Vehicular device and portable communication terminal

• US 8,983,719 B2
• Filed: 11/28/2012
• Issued: 03/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Ukai, Hiroki
• Primary Examiner(s): Cheung, Calvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Martinez Borrero, Luis A
• Application Number:
  US13/687,006
• Publication Number:
  US 20130311037A1
• Time in Patent Office: 839 Days
• Field of Search: 701/1, 701/36, 701/123, 701/99, 701/29.1, 701/32.6, 701/34.4, 340/10.41, 340/10.42, 340/572.1, 340/989
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/55 Remote control arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/569 Vehicle controlling mobile device functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/573 Mobile devices controlling vehicle functions
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/589 Wireless data transfers
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/5894 SIM cards
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2360/592 Data transfer involving external databases
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/00 Instruments specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement of instruments in or on vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/10 Input arrangements, i.e. from user to vehicle, associated with vehicle functions or specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/80 Arrangements for controlling instruments
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 35/85 Arrangements for transferring vehicle- or driver-related data
• 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: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

A vehicular device includes a communication unit that performs communication with a portable communication terminal; a display unit that display an execution screen of a terminal application; an operation input unit provided in a corresponding manner with the display unit and receives an input regarding an operation for a manual setting of information used by the terminal application; and a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information regarding a vehicle, which is used by the terminal application. A control unit of the vehicular device sets, to the terminal application, the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit without using the input from the operation input unit for an execution of the terminal application, and controls a transmission of the vehicle information to the external server through the portable communication terminal by using the communication unit.

Claims

1. A vehicular device disposed in a vehicle and configured to execute a terminal application, the terminal application has a function in common with an application installed in a portable communication terminal and is used for using a service provided by an external server in cooperation with the portable communication terminal, the vehicular device comprising:

a communication unit performing communication with the portable communication terminal;

a display unit displaying an execution screen of the terminal application;

an operation input unit receiving an input regarding an operation for a manual setting of information being used by the terminal application, the operation input unit being provided in a corresponding manner for the display unit;

a vehicle information acquisition unit acquiring vehicle information regarding the vehicle, the vehicle information being used by the terminal application; and

a control unit providing the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit without using the input from the operation input unit for the execution of the terminal application, and controlling a transmission of the vehicle information to the external server through the portable communication terminal via the communication unit, wherein

the terminal application is an application to use a fuel mileage information registration service provided by the external server through the portable communication terminal,

the operation input unit receives the input for setting a fuel amount as information to be used by the terminal application,

the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires a travel distance of the vehicle as the vehicle information,

the control unit automatically sets the travel distance of the vehicle based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, transmits the travel distance and the fuel amount to the external server, and acquires a fuel mileage calculated by the external server through the portable communication terminal via the communication unit, and

the display unit displays the fuel mileage as the execution screen.

2. The vehicular device of claim 1 further comprising:

a memory unit storing the vehicle information, wherein

the control unit stores the vehicle information in the memory unit in a period before a supply of an electric power to the vehicular device is stopped when an operation to stop the electric power is performed during a cooperative operation time of the vehicular device with the portable communication terminal, and

the vehicle information stored in the memory unit is compared with newly-acquired vehicle information and a change of the vehicle information is used for the terminal application when the supply of the electric power for the vehicular device is started.

3. The vehicular device of claim 1, wherein the control unit transmits the vehicle information to the portable communication terminal when the vehicular device is operating in a cooperative manner with the portable communication terminal.

4. The vehicular device of claim 1, wherein the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires, as the vehicle information, fueling information that indicates whether the vehicle has been fueled.

5. The vehicular device of claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information acquisition unit further acquires, as the vehicle information, information that indicates whether the vehicle is currently traveling, and

the control unit performs at least one of a restriction of the operation input unit to restrict the input of the operation and a reduction of the amount of information provided on the execution screen by the display unit when the vehicle information indicates that the vehicle is traveling.

6. The vehicular device of claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires vehicle information regarding the vehicle when the operation is input to the execution screen that is displayed on the display unit.

7. The vehicular device of claim 1, wherein

the communication unit communicates with the portable device via a local area communication network.

8. The vehicular device of claim 7, wherein

the local area communication network operates using the Bluetooth standard.

9. A portable communication terminal configured to operate in a cooperative manner with a vehicular device that acquires vehicle information regarding a vehicle, and configured to execute a terminal application that is commonly used with the vehicular device for using a service provided by an external server, the vehicular device including a vehicle information acquisition unit acquiring vehicle information regarding the vehicle, the vehicle information being used by the terminal application, the portable communication terminal comprising:

a communication unit performing communication with the vehicular device and acquiring the vehicle information;

a display unit displaying an execution screen of the terminal application;

an operation input unit receiving an input regarding an operation for a manual setting of information being used by the terminal application, the operation input unit being provided in a corresponding manner with the display unit; and

a control unit automatically setting, to the terminal application, information to be used by the terminal application from among the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, the automatic setting of such information being performed without using the input from the operation input unit when the terminal application is being executed using the vehicle information, wherein

the terminal application is an application to use a fuel mileage information registration service provided by the external server,

the operation input unit receives the input for setting a fuel amount as information to be used by the terminal application,

the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires a travel distance of the vehicle as the vehicle information,

the control unit automatically sets the travel distance of the vehicle based on the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, transmits the travel distance and the fuel amount to the external server, and acquires a fuel mileage calculated by the external server through the portable communication terminal via the communication unit, and

the display unit displays the fuel mileage as the execution screen.

10. The portable communication terminal of claim 9 further comprising:

a memory unit storing the vehicle information, wherein

the vehicular device transmits the vehicle information to the portable communication terminal at one of a regular timing, a requested timing, and a time of performing an electric power supply shut-off operation for stopping a supply of electric power for the vehicle, when the vehicular device is operating in a cooperative manner with the portable communication terminal, and

the control unit performs an automatic control that automatically sets, to the terminal application, the information to be used by the terminal application from among the vehicle information stored in the memory unit, the automatic setting of such information is performed without using the input from the operation input unit, when the control unit initiates the terminal application for using the vehicle information.

11. The portable communication terminal of claim 9, wherein

the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires vehicle information regarding the vehicle when the operation is input to the execution screen that is displayed on the display unit.

12. The portable communication terminal of claim 9, wherein

the communication unit communicates with the vehicular device via a local area communication network.

13. The portable communication terminal of claim 12, wherein

the local area communication network operates using the Bluetooth standard.

14. A portable communication terminal configured to operate in a cooperative manner with a vehicular device that acquires vehicle information regarding a vehicle, and configured to execute a terminal application that is commonly used with the vehicular device for using a service provided by an external server, the portable communication terminal comprising:

a communication unit performing communication with the vehicular device and with an external server acquiring the vehicle information;

a display unit displaying an execution screen of the terminal application;

an operation input unit receiving an input regarding an operation for a manual setting of information being used by the terminal application, the operation input unit being provided in a corresponding manner with the display unit; and

a control unit automatically setting, to the terminal application, information to be used by the terminal application from among the vehicle information acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit, the automatic setting of such information being performed without using the input from the operation input unit when the terminal application is being executed using the vehicle information,

wherein

the communication unit acquires vehicle information from the vehicular device and sends the vehicular information to the external server, and

the communication unit acquires fuel mileage information from the external server, and sends the fuel mileage information to the vehicular device.

15. The portable communication terminal of claim 14, wherein

the communication unit communicates with the vehicular device via a local area communication network, and

the communication unit communicates with the external server via a wide area communication network.

16. The portable communication terminal of claim 14, wherein

the local area communication network operates using the Bluetooth standard, and

the wide area communication network is a public line network.