Vehicle remote operating system and in-vehicle device

• US 8,903,567 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2013
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kagawa, Kazunori, Morimoto, Chika, Sobue, Yuka, Niwa, Satoru, Tanaka, Shin, Morimoto, Kazuhiro, Yokoyama, Akihisa, Wakita, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Jabr, Fadey
• Assistant Examiner(s): HEINLE, COURTNEY D
• Application Number:
  US13/930,621
• Publication Number:
  US 20130289801A1
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 701/2, 701/23, 701/25, 701/36, 701/41, 701/70, 701/408, 340/901, 340/932.2, 340/988, 340/435, 348/119, 348/143, 348/148
• US Class Current: 701/2
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 1/00 Steering controls, i.e. means for initiating a change of direction of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/027 Parking aids, e.g. instruction means
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0285 Parking performed automatically
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/164 Centralised systems, e.g. external to vehicles

Abstract

In a vehicle remote operating system remotely operating a host vehicle VM from a portable terminal 200, a main control unit 112 of an ECU 110 of an in-vehicle device 100 determines an dispatch position of the host vehicle VM on the basis of a parking position of the host vehicle VM and a position of a user U who intends to board the host vehicle VM. Due to this, it becomes possible to dispatch the host vehicle VM according to the parking position of the host vehicle VM and the position of the user U, and convenience is improved in dispatch operation and boarding of the host vehicle VM.

Claims

1. A vehicle remote operating system that remotely operates a vehicle from a communication terminal, comprising:

a dispatch position determination unit that determines a position in which the vehicle stops in an orientation with any one seat of the vehicle facing toward a passenger who intends to board the vehicle as a dispatch position,

wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the position in which the vehicle stops in an orientation with any one seat of the vehicle facing toward the passenger as the dispatch position on the basis of a distance between an obstacle that is present in the surroundings of the passenger and the passenger,

wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the dispatch position of the vehicle on the basis of traffic of a road in the surroundings of the passenger, and

wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines a position in which another vehicle can pass along the road in the surroundings of the passenger as the dispatch position responsive to traffic of the road in the surroundings of the passenger being equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

2. The vehicle remote operating system according to claim 1, wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the dispatch position of the vehicle on the basis of a width of a road in the surroundings of the passenger.

3. The vehicle remote operating system according to claim 1, wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the position in which the vehicle stops in an orientation with any one seat of the vehicle facing toward the passenger as the dispatch position when a distance between the obstacle that is present in the surroundings of the passenger and the passenger is equal to or smaller than the width of the vehicle or when the vehicle is unable to move to the position in which the vehicle stops with a driver'"'"'s seat of the vehicle facing toward the passenger without switching between forward and reverse of the vehicle from the parking position.

4. The vehicle remote operating system according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic dispatch unit moving the vehicle up to the dispatch position of the vehicle that is determined by the dispatch position determination unit, independently of an operation to the communication terminal, after the vehicle starts from the parking position of the vehicle.

5. The vehicle remote operating system according to claim 1, further comprising a temporary stop unit temporarily stopping the moving vehicle by a remote operation from the communication terminal.

6. An in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle in a vehicle remote operating system that remotely operates the vehicle from a communication terminal, comprising:

a dispatch position determination unit that determines a position in which the vehicle stops in an orientation with any one seat of the vehicle facing toward a passenger who intends to board the vehicle as a dispatch position,

wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the position in which the vehicle stops in an orientation with any one seat of the vehicle facing toward the passenger as the dispatch position on the basis of a distance between an obstacle that is present in the surroundings of the passenger and the passenger,

wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the dispatch position of the vehicle on the basis of traffic of a road in the surroundings of the passenger, and

wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines a position in which another vehicle can pass along the road in the surroundings of the passenger as the dispatch position responsive to traffic of the road in the surroundings of the passenger being equal to or greater than a specified threshold value.

7. The in-vehicle device according to claim 6, wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the dispatch position of the vehicle on the basis of a width of a road in the surroundings of the passenger.

8. The in-vehicle device according to claim 6, wherein the dispatch position determination unit determines the position in which the vehicle stops in an orientation with any one seat of the vehicle facing toward the passenger as the dispatch position when a distance between the obstacle that is present in the surroundings of the passenger and the passenger is equal to or smaller than the width of the vehicle or when the vehicle is unable to move to the position in which the vehicle stops with a driver'"'"'s seat of the vehicle facing toward the passenger without switching between forward and reverse of the vehicle from the parking position.

9. The in-vehicle device according to claim 6, further comprising an automatic dispatch unit moving the vehicle up to the dispatch position of the vehicle that is determined by the dispatch position determination unit, independently of an operation to the communication terminal, after the vehicle starts from the parking position of the vehicle.

10. The in-vehicle device according to claim 6, further comprising a temporary stop unit temporarily stopping the moving vehicle by a remote operation from the communication terminal.