JP2006352461A - Remote control device, service center - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote operation device and a service center capable of determining occurrence of timeout and notifying a driver of an operation result accurately.
In a remote operation device that controls a vehicle based on an operation signal transmitted from a mobile terminal 4 used by a user via a service center 2, an operation time when the user performs a remote operation and the vehicle transmits the operation signal. A time comparison unit 22 that compares the reception time with which the signal is received, and a first discard unit that discards the operation signal when the difference between the reception time and the operation time is greater than or equal to a predetermined value as a result of comparison by the time comparison unit 23.
[Selection] Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control device that controls an in-vehicle device according to an operation from a remote location or a service center that mediates an operation from a remote location, and in particular, a remote control device that can determine a user operation timeout. Or, it relates to a service center.

  Remote operation has been proposed in which an in-vehicle device is operated from a mobile terminal carried by a driver via a service center. If the remote operation is used, it is possible to remotely operate a vehicle door lock / unlock, window opening / closing, security function, engine start, and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in the case of remote operation, the arrival time until the operation signal transmitted by operating the mobile terminal arrives at the service center is not constant due to the state of radio wave transport, the load at the relay point, and the like. If the time from the operation to the actual control of the in-vehicle device is long, the situation around the vehicle may change, causing unexpected inconvenience.

On the other hand, a remote control device that measures the distance between the driver and the vehicle according to the arrival time of the operation signal and does not permit remote operation when the distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined value has been proposed (for example, a patent) Reference 2). In the remote control device described in Patent Document 2, even if radio waves reach and remote operation is possible, the control of the in-vehicle device is determined according to the type and distance of the operation signal, thereby causing an inconvenience. For the purpose of restriction.
JP 2004-102939 A JP-A-6-55936

  However, since the remote control device described in Patent Document 2 is a device for operating a vehicle-mounted device by directly transmitting a radio wave from a mobile terminal to a vehicle without going through a service center, the radio wave transmission distance is short and the radio wave arrival time. It is difficult to measure accurately. Moreover, even if measurement is possible, since it is necessary to synchronize the portable terminal and the vehicle clock with high accuracy, a system for achieving synchronization is required, resulting in high costs.

  In addition, when remote operation is performed without going through the service center, there are few cases where radio waves do not reach the vehicle because there are drivers around the vehicle. For this reason, the remote control device described in Patent Document 2 does not take into consideration a state in which radio waves do not actually reach the vehicle when a remote operation is performed from a portable terminal, that is, a so-called timeout occurs.

  When remote operation is performed via the service center, the operation signal may not reach the vehicle depending on the location of the vehicle, and a delay occurs due to the load status of the service center, the radio wave conveyance status, and the like. If a delay or the like occurs in the remote operation, a time lag occurs between the driver's desired operation timing and the timing at which the in-vehicle device is controlled, which is not preferable because the driver's will is not reflected.

  In addition, when a remote operation is performed via the service center, the driver cannot visually recognize the situation of the vehicle, so it is desired to immediately check whether the operation is reflected on the in-vehicle device. However, until now, depending on whether radio waves reach the vehicle or depending on the radio wave conditions, it may take some time to notify the driver of the operation results, and the driver checks whether the operation has been performed. In some cases, the following actions could not be taken.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote control device and a service center that can determine the occurrence of a timeout and accurately notify the driver of the operation result.

  In order to solve the above problem, the present invention relates to an operation time at which a user performs a remote operation in a remote operation device that controls a vehicle based on an operation signal transmitted from a mobile terminal used by a user via a service center, and Time comparison means for comparing the reception time at which the vehicle receives the operation signal, and first discarding means for discarding the operation signal when the difference between the reception time and the operation time is greater than or equal to a predetermined result as a result of comparison by the time comparison means 23.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a remote control device that can determine the occurrence of a timeout and accurately notify the driver of the operation result.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the operation time is a signal reception time when the service center receives the operation signal, or a signal transmission time when the center transmits the operation signal to the vehicle.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the first discarding unit 23 notifies the user that the operation signal is discarded. According to the present invention, the user can know the result of the remote operation.

Further, the present invention provides a remote operation device for controlling a vehicle based on an operation signal transmitted from a mobile terminal used by a user via a service center.
a) Center processing time of the operation signal in the service center,
b) Requested transmission time from the signal transmission time at which the service center transmits the operation signal to the vehicle until the vehicle receives the operation signal,
c) Vehicle processing time for the vehicle to process the operation signal;
d) a result notification time from the completion notification time at which the vehicle has notified that the control of the in-vehicle device has been completed until the service center receives the notification signal;
When the total time obtained by combining any one or two or more of these is greater than a predetermined timeout time, the user is notified that the user operation has timed out. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the remote control apparatus which set timeout appropriately can be provided.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the time-out period is determined so that a user operation does not time out with a predetermined probability based on the statistics of a) to d). According to the present invention, most of user operations do not time out.

  Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the timeout time is based on each average time and each standard deviation of a) to d) calculated by statistics, with respect to each average time or a total average time obtained by combining two or more. It is defined to be within 3 times the standard deviation.

  Further, the present invention provides a second discarding unit that discards an operation signal when the operation signal does not reach the vehicle in a service center that transmits the operation signal transmitted from a mobile terminal used by a user to the vehicle. 14.

  In addition, the present invention has arrival reception means for receiving an arrival notification for the operation signal from the vehicle, and the second discarding means 14 receives the arrival signal by repeating the transmission of the operation signal a predetermined number of times. If not, the operation signal is discarded.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the second discarding unit 14 notifies the user that the operation signal is discarded.

Further, the present invention provides a service center that transmits an operation signal transmitted from a mobile terminal used by a user to a vehicle.
e) Center processing time of the operation signal at the service center,
f) Request transmission time from the signal transmission time when the service center transmits the operation signal to the vehicle until the vehicle receives the operation signal,
g) Vehicle processing time for the vehicle to process the operation signal;
h) Result notification time from when the vehicle notifies that the control of the in-vehicle device has been completed to when the service center receives the notification signal,
When the total time of any one or a combination of two or more is greater than a predetermined timeout time, the user is notified that the user operation has timed out.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the time-out period is determined based on the statistics of e) to h) so that a user operation does not time out with a predetermined probability.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the time-out time is based on each average time and each standard deviation of e) to h) calculated by statistics, with respect to the total average time totaled by combining each average time or two or more. It is defined to be within 3 times the standard deviation.

  It is possible to provide a remote operation device and a service center that can determine the occurrence of a timeout and accurately notify the driver of the operation result.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of a remote operation system in which an operation signal transmitted from a mobile device 2 carried by a user is transmitted to a vehicle 5 through a service center 2 and the vehicle 5 controls an in-vehicle device.
The remote operation system includes a service center 2 that manages operation states of a plurality of devices mounted on the vehicle 5 in time series, a vehicle 5 that is remotely operated by a user, and a mobile terminal 4 that is used by the user. Composed. The service center 2 is connected to a network 1 such as the Internet. The vehicle 5 and the portable terminal 4 are configured to be able to communicate with the base station 3 connected to the network 1 by radio. The user refers to a person who uses the remote operation system registered in the service center 2 and can operate the vehicle 5 from the mobile terminal 4, and is a driver of the vehicle 5, for example.

  In the remote operation system, an operation signal input from the mobile terminal 4 is transmitted to the vehicle 5 via the service center 2, and the vehicle 5 controls the in-vehicle device according to the operation signal. In the present embodiment, when the operation of the mobile terminal 4 by the user times out, the operation signal is discarded and the in-vehicle device is not controlled. The time-out will be described later in detail in the embodiment, but the time-out means that a predetermined time or more elapses from when the user operates to control the in-vehicle device.

  The portable terminal 4 is, for example, a cellular phone, a portable computer, an electronic notebook (personal digital assistant (PDA)), a PHS (Personal Handyphone System), or the like. In other words, any device can be used as long as it can be connected to the service center 2 via the network 1 and can perform an operation requested by the service center 2.

  The service center 2 will be described. The service center 2 provides various services to the user through the vehicle 5 and the user (mobile terminal 4). Even if the vehicle 5 and the user are separated by a predetermined distance or more by the service center 2, a third party is provided. It is possible to monitor the user's entry into the vehicle 5, start the engine, etc., and notify the user, or the user can operate the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 5.

  The service center 2 includes a computer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a storage device, a communication device, and the like, and communicates with the mobile terminal 4 and the vehicle 5 via the network 1.

  FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of the service center 2. The service center 2 is configured to include a transmission / reception unit 11, a user authentication unit 12, an operation screen generation unit 13, and a discard unit 14.

  The transmission / reception means 11 communicates with the mobile terminal 4 and the vehicle 5 via the network 1. The transmission / reception means 11 receives the operation signal transmitted from the portable terminal 4 and transmits the operation signal processed in the service center 2 to the vehicle 5. In addition, the mobile terminal 4 receives the completion notification indicating the completion of the operation of the in-vehicle device transmitted from the vehicle 5 and the operation discard notification for notifying the discard of the operation signal, and transmits the completion notification or the operation discard notification processed in the service center 2. Call to.

  When communicating with the vehicle 5, it is preferable that the transmission / reception means 11 uses a short message service (hereinafter referred to as SMS) used in a digital mobile phone network. SMS can be used in mobile phone networks such as PDC (Personal Digital Cellular), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), but the format of the mobile phone network is not limited. In the SMS, when the vehicle 5 is within the range of the base station 3, the service center 2 can obtain an operation signal arrival notification from the base station 3 in a short time. Note that the communication means between the vehicle 5 and the service center 2 may use any communication method as long as the response is short.

  When the user accesses the service center 2 using the portable terminal 4, the user authentication unit 12 requests the user to input a user ID and a password, and authenticates the user with the consistency between the input user ID and the password.

The user authentication means 12 refers to the user information DB in which the user information of the user of the remote operation system is registered, and extracts the user ID and password. The user information DB stores a contract ID given for each contract at the time of contract, a user ID for identifying the user, a name, an address, a telephone number, a gender, an age, and a password. Note that biometric identification information such as fingerprints, voiceprints, facial contours, irises, and vein arrangements may be used for user authentication.
The operation screen generation unit 13 generates an operation menu that can be selected by the user using HTML (HyperText Markup Language), XML (eXtensible Markup Language), or the like according to the content of the contract with the user.

  The discarding unit 14 discards the operation signal when the transmission / reception unit 11 does not receive the arrival notification from the vehicle 5 even if the transmission / reception unit 11 transmits the operation signal to the vehicle 5 using the SMS a predetermined number of times. The discarding of the operation signal is performed by stopping the transmission / reception means 11 from transmitting the operation signal to the vehicle 5. In SMS, there is a communication mode in which the operation signal is retransmitted when the vehicle 5 enters the communication range and becomes communicable. However, in this embodiment, the arrival notification is not received even if the operation signal is transmitted a predetermined number of times. In this case, a time-out is detected, and the discarding unit 14 stops transmitting the operation signal from the base station 3 to the vehicle 5.

  The discarding unit 14 notifies the user that a timeout has been detected and the operation signal has been discarded. That is, the discarding unit 14 generates a message indicating that the operation signal is discarded, and transmits the message to the portable terminal 4 by the transmission / reception unit 11.

  The vehicle 5 will be described. FIG. 3 shows a functional block diagram of the remote production device of the vehicle 5. The remote control device is configured to include a transmission / reception means 21, a time comparison means 22, a discarding means 23, a controller 24, and an in-vehicle device 25.

  The transmission / reception means 21 receives the operation signal transmitted from the service center 2 by the receiving circuit, and restores the operation signal transmitted from the service center 2. The restored operation signal is sent to the controller 24, and the controller 24 determines the content of the driver's operation and controls the in-vehicle device 25 according to the determination result.

  The in-vehicle device 25 is, for example, a door, a window, a slide roof, an air conditioner, a security device, an engine ECU, or the like. The controller 24 drives an actuator that opens and closes a door, a window, and a slide roof according to an operation signal, and controls on / off of an air conditioner, a security function, and the like.

  The time comparison means 22 compares the operation time when the user performs the remote operation with the reception time when the vehicle 5 receives the operation signal. The operation time when the user performs the remote operation is a signal reception time when the service center 2 receives the operation signal or a signal transmission time when the service center 2 transmits the operation signal to the vehicle 5. The operation time when the user performs the remote operation may be a time when the user operates the mobile terminal 4 and an operation signal is transmitted from the mobile terminal 4.

  The vehicle 5 and the service center 2 each have a clock that is synchronized with an accuracy that can determine a timeout. Since the timeout in this embodiment is determined based on whether or not the difference between the operation time and the reception time is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the timeout time for determination is sufficiently longer than the arrival time of the operation signal (radio wave) (for example, 1 You can set the time. For this reason, the timepieces possessed by the vehicle 5 and the service center 2 do not need to be synchronized with high accuracy.

  When the difference between the operation time and the reception time is equal to or greater than the timeout time, the discarding unit 23 included in the remote operation device detects the timeout and discards the operation signal. When the operation signal is discarded, the discarding unit 14 restricts the operation of the in-vehicle device based on the operation signal to the controller 24 and notifies the user via the service center 2 that the operation signal is discarded.

  The vehicle 5 is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, and detects the current position based on the arrival time of the satellite positioning information transmitted from the GPS satellite and the orbit information of the GPS satellite. When the user of the remote operation system wants to know the position of the vehicle 5 from the place, the position of the vehicle 5 can be displayed on the screen of the portable terminal 4 together with a map by performing a predetermined operation from the portable terminal 4.

  With reference to the activity diagram of FIG. 4, the processing of the remote operation system that discards the operation signal when the operation by the user times out will be described using the above configuration. FIG. 4 is an activity diagram when the discarding unit 23 of the vehicle 5 discards the operation signal.

  First, the user accesses the service center 2 from the portable terminal 4 and makes an authentication request to the service center 2 (S11). The service center 2 refers to the user information DB and authenticates the user based on the user ID and password transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 (S12). The operation screen generation unit 13 generates an operation screen (S13) and transmits the operation screen to the portable terminal 4 by the transmission / reception unit 11.

  When the driver selects a desired operation from the mobile terminal 4, the operation signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 is transmitted to the service center 2 via the mobile phone network or the network 1 (S14).

  When the transmission / reception means 11 receives the operation signal transmitted from the portable terminal 4, the transmission / reception means 11 records the received signal reception time (S15). Next, the service center 2 performs a process for transmitting an operation signal to the vehicle 5 (S16). The processing of the operation signal is, for example, processing for changing the operation signal into a format suitable for the vehicle 5 or generating an SMS. Such processing is subject to load and processing delay when processing requests from other users and other service requests are concentrated in the service center 2. Next, the transmission / reception means 11 transmits the signal reception time to the vehicle 5 with the operation signal attached.

  When the transmission / reception means 21 of the vehicle 5 receives the operation signal, the reception time when the operation signal is received is recorded. The time comparison means 22 compares the signal reception time attached to the operation signal with the reception time, and based on whether the difference between the signal reception time and the reception time is equal to or greater than a timeout time (for example, 1 second to 10 seconds), It is determined whether or not the user operation has timed out (S17).

  If not timed out, the controller 24 controls the in-vehicle device 25 according to the operation signal (S18). Further, the controller 24 generates a completion notification indicating that the control of the in-vehicle device is completed, and transmits it to the service center 2 (S19).

  When the timeout has occurred, the discarding unit 23 discards the operation signal (S20). That is, the operation signal is discarded when a predetermined time or more elapses between the time when the service center 2 receives the operation signal and the time when the vehicle 5 transmits due to the processing of the operation signal (S16) and the state of radio wave transport. The The discarding unit 23 limits the control of the in-vehicle device 25 by the controller 24. Thereby, when time passes so that it is estimated that a user's will cannot be reflected, operation of a vehicle-mounted apparatus can be restrict | limited. The discarding unit 23 transmits an operation discard notification in which the operation signal is discarded to the service center 2 (S21).

  The service center 2 receives the completion notification or the operation discard notification (S22), and notifies the user of the operation result (S23).

  Therefore, when the vehicle 5 determines the timeout as shown in FIG. 4, even if the operation signal reaches the vehicle 5 after the processing is delayed in the service center 2, the vehicle 5 discards the operation signal, which reflects the user's intention. If the time elapses, the in-vehicle device will not be controlled.

  Further, the service center 2 may discard the operation signal. The processing of the remote operation system that discards the operation signal when the operation by the user times out will be described based on the activity diagram of FIG. FIG. 5 is an activity diagram when the discarding unit 14 of the service center 2 discards the operation signal. In FIG. 5, the same steps as those in FIG.

  First, the user accesses the service center 2 from the portable terminal 4 and makes an authentication request to the service center 2 (S11). The service center 2 refers to the user information DB and authenticates the user based on the user ID and password transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 (S12). The operation screen generation unit 13 generates an operation screen (S13) and transmits the operation screen to the portable terminal 4 by the transmission / reception unit 11.

  When the driver selects a desired operation from the mobile terminal 4, the operation signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 is transmitted to the service center 2 via the mobile phone network or the network 1 (S14).

  When the transmission / reception means 11 receives the operation signal transmitted from the portable terminal 4, the transmission / reception means 11 records the received signal reception time (S15). In FIG. 5, since the signal reception time is not used for discarding the operation signal, the signal reception time may not be recorded.

  Next, the service center 2 performs a process for transmitting an operation signal to the vehicle 5 (S16). The processing of the operation signal is, for example, processing for changing the operation signal into a format suitable for the vehicle 5 or generating an SMS. Such processing is subject to load and processing delay when processing requests from other users and other service requests are concentrated in the service center 2. Next, the transmission / reception means 11 transmits the signal reception time to the vehicle 5 with the operation signal attached.

  The transmission / reception means 11 transmits an operation signal to the vehicle 5 using the SMS provided by the mobile phone network (S30). In the SMS, when the vehicle 5 is within a communicable range, the service center 2 can immediately receive a notification of arrival from the vehicle 5, so that if the operation signal does not reach the vehicle 5 (when the arrival signal is not received), a predetermined number of times, The transmission of the operation signal is repeated (S31), and if the operation signal does not reach the vehicle 5, it is determined as time-out and the operation signal is discarded (S32). The discarding unit 14 stops the transmission / reception unit 11 from transmitting the operation signal to the vehicle 5.

  When the operation signal reaches the vehicle 5, the controller 24 of the vehicle 5 controls the in-vehicle device 25 in accordance with the operation signal as in FIG. 4 (S18). Further, the controller 24 generates a completion notification indicating that the control of the in-vehicle device is completed, and transmits it to the service center 2 (S19). The service center 2 receives the completion notification (S22).

  Next, since the service center 2 transmits a completion notification or an operation discard notification to the user, the user can receive an operation result notification (S23).

  Therefore, when the operation signal itself does not reach the vehicle 5 as shown in FIG. 5, the timeout is determined based on the number of times the operation signal is transmitted. Therefore, when the vehicle 5 is not within the SMS range, the user can be notified of the timeout. In addition, the vehicle-mounted device is not controlled when time passes and the vehicle 5 enters the SMS range.

  In FIG. 5, the service center 2 determines the timeout, but in addition to the timeout determination by the service center 2, the vehicle 5 may further determine the timeout. By determining the timeout in the vehicle 5 as well, even when the operation signal arrives at the vehicle 5 after the processing of the service center 2 is delayed, the timeout can be determined and the operation signal can be discarded.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the remote operation system that controls the in-vehicle device of the vehicle from a remote place, the concept of timeout is introduced to the user's operation, and when time has elapsed since the user's operation, The operation can be discarded because the user's will cannot be reflected.

  In the first embodiment, the concept of time-out is introduced, and the remote operation system that does not operate the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 5 when time-out occurs has been described. In this embodiment, setting of the time-out time will be described.

  Since the user cannot visually recognize the vehicle 5 when the user performs a remote operation, it is desired to immediately check whether or not the vehicle-mounted device has been controlled according to the operation. For this reason, it is preferable for the remote operation system to promptly notify the user when a timeout occurs. However, if the timeout time is set short, the remote operation that times out increases, which is not preferable. For this reason, it is preferable that the time-out time is set so that most remote operations do not time out and are determined to be timed out when there is a high possibility that it will take a long time to notify the user. .

  In this embodiment, statistics of the time until the vehicle 5 controls the in-vehicle device are taken, and the time that the remote operation does not time out with a predetermined probability and can be notified to the user immediately is set as the time-out time.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a processing time in each process from a remote operation request by the user until the user receives a completion notification. In FIG. 6, each processing time and transmission time from when the service center 2 receives the operation signal to when the vehicle-mounted device is controlled in the vehicle 5 and when the service center 2 receives the completion notification is shown.

Specifically, the total of the processing times and transmission times divided as follows is the waiting time until the completion notification is transmitted to the user. Hereinafter, the sum of a) to d) is referred to as user waiting time.
a) Processing time of the operation signal in the service center 2 Time t1 when the service center 2 receives the operation signal ~ Time t2 when the operation signal is transmitted to the vehicle 5
b) Request transmission time From time t2 when the operation signal is transmitted to the vehicle 5 to time t3 when the vehicle 5 receives the operation signal
c) Vehicle processing time From time t3 when the vehicle 5 receives the operation signal to time t4 when the vehicle 5 sends a completion notification.
d) Result notification time From time t4 when the vehicle 5 transmits a completion notification to time t5 when the service center 2 receives a completion notification.
The service center 2 statistically processes the user waiting time using the user waiting time of a predetermined number of remote operations as a sample parameter. If the parameter is sufficiently large, the user waiting time is normally distributed.

  FIG. 7 shows a normal distribution of user waiting time. Accordingly, in FIG. 7, the X axis represents the deviation from the average user waiting Ave, the Y axis represents the probability, and the area surrounded by the X axis and the normal distribution is 1.

  It is known that when the standard deviation is σ, the probability that the user waiting time enters ± 1σ from the average Ave is 68.26%. Similarly, it is known that the probability that the user waiting time enters ± 2σ from the average Ave is 95.44%, and the probability that the user waiting time enters ± 3σ is 99.73%.

  As described above, the time-out time is set as a time-out time in which the remote operation does not time-out with a predetermined probability and can be notified to the user immediately. For example, if a remote operation is surely performed even if the user waits for a while when a timeout occurs, the average Ave + 3σ is set as the timeout time. In this case, if the time from the time t1 at which the service center 2 receives the operation signal to the time t5 at which the service center 2 receives the operation completion signal exceeds the average Ave + 3σ, the service center 2 determines that a timeout has occurred. When the timeout time is set to average Ave + 3σ, 99.73% of remote operations are not determined to be timeout.

  For example, if the user is notified of the timeout immediately, the average Ave + 2σ is set as the timeout time. In this case, when the time from the time t1 at which the service center 2 receives the operation signal to the time t5 at which the service center 2 receives the operation completion signal exceeds the average Ave + 2σ, the service center 2 determines that a timeout has occurred. When the timeout time is set to average Ave + 2σ, 95.44% of the remote operations are not determined as timeout.

  In this way, by statistically processing the user waiting time, the timeout time can be set appropriately. In FIG. 7, the normal distribution is used. However, in this embodiment, it is only necessary to statistically process the user waiting time and set an appropriate timeout time, so the user waiting time may be set to other distributions (t distribution, chi-square distribution, F According to the distribution etc.), the timeout time is set according to these distributions.

By the way, since statistical processing is possible for each processing time and transmission time of a) to d), timeout may be determined for each processing time and transmission time of a) to d). When statistical processing is performed for each of a) to d), for example, a timeout can be determined every time t2 to t4 as follows.
Whether the center processing time is larger than “average of center processing time + 3σ” at time t2.
Whether the center processing time + request transmission time is larger than “average of center processing time + average of request transmission time + 3σ ′” at time t3. Note that 3σ ′ is 3σ with respect to the average of the total of the center processing time and the request transmission time.
Whether the center processing time + request transmission time + vehicle processing time is greater than “average of center processing time + average of request transmission time + average of vehicle processing time + 3σ ″” at time t4. Note that 3σ ″ is 3σ with respect to the average of the sum of the center processing time, the request transmission time, and the vehicle processing time.

  Thus, if a timeout is determined for each processing time and transmission time of a) to d) and the user is notified at the time of timeout, the user can be notified of the timeout immediately.

  FIG. 8 shows an activity diagram of the remote operation system that detects the timeout based on the set timeout time. In FIG. 8, the same steps as those in FIG. Further, a) to d) on the right side of the step indicate that they correspond to the processing times and transmission times of the above-described a) to d).

  The user accesses the service center 2 from the mobile terminal 4 and makes an authentication request to the service center 2 (S11). The service center 2 refers to the user information DB and authenticates the user based on the user ID and password transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 (S12). The operation screen generation unit 13 generates an operation screen (S13) and transmits the operation screen to the portable terminal 4 by the transmission / reception unit 11.

  When the driver selects a desired operation from the mobile terminal 4, the operation signal transmitted from the mobile terminal 4 is transmitted to the service center 2 via the mobile phone network or the network 1 (S14).

  When the transmission / reception means 11 receives the operation signal transmitted from the portable terminal 4, the transmission / reception means 11 records the received signal reception time (S15). Next, the service center 2 performs a process for transmitting an operation signal to the vehicle 5 (S16).

  The service center 2 determines the timeout based on whether the center processing time is longer than “average of center processing time + 3σ” (S41). If timeout has occurred, a timeout notification is sent to the user.

  If not timed out, the service center 2 transmits an operation signal to the vehicle 5. Upon receipt of the operation signal, the vehicle 5 determines a timeout based on whether or not the center processing time + requested transmission time is greater than “average of center processing time + average of requested transmission time + 3σ ′” (S42). If the timeout has occurred, a timeout notification is transmitted to the user via the service center 2.

  If not time-out, the controller 24 of the vehicle 5 controls the in-vehicle device 25 according to the operation signal (S18). Further, the controller 24 generates a completion notification indicating that the control of the in-vehicle device is completed, and transmits it to the service center 2 (S19).

  In parallel with the control of the in-vehicle device in the vehicle 5, the service center 2 determines a timeout (S43). That is, when a timeout time (average of center processing time + average of request transmission time + average of vehicle processing time + average of result notification time + 3σ) elapses from the signal reception time, it is determined that a timeout has occurred. Further, when a completion notification is received from the vehicle 5 before the timeout time elapses, the timeout is not determined because the timeout is not detected (S22). The service center 2 transmits a completion notification or a timeout notification to the user, and the process of FIG. 8 ends (S23).

  Although it is possible that there is a low probability that a completion notification is transmitted from the vehicle 5 after the time-out is determined in step S43, in this case, a completion notification in which the in-vehicle device is controlled is transmitted to the user after the timeout notification.

  As shown in FIG. 8, by setting the timeout time, it is possible to determine the timeout for each processing time and transmission time of a) to d), and to notify the user immediately in the case of timeout. Since the user can receive a timeout notification immediately after the user's operation, the user can quickly perform the next operation.

  According to the present embodiment, the time-out period can be set so that the remote operation does not time-out at a predetermined probability and can be notified to the user immediately. Further, it is possible to promptly notify the user of the timeout based on the set timeout time.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a remote operation system in which an operation signal transmitted from a mobile device carried by a user is transmitted by a service center to a vehicle and the vehicle 5 controls an in-vehicle device. It is a functional block diagram of a service center. It is a functional block diagram of the remote production apparatus which a vehicle has. It is an activity diagram which shows the process of the remote operation system which a vehicle discards an operation signal when operation by a user times out. It is an activity diagram which shows the process of the remote operation system which a service center discards an operation signal when operation by a user times out. It is a figure which shows the processing time in each process until a user receives a completion notification from the remote operation request | requirement by a user. It is a normal distribution of user waiting time. It is an activity figure of the remote operation system which detects timeout based on the set timeout time.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network 2 Service center 3 Base station 4 Portable terminal 5 Vehicle 11, 21 Transmission / reception means 14, 23 Discard means

Claims (12)

In a remote control device for controlling a vehicle based on an operation signal transmitted from a mobile terminal used by a user via a service center,
Time comparison means for comparing an operation time at which the user performs a remote operation with a reception time at which the vehicle receives the operation signal;
If the difference between the reception time and the operation time is a predetermined value or more as a result of the comparison by the time comparison means, a first discarding means for discarding the operation signal;
A remote control device characterized by comprising: The operation time is a signal reception time at which the service center receives the operation signal, or a signal transmission time at which the service center transmits the operation signal to the vehicle.
The remote control device according to claim 1. The first discarding unit notifies the user that the operation signal is discarded;
The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the remote control device is a remote control device. In a remote control device for controlling a vehicle based on an operation signal transmitted from a mobile terminal used by a user via a service center,
a) Center processing time of the operation signal in the service center,
b) Requested transmission time from the signal transmission time at which the service center transmits the operation signal to the vehicle until the vehicle receives the operation signal,
c) Vehicle processing time for the vehicle to process the operation signal;
d) a result notification time from the completion notification time at which the vehicle has notified that the control of the in-vehicle device has been completed until the service center receives the notification signal;
When the total time of any one or a combination of two or more is greater than a predetermined timeout time, the user's operation is timed out, and the user is notified.
A remote control device characterized by that. The timeout period is determined based on the statistics of a) to d) so that the user operation does not timeout with a predetermined probability.
The remote control device according to claim 4. The time-out time is within 3 times the standard deviation with respect to the total average time obtained by combining the respective average times or two or more based on the average times and standard deviations of a) to d) calculated by statistics. It is stipulated to enter,
The remote control device according to claim 5. In the service center that transmits the operation signal transmitted from the mobile terminal used by the user to the vehicle,
A second discarding unit for discarding the operation signal when the operation signal does not reach the vehicle;
A service center characterized by this. Having arrival receiving means for receiving a notification of arrival of the operation signal from the vehicle;
The second discarding means includes
If the arrival receiving means does not receive the arrival signal by repeating the transmission of the operation signal a predetermined number of times, discard the operation signal;
The service center according to claim 7. The second discarding unit notifies the user that the operation signal is discarded;
9. The service center according to claim 7 or 8, wherein In the service center that transmits the operation signal transmitted from the mobile terminal used by the user to the vehicle,
e) Center processing time of the operation signal at the service center,
f) Request transmission time from the signal transmission time when the service center transmits the operation signal to the vehicle until the vehicle receives the operation signal,
g) Vehicle processing time for the vehicle to process the operation signal;
h) a result notification time from the completion notification time at which the vehicle has notified that the control of the in-vehicle device has been completed until the service center receives the notification signal;
When the total time of any one or a combination of two or more is greater than a predetermined timeout time, the user's operation is timed out, and the user is notified.
A service center characterized by this. The timeout time is determined based on the statistics of e) to h) so that the user's operation does not time out with a predetermined probability.
The service center according to claim 10. The time-out time is within 3 times the standard deviation with respect to the total average time obtained by combining the respective average times or two or more based on the average times and standard deviations of e) to h) calculated by statistics. It is stipulated to enter,
The service center according to claim 11.

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