Information provision system and in-vehicle apparatus

• US 8,427,339 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2009
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Adachi, Tetsuro, Tsukamoto, Akira, Ozaki, Yoshitaka
• Primary Examiner(s): MCNALLY, KERRI L
• Application Number:
  US12/654,003
• Publication Number:
  US 20100148988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,232 Days
• Field of Search: 340/901
• 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 for providing an occupant of the vehicle with information,

comprising:

an information center including at least an information center controller, an information center data storage, and an information center wireless communication mechanism; and

an in-vehicle apparatus including at least an in-vehicle apparatus controller, an in-vehicle apparatus data storage, and an in-vehicle wireless communication mechanism, an in-vehicle apparatus wireless communication mechanism, a vehicle position detector, and an output mechanism,

the in-vehicle apparatus and the information center operable to communicate with each other by a wireless communication between the in-vehicle wireless apparatus communication mechanism and the information center wireless communication mechanism, wherein;

the information center data storage stores a communication position information item to indicate a plurality of communication positions at which the in-vehicle apparatus is allowed to execute the wireless communication between the in-vehicle apparatus and the information center;

the information center data storage stores, with respect to each of the plurality of 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;

the information center controller causes the information center wireless mechanism to distribute to the in-vehicle apparatus, by the wireless communication, the communication position information item, which indicates the plurality of communication positions;

the information center wireless communication mechanism acquires a reached communication position information item indicating a reached communication position, which is a communication position, from among the plurality of communication positions, that is reached by the vehicle, from the in-vehicle apparatus wireless mechanism using the wireless communication;

the information center controller, with respect to the acquired reached communication position information item, causes the information center wireless mechanism to distribute a notification position information item and a notification information item from among the notification position information items and the notification information items stored in the information center data storage, to the in-vehicle apparatus using the wireless communication;

the vehicle position detector acquires a vehicle position information item indicating a present position of the vehicle;

the in-vehicle apparatus wireless communication mechanism acquires the communication position information item, which is distributed by the information center wireless mechanism using the wireless communication;

the in-vehicle apparatus controller determines 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;

the in-vehicle apparatus controller causes the in-vehicle apparatus wireless mechanism to transmit the reached communication position information item indicating the reached communication, when the in-vehicle apparatus controller determines that the vehicle reaches the one of the several communication positions, to the information center using the wireless communication;

the in-vehicle apparatus wireless communication mechanism acquires the notification position information item and the notification information item, both of which are distributed by the information center wireless communication mechanism using the wireless communication;

the in-vehicle apparatus controller determines 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

the in-vehicle apparatus controller causes the output mechanism to notify the occupant of the vehicle of contents indicated by the acquired notification information item when the in-vehicle apparatus controller determines that the vehicle reaches the notification position.

2. The information provision system according to claim 1, wherein:

the in-vehicle apparatus controller causes the in-vehicle apparatus wireless mechanism to transmit a vehicle identification information item for identifying the vehicle to the information center using the wireless communication, when the in-vehicle apparatus controller causes the in-vehicle apparatus wireless mechanism to transmit the reached communication position information item,

the information center wireless mechanism acquires the vehicle identification information item transmitted by the in-vehicle apparatus wireless mechanism using the wireless communication, and

the information center controller determines the notification information item to be distributed from the information center data storage based on the vehicle identification information item acquired by the information center wireless mechanism.

3. The information provision system according to claim 1, wherein

the in-vehicle apparatus controller determines a notification information sub-item which is to be output by the output mechanism 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, wherein

the in-vehicle apparatus controller further designates the notification determination condition based on a predetermined external operation.

5. An in-vehicle apparatus in a vehicle, operable to communicate with an information center using a wireless communication, for providing an occupant of the vehicle with information, the in-vehicle apparatus comprising:

a storage;

a controller;

a vehicle position detector;

an output mechanism; and

a wireless communication mechanism,

the vehicle position detector acquiring a vehicle position information item indicating a present position of the vehicle;

the wireless communication mechanism, 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;

the controller determining 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 wireless communication mechanism, and (ii) the present position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle position information item acquired by the vehicle position detector;

the controller causing the wireless communication mechanism 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 controller determines that the vehicle reaches the one of the several communication positions;

the wireless communication mechanism acquiring from the information center, using the wireless communication, a notification position information item and a notification information item associated with the reached communication position indicated by the reached communication position information item transmitted by wireless communication mechanism, the notification position information item indicating a notification position at which the in-vehicle apparatus is allowed to notify the occupant of the vehicle;

the controller determining, based on (i) the notification position indicated by the notification position information item acquired by wireless communication mechanism, and (ii) the present position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle position information item acquired by the vehicle position detector, whether the vehicle reaches the notification position; and

the controller causing the output mechanism to notify the occupant of the vehicle of contents indicated by the notification information item acquired by the wireless communication mechanism when controller determines that the vehicle reaches the notification position.

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

the controller further determining a notification information sub-item which is to be output by the output mechanism 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,

controller further designating 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.