Vehicular information communication system and vehicular information communication method

• US 10,217,299 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2015
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Nakai, Yoshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Zhen Y
• Application Number:
  US15/569,125
• Publication Number:
  US 20180102003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,306 Days
• Field of Search: 340459
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 with safety arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 7/00 Details or accessories common to the registering or indicating apparatus of groups G07C3/00 and G07C5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A server divides a plurality of vehicles into groups, transmits control information to an on-vehicle information device of individual vehicles belonging to a group to which a processing turn of the transmission process has come, and receives responses indicating presence or absence of abnormality due to update of on-vehicle devices using the control information from the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle. The server performs the transmission process of the control information toward a group having a following turn when responses indicating presence of abnormality are a predetermined reference value or less, and, suspends transmission processes of control information toward groups having following and subsequent turns when the responses indicating presence of abnormality are more than the predetermined reference value.

Claims

1. A vehicular information communication system that performs communication between on-vehicle information devices of vehicles and a server, one of the on-vehicle information devices being installed in one of the vehicles,

wherein the on-vehicle information device is configured to

receive control information from the server and update control information of an on-vehicle device, and

transmit a response to the server based on the updated control information, the response indicating presence or absence of abnormality in a condition where the on-vehicle device operates,

wherein, when dividing the vehicles into groups and performing a transmission process of control information in turn toward each group, the server is configured to

transmit the control information to the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to a group to which a processing turn of the transmission process has come,

receive responses indicating presence or absence of abnormality,

when responses indicating presence of abnormality are a predetermined reference value or less, perform a transmission process of control information toward a group having a following turn, and

when the responses indicating presence of abnormality are more than the predetermined reference value, suspend transmission processes of control information toward groups having following and subsequent turns, and

wherein, during the suspension of the transmission process of control information toward the groups having following and subsequent turns, the server is further configured to

perform a transmission process of the control information to the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to part of the groups having following and subsequent turns, and

cancel the suspension and resume the transmission process of the control information toward remaining groups when responses indicating presence of abnormality is the predetermined reference value or less.

2. The vehicular information communication system according to claim 1, wherein the server is further configured to

store seriousness information indicating an upper limit on number of responses indicating presence of abnormality, which are received in response to transmission of control information having a higher seriousness than other control information, the upper limit being set depending on seriousness of influence on a vehicle in a situation where abnormality occurs due to update of control information in an on-vehicle device of the vehicle, and

suspend the transmission process of the control information toward the groups having following and subsequent turns when the number of responses indicating presence of abnormality received from the on-vehicle information devices of the vehicles belonging to a group, to which a processing turn of the transmission process has come, is equal to or more than the upper limit indicated by the seriousness information.

3. The vehicular information communication system according to claim 2, wherein, when the number of responses indicating presence of abnormality received from the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to the group, to which a processing turn of the transmission process has come, is equal to or more than the upper limit indicated by the seriousness information, the server is further configured to transmit a cancellation signal, which instructs to cancel update, to the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to said group and belonging to groups for which the transmission processes of the control information have been finished.

4. The vehicular information communication system according to claim 2, wherein, when abnormality in the on-vehicle device is caused by update of the control information having a higher seriousness than other control information, the on-vehicle information device is configured to perform notification to a user.

5. The vehicular information communication system according to claim 2, wherein, during the suspension of the transmission process of control information toward the groups having following and subsequent turns, the server is further configured to

perform a transmission process of control information, to which abnormality information indicating occurrence of abnormality has been included, to the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to part of the groups having following and subsequent turns, and

cancel the suspension and resume the transmission process of the control information toward remaining groups when responses indicating presence of abnormality is the predetermined reference value or less.

6. The vehicular information communication system according to claim 1,

wherein, during the suspension of the transmission process of control information toward the groups having following and subsequent turns, the server is further configured to perform a transmission process of control information, to which abnormality information indicating occurrence of abnormality has been added, to the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to part of the groups having following and subsequent turns, and

wherein, upon receiving the control information including the abnormality information from the server, the on-vehicle information device is configured to

perform notification to a user and receives an instruction on whether or not to perform update by using the control information including the abnormality information, and

update the control information of the on-vehicle device with the control information including the abnormality information when an instruction to perform the update is received from the user.

7. A vehicular information communication method for performing communication between on-vehicle information devices of vehicles and a server, one of the on-vehicle information devices being installed in one of the vehicles, the method comprising:

transmitting, by the server when the vehicles are divided into groups and a transmission process of control information is performed in turn toward each group, the control information to the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to a group to which a processing turn of the transmission process has come;

receiving control information from the server and updating control information of an on-vehicle device and transmitting a response to the server based on the updated control information, the response indicating presence or absence of abnormality in a condition where the on-vehicle device operates, the receiving and the updating and the transmitting being performed by the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to the group to which the processing turn of the transmission process has come;

receiving, by the server, the responses indicating presence or absence of abnormality from the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to the group to which the processing turn of the transmission process has come;

performing, by the server, when responses indicating presence of abnormality are a predetermined reference value or less, a transmission process of control information toward a group having a following turn; and

suspending, by the server, when the responses indicating presence of abnormality are more than the predetermined reference value, transmission processes of control information toward groups having following and subsequent turns,

wherein, during the suspension of the transmission process of control information toward the groups having following and subsequent turns, the server is further configured to

transmit the control information to the on-vehicle information device of each vehicle belonging to part of the groups having following and subsequent turns, and

cancel the suspension and resume the transmission process of the control information toward remaining groups when responses indicating presence of abnormality is the predetermined reference value or less.