Information provision system and in-vehicle apparatus

• US 20100148988A1
• Filed: 12/08/2009
• Published: 06/17/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Adachi, Tetsuro, Ozaki, Yoshitaka, Tsukamoto, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 8,427,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/901
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096716 where the received information does not generate an automatic action on the vehicle control
• 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

Abstract

An information provision system, which includes (i) a navigation apparatus in a vehicle and (ii) an information center, provides an occupant of the vehicle with information. The navigation apparatus and information center communicate via a wireless communication link. The navigation apparatus wirelessly acquires reception position information, which indicates several reception positions, from the information center. When determining that the vehicle reaches one of the reception positions, the navigation apparatus wirelessly acquires, in association with the reached reception position, display-related information containing (i) display position information indicating a display position and (ii) at-display-position window information indicating contents of a display window displayed at the display position. When determining that the vehicle reaches the display position, the navigation apparatus displays the contents of the corresponding display window indicated by the acquired at-display-position window information.

Claims

1. An information provision system including an in-vehicle apparatus in a vehicle and an information center for providing an occupant of the vehicle with information, the in-vehicle apparatus and the information, center communicable with each other using a wireless communication,

the information center comprising:

a communication position storage section configured to store a communication position information item to indicate several communication positions at which the in-vehicle apparatus is allowed to execute the wireless communication with the information center;

a notification storage section configured to store, with respect to each of the communication positions, (i) a communication position information item for indicating the each of the communication positions, (ii) a notification position information item for indicating a notification position, and (iii) a notification information item which is notified to the occupant of the vehicle at the notification position, in association with each other;

a communication position distribution section configured to distribute to the in-vehicle apparatus the communication position information item, which indicates the several communication positions and is stored in the communication position storage section, using the wireless communication;

a reached communication position acquisition section configured to acquire a reached communication position information item indicating a reached communication position, which is one of the several communication positions and reached by the vehicle, from the in-vehicle apparatus using the wireless communication; and

a notification distribution section configured to distribute, with respect to the acquired reached communication position information item, a notification position information item and a notification information item from within the notification position information items and the notification information items stored in the notification storage section, to the in-vehicle apparatus using the wireless communication,

the in-vehicle apparatus comprising;

a vehicle position acquisition section configured to acquire a vehicle position information item indicating a present position of the vehicle;

a communication position acquisition section configured to acquire the communication position information item, which is distributed by the communication position distribution section of the information center using the wireless communication;

a communication position determination section configured to determine whether the vehicle reaches a communication position, based on (i) the communication positions indicated by the acquired communication position information item, and (ii) a present position of the vehicle indicated by the acquired vehicle position information item;

a reached communication position transmission section configured to transmit the reached communication position information item indicating the reached communication position being the one of the several communication positions, when the communication position determination section determines that the vehicle reaches the one of the several communication positions, to the information center using the wireless communication;

a notification acquisition section configured to acquire the notification position information item and the notification information item, both of which are distributed by the notification distribution section of the information center using the wireless communication;

a notification position determination section configured to determine whether the vehicle reaches the notification position, based on (i) the notification position indicated by the acquired notification position information item (ii) the present position of the vehicle indicated by the acquired vehicle position information item; and

a notification section configured to notify the occupant of the vehicle of contents indicated by the acquired notification information item when the notification position determination section determines that the vehicle reaches the notification position.

2. The information provision system according to claim 1,

the in-vehicle apparatus further comprising:

a vehicle identification transmission section configured to transmit a vehicle identification information item for identifying the vehicle to the information center using the wireless communication, when the reached communication position transmission section transmits the reached communication position information item,

the information center further comprising;

a vehicle identification acquisition section configured to acquire the vehicle identification information item transmitted by the vehicle identification transmission section of the in-vehicle apparatus using the wireless communication,

the notification distribution section being further configured to determine the notification information item, which is to be distributed, from within the notification information items stored in the notification storage section based on the vehicle identification information item acquired by the vehicle identification acquisition section.

3. The information provision system according to claim 1,

the notification section of the in-vehicle apparatus being further configured to determine a notification information sub-item which is to be notified based on a predetermined notification determination condition from within the acquired notification information item indicating several notification sub-items.

4. The information provision system according to claim 3,

the in-vehicle apparatus further comprising a condition designation section configured to designate the notification determination condition based on a predetermined external operation.

5. An in-vehicle apparatus in a vehicle, the in-vehicle apparatus communicable using a wireless communication with an information center for providing an occupant of the vehicle with information,

the in-vehicle apparatus comprising:

a vehicle position acquisition section configured to acquire a vehicle position information item indicating a present position of the vehicle;

a communication position acquisition section configured to acquire, using the wireless communication, communication position information item, which indicates several communication positions at which the wireless communication is allowed to be executed with the information center;

a communication position determination section configured to determine whether the vehicle reaches a communication position being one of the communication positions indicated by the acquired communication position information item, based on (i) the communication positions indicated by the communication position information item acquired by the communication position acquisition section, and (ii) the present position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle position information item acquired by the vehicle position acquisition section;

a reached communication position transmission section configured to transmit, to the information center using the wireless communication, a reached communication position information item indicating a reached communication position, which is one of the several communication positions, when the communication position determination section determines that the vehicle reaches the one of the several communication positions;

a notification acquisition section configured to acquire, from the information center using the wireless communication, a notification position information item and a notification information item in association with the reached communication position indicated by the reached communication position information item transmitted by the reached communication position transmission section, the notification position information item indicating a notification position at which the in-vehicle apparatus is allowed to notify the occupant of the vehicle;

a notification position determination section configured to determine, based on (i) the notification position indicated by the notification position information item acquired by the notification acquisition section, and (ii) the present position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle position information item acquired by the vehicle position acquisition section, whether the vehicle reaches the notification position; and

a notification section configured to notify the occupant of the vehicle of contents indicated by the notification information item acquired by the notification acquisition section when the notification position determination section determines that the vehicle reaches the notification position.

6. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 5,

the notification section being further configured to determine a notification information sub-item which is to be notified based on a predetermined notification determination condition from within the acquired notification information item indicating several notification sub-items.

7. The in-vehicle apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a condition designation section configured to designate the notification determination condition based on a predetermined external operation.

8. A method for providing an occupant of a vehicle with information in a system including an information center and an in-vehicle apparatus in the vehicle, the information center and the in-vehicle apparatus communicable with each other using a wireless communication,

the information center storing

information on several communication positions at which the in-vehicle apparatus is allowed to execute the wireless communication with the information center, and

notification-related information, which associates, with respect to each of the communication positions, (i) a notification position, and (ii) notification contents notified at the notification position,

the in-vehicle apparatus acquiring a present position of the vehicle,

the method comprising:

transmitting from the information center to the in-vehicle apparatus the stored information on several communication positions;

determining in the in-vehicle apparatus that the vehicle reaches a communication position being one of the several communication positions, based on an acquired present position;

transmitting from the in-vehicle apparatus to the information center, information indicating the reached communication position;

transmitting from the information center to the in-vehicle apparatus, notification-related information, which is selected from the stored notification-related information, the selected notification-related information containing a notification position and notification contents in association with the reached communication position; and

determining by the in-vehicle apparatus that the vehicle reaches the notification position indicated by the received notification-related information, based on an acquired vehicle position, thereby notifying the occupant of the vehicle of the notification contents indicated by the received notification-related information at the reached notification position.