Vehicle information acquisition system and vehicle information acquisition method

• US 9,043,075 B2
• Filed: 02/09/2012
• Issued: 05/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation, Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Iga, Norihisa
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US13/984,679
• Publication Number:
  US 20130317692A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,202 Days
• Field of Search: 701/31.4, 701/29.1, 701/29.6, 701/1, 701/34, 702183-185
• US Class Current: 701/31.4
• 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 5/0808 Diagnosing performance data testing of vehicles G01M17/00; testing of electrical installation on vehicles G01R31/005

Abstract

A vehicle information acquisition system includes a vehicle and an information management center. The vehicle includes an information acquisition portion that acquires a piece of vehicle information, which is processed by an information processing unit, based on a set collection condition, and transmits the acquired piece of the vehicle information to the information management center. The information management center determines a new collection condition for the piece of the vehicle information, which is processed by the information processing unit, based on a result of an analysis of the transmitted piece of the vehicle information, and transmits the determined collection condition to the vehicle as a collection condition for a piece of vehicle information to be subsequently acquired by the information acquisition portion to re-set the transmitted collection condition in the information acquisition portion.

Claims

1. A vehicle information acquisition system comprising:

a vehicle;

an information processing unit that is mounted on the vehicle, and is configured to process a piece of vehicle information as a piece of information indicating a vehicle state; and

an information management center that is configured to be able to communicate with the vehicle and acquire the piece of the vehicle information, wherein

the vehicle includes an information acquisition portion that is configured to acquire the piece of the vehicle information to be processed by the information processing unit based on a set collection condition that enables acquisition of a piece of vehicle information indicating a symptom of an abnormality, and transmit the acquired piece of the vehicle information to the information management center,

the information management center is configured to determine a new collection condition for the piece of the vehicle information to be processed by the information processing unit based on a result of an analysis of the transmitted piece of the vehicle information, and transmit the new collection condition to the vehicle to re-set the set collection condition in the information acquisition portion so that the set collection condition is equivalent to the new collection condition, and

the information acquisition portion acquires a second piece of vehicle information based on the set collection condition after being reset and transmits the second piece of the vehicle information to the information management center.

2. The vehicle information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the information acquisition portion is configured to acquire a relevant piece of vehicle information based on an initially set collection condition, when no collection condition is set by the information management center.

3. The vehicle information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the information management center is configured to analyze the abnormality in the vehicle from the transmitted piece of the vehicle information, and determine the new collection condition to be re-set in the information acquisition portion, based on a content of the abnormality in the vehicle that is a result of the analysis.

4. The vehicle information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the information management center is configured to identify a vehicle type of the vehicle that has transmitted the piece of the vehicle information, and accumulate results of an analysis for each identified vehicle type individually.

5. The vehicle information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein a piece of position information and a piece of time information are added to the piece of the vehicle information, and

the information management center is configured to determine the new collection condition to be re-set in the information acquisition portion, based on a result of an analysis of the piece of the vehicle information, which is obtained by analyzing the piece of the position information and the piece of the time information together.

6. The vehicle information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the new collection condition to be re-set includes at least one of a piece of position information and a piece of time information.

7. The vehicle information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the information management center is configured to determine the new collection condition to be re-set based on a result of an analysis of pieces of vehicle information that are acquired from a plurality of the vehicles.

8. The vehicle information acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein the information management center is configured to re-set the new collection condition to be re-set also in an information acquisition portion of another vehicle that is different from the vehicle that has transmitted the piece of the vehicle information.

9. A vehicle information acquisition method of causing an information management center, which is configured to be able to communicate with a vehicle, to acquire a piece of vehicle information that is processed by an information processing unit mounted on the vehicle as a piece of information indicating a vehicle state, comprising

repeating, until a piece of information that is needed as a piece of vehicle information is obtained:

acquiring a piece of vehicle information, which is processed by the information processing unit, based on a set collection condition the enables acquisition of a piece of vehicle information indicating a symptom of an abnormality through an information acquisition portion provided in the vehicle, and transmitting the acquired piece of the vehicle information to the information management center; and

,

in the information management center, determining a new collection condition for the piece of the vehicle information to be processed by the information processing unit, based on a result of an analysis of the transmitted piece of the vehicle information, and transmitting the new collection condition to the vehicle to re-set the set collection condition in the information acquisition portion so that the set collection condition is equivalent to the new collection condition, and

the information acquisition portion acquires a second piece of vehicle information based on the set collection condition after being reset and transmits the second piece of the vehicle information to the information management center.

10. The vehicle information acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein the information acquisition portion is caused to acquire a relevant piece of vehicle information based on an initially set collection condition, when no collection condition is set by the information management center.

11. The vehicle information acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein, by the information management center, the abnormality in the vehicle is analyzed from the transmitted piece of the vehicle information and the new collection condition to be re-set in the information acquisition portion is determined based on a content of the abnormality in the vehicle that is a result of the analysis.

12. The vehicle information acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein, by the information management center, a vehicle type of the vehicle that has transmitted the piece of the vehicle information is identified and results of an analysis are accumulated for each identified vehicle type individually.

13. The vehicle information acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein a piece of position information and a piece of time information are added to the piece of the vehicle information, and,

by the information management center, the new collection condition to be re-set in the information acquisition portion is determined based on a result of an analysis of the piece of the vehicle information, which is obtained by analyzing the piece of the position information and the piece of the time information together.

14. The vehicle information acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein at least one of a piece of position information and a piece of time information is included in the new collection condition to be re-set.

15. The vehicle information acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein, by the information management center, the new collection condition to be re-set is determined based on a result of an analysis of pieces of vehicle information that are acquired from a plurality of vehicles.

16. The vehicle information acquisition method according to claim 9, wherein, by the information management center, the new collection condition to be re-set is re-set also in an information acquisition portion of another vehicle that is different from the vehicle that has transmitted the piece of the vehicle information.