Vehicle image data transmission device

• US 10,255,803 B2
• Filed: 07/20/2016
• Issued: 04/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Uno, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tun, Nay
• Application Number:
  US15/215,062
• Publication Number:
  US 20170132918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0133 for classifying traffic situation
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0141 for traffic information dissemination
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096741 where the source of the transmitted information selects which information to transmit to each vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096775 where the origin of the information is a central station
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/12 Avoiding congestion; Recovering from congestion
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/63 Routing a service request depending on the request content or context

Abstract

A vehicle image data transmission device that transmits image data obtained by capturing an image of a vehicle exterior to a management center managing travel information of vehicles includes an on-vehicle communication device and a communication controller. The communication controller is configured to transmit image data of the vehicle exterior recorded in a record device to the on-vehicle communication device through the internal network when a communication load of the internal network is less than a first predetermined value. The on-vehicle communication device includes a memory storing image data received from the communication controller and is configured to transmit image data stored in the memory to the management center through a vehicle external network when a communication load of the external network is less than a second predetermined value.

Claims

1. A vehicle image data transmission device that transmits image data obtained when driving a vehicle by capturing an image of a vehicle exterior to a management center that manages travel information of a plurality of vehicles, the vehicle image data transmission device comprising:

an on-vehicle communication device configured to communicate with the management center through a vehicle external network for mobile communication;

a camera that obtains the image data of the vehicle exterior;

a processor configured to calculate a travel easiness score that indicates easiness for the vehicle to travel, which reflects a number of other vehicles and a number of pedestrians based on the image data;

a database that records image data obtained from the camera; and

a communication controller configured to transmit image data recorded in the database to the on-vehicle communication device through a vehicle internal network mounted in the vehicle under a condition in which the vehicle internal network has a communication load that is less than a first predetermined value, wherein

the on-vehicle communication device includes a memory that stores image data received from the communication controller,

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to determine that a communication load of the vehicle external network is less than a second predetermined value when the calculated travel easiness score is greater than or equal to a predetermined score and that the communication load of the vehicle external network is greater than or equal to the second predetermined value when the calculated travel easiness score is less than the predetermined score, and

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to transmit image data stored in the memory to the management center under a condition in which the vehicle external network has a communication load that is less than the second predetermined value.

2. The vehicle image data transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the communication controller is configured to determine that the communication load of the vehicle internal network is less than the first predetermined value when the vehicle is parked or stopped and that the communication load of the vehicle internal network is greater than or equal to the first predetermined value when the vehicle is traveling.

3. A vehicle image data transmission device that transmits image data obtained when driving a vehicle by capturing an image of a vehicle exterior to a management center that manages travel information of a plurality of vehicles, the vehicle image data transmission device comprising:

an on-vehicle communication device configured to communicate with the management center through a vehicle external network for mobile communication;

a camera that obtains the image data of the vehicle exterior;

a database that records image data obtained from the camera;

a communication controller configured to transmit image data recorded in the database to the on-vehicle communication device through a vehicle internal network mounted in the vehicle under a condition in which the vehicle internal network has a communication load that is less than a first predetermined value; and

a processor configured to calculate a travel easiness score that indicates easiness for the vehicle to travel, which reflects a number of other vehicles and a number of pedestrians, based on image data obtained from the camera; and

wherein

the on-vehicle communication device includes a memory that stores image data received from the communication controller,

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to transmit image data stored in the memory to the management center under a condition in which the vehicle external network has a communication load that is less than a second predetermined value,

the processor is configured to manage data recorded in the database,

the processor is configured to record image data in the database associated with time when the image data is obtained by the camera and the travel easiness score calculated by the processor and delete image data from the database in a state in which an elapsed time from the obtained time exceeds a first allowed time,

the processor is further configured to set the first allowed time longer when the travel easiness score associated with image data is less than a predetermined score than when the travel easiness score associated with image data is greater than or equal to the predetermined score, and

the communication controller is configured to transmit image data to the on-vehicle communication device from the database by giving priority to image data associated with a travel easiness score that is less than the predetermined score over image data associated with a travel easiness score that is greater than or equal to the predetermined score.

4. The vehicle image data transmission device according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to delete image data from the database in a state in which the elapsed time from the obtained time of the image data exceeds the first allowed time when an available recordable amount of the database is less than a predetermined value.

5. The vehicle image data transmission device according to claim 3, wherein

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to delete image data from the memory in a state in which an elapsed time from an obtained time of the image data exceeds a second allowed time,

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to set the second allowed time longer when the travel easiness score associated with image data is less than a predetermined score than when the travel easiness score associated with image data is greater than or equal to the predetermined score, and

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to transmit image data to the management center by giving priority to image data associated with a travel easiness score that is less than the predetermined score over image data associated with a travel easiness score that is greater than or equal to the predetermined score.

6. The vehicle image data transmission device according to claim 5, wherein the on-vehicle communication device is configured to delete image data from the memory in a state in which the elapsed time from the obtained time of the image data exceeds the second allowed time when an available recordable amount of the memory is less than a predetermined value.

7. A vehicle image data transmission device that transmits image data obtained when driving a vehicle by capturing an image of a vehicle exterior to a management center that manages travel information of a plurality of vehicles, the vehicle image data transmission device comprising:

an on-vehicle communication device configured to communicate with the management center through a vehicle external network for mobile communication;

a camera that obtains the image data of the vehicle exterior;

a database that records image data obtained from the camera;

a communication controller configured to transmit image data recorded in the database to the on-vehicle communication device through a vehicle internal network mounted in the vehicle under a condition in which the vehicle internal network has a communication load that is less than a first predetermined value; and

a processor configured to calculate a travel easiness score that indicates easiness for the vehicle to travel, which reflects a number of other vehicles and a number of pedestrians, based on image data obtained from the camera; and

wherein

the processor is configured to manage data recorded in the database, wherein

the processor is configured to record image data in the database associated with time when the image data is obtained by the camera and the travel easiness score calculated by the processor,

the on-vehicle communication device includes a memory that stores image data received from the communication controller,

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to record image data received from the database in the memory in addition to the obtained time and the travel easiness score associated with the image data and delete image data from the memory in a state in which an elapsed time from the obtained time exceeds a second allowed time,

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to set the second allowed time when the travel easiness score associated with image data is less than a predetermined score longer than the second allowed time when the travel easiness score associated with image data is greater than or equal to the predetermined score, and

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to transmit image data stored in the memory to the management center under a condition in which the vehicle external network has a communication load that is less than a second predetermined value, and

the on-vehicle communication device is configured to transmit image data to the management center by giving priority to image data associated with a travel easiness score that is less than the predetermined score over image data associated with a travel easiness score that is greater than or equal to the predetermined score.

8. The vehicle image data transmission device according to claim 7, wherein the on-vehicle communication device is configured to delete image data from the memory in a state in which the elapsed time from the obtained time of the image data exceeds the second allowed time when an available recordable amount of the memory is less than a predetermined value.

9. A method for transmitting image data for a vehicle, the method comprising:

obtaining image data when driving the vehicle by capturing an image of a vehicle exterior with an on-vehicle camera;

recording the obtained image data in an on-vehicle database;

transmitting image data recorded in the on-vehicle database to an on-vehicle communication device through a vehicle internal network mounted in the vehicle under a condition in which the vehicle internal network has a communication load that is less than a first predetermined value;

storing image data transmitted through the vehicle internal network in a memory included in the on-vehicle communication device;

calculating a travel easiness score that indicates easiness for the vehicle to travel, which reflects a number of other vehicles and a number of pedestrians based on the image data;

determining that a communication load of a vehicle external network is less than a second predetermined value when the calculated travel easiness score is greater than or equal to a predetermined score and that the communication load of the vehicle external network is greater than or equal to the second predetermined value when the calculated travel easiness score is less than the predetermined score; and

transmitting image data stored in the memory to a management center through the vehicle external network for mobile communication under a condition in which the vehicle external network has a communication load that is less than the second predetermined value.