Remote Operation System, Remote Operation Apparatus and Service Center

• US 20080172147A1
• Filed: 07/04/2006
• Published: 07/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Otsuka, Mayumi, Taki, Naoki, Watanabe, Atsushi, Kato, Tatsunori
• Granted Patent: US 8,019,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/2
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/2018 Central base unlocks or authorises unlocking
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/00507 keyless data carrier having more than one function
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/62 Comprising means for indicating the status of the lock
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/0069 actuated in a predetermined sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/27 with central registration

Abstract

In a remote operation system in which an in-vehicle unit is controlled by an operation command transmitted from a portable unit carried by a driver via a service center, when the vehicle receives an operation command B for controlling the in-vehicle unit from a second state to a first state, the operation command B is executed only when control based on an operation command A for controlling from the first state to the second state is made.

Claims

1. A remote operation system in which an in-vehicle unit is controlled by an operation command transmitted from a portable unit carried by a driver via a service center, wherein:

when the vehicle receives an operation command B for controlling said in-vehicle unit from a second state to a first state, said operation command B is executed only when control based on an operation command A for controlling from the first state to the second state is made before the operation command B.

2. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said vehicle comprises a remote operation response generating part which generates an operation completion notification after controlling the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, and transmits the same to the service center; and

said remote operation response generating part transmits a cancel operation completion notification when the in-vehicle unit is controlled based on the operation command B and a state before the operation command A is returned to.

3. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 2, wherein:

said operation completion notification comprises guiding information guiding a user to return the in-vehicle unit onto the state before the control of the operation command A.

4. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

when said vehicle has a control record of the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, it returns the in-vehicle unit into the state before the operation command A based on the operation command B.

5. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

after control of the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, said vehicle returns the in-vehicle unit into the state before the operation command A based on the operation command B only during a predetermined time period.

6. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

when said vehicle is locally controlled after control of the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, said vehicle inhibits returning of the in-vehicle unit into the state before the operation command A based on the operation command B.

7. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

said vehicle has a flag for determining whether or not the state before the operation command A is to be returned to when the operation command B is received; and

said flag comes to have an allowable state when the in-vehicle unit of said vehicle is controlled based on the operation command A, and comes to have a not allowable state when said vehicle is locally controlled or a predetermined time period has elapsed from control of the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A.

8. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 7, wherein:

said vehicle comprises a remote operation response generating part which transmits the flag together with an operation completion notification after controlling the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A;

said remote operation response generating part transmits the flag together with a cancel operation completion notification when controlling the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command B and returns it to the state before the operation command A; and

said service center determines whether or not accepting the operation command B based on the state of the flag transmitted from the vehicle.

9. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein:

said service center dispatches a cancel operation menu page from which the operation command B is selectable to the portable unit when the flag has the allowable state; and

said service center dispatches a cancel operation menu not displaying page from which the operation command B is not selectable to the portable unit when the flag has the not allowable state.

10. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein:

said service center updates the flag of the service center into the allowable state when it cannot properly receive the operation completion notification from said vehicle after transmitting the operation command B.

11. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 9, wherein:

said service center dispatches the cancel operation menu page to the portable unit when the flag of the vehicle is inverted into the not allowable state after the flag in the allowable state is transmitted from said vehicle.

12. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 8, wherein:

said service center updates the flag into the not allowable state when a predetermined time period has elapsed from when the flag comes to have the allowable state.

13. The remote operation system as claimed in claim 12, wherein:

said service center transmits the operation command B to said vehicle even when the flag has the not allowable state, after dispatching the cancel operation menu page, in a case where the operation command B from the portable unit is received by the service center after said predetermined time period has elapsed.

14. A remote operation apparatus which controls an in-vehicle unit based on an operation command transmitted from a portable unit carried by a driver via a service center, wherein:

when receiving an operation command B for controlling said in-vehicle unit from a second state to a first state, said operation command B is executed only when control based on an operation command A for controlling from the first state to the second state is made before the operation command B.

15. The remote operation apparatus as claimed in claim 14, comprising a remote operation response generating part which generates an operation completion notification after controlling the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, and transmits the same to the service center;

and

said remote operation response generating part transmits a cancel operation completion notification when the in-vehicle unit is controlled based on the operation command B and a state before the operation command A is returned to.

16. The remote operation apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein:

said operation completion notification comprises guiding information guiding a user to return the in-vehicle unit to the state before the control of the operation command A.

17. The remote operation apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein:

when having a control record of the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, said apparatus returns the in-vehicle unit into the state before the operation command A based on the operation command B.

18. The remote operation apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein:

after control of the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, said apparatus returns the in-vehicle unit into the state before the operation command A based on the operation command B only during a predetermined time period.

19. The remote operation apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein:

when said vehicle is locally controlled after the control of the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A, said apparatus inhibits returning of the in-vehicle unit into the state before the operation command A based on the operation command B.

20. A service center in a remote operation system communicating an operation command between a portable unit and an in-vehicle unit, wherein:

said service center determines whether or not an operation command B is to be accepted, based on a status which indicates whether or not control based on an operation command A is made before the operation command B, which command A controls said in-vehicle unit from a first state into a second state, when said apparatus receives the operation command B controlling the in-vehicle unit from the second state into the first state.

21. The service center as claimed in claim 20, receiving a flag indicating allowable or not allowable of the operation command B together with operation completion notification from the vehicle after controlling the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command A;

receiving the flag together with cancel operation completion nitrification when controlling the in-vehicle unit based on the operation command B and returning it into the state before the operation command A; and

determining based on the state of the thus-transmitted flag whether not the operation command B is to be accepted.

22. The service center as claimed in claim 21, dispatching a cancel operation menu page from which the operation command B is selectable to the portable unit when the flag has an allowable state allowing the cancel operation;

and

dispatching a cancel operation menu not displaying page from which the operation command B is not selectable to the portable unit when said flag has a not allowable state.

23. The service center as claimed in claim 21, setting said status in an allowable state when it cannot properly receive the operation completion notification from the vehicle after transmitting the operation command A.

24. The service center as claimed in claim 22, dispatching the cancel operation menu page to the portable unit when the flag of the vehicle is inverted into the not allowable state after the flag in the allowable state is transmitted from the vehicle.

25. The service center as claimed in claim 21, setting the status in a not allowable state when a predetermined time period has elapsed after said status comes to have the allowable state.

26. The service center as claimed in claim 25, transmitting the operation command B to the portable unit even when the status is in the not allowable state after dispatching the cancel operation menu page, in a case where said service center receives the operation command from the portable unit after said predetermined time period has elapsed.