In-vehicle communication device and communication control method

• US 6,600,975 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2002
• Issued: 07/29/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Hatakeyama, Takeshi, Kindo, Tsuyoshi, Tomoda, Masaaki, Moriguchi, Ken-ichi, Ata, Teruaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US10/153,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20020177928A1
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/29, 701/36, 348/14.01, 348/14.02, 348/14.06, 455/422, 455/426, 342/357.1
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6091 including a wireless interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/651 with speech synthesis
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/66 with means for preventing unauthorised or fraudulent calling verifying user identity or authority in secret or secure digital communications H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/02 including a Bluetooth interface

Abstract

An in-vehicle communication device 300 that automatically answers a caller device that sends a call when a telephone device 100 located in a vehicle receives the call comprising: in-vehicle sensors 311˜316 that detect vehicle conditions, a communication interface 340 for the telephone device 100, and a control device 380 that controls the telephone device 100 via the communication interface 340, wherein the control device 380 acquires the vehicle conditions which are detected by the in-vehicle sensors 311˜316, judges whether a driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not based on the acquired vehicle conditions when the control device 380 detects the call to the telephone device 100, prepares an answer message including vehicle information that depends upon a running condition of the vehicle at the time when the driver'"'"'s answering the call is judged to be dangerous, and sends the prepared answer message to the caller device.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle communication device that automatically answers a caller device that sends a call when a telephone device located in a vehicle receives the call comprising:

an in-vehicle sensor that detects a vehicle condition;

a communication interface for the telephone device; and

a control device that controls the telephone device via the communication interface,

wherein the control device acquires a vehicle condition which is detected by the in-vehicle sensor, judges whether a driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not based on the acquired vehicle condition when the control device detects the call to the telephone device, prepares an answer message including vehicle information that depends upon a running condition of the vehicle at the time when the control device judges that the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous, and sends the prepared answer message to the caller device.

2. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the control device judges that the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous when the vehicle condition detected by the in-vehicle sensor goes beyond a predetermined threshold value.

3. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 2,

wherein the threshold value is variable.

4. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the vehicle condition includes at least one of a speed, an acceleration, a steering wheel angle, an operational condition of a parking brake, vertical, lateral and longitudinal movements of the vehicle, and whether the vehicle is in a dangerous zone or not, and

the control device judges whether the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not based on a judgment using one of these vehicle conditions or an overall judgment using a combination of two or more vehicle conditions.

5. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1 further comprising a map information storing unit operable to store map information that specifies divided zones indicating whether the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not,

wherein the control device uses, as the vehicle condition, whether a current location of the vehicle is in a dangerous zone specified by the map information or not.

6. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1 further comprising an in-vehicle information terminal device which is located in a vehicle,

wherein the control device prepares the answer message by reading out vehicle information from the in-vehicle information terminal device.

7. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 6,

wherein the in-vehicle information terminal device is a car navigation device, and

the control device uses, as vehicle information,

(A) at least one of (i) a destination, (ii) a route to the destination, (iii) a current location, (iv) a distance to the destination and (v) an estimated arrival time to the destination, which are held by the car navigation device;

or

(B) a combination of the vehicle condition and at least one of (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) and (v).

8. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 7,

wherein the vehicle information includes information indicating the vehicle condition.

9. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the control device sends the answer message in a form of an e-mail to the caller device.

10. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 9,

wherein the control device acquires an e-mail address of the caller from the telephone device, and sends the e-mail to the acquired e-mail address.

11. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 9 further comprising an address book storing unit operable to store in advance an address book in which a telephone number and a corresponding e-mail address are registered,

wherein the control device specifies an e-mail address of the caller device by referring to the address book stored in the address book storing unit based on a telephone number of the caller, and sends the e-mail to the e-mail address of the caller.

12. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 9,

wherein the control device judges that the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous when the vehicle condition detected by the in-vehicle sensor goes beyond a predetermined threshold value.

13. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 12,

wherein the threshold value is variable.

14. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 9,

wherein the vehicle condition includes at least one of a speed, an acceleration, a steering wheel angle, an operational condition of a parking brake, vertical, lateral and longitudinal movements of a vehicle and whether the vehicle is in a dangerous zone or not, and

the control device judges whether the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not based on a judgment using one of these vehicle conditions or an overall judgment using a combination of two or more vehicle conditions.

15. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 9 further comprising a map information storing unit operable to store map information that specifies divided zones indicating whether the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not,

wherein the control device uses, as the vehicle condition, whether a current location of the vehicle is in a dangerous zone specified by the map information or not.

16. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 9 further comprising an in-vehicle information terminal device which is located in a vehicle,

wherein the control device prepares the answer message by reading out the vehicle information from the in-vehicle information terminal device.

17. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 16,

wherein the in-vehicle information terminal device is a car navigation device, and

the control device uses, as vehicle information,

(A) at least one of (i) a destination, (ii) a route to the destination, (iii) a current location, (iv) a distance to the destination and (v) an estimated arrival time to the destination, which are held by the car navigation device;

or

(B) a combination of the vehicle condition and at least one of (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) and (v).

18. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 17,

wherein the vehicle information includes information indicating the vehicle condition.

19. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the communication interface is a wireless communication interface.

20. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 19,

wherein the communication interface is Bluetooth.

21. The in-vehicle communication device according to claim 1,

wherein the communication interface is a 16-conductor cable communication interface.

22. A communication control method for a hands-free device that automatically answers a caller device that sends a call when a telephone device located in a vehicle receives the call, the communication control method including:

a detecting step for detecting a vehicle condition; and

a control step for controlling the telephone device via the communication interface,

wherein in the control step, the vehicle condition which is detected in the detecting step is acquired, whether a driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not is judged based on the acquired vehicle condition when the call to the telephone device is detected, an answer message including vehicle information that depends upon a running condition of the vehicle at the time when the driver'"'"'s answering the call is judged to be dangerous is prepared, and the prepared answer message is sent to the caller device.

23. The communication control method according to claim 22,

wherein in the control step, the driver'"'"'s answering the call is judged to be dangerous when the vehicle condition detected in the detecting step goes beyond a predetermined threshold value.

24. The communication control method according to claim 22,

wherein the hands-free device further comprises an in-vehicle information terminal device which is located in a vehicle, and

in the control step, the answer message is prepared by reading out the vehicle information from the in-vehicle information terminal device.

25. The communication control method according to claim 22,

wherein in the control step, the answer message is sent to the caller device in a form of an e-mail.

26. A program for controlling communication for a hands-free device that automatically answers a caller device that sends a call when a telephone device located in a vehicle receives the call, the program including:

a detecting step for detecting a vehicle condition; and

a control step for controlling the telephone device via the communication interface,

wherein in the control step, the vehicle condition which is detected in the detecting step is acquired, whether the driver'"'"'s answering the call is dangerous or not is judged based on the acquired vehicle condition when the call to the telephone device is detected, an answer message including vehicle information that depends upon a running condition of the vehicle at the time when the driver'"'"'s answering the call is judged to be dangerous is prepared, and the prepared answer message is sent to the caller device.