VEHICLE-TO-ROADSIDE AND VEHICLE-TO-VEHICLE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND COMMUNICATION CONTROL PROGRAM THEREOF

• US 20080200121A1
• Filed: 01/29/2008
• Published: 08/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: YAMAMOTO, TAKESHI
• Granted Patent: US 8,483,612 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/41.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/093 Data selection, e.g. prioritizing information, managing message queues, selecting the information to be output
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/094 Hardware aspects; Signal processing or signal properties, e.g. frequency bands
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/04 adapted for relaying to or from another terminal or user

Abstract

To resolve the problems of the vehicle-to-roadside communication and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and to enhance the safety of the road traffic and the convenience of the user by expanding the communication providing area and further stabilizing the communication. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system including a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a roadside with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area, and carrying out a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication is provided; where the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device are configured to be mutually communicable through two wireless channels, and the on-board communication device is configured to execute channel switching after notifying channel switching to a communicating party via wireless channel in communication when switching the channel from one to the other.

Claims

1. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system comprising a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a side of a road with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area and being configured to perform a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication between the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication between each of the on-board communication devices;

wherein

the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device are mutually communicable in the vehicle-to-roadside communication and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication via two wireless channels, which are first and second wireless channels, respectively; and

the on-board communication device is configured to execute channel switching after notifying channel switching to a communicating party via wireless channel in communication when switching the channel from one to the other.

2. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless channel is an infrastructure communication channel, and the second wireless channel is an adhoc communication channel.

3. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein the roadside communication device is configured to use the infrastructure communication channel, which is the first wireless channel, in the vehicle-to-roadside communication, and is configured to select one of the two wireless channels for transmission when transmitting roadside information periodically to the neighboring on-board communication devices.

4. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein

the on-board communication device is configured to use the adhoc communication channel, which is the second wireless channel, in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

and

the roadside communication device has a function of transmitting the roadside information periodically to the adhoc communication channel.

5. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 4, wherein when receiving the roadside information from the roadside communication device or receiving a channel switching notification from another on-board communication device during the vehicle-to-vehicle communication via the adhoc communication channel, the on-board communication device determines whether to switch channels and executes channel switching to the infrastructure communication channel after notifying channel switching to the neighboring on-board communication devices in executing channel switching.

6. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein if a plurality of infrastructure communication channels is arranged, one of the plurality of infrastructure communication channels is selected as a channel communicable with the roadside communication device based on the roadside information notified from the roadside communication device via the adhoc communication channel.

7. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein

the roadside communication device includes,

a roadside wireless unit for transmitting the roadside information such as positional information and wireless channel to the on-board communication device of the traveling vehicle,

a roadside information providing unit for storing the roadside information in advance and selecting the wireless channel selectively used by the roadside wireless unit and outputting the information, and

a roadside control unit for selectively setting a roadside channel in the roadside wireless unit based on the wireless channel selecting information from the roadside information providing unit and regulating the operation of the roadside wireless unit based thereon.

8. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 1, wherein

the on-board communication device includes,

a vehicle side wireless unit for executing reception or transmission/reception of a wireless signal and input with received data from the roadside communication device or from another on-board communication device,

an vehicle side control unit for sending the received data which is received by the vehicle side wireless unit to an external connection unit installed in advance and controlling the switching operation when switching the wireless channel in the vehicle side wireless unit, and

a channel selecting information determining unit for determining the channel to be used in the vehicle side wireless unit based on the roadside information from the roadside communication device in the received data and the channel switching notification from another on-board communication device, and outputting a determination signal and a channel switching signal;

wherein

the vehicle side control unit has a channel switching control function of controlling the switching operation of the wireless channel in the vehicle side wireless unit based on the determination signal and the channel switching signal outputted from the channel selecting information determining unit.

9. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 7, wherein

the roadside wireless unit includes

a roadside first channel communication device for performing wireless communication with the on-board communication device using the first communication channel which is mainly used in the vehicle-to-roadside communication, and

a roadside second channel communication device for performing wireless communication with the on-board communication device using the second communication channel which is mainly used in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

wherein

the roadside control unit includes a roadside channel selecting device for selectively setting either the roadside first channel communication device or the roadside second channel communication device for the vehicle-to-roadside communication.

10. The vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 7, wherein

the vehicle side wireless unit includes,

a vehicle side first channel communication device for performing wireless communication with the on-board communication device using the first communication channel which is mainly used in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication, and

a vehicle side second channel communication device for performing wireless communication with the on-board communication device using the second communication channel which is mainly used in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

wherein

the vehicle side control unit includes a vehicle side channel selecting device for selectively setting either the vehicle side first channel communication device or the vehicle side second channel communication device for the vehicle-to-roadside communication.

11. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication method in a vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system including a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a side of a road with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area and being configured to perform a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication between the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication between each of the on-board communication devices, the method comprising:

setting roadside information such as positional information of the roadside communication device and wireless frequency channel to be used in a roadside information providing unit based on input data from an external connection unit installed in advance on the roadside communication device side in the vehicle-to-roadside communication;

sending the set roadside information and a channel selecting signal for selecting a wireless channel to be used in transmission towards a roadside control unit; and

selecting a wireless channel to be used to transmit the roadside information when a roadside wireless unit is activated based on a command from the roadside control unit, and transmitting the roadside information to the traveling vehicle via the selected wireless channel.

12. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication method in a vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system including a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a side of a road with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area and being configured to perform a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication between the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication between each of the on-board communication devices, the method comprising:

retrieving received data sent from the roadside communication device or another on-board communication device which is received at an vehicle side wireless unit via a wireless channel set in advance on the on-board communication device side in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

transmitting the received data from the roadside communication device of the retrieved received data to an external connection unit installed in advance, and determining whether switching the wireless channel in communication is necessary or not based on the received data from the roadside communication device and the another on-board communication device in a channel selecting information determining unit;

generating a channel setting signal in the vehicle side control unit based on a channel switching notification outputted from the channel selecting information determining unit and on-board communication device input data provided from the external connection unit when it is determined that switching of the wireless channel in communication is necessary; and

activating the vehicle side wireless unit by the generated channel setting signal to set and switch for selecting a communication wireless channel, and transmitting the transmission data which is transmitted from the vehicle side control unit towards the another on-board communication device or the roadside communication device via the selected wireless channel.

13. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication method in a vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system including a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a side of a road with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area and being configured to perform a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication between the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication between each of the on-board communication devices, the method comprising:

selecting an adhoc communication channel as a wireless channel with the on-board communication device and starting the vehicle-to-vehicle communication in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

determining whether or not to switch the wireless channel in communication when the on-board communication device receives the roadside information from the roadside communication device or a channel switching notification from another on-board communication device via the adhoc communication channel;

switching the wireless channel in communication from the adhoc communication channel to an infrastructure communication channel after transmitting the channel switching notification to the neighboring on-board communication devices when it is determined to switch the wireless channel in communication; and

switching to the adhoc communication channel after notifying channel switching to the roadside communication device when the roadside information is no longer received during the vehicle-to-roadside communication via the infrastructure communication channel.

14. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication control program in a vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system including a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a side of a road with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area and being configured to perform a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication between the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication between each of the on-board communication devices, the program causing a computer in the roadside communication device to execute:

roadside information setting function of setting roadside information such as positional information of the roadside communication device and wireless frequency channel to be used in a roadside information providing unit based on input data from an external connection unit installed in advance in the vehicle-to-roadside communication;

channel selecting output control function of outputting the set roadside information and a channel selecting signal for selecting a wireless channel to be used in transmission towards a roadside control unit; and

roadside information transmitting control function of selecting a wireless channel to be used to transmit the roadside information when a roadside wireless unit is activated based on a command from the roadside control unit, and transmitting the roadside information to the traveling vehicle via the selected wireless channel.

15. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication program in a vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system including a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a side of a road with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area and being configured to perform a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication between the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication between each of the on-board communication devices, the program causing a computer in the on-board communication device to execute:

received data retrieving control function of retrieving received data sent from the roadside communication device or another on-board communication device which is received at an vehicle side wireless unit via a wireless channel set in advance in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

channel selecting determining function of transmitting the received data from the roadside communication device of the retrieved received data to an external connection unit installed in advance, and determining whether switching the wireless channel in communication is necessary or not based on the received data from the roadside communication device and the another on-board communication device in a channel selecting information determining unit;

switching control signal generating function of generating a channel switching control signal in the vehicle side control unit based on a channel switching notification outputted from the channel selecting information determining unit and on-board communication device input data provided from the external connection unit when it is determined that switching of the wireless channel in communication is necessary; and

transmission data transmitting control function of activating the vehicle side wireless unit by the generated channel switching control signal to switch for selecting a communication wireless channel, and transmitting the transmission data which is transmitted from the vehicle side control unit towards the another on-board communication device or the roadside communication device via the selected wireless channel.

16. A vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication control program in a vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication system including a plurality of roadside communication devices being arranged on a side of a road with a narrow range communication area, and an on-board communication device mounted on a vehicle which travels with passing through the communication area and being configured to perform a wireless communication by cooperating a vehicle-to-roadside communication between the roadside communication device and the on-board communication device and a vehicle-to-vehicle communication between each of the on-board communication devices, the program causing a computer in the on-board communication device to execute:

vehicle-to-vehicle communication starting control function in which the on-board communication device selects an adhoc communication channel as a wireless channel and starts the vehicle-to-vehicle communication in the vehicle-to-vehicle communication;

channel switching determining function of determining whether or not to switch the wireless channel in communication when the on-board communication device receives the roadside information from the roadside communication device or a channel switching notification from another on-board communication device via the adhoc communication channel;

channel switching executing control function of switching the wireless channel in communication from the adhoc communication channel to an infrastructure communication channel after transmitting the channel switching notification to the neighboring on-board communication devices when it is determined to switch the wireless channel in communication; and

second channel switching control function of switching to the adhoc communication channel after notifying channel switching to the roadside communication device when the roadside information is no longer received during the vehicle-to-roadside communication via the infrastructure communication channel.