Vehicle information communication device and vehicle information communication system

• US 6,127,947 A
• Filed: 07/12/1999
• Issued: 10/03/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/13/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Honda, Hiroshi, Hiramatsu, Norimasa, Uchida, Toshihiro, Tanaka, Akihiro, Sakai, Kazunori
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C.
• Application Number:
  US09/297,963
• Time in Patent Office: 449 Days
• Field of Search: 340/639, 340/539, 340/531, 340/999, 73/116, 701/24, 770/338, 455/420, 702/122
• US Class Current: 340/999
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 17/0195 characterised by the regulation being combined with other vehicle control systems conjoint control of vehicle sub-units including control of suspension systems B60W10/22
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2206/90 Maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/04 Means for informing, instructing or displaying
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2600/08 Failure or malfunction detecting means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/0315 using multiplexing techniques multiplexing for transmission of signals G08C15/00; multiplexing for electrical communication in general H04J
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096844 where the complete route is dynamically recomputed based on new data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096883 where input information is obtained using a mobile device, e.g. a mobile phone, a PDA

Abstract

A vehicle onboard device having characteristics capable of being changed communicates with a vehicle to set a characteristic value to an optimum value. Parameters for setting conditions of an electronic device are called out of an E² PROM 14_i of the vehicle 10_i and are transmitted to a technology center 40 via a dealer 20₁, and an information center 30₁. Each dealer 20₁, the information center 30₁, and the technology center 40 accumulate the parameters. The technology center 40 can collect the parameters of numerous vehicles and characteristic values for electronic control of each of the vehicles and can calculate newest and optimum parameters. The technology center 40 transmits this newest and optimum vehicle information to the vehicle 10_i, and each vehicle updates the parameters thereof to these newest and optimum parameters. Accordingly, the parameters of the vehicle are set as the newest parameters.

Claims

1. A vehicle information communication device comprising:

control means for a vehicle, which is mounted in the vehicle and is connected to a vehicle onboard device having characteristics capable of being changed, and which stores characteristic values for determining characteristics of said vehicle onboard device and controls the characteristics of said vehicle onboard device using characteristic values; and

communication control means which is provided externally of said vehicle and can be connected to said control means for a vehicle by wireless communication, and which comprises receiving means for receiving information from said control means for a vehicle and transmitting means for transmitting information to said control means for a vehicle, and which stores and accumulates characteristic values for determining the characteristics of said vehicle onboard device, including previously determined characteristic values of said control means for a vehicle, and which reads characteristic values stored in said control means for a vehicle as vehicle information, and obtains the accumulated vehicle information corresponding to the read characteristic values, and updates the characteristic values stored in said control means for a vehicle to the characteristic values included in said obtained vehicle information.

2. A vehicle information communication device according to claim 1, wherein said communication control means comprises:

accumulating means for accumulating vehicle information including previously determined characteristic values of said control means for a vehicle; and

communication control means which is connected to said control means for a vehicle and to said accumulating means and reads characteristic values stored in said control means for a vehicle as vehicle information and obtains the vehicle information accumulated in said accumulating means with corresponds to the read vehicle information, and updates the characteristic values stored in said control means for a vehicle to the characteristic values included in the obtained vehicle information.

3. A vehicle information communication device according to claim 2, wherein said accumulating means accumulates vehicle information calculated on the basis of the vehicle information of a plurality of vehicles read by said communication control means.

4. A vehicle information communication device according to claim 1, wherein said control means for the vehicle is connected to a plurality of vehicle onboard devices each of which having characteristics capable of being changed by a local area network for a vehicle, and stores each characteristic value for determining the characteristics of each of said plurality of vehicle onboard devices, and controls the characteristics of each of said plurality of vehicle onboard devices using each characteristic value.

5. A vehicle information communication device according to claim 1, wherein, when said communication control means transmits and receives information including characteristic values between said control means for a vehicle and said communication control means, said receiving means and said transmitting means simultaneously perform at least one portion of the reception of said information in said receiving means and the transmission of said information in said transmitting means.

6. The vehicle information communication device according to claim 1, wherein said communication control means receives request information requested from a vehicle from said control means for a vehicle, and transmits response information expressing a response to said request information from said communication control means to said control means for a vehicle.

7. The vehicle information communication device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said communication control means is connected to said control means for a vehicle by wireless communication using a mobile wireless telephone circuit.

8. A vehicle information communication device comprising:

control means for a vehicle in which the control means for the vehicle is mounted in the vehicle and comprises a plurality of device control means which are connected to a plurality of vehicle onboard devices having characteristics capable of being changed and which control characteristics for determining the characteristics of each vehicle onboard device governed by the respective device control means, wherein each device control means is provided with memory means for storing characteristic values for determining the characteristics of said vehicle onboard device as main characteristic values, and for being capable of storing characteristic values for determining characteristics of another vehicle onboard device as sub-characteristic values, and controls the characteristics of the vehicle onboard device governed by the device control means on the basis of the main characteristic values stored in the memory means;

register means which can be connected to said control means for a vehicle and which stores characteristic values of the governed vehicle onboard device in each of the memory means of said device control means as main characteristic values, and stores main characteristic values except for the main characteristic values to be stored in at least one of said memory means in memory means as sub-characteristic values; and

update means which can be connected to said control means for a vehicle and which obtains the main characteristic values and the sub-characteristic values stored in each of the memory means of said device control means, and calculates the main characteristic values of the device control means relating to the obtained sub-characteristic values on the basis of the obtained sub-characteristic values and the main characteristic values stored in the memory means of the device control means relating to sub-characteristic values, and updates the calculated main characteristic values as the main characteristic values of the memory means of said device control means.

9. A vehicle information communication device according to claim 8, further comprising changing means for changing the main characteristic values stored in said memory means wherein, when the main characteristic values are changed by said changing means, said register means stores the main characteristic values in the memory means except for the memory means having the changed main characteristic values as sub-characteristic values.

10. A vehicle information communication device according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of device control means of said control means for a vehicle are connected to each other by a local area network for the vehicle.

11. A vehicle information communication system in which information is communicated between control means for a vehicle for controlling characteristics of a vehicle onboard device mounted in the vehicle using characteristic values for determining the characteristics of the vehicle onboard device and characteristic value memory means provided externally of said vehicle for storing said characteristic values, wherein

characteristic values for determining the characteristics of said vehicle onboard device, including predetermined characteristic values of said control means for a vehicle are stored and accumulated in said characteristic value memory means and wherein the characteristic values stored in said control means for the vehicle are read as vehicle information, vehicle information corresponding to the read characteristic values and accumulated in said characteristic value memory means is obtained, and the characteristic values stored in said control means for the vehicle are updated to the characteristic values included in said obtained vehicle information.

12. A vehicle information communication system in which information is communicated between control means for a vehicle for controlling characteristics of a vehicle onboard device mounted in the vehicle using characteristic values for determining the characteristics of the vehicle onboard device and characteristic value memory means provided externally of said vehicle for storing said characteristic values, wherein

the vehicle information communication system simultaneously performs at least one portion of each of processing for receiving information including said characteristic values from said control means for a vehicle connected by wireless communication, and processing for transmitting information including said characteristic values to said control means for a vehicle connected by wireless communication, the characteristic values for determining the characteristics of said vehicle onboard device, including predetermined characteristic values of said control means for a vehicle are stored and accumulated in said characteristic value memory means, and wherein the characteristic values stored in said control means for a vehicle are read as vehicle information, vehicle information corresponding to the read characteristic values and accumulated in said characteristic value memory means is obtained, and the characteristic values stored in said control means for a vehicle are updated to the characteristic values included in said obtained vehicle information.

13. A vehicle information communication system in which information is communicated between control means for a vehicle for controlling characteristics of a vehicle onboard device mounted in the vehicle using characteristic values for determining the characteristics of the vehicle onboard device and characteristic value memory means provided externally of said vehicle for storing said characteristic values, wherein said control means for the vehicle comprises a plurality of device control means each controlling characteristics for determining the characteristics of each vehicle onboard device governed by the respective device control means, and each device control means has memory means for storing the characteristic values for determining the characteristics of said vehicle onboard device as main characteristic values, and for being capable of storing characteristic values for determining characteristics of other vehicle onboard device as sub-characteristic values, and controls the characteristics of the governed vehicle onboard device on the basis of the main characteristic values stored in the memory means;

said control means for the vehicle stores the characteristic values of the governed vehicle onboard device in each of the memory means of said device control means as main characteristic values, and stores main characteristic values except for the main characteristic values to be stored in at least one of said memory means in memory means as sub-characteristic values; and

said control means for a vehicle obtains the main characteristic values and the sub-characteristic values stored in each of the memory means of said device control means, and calculates the main characteristic values of the device control means relating to the obtained sub-characteristic values on the basis of the obtained sub-characteristic values and the main characteristic values stored in the memory means of the device control means relating to sub-characteristic values, and updates the calculated main characteristic values as the main characteristic values of the memory means of said device control means.