Remote control system, on-vehicle equipment and remote control method

• US 20030043019A1
• Filed: 08/23/2002
• Published: 03/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Clarion Co., Ltd. (Faurecia SA)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Machi, Kimiyoshi, Endo, Yoshinori, Matsuo, Shigeru, Tanaka, Katsuaki, Morioka, Michio
• Granted Patent: US 7,268,664 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/5.64
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network

Abstract

In a remote control apparatus, for achieving remote control of an on-vehicle equipment, in accordance with a request received from a terminal other than the on-vehicle equipment, wherein a request receiver portion 101 receives control content from a stationary-type terminal 30₁ or a portable-type terminal 30₂, thereby registering it into a control information DB 105, while corresponding it to ID information of a user thereof. Upon receipt of the ID information from the on-vehicle equipment 20, a control information transmitter portion 102 transmits the control information depending upon the control content, being registered in the control information DB 105 corresponding thereto, to the on-vehicle equipment 20. With this, the on-vehicle equipment 20 is controlled in accordance with the control content, which was received from the user in advance, remotely.

Claims

1. A remote control apparatus, for controlling an on-vehicle equipment in accordance with a request made from a communication terminal, comprising:

a request receiver portion for receiving an ID information and control content from said communication terminal;

a register portion for registering therein control information for causing said on-vehicle equipment to execute the control content received by said request receiver portion, corresponding to the ID information received by said request receiver portion; and

a control information transmitter portion for receiving the ID information from said on-vehicle equipment and for transmitting the control information, being registered in said register portion corresponding to the ID information received, to said on-vehicle equipment.

2. A remote control apparatus, as described in the claim 1, further comprising:

a providing portion for executing processing, being necessary for said on-vehicle equipment to execute the control content in accordance with said control information, and for providing an execution result thereof, and wherein,

said register portion makes said providing portion execute said processing, in a case where said processing can be provided without information from said on-vehicle equipment executing said control content, regarding the processing necessary upon executing the control content in accordance with said control information, thereby registering an execution result thereof together with said control information corresponding to the ID information thereof; and

said providing portion, upon receipt of an execution request from said on-vehicle equipment, makes said register portion check whether the execution result is registered in said register portion or not, corresponding to the ID information, which said control information transmitter portion receives from said on-vehicle equipment, thereby transmitting the execution result if it is registered, or transmitting an execution result after executing said processing if not.

3. A remote control apparatus, as described in the claim 2, wherein,

said providing portion provides at least any one of a point search process, a POI (Point Of Interest) process, and a route search process, and

the case where said processing can be provided without the information from said on-vehicle equipment executing said control content, regarding the processing necessary upon executing the control content in accordance with said control information, includes a case where at least any one of the point search process, the POI (Point Of Interest) process, and the route search process can be executed without using a present location which is measured by said navigation apparatus.

4. A remote control apparatus, as described in the claim 2 or the claim 3, wherein,

said control information transmitter portion receives the ID information from said on-vehicle equipment and produces a menu information for causing an arbitrary control information to be selected among the control information, being registered in said register portion corresponding to the ID information received, thereby transmitting the menu information to said on-vehicle equipment, as well as, transmitting the control information indicated by select information received from said on-vehicle equipment to said on-vehicle equipment.

5. A remote control apparatus, as described in the claim 4, wherein said control information receiving portion produces the menu information in a form of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), being interpretable by an information reading function mounted on said on-vehicle equipment, and also produces the control information in a form of XML (extensible Markup Language), being non-interpretable by said information reading function, thereby transmitting those information to said on-vehicle equipment by using HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol).

6. A remote control apparatus, as described in the claim 4, further comprising:

a menu process portion for displaying a menu screen for selection of the control information in accordance with the menu information, being transmitted from said control information transmitter portion responding to transmission of the ID information to said control information transmitter portion of said remote control apparatus therefrom, and for transmitting the select information indicative of the control information which an operator selects through said menu screen, to said control information transmitter portion; and

a control process portion for executing the control content in accordance with the control information, being transmitted from said control information transmitter portion responding to the select information, which said menu process portion transmits, wherein,

said control process portion transmits the execution request of the processing, being necessary upon executing the control content in accordance with said control information, to said providing portion of said remote control apparatus, so as to obtain the execution result of said processing from said providing portion, thereby executing the control content in accordance with said control information with using said execution result.

7. An on-vehicle equipment having the remote control apparatus as described in the claim 5 and a communication function, comprising:

a menu process portion for displaying a menu screen for selection of the control information in accordance with the menu information of HTML format, being transmitted from said control information transmitter portion with using the HTTP, responding to transmission of the ID information to said control information transmitter portion of said remote control apparatus therefrom, and for transmitting the select information indicative of the control information which an operator selects through said menu screen, to said control information transmitter portion; and

a control process portion for executing the control content in accordance with the control information of the XML format received from said menu process portion, wherein,

said menu process portion transfers the information to said control process portion, by considering it to be the control information, when the information of the XML format sent from said control information transmitter portion with using the HTTP is non-interpretable,

said control process portion transmits the execution request of the processing, being necessary upon executing the control content in accordance with said control information, to said providing portion of said remote control apparatus, so as to obtain the execution result of said processing from said providing portion, thereby executing the control content in accordance with said control information using the execution result thereof.

8. An on-vehicle equipment, as described in the claim 7 or the claim 8, wherein said control process portion executes at least any one of a point display, a POI information display, and a route guidance, as the control content in accordance with said control information, and wherein

the processing being necessary upon executing the control content in accordance with said control information includes at least anyone of the point display, the POI information display, and the route guidance.

9. A remote control method for making remote control of an on-vehicle equipment in accordance with a request from a communication terminal, with using a remote control apparatus having a communication function between the communication terminal and the on-vehicle equipment, wherein said remote control apparatus comprises the following steps of:

request receiving step for receiving ID information and control content from said communication terminal;

a registering step for registering control information for causing said on-vehicle equipment to execute the control content received in said request receiving step, corresponding to the ID information received in said request receiving step, into a data base;

a control information transmitting step for receiving the ID information from said on-vehicle equipment, thereby transmitting the control information, being registered corresponding to the ID information received in said data base, to said on-vehicle equipment.