Communications system and program

• US 20050195095A1
• Filed: 02/17/2005
• Published: 09/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kato, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 7,239,252 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/932.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/143 inside the vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/146 where the parking area is a limited parking space, e.g. parking garage, restricted space

Abstract

A communications system in a first vehicle sends departing information indicating that the first vehicle is about to depart from a parking space along with the vehicle information of the first vehicle when a door is unlocked, a key is inserted, and an engine is started. When the sent departing information is received by a communications system in a different second vehicle that is searching a parking space, the sent vehicle information of the first vehicle is shown in a display device in the second vehicle. The vehicle information includes the number of the license plate, the vehicle kind, the vehicle color, and the vehicle class. The driver of the second vehicle can easily determine whether a nearby vehicle where an occupant is present is the first vehicle that sends the departing information.

Claims

1. A communications system provided in a vehicle, the communications system comprising:

a communicating unit that has a wireless communications area to execute an inter-vehicle communications;

a vehicle state detecting unit that detects at least one state of the vehicle; and

a controlling unit that controls various controls,

wherein the controlling unit includes;

a determining unit that determines at least one of whether the vehicle enters a parked state where the vehicle is to be parked and whether the vehicle enters a departing state where the vehicle is to depart based on the vehicle state detected by the vehicle state detecting means; and

a transmission controlling unit that causes the communicating unit to send parking information indicating that the vehicle enters the parked state when that the vehicle enters the parked state is determined, and departing information indicating that the vehicle enters the departing state when that the vehicle enters the departing state is determined; and

a notifying unit that executes, when at least one of parking information and departing information is received from another communications system via the communicating unit, at least one of a notification indicating that a vehicle to be parked is present and a notification indicating that a vehicle to depart is present based on the received at least one of parking information and departing information, respectively.

2. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the vehicle state detecting unit detects at least one of an engine operating state and a door-lock state, and

wherein the determining unit determines that the vehicle enters the parked state in a case where an engine of the vehicle is stopped and a door of the vehicle is locked,

wherein the determining unit determines that the vehicle enters the departing state in a case where the door is unlocked and the engine is started.

3. The communications system of claim 2,

wherein the vehicle state detecting unit that is capable of detecting whether the vehicle starts moving,

wherein, after sending the parking information is started, the transmission controlling unit stops sending the parking information when a give period passes without the door being unlocked, and

stops sending the parking information when the door is unlocked before the given period passes, and

wherein, after sending the departing information is started, the transmission controlling unit

stops sending the departing information when it is determined by the vehicle state detecting unit that the vehicle starts moving,

stops sending the departing information when a certain period passes without the engine being stopped even while it is not determined that the vehicle starts moving, and

stops sending the departing information when the engine is stopped before the certain period passes even while it is not determined that the vehicle starts moving.

4. The communications system of claim 1, further comprising:

a vehicle information storing unit that stores vehicle information that designates the vehicle in which the communications system is mounted,

wherein the transmission controlling unit sends the vehicle information in addition to the parking information or the departing information, and

wherein the notifying unit notifies, when vehicle information of a certain vehicle is received from another communications system, information that enables the certain vehicle to be designated based on the received vehicle information.

5. The communications system of claim 4,

wherein the vehicle information includes at least one of a number of a license plate, a vehicle kind, a vehicle color, and a vehicle class.

6. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the notifying unit notifies a driver of the vehicle of information that is visible.

7. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the controlling unit includes:

a function selection accepting unit that accepts a selection of whether a function for sending the departing information is valid or invalid, and

wherein the controlling unit causes determination by the determining unit and transmission control by the transmission controlling unit while that the function for sending the departing information is valid is accepted.

8. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the controlling unit includes:

a search signal transmission controlling unit that causes the transmission controlling unit to send a parking space search signal indicating that a parking space is being searched, and

wherein the controlling unit causes determination by the determining unit and transmission control by the transmission controlling unit after a search signal is received from another communications system via the communicating unit.

9. The communications system of claim 8, further comprising:

an entry determining unit that determines whether the vehicle enters a parking area including a plurality of parking spaces,

wherein the search signal transmission controlling unit causes the transmission controlling unit to send a parking space search signal after it is determined that the vehicle enters the parking area.

10. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the determining unit further determines a conditional level for entering the parked state or the departing state based on the vehicle state detected by the vehicle state detecting unit,

wherein the transmission controlling unit sends the conditional level in addition to the parking information or the departing information, and

wherein the notifying unit further notifies, the received conditional level.

11. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the vehicle state detecting unit is capable of detecting a plurality of vehicle states,

wherein a condition for entering the parked state or a condition for entering the departing state is satisfied when the plurality of vehicle states become predetermined levels,

wherein the determining unit further determines whether some of the plurality of vehicle states become the predetermined levels,

wherein, when that some of the plurality of vehicle states become the predetermined levels is determined, the transmission controlling unit further sends that some of the plurality of vehicle states become the predetermined levels, and

wherein, the notifying unit further notifies an effect that some of a plurality of vehicle states become predetermined levels when the effect is received from another communications system.

12. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the vehicle state detecting unit is capable of detecting whether the vehicle is stopped,

wherein the controlling unit includes:

a stopping reason transmission control unit causes the communicating unit to send information indicating that the vehicle is waiting for a parked vehicle to depart in a case where departing information is received from another communications system via the communicating unit and that the vehicle is stopped is detected, and

wherein the notifying unit notifies waiting information indicating that a vehicle is waiting for a parked vehicle to depart when the waiting information is received from another communications system via the communicating unit.

13. The communications system of claim 1,

wherein the communicating unit is capable of changing directionality of the wireless communications area,

wherein the vehicle state detecting unit is capable of detecting whether the vehicle enters a parking space frontward or backward, and

wherein a directionality control unit that controls directionality of the communications area to cause the directionality of the wireless communications area to extend frontward when the vehicle enters the parking space backward and to cause the directionality to extend backward when the vehicle enters the parking space frontward.

14. A computer program product in a computer-readable medium for use in a communications system that is provided in a vehicle and includes a communicating unit that has a wireless communications area to execute an inter-vehicle communications,

the computer program product comprising:

instructions for detecting at least one state of the vehicle; and

instructions for determining at least one of whether the vehicle enters a parked state where the vehicle is to be parked and whether the vehicle enters a departing state where the vehicle is to depart based on the detected vehicle state; and

instructions for sending, via the communicating unit, parking information indicating that the vehicle enters the parked state when that the vehicle enters the parked state is determined, and departing information indicating that the vehicle enters the departing state when that the vehicle enters the departing state is determined.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, further comprising:

instructions for executing, when at least one of parking information and departing information is received from another communications system via the communicating unit, at least one of a notification indicating that a vehicle to be parked is present and a notification indicating that a vehicle to depart is present based on the received at least one of parking information and departing information, respectively.

16. A communications system provided in a vehicle, the communications system comprising:

a communicating unit that has a wireless communications area to execute an inter-vehicle communications;

a vehicle state detecting unit that detects at least one state of the vehicle;

a determining unit that determines at least one of whether the vehicle enters a parked state where the vehicle is to be parked and whether the vehicle enters a departing state where the vehicle is to depart based on the vehicle state detected by the vehicle state detecting means; and

a transmission controlling unit that causes the communicating unit to send parking information indicating that the vehicle enters the parked state when that the vehicle enters the parked state is determined, and departing information indicating that the vehicle enters the departing state when that the vehicle enters the departing state is determined.

17. The communications system of claim 16, further comprising:

a notifying unit that executes, when at least one of parking information and departing information is received from another communications system via the communicating unit, at least one of a notification indicating that a vehicle to be parked is present and a notification indicating that a vehicle to depart is present based on the received at least one of parking information and departing information, respectively.

18. The communications system of claim 16, further comprising:

a vehicle information storing unit that stores vehicle information that designates the vehicle in which the communications system is mounted,

wherein the transmission controlling unit further sends the vehicle information in addition to the parking information or the departing information.