On-vehicle information terminal

• US 20070076652A1
• Filed: 03/06/2006
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishiwaki, Takeshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,885,218 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G

Abstract

An on-vehicle information terminal that conducts communication with a road side communication device (base station) located on a road includes a transmitter/receiver section that communicates with the road side communication device, a voice output section that outputs data from the road side communication device which is received by the transmitter/receiver section through a voice or images, and a control section having a priority table that stores information on categories representative of the type of data that is added with the data and transmitted from the road side communication device and priorities for determining orders in which the voice output section outputs the data in association with each other. The priority of the priority table is variable, and is changed on the basis of a signal from a priority setting switch due to the operation of a user or an instruction signal from the road side communication device.

Claims

1. An on-vehicle information terminal that is mounted on a vehicle and conducts communication with a base station located on a road, comprising:

communication means for communicating with the base station;

data output means for converting data received by the communication means from the base station into voice data or image data as output data, and outputting the output data; and

a priority table for storing information on categories each representative of a type of data, the information being added to the data and transmitted from the base station, and priorities for determining an order in which the data output means outputs the data, such that the information and the priorities are associated with each other,

wherein the priorities in the priority table are variable.

2. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 1, further comprising priority setting means for setting values for priorities,

wherein the value of the priority for the category of the data that is being outputted by the data output means or the category of the data that has been outputted most recently is changed when the priority setting means is operated.

3. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 1, wherein the priority setting means comprises:

means for giving an instruction to assign higher priority; and

means for giving an instruction to assign lower priority.

4. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 2, wherein a category representative of data that is predesignated as important among the categories in which a predetermined minimum threshold value for the priority is set, and when the value of the priority falls to or below the predetermined minimum threshold value, the predetermined minimum threshold value is set as the value of the priority.

5. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim. 1, wherein the base station transmits an instruction signal for changing the priority for each of the categories, and when the communication means receives the instruction signal, the priority for the category is changed.

6. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 2, further comprising:

first elapsed time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time since the communication means received the data as a first elapsed time;

first coefficient storing means for storing a predetermined coefficient every first elapsed time; and

first priority correcting means for extracting a coefficient from the first coefficient storing means based on the first elapsed time measured by the first elapsed time measuring means and for assigning the priority with a value obtained by multiplying the value of the priority by the coefficient.

7. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 2, further comprising:

second elapsed time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time since the data output means last outputted the data of the same category as a second elapsed time;

second coefficient storing means for storing a predetermined coefficient every second elapsed time; and

second priority correcting means for extracting a coefficient from the second coefficient storing means based on the second elapsed time measured by the second elapsed time measuring means and for assigning the priority with a value obtained by multiplying the value of the priority by the coefficient.

8. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 6, wherein the first priority correcting means reassigns the values of the priorities for categories other than the category representative of data that is predesignated as important.

9. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 7, wherein the second priority correcting means reassigns the values of the priorities for categories other than the category representative of data that is predesignated as important.

10. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 1, wherein in a case where the priority of the data received by the communication means is lower than a given value, the data output means abandons the data without outputting the data.

11. An on-vehicle information terminal according to claim 1, wherein in a case where the order of the priority is equal to or lower than a given order, the data output means abandons the data without outputting the data.