Roadside apparatus, control method and program

• US 8,316,042 B2
• Filed: 01/09/2009
• Issued: 11/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Advanced Coding Technologies LLC
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Kenwood
• Inventors: Nagatomo, Hideyuki, Suzuki, Hiroyuki, Hotta, Nobuyuki, Shimoshimano, Hideo, Ogura, Takuya
• Primary Examiner(s): Hwa, Shyue Jiunn
• Application Number:
  US12/812,085
• Publication Number:
  US 20100281048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,411 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/769
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0962 having an indicator mounted inside the vehicle, e.g. giving voice messages
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2143 located in a single building, e.g. hotel, hospital or museum arrangements specially adapted for plural spots in a confined site in broadcast systems H04H20/63; adaptations for transmission by electric cable for domestic distribution in television systems H04N7/106
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25841 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; arrangements for identifying locations of receiving stations in broadcast systems H04H60/51; location of the user terminal in data switching networks H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25891 being end-user preferences retrieval of video data in a video database based on user preferences G06F16/739; arrangements for recognizing users' preferences H04H60/46; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41422 located in transportation means, e.g. personal vehicle arrangements specially adapted for transportation systems in broadcast systems H04H20/62
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4532 involving end-user characteristics, e.g. viewer profile, preferences monitoring of user activities for profile generation for accessing a video database G06F16/739; user profiles in network data switching protocols H04L67/306; processing of user preferences or user profiles in wireless networks H04W8/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6131 involving transmission via a mobile phone network wireless downlink channel access H04W74/006
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6181 involving transmission via a mobile phone network arrangements for providing broadcast or conference services to substation in data switching networks in combination with wireless systems H04L12/189; wireless uplink channel access H04W74/004
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/812 involving advertisement data advertising per se G06Q30/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8126 involving additional data, e.g. news, sports, stocks, weather forecasts
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/162 Authorising the user terminal, e.g. by paying; Registering the use of a subscription channel, e.g. billing

Abstract

A roadside device (15) is provided with a corresponding table in the case where there is an item of a new version of a taste data table to take over from user taste information in an item of an old version of the taste data table. In the corresponding table, item numbers “52”, “53”, “62” and “63” in the old version of the taste table, for example, are made to correspond to item numbers “52”, “53” and “63” in the new version of the taste table. An ITS vehicle-mounted device (17) sets user taste data in the item numbers of the old version corresponding to the item numbers of the new version to default values of the items in the new version for a transmitting-destination user of the taste data table of the new version and transmits the default data to an ITS vehicle-mounted device (17) of the transmitting-destination user. Because of the structure set forth above, a proper default value is set for a version change of the taste data table in the roadside apparatus (15) corresponding to road-vehicle communication in a town car life multi-contents data format, thereby reducing user'"'"'s input trouble.

Claims

1. A distribution system comprising:

a vehicle-mounted device configured to provide user taste information indicating how a user chooses contents information;

a server configured to organize and distribute contents information on the basis of a taste data setting table for setting the user taste information for each of items of contents data; and

a roadside apparatus configured to intervene between the vehicle-mounted device and the server, which operates to receive uplink information including the user taste information reflected on the taste data setting table from the vehicle-mounted device entering a wireless communication area and to transmit the uplink information to the server, while transmitting information for the taste data setting table and its version information from the server to the vehicle-mounted device,

wherein the vehicle-mounted device operates to transmit the uplink information through the roadside apparatus to the server, and

wherein the server operates to decide whether the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is of the latest version when having received the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device, and when the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is not of the latest version, the server operates to generate the latest version of the taste data setting table including all items of revised items and non-revised items to transmit the generated taste data setting table together with update information indicative of the table information to be updated to the vehicle-mounted device, and further the server operates to generate update information indicative of the information on an old version of the taste data setting table to be updated for items corresponding to the latest version in the received information on the old version of taste data setting table to transmit the generated update information to the vehicle-mounted device,

wherein the server operates to respond to the reception of the user taste information corresponding to the latest version of the taste data setting table from the vehicle-mounted device to edit contents information on the basis of the user taste information to transmit the edited contents information to the vehicle-mounted device.

2. The distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the server comprises:

a reserving unit configured to cause the user taste information for the old version of the taste data setting table to be reserved in a storage device;

a revised items searching unit configured to search items which have been revised from the old version in items in the latest version of the taste data setting table;

a default value setting unit configured to set a default value each of revised items of the latest version of the taste data setting table at user taste information a corresponding item of the taste data setting table on the basis of a correspondence relationship between items in the old version of taste data setting table and items in the latest version of the taste data setting table which inherits user taste information for the items of the old version; and

a transmission information transmitting unit configured to transmit transmission information including information with a default value on the latest version of the taste data setting table to the vehicle-mounted device.

3. The distribution system according to claim 2,

wherein the default value setting unit operates to set a default value on the basis of the uplink information as for each of revised items for which the default value has not been able to be set on the basis of the correspondence relationship.

4. The distribution system according to claim 2,

wherein the transmitting unit operates to transmit the transmission information including information indicating what is a revised item together with the information on the latest version of the taste data setting table.

5. A distribution system comprising:

a vehicle-mounted device configured to provide user taste information indicating how a user chooses contents information;

a server configured to organize and distribute contents information on the basis of a taste data setting table for setting the user taste information for each of items of contents data; and

a roadside apparatus configured to intervene between the vehicle-mounted device and the server, which operates to receive uplink information including the user taste information reflected on the taste data setting table from the vehicle-mounted device entering a wireless communication area and to transmit the uplink information to the server, while transmitting information for the taste data setting table and its version information from the server to the vehicle-mounted device,

wherein the vehicle-mounted device operates to transmit the uplink information through the roadside apparatus to the server, and

wherein the server operates to decide whether the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is of the latest version when having received the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device, and when the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is not of the latest version, the server operates to generate the latest version of the taste data setting table including all items of revised items and non-revised items to transmit the generated taste data setting table together with update information indicative of the table information to be updated to the vehicle-mounted device, and further the server operates to generate update information indicative of the information on an old version of the taste data setting table to be updated for items corresponding to the latest version in the received information on the old version of taste data setting table to transmit the generated update information to the vehicle-mounted device,

wherein when the vehicle-mounted device receives the update information indicative of the information on the latest version of the taste data setting table from the server, the user is notified.

6. The distribution system according to claim 5,

wherein the vehicle-mounted device comprises an input unit and a display unit,

wherein when receiving the update information the vehicle-mounted device operates to cause an operation screen to be displayed on the display unit,

wherein the operation screen indicates information on the latest version of the taste data setting table is to be updated on the basis of the received update information, and

wherein the vehicle-mounted device operates to generate the information on the latest version of the taste data setting table in response to an operation input from the input unit to transmit the generated information to the server.

7. The distribution system according to claim 6, wherein the update information is information to be used to classify a plurality of items in a hierarchical shape to update the information on the taste data setting table and wherein the vehicle-mounted device operates to establish the plurality of items in a hierarchical shape on the operation screen for updating the information in the taste data setting table.

8. The distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the server comprises:

a reserving unit configured to cause the user taste information for the old version of the taste data setting table to be reserved in a storage device;

a revised items searching unit configured to search items which have been revised from the old version in items in the latest version of the taste data setting table;

a default value setting unit configured to set a default value each of revised items of the latest version of the taste data setting table at user taste information a corresponding item of the taste data setting table on the basis of a correspondence relationship between items in the old version of taste data setting table and items in the latest version of the taste data setting table which inherits user taste information for the items of the old version; and

a transmission information transmitting unit configured to transmit transmission information including information with a default value on the latest version of the taste data setting table to the vehicle-mounted device.

9. A method for controlling a roadside apparatus which operates to transmit information on a taste data setting table together with its version information to a vehicle-mounted device entering a wireless communication area and to receive uplink information including user taste information reflected in the taste data setting table from the vehicle-mounted device, the method comprising the steps of:

causing the user taste information for the old version of the taste data setting table to be reserved in a storage device;

searching items which have been revised from the old version in items in the latest version of the taste data setting table;

setting a default value each of revised items of the latest version of the taste data setting table at user taste information a corresponding item of the taste data setting table on the basis of a correspondence relationship between items in the old version of taste data setting table and items in the latest version of the taste data setting table which inherits user taste information for the items of the old version; and

transmitting transmission information including information with a default value on the latest version of the taste data setting table to the vehicle-mounted device;

wherein the server operates to respond to the reception of the user taste information corresponding to the latest version of the taste data setting table from the vehicle-mounted device to edit contents information on the basis of the user taste information to transmit the edited contents information to the vehicle-mounted device;

wherein when the vehicle-mounted device receives the update information indicative of the information on the latest version of the taste data setting table from the server, the user is notified.

10. A distribution system comprising:

a vehicle-mounted device configured to provide user taste information indicating how a user chooses contents information;

a server configured to organize and distribute contents information on the basis of a taste data setting table for setting the user taste information for each of items of contents data; and

a roadside apparatus configured to intervene between the vehicle-mounted device and the server, which operates to receive uplink information including the user taste information reflected on the taste data setting table from the vehicle-mounted device entering a wireless communication area and to transmit the uplink information to the server, while transmitting information for the taste data setting table and its version information from the server to the vehicle-mounted device,

wherein the vehicle-mounted device operates to transmit the uplink information through the roadside apparatus to the server, and

wherein the server operates to decide whether the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is of the latest version when having received the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device, when the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is not of the latest version, the server operates to generate the latest version of the taste data setting table in such a manner that in items in an old version of the taste data setting table received from the vehicle-mounted device, as for items not having been revised in the latest version the already set taste information is maintained as is, while covering all items and to transmit the generated taste data setting table together with update information indicative of table information to be updated to the vehicle-mounted device, and further the server operates to generate update information indicative of the information on an old version of the taste data setting table to be updated for items corresponding to the latest version in the received information on the old version of taste data setting table to transmit the generated update information to the vehicle-mounted device;

wherein the server operates to respond to the reception of the user taste information corresponding to the latest version of the taste data setting table from the vehicle-mounted device to edit contents information on the basis of the user taste information to transmit the edited contents information to the vehicle-mounted device.

11. A method for controlling distribution of contents information in a distribution system which comprises

a vehicle-mounted device for providing user taste information indicating how a user chooses contents information,

a server for organizing and distributing contents information on the basis of a taste data setting table for setting the user taste information for each of items of contents data, and a roadside apparatus intervening between the vehicle-mounted device and the server, the method comprising the steps of:

transmitting uplink information including the user taste information indicating how the user chooses contents information by the vehicle-mounted device entering a wireless communication area to the roadside apparatus; and

receiving the uplink information from the vehicle-mounted device and transmitting the uplink information to the server by the roadside apparatus deciding by the server whether the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is of the latest version when having received the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device, when the taste data setting table reflecting the user taste information from the vehicle-mounted device is not of the latest version, generating by the server the latest version of the taste data setting table in such a manner that in items in an old version of the taste data setting table received from the vehicle-mounted device, as for items not having been revised in the latest version the already set taste information is maintained as is, while covering all items and to transmit the generated taste data setting table together with update information indicative of table information to be updated to the vehicle-mounted device, and further generating by the server update information indicative of the information on an old version of the taste data setting table to be updated for items corresponding to the latest version in the received information on the old version of taste data setting table to transmit the generated update information to the vehicle-mounted device;

wherein when the vehicle-mounted device receives the update information indicative of the information on the latest version of the taste data setting table from the server, the user is notified.