Automated vehicular device control apparatus

• US 20080009991A1
• Filed: 07/03/2007
• Published: 01/10/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Nakamura, Kazuo
• Application Number:
  US11/822,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20080009991A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/36
• 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: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

An automated vehicular device control apparatus includes a position detector, instruction input switches for executing an automated operation, and a control unit. The control unit uses the position detector for detecting the position of the self-vehicle when the control unit recognizes an input of an instruction for executing the automated operation on the input unit. Then, the position of the self-vehicle is, by the control unit, used for acquiring position characteristic information that corresponds to the position of the self-vehicle, and is used for acquiring the vehicular device operation pattern information that is in correspondence with the position characteristic information.

Claims

1. A vehicular device control apparatus for controlling a self-vehicle comprising:

a vehicle position detection unit that detects a position of the self-vehicle;

an input unit that inputs an instruction for an execution of an automated operation; and

a control unit that operates a vehicular device in the self-vehicle based on vehicular device operation pattern information,

wherein, when the control unit recognizes an input of the instruction for the execution of the automated operation to the input unit, the control unit uses the vehicle position detection unit for detecting the position of the self-vehicle, and

the position of the self-vehicle is used for acquiring position characteristic information that is in association with the position of the self-vehicle by the control unit, and is used for acquiring the vehicular device operation pattern information that is in correspondence with the position characteristic information.

2. The vehicular device control apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising:

a communication unit that is capable of communicating with an external information center,

wherein the control unit acquires the vehicular device operation pattern information that is in correspondence with the position characteristic information that is in association with the position of the self-vehicle through the communication unit from the external information center.

3. The vehicular device control apparatus as in claim 2 further comprising:

an information storage that stores information,

wherein the control unit stores the position of the self-vehicle, the position characteristic information and the vehicular device operation pattern information in the information storage for use in subsequent operations of the vehicular device.

4. The vehicular device control apparatus as in claim 3,

wherein the control unit controls the vehicle position detection unit for detecting the position of the self-vehicle while the self-vehicle is running, and

when the position characteristic information in association with the position of the self-vehicle agrees with the position characteristic information stored in the information storage, the control unit operates the vehicular device based on the vehicular device operation pattern information that corresponds to the position characteristic information.

5. The vehicular device control apparatus as in claim 1,

wherein the vehicular device operation pattern information corresponding to the position characteristic information is accompanied by a non-traveling time condition that is used in a non-traveling time of the self-vehicle and/or a traveling time condition that is used in a traveling time of the self-vehicle, and

the control unit uses the vehicular device operation pattern information that is in association with the condition that corresponds to a determination result whether the self-vehicle is traveling

6. The vehicular device control apparatus as in claim 1 further comprising:

an information memory that stores the position characteristic information in association with the position of the self-vehicle and the vehicular device operation pattern information that corresponds to the position characteristic information,

wherein the control unit acquires the position characteristic and the vehicular device operation pattern information from the information memory.

7. The vehicular device control apparatus as in claim 3 further comprising:

an operation pattern register for storing an operation pattern of the vehicular device; and

a vehicular device operation unit for operating the vehicular device,

wherein the control unit estimates the vehicular device operation pattern information based on a user operation of the vehicular device operation unit when the position characteristic information that corresponds to the position of the self-vehicle is not stored in the information memory, and

the control unit stores estimated vehicular device operation pattern information accompanied by the position of the self-vehicle in the operation pattern register.