control unit 11 can generate information representing the driving history of the vehicle 20 from the day after the driving data was acquired. The server control unit 11 may process the data so that the data recorded in the medical record reflects driving data from at least two days ago.

The vehicle control unit 21 may, for example, diagnose the state of the vehicle 20 when the ignition of the vehicle 20 is turned on, and output the diagnosis result to the server 10. The server control unit 11 may set the update frequency of the diagnosis result of the vehicle 20 to once a day, or once every few days. The diagnosis items include items whose states are prone to change and items whose states are unlikely to change. The server control unit 11 may set the update frequency of the diagnosis result of a diagnosis item whose state is unlikely to change to a longer period than the update frequency of a diagnosis item whose state is likely to change.

The server control unit 11 may diagnose the condition of the vehicle 20 based on the driving history of the vehicle 20 generated based on the driving data. The server control unit 11 may generate a diagnosis result for the vehicle 20 and update the vehicle information, for example, once a week or once a day.

The server control unit 11 may set the update frequency of vehicle information (e.g., fuel efficiency of the vehicle 20) that is calculated, for example, once a week, to once a week.

There may be a need to know the latest vehicle information about the vehicle 20. For example, when the vehicle 20 is transferred, the user who receives the vehicle 20, or a used car dealer or dealer, etc., will want to know the latest vehicle information about the vehicle 20. Therefore, the server control unit 11 may update the vehicle information when the vehicle 20 is received by the transferee, regardless of the update frequency of each item of the vehicle information. Also, when the vehicle 20 causes an accident or is involved in an accident, the user who drives the vehicle 20 or the user who owns the vehicle 20 will want to know the latest vehicle information about the vehicle 20. Therefore, the server control unit 11 may update the vehicle information when an accident related to the vehicle 20 occurs, or when the vehicle 20 is received at a repair shop or the like after the accident, regardless of the update frequency of each item of the vehicle information.

Events related to vehicle 20 include the entry of vehicle 20 or the occurrence of an accident related to vehicle 20. In other words, server control unit 11 may update the vehicle information when an event related to vehicle 20 occurs, regardless of the frequency with which each item of vehicle information is updated. In this way, server control unit 11 can provide users with the vehicle information that they would like to know. In other words, the vehicle information recorded in the medical record of vehicle 20 can be kept in an appropriate state.

In addition, when the diagnosis result of the condition of the vehicle 20 changes for at least some of the diagnosis items of the vehicle 20, the server control unit 11 may update the vehicle information at the timing when the diagnosis result changes, regardless of the update frequency of each item of the vehicle information. In this way, the vehicle information recorded in the medical record of the vehicle 20 can be kept in an appropriate state.

The server control unit 11 may select the items of vehicle information to be updated depending on the content of the event that has occurred. For example, when updating the vehicle information when the vehicle 20 is brought in for transfer, the server control unit 11 may select and update the items necessary to estimate the value of the vehicle 20. Furthermore, when updating the vehicle information when an accident occurs with the vehicle 20, the server control unit 11 may select and update the items related to the accident with the vehicle 20. By doing this, the processing load for updating the vehicle information can be reduced.

As described above, when an event related to the vehicle 20 occurs, the server 10 according to this embodiment updates the vehicle information recorded in the medical record of the vehicle 20 at the time the event related to the vehicle 20 occurs, regardless of the update frequency set for the vehicle information. In this way, the vehicle information recorded in the medical record of the vehicle 20 can be kept in an appropriate state.

The operation of the server 10 (information processing device) according to this embodiment may be realized as an information processing method executed by the server control unit 11, or may be realized as an information processing program executed by the server control unit 11.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that a person skilled in the art would be able to make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means or step can be rearranged so as not to cause logical inconsistencies, and multiple means or steps can be combined into one or divided.

1 Information processing system 10 Server (11: Server control unit, 12: Server communication unit)
20 Vehicle (21: vehicle control unit, 22: vehicle communication unit)

Claims (2)

A control unit is provided for acquiring information about a vehicle and recording the information in a medical record of the vehicle;
The control unit is
updating the information about the vehicle recorded in the vehicle chart at an update frequency set for the information about the vehicle;
When the vehicle is brought into warehousing at a transferee as an event related to the vehicle, the information related to the vehicle recorded in the vehicle chart is updated at the timing when the event related to the vehicle occurs, regardless of an update frequency set for the information related to the vehicle.
Information processing device. The information processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit, when the vehicle is brought into warehousing at a transferee, selects and updates items of information about the vehicle recorded in the vehicle's chart that are necessary for estimating the value of the vehicle.

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