Vehicle terminal apparatus and an information transmitting system

• US 20020093434A1
• Filed: 04/03/2000
• Published: 07/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Ajima, Takumi, Yoshioka, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 6,696,982 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/988
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence

Abstract

A wireless communication circuit provides wireless communication with a network; and a supply power control circuit controls supplying a power to at least one of said wireless communication circuit and a unit in a vehicle in response to a command signal which is inputted from an operation circuit or through the wireless communication circuit. The power is periodically supplied to a unit in its vehicle or the wireless communication circuit. A control circuit receives data from the unit and stores the data. The data is outputted or transmitted in response a data request. The unit may be a position detection circuit including a GSP receiver. The power is cut off when the unit is not used. Information is transmitted to the vehicle terminal apparatus which stores and displays it in response to a data command or a start-up of the vehicle. A diagnostic function may be provided. The main battery may be checked and the result is transmitted. The position of the vehicle are periodically detected and compared to detect a trouble of the vehicle. The result may be transmitted. An emergency informing function or system may be provided. The information transmitting system reads data from a data base and transmits data to a vehicle terminal apparatus.

Claims

1. A vehicle terminal apparatus for a vehicle comprising:

wireless communication means for providing wireless communication with a network; and

supply power control means for controlling supplying a power to at least one of said wireless communication means and a unit in said vehicle in response to a command signal.

2. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wireless communication means receives said command signal from said network and supplies said received command signal to said supply power control means when said wireless communication means is supplied with said power.

3. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising operation means for generating said command signal in response to operation by a user to supply said command signal to said supply power control means.

4. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising control means, timer means, and storing means, wherein said supply power control means supplies said power periodically in response to said timer means, said control means responsive to said timer means receives data from said unit and stores said data in said storing means, and said control means outputs said data from said storing means in response to a data request signal.

5. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 4, said control means transmits said data from said storing means with said wireless communication means in response to said data request signal.

6. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising position detection means supplied with said power, wherein said control means periodically operates said supply power control means to supply said power to said position detection means, receives position data from said position detection means, and stores said received position data in said storing means in response to said timer, and said control means transmits said data from said storing means to a predetermined unit with said wireless communication means in response to said data request signal.

7. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said position detection means includes a GPS receiver and said control means communicates with said predetermined unit through said network and said wireless communication means in response to said data request signal and receives Ephemeris data including orbit data of GPS satellites from said predetermined unit, and said control means supplies said received Ephemeris data to said position detection means, receives position data from said position detection means, and forwards said position data to said predetermined unit through said network and said wireless communication means.

8. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising control means for detecting operation conditions of said wireless communication means and said unit and stopping supplying said power to at least one of said wireless communication means and said unit of which said detected operation condition is operation using said power supply control means in accordance with said detected conditions.

9. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising storing means and control means, wherein said control means operates said supply power control means to supply said power to said unit in response to said command signal, receives data from said unit, and stores said data in said storing means, and transmits said data from said storing means through said wireless communication means in response to a data request command.

10. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising control means, storing means, data informing means supplied with said power, and start-up condition detection means for detecting a start-up condition of said vehicle by a user, wherein said control means receives data from said predetermined unit in response to a data receiving command, stores the received data in said storing means, and provides said information from said storing means to said user with said data informing means in response to said start-up condition detection means.

11. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising control means, storing means and error detection means for detecting an error in said vehicle terminal apparatus and storing data of said detected error in said storing means, wherein said control means transmits said data of said detected error from said storing means to a predetermined unit through said network and said wireless communication means when said control means receives a data request from said predetermined unit through said network and said wireless communication means.

12. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said power supply control means receives a battery power from a main battery of said vehicle to supply said power and comprises a voltage detection means for detecting a voltage of said battery power and comparing means for comparing said voltage with a reference, said power supply control means transmitting a result of said comparing means to a predetermined unit through said wireless communication means and said network.

13. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising control means, timer means for periodically generating a timing signal, storing means, and start-up detection means for detecting a start-up operation of said vehicle, wherein said control means responsive to said timer means operates said supply power control means to supply power to said unit and supplies a position data requesting command to said unit and then, receives position data from said unit and stores said position data in said storing means, said control means further comprising position difference detecting means for detecting difference from present position data to previous position data in said storing means and comparing means for comparing said difference with a reference, wherein said control means outputs an alarm signal when said difference exceeds said reference and said start-up detection means does not detect said start-up operation between said present timing signal and said previous timing signal.

14. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein said control means transmits said alarm signal to a predetermined unit with said wireless communication means in response to a communication request from said predetermined unit.

15. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

position detecting means for detecting a position of said vehicle terminal apparatus in response to said command signal;

data generation means including storing means for generating emergency data including at least identification data of said vehicle from said storing means, telephone number data of a predetermined unit from said storing means, and said position data in response to said command signal;

control means for making a call to said predetermined unit through said wireless communication means and said network and transmitting emergency data to said predetermined unit in response to said command signal; and

start-up detection means for detecting a start-up condition of said vehicle, wherein said control means operates said supply power control means to stop supplying said power to said position detecting means when said start-up detection means does not detect said start-up condition.

17. An information transmitting system as claimed in claim 16, wherein said vehicle terminal apparatus further comprises start-up detection means for detecting a start-up condition of said vehicle and generating said information providing command when said start-up condition of said vehicle is detected.

19. A vehicle terminal apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

position detecting means for detecting a position of said vehicle terminal apparatus in response to an emergency informing command signal;

data generation means including storing means for generating emergency data including at least identification data of said vehicle from said storing means, telephone number data of a predetermined unit from said storing means, and said position data in response to said emergency informing command signal; and

control means for making a call to said predetermined unit through said wireless communication means and said network and transmitting emergency data to said predetermined unit in response to said emergency informing command signal.

16. An information transmitting system comprising:

a station including;

communication means;

data base means; and

a control terminal for reading data;

a vehicle terminal apparatus including;

wireless communication means for communicating with said station through a wireless network;

control means;

storing means;

information providing means; and

supply power control means for controlling supplying a power to at least one of said wireless communication means and a unit in said vehicle in response to a command signal, wherein when said control terminal receives a data search and transmitting command, said control terminal searches data in said data base means in accordance with said data search and transmitting command and transmits said searched data to said vehicle terminal, and when said control means receives said data transmitted through said wireless network and said wireless communication means, said control means stores said received data in said storing means and provides said received data with said information providing means to a user of said vehicle terminal in response to an information providing command.

18. An information transmitting system comprising:

a wireless telephone network including a base station;

a predetermined unit coupled to said wireless telephone network; and

a vehicle terminal apparatus for a vehicle including;

wireless communication means for providing wireless communication with a network;

position detecting means for detecting a position of said emergency informing apparatus in response to an emergency informing command signal;

supply power control means for controlling supplying a power to at least one of said wireless communication means and said position detection means in response to said emergency informing command signal;

data generation means including storing means for generating emergency data including at least identification data of said vehicle from said storing means, telephone number data of said predetermined unit from said storing means, and said position in response to said emergency informing command signal; and

communication means for making a call to said predetermined unit and transmitting emergency data to said predetermined unit in response to said emergency command signal, wherein said predetermined unit receives and outputs said emergency data from said wireless telephone network.