JP2015002458A - Hands-free system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hands-free system capable of predicting speech interruption through relatively simple control processing and reporting the speech interruption to a caller.SOLUTION: A prediction part 72 retrieves a specific area in which a speech by a hands-free speech execution part 71 becomes difficult, from map data and, when the specific area is retrieved, predicts whether a present vehicle reaches the specific area less than a first predetermined condition. When it is predicted that the present vehicle reaches the specific area less than the first predetermined condition, a speech interruption information report control part 73 causes speech interruption information report means to report speech interruption information indicating that speech interruption is predicted. Further, when it is predicted by the prediction part 72 that the present vehicle reaches the specific area less than the first predetermined condition, a prediction information transmission part 74 transmits the speech interruption information indicating that the speech interruption is predicted to a counterpart telephone set 4.

Description

  The present invention relates to a hands-free system that takes into consideration when a call is interrupted.

  Conventionally, some vehicles include an in-vehicle hands-free device that can make a hands-free call to a mobile phone brought into the vehicle. If the vehicle enters the tunnel while talking with another telephone in the hands-free state using this in-vehicle hands-free device, the radio wave does not reach and the call is interrupted. The interruption of the call is hereinafter referred to as call disconnection.

  As a technique for dealing with this, there is a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the technique of Patent Document 1, a communication level is sequentially registered for each area of map data, and a control unit configured by a CPU reads the communication level in advance for each predicted travel area of the host vehicle. And the communication level after every predetermined time is estimated for every predetermined time or every predetermined distance. When the change in the communication level is severe, the control unit frequently performs a communication level prediction process. The control unit performs a predetermined calculation based on the communication level and the position information, and predicts whether or not a call disconnection is likely to occur. When the call disconnection due to the deterioration of the communication status is predicted, information related to the call disconnection is notified to the own device side mobile phone and the other party's phone (other phone).

JP 2004-159276 A

However, in the technique of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the strength of the communication level must be investigated in advance for each region of the map data and stored in correspondence with each region, and it takes time to create the map data with the communication level. And the storage capacity of the map data storage device with the communication level is also increased. In addition, the control unit has a large amount of data for predicting the communication status, is complicated in calculation and control, and has a very large processing load. Therefore, a high-performance and expensive CPU is required as the control unit.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a hands-free system that can predict a call disconnection and notify a caller by a relatively simple control process.

  According to the hands-free system of claim 1, the predicting means searches the map data for a specific area related to the road where the call by the hands-free call execution means becomes difficult. Therefore, it is difficult to make a call only by searching a specific area related to the road originally possessed by the map data, such as a tunnel, from the map data. It is possible to easily search for a certain area, and as a result, it is possible to reduce the load of the prediction process of whether or not the host vehicle reaches the specific area under the first predetermined condition. As a result, it is possible to predict a call disconnection by a relatively simple control process and notify the caller.

  Then, the call disconnect information notification control means provides call disconnect information indicating that the call disconnection is predicted when the prediction means predicts that the host vehicle reaches the specific area under the first predetermined condition. Since the call disconnect information notification means can be notified, it is possible to recognize that the caller on the mobile phone side will soon be disconnected. Furthermore, when the prediction information transmission means predicts that the own vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition by the prediction means, the call disconnect information indicating that the call disconnection is predicted is sent to another telephone. Therefore, it is possible to notify the caller on the other telephone side of the call disconnection prediction result.

The block diagram of the function structure of the hands-free system in 1st Embodiment of this invention. Flow chart showing the control content of the control unit of the in-vehicle hands-free device Flow chart showing control contents of automatic call processing Flow chart showing control contents of control unit of other party telephone Figure showing a display example Schematic diagram of the road showing specific examples (part 1) Schematic diagram of the road showing specific examples (part 2) Schematic diagram of the road showing specific examples (part 3) Block diagram of the functional configuration of the hands-free system in the second embodiment (A) is a flowchart showing the control contents of the control unit of the in-vehicle hands-free device 2A, (b) is a flowchart showing the control contents of the control unit of the in-vehicle hands-free device 2B. (A) is a flowchart showing the control content of the automatic call processing in FIG. 10 (a), (b) is a flowchart showing the control content of the automatic call processing in FIG. 10 (b). Schematic diagram of the road showing specific examples (Part 4) The figure which shows the main control states of both vehicles in FIG. 12 in time series Schematic diagram of the road showing specific examples (Part 5) The figure which shows the main control states of both vehicles in FIG. 14 in time series

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the hands-free system 1. A hands-free system 1 includes an in-vehicle hands-free device 2 mounted on a vehicle, and a mobile phone 3 (including a smartphone) with a communication function such as Bluetooth (registered trademark, hereinafter referred to as BT), which is brought into the vehicle and appropriately arranged. And another telephone 4 (hereinafter referred to as a partner telephone 4). The in-vehicle hands-free device 2 and the mobile phone 3 can communicate with each other by, for example, a BT communication interface unit 5 as a communication means. The BT communication interface unit 5 corresponds to a hands-free protocol (HFP) for realizing a hands-free call defined by the BT communication standard. Thereby, the in-vehicle hands-free device 2 can cause the mobile phone 3 to perform a hands-free call. The partner telephone may be a telephone that does not have a hands-free function, or may be a telephone that has a hands-free function (a mobile phone 3B according to a second embodiment described later).

In the first embodiment, a telephone 4 that does not have a hands-free function (for example, a fixed telephone that normally does not disconnect a natural call from itself) is illustrated as an opposite telephone. Voice communication and data communication are possible between the in-vehicle hands-free device 2, the mobile phone 3, and the other party phone 4 via a telephone line.
The in-vehicle hands-free device 2 according to the first embodiment has a configuration that can be used even when the other party telephone is a mobile phone having a hands-free call function.
The in-vehicle hands-free device 2 includes the BT communication interface unit 5, the control unit 7, the display unit 8, the microphone 9, the speaker 10, the operation input unit 11, the map data storage unit 12, and the vehicle position detection. Unit 13, VICS (registered trademark) receiving unit 14, and memory 15.

  The control unit 7 is composed of a known microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O, etc., and has a software configuration, a hands-free call execution unit 71 as a hands-free call execution unit, and a prediction unit as a prediction unit. Prediction unit 72, call disconnection information notification control unit 73 as call disconnection information notification control unit, prediction information transmission unit 74 as prediction information transmission unit, automatic call processing unit 75 as automatic call processing unit, other device information notification It functions as an other device information notification control unit 76 as a control unit and a storage control unit 77 as a storage control unit.

  The display unit 8 corresponds to a call disconnection information notification unit and other device information notification unit, and is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device. The microphone 9 inputs the voice uttered by the occupant as the transmission voice. The speaker 10 corresponds to a call disconnection information notification unit and other device information notification unit, and outputs a voice received via the mobile phone 3 as a reception voice.

The operation input unit 11 includes mechanical switches arranged on the left and right and upper and lower sides of the display unit 8, touch switches displayed on the display unit 8, and the like, and receives operations of passengers (including a driver).
The map data storage unit 12 includes, for example, a DVD player, a hard disk, a CD player, and the like, and stores map data including road map information. Further, the map data stored in the map data storage unit 12 includes road facility related information such as tunnels, bridges, and roads (shades), various facilities, stores, and the like. In addition, you may make it acquire map data from facilities, such as an information center, by communication.
The own vehicle position detection unit 13 corresponds to own vehicle position detection means, and includes, for example, a GPS sensor, a G sensor, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, etc., and calculates the detection result of each sensor to calculate the current position of the vehicle. (Current position of the vehicle) is detected.

The VICS receiving unit 14 receives VICS information distributed from a VICS distribution center (not shown) that distributes VICS information (traffic information such as traffic jams and accidents).
The memory 15 corresponds to storage means, and is composed of, for example, a ROM or a RAM. The ROM stores a program for executing various processes described later, including a hands-free program. Further, the RAM of the memory 5 has an area for temporarily storing road map data and the like acquired from the work memory of the program and the map data storage unit 12.
The microphone 9, the speaker 10, the operation input unit 11, the map data storage unit 12, the vehicle position detection unit 13, and the VICS reception unit 14 are provided in a navigation device and are used for the in-vehicle hands-free device 2. .

  The other party telephone 4 includes, for example, a fixed telephone and a cellular phone, and a communication unit 41 that performs voice communication and data communication via the cellular phone network 6, a control unit 42 that controls the entire own phone, and a transmission voice are input. And a speaker 44 that outputs a received voice, for example, a display operation unit (HMI) 45 having a dial key, a display, and the like. The speaker 44 and the display operation unit 45 correspond to a partner information notification unit, and the control unit 42 also functions as a partner information notification control unit 421 serving as a partner information notification control unit with a software configuration.

When the hands-free call execution unit 71 acquires, for example, an operation signal instructing to make a call to (call out) the counterpart telephone 4 having a predetermined telephone number from the operation input unit 11, the hands-free call execution unit 71 sends a mobile phone to the BT communication interface unit 5. 3, the mobile phone 3 makes a call to the partner phone 4. When communication (voice communication and data communication) between the mobile phone 3 and the other party phone 4 is established, the voice of the occupant collected by the microphone 9 is output from the mobile phone 3, and based on the other party voice signal from the other party phone 4, The voice of the other party is output from the speaker 10. When there is an incoming call (incoming call) from the other party's telephone 4 to the mobile telephone 3, this incoming call signal is transmitted to the control unit 7 to notify the speaker 10 of a sound to notify the incoming call. When the occupant performs an appropriate operation and selects communication establishment, the microphone 9 and the speaker 10 start a voice call with each other.
The control unit 7 sets, for example, a tunnel as a road-related specific area where the call by the hands-free call execution unit 71 is difficult. In addition to this tunnel, a shade may be added as this specific area.

FIG. 2 shows the control contents of the control unit 7 of the mobile phone 3 at the time of route guidance to the destination by the navigation device and after the call with the counterpart telephone 4 is established (during a call).
In step P 10, user information (telephone number, type of fixed phone or mobile phone, etc.) on the partner telephone 4 side is acquired and stored in the memory 15. If the call disconnect information is included in the user information on the partner telephone 4 side, the call disconnect information is also stored. However, the partner telephone 4 of the first embodiment does not have a function of predicting a call disconnect.

  In the next step P12, it is determined whether or not call disconnect information is received as user information. In the first embodiment, the counterpart telephone 4 does not include an in-vehicle hands-free device including a predicting unit that predicts a call disconnection, and thus the process proceeds to Step P20 without executing Step P14. Step P14, which will be described in the second embodiment, is a step of displaying (notifying) that the other-side vehicle is approaching a specific area and that the call will be disconnected soon.

In step P20, the position of the host vehicle is acquired based on information from the host vehicle position detection unit 13.
In the next step P25, it is predicted whether or not the host vehicle will reach the specific area in less than the first predetermined condition, for example, less than 2 minutes (prediction unit 72). For example, the prediction method is as follows. That is, for example, when the route guidance to the destination is performed by the navigation device, the specified travel route (travel prediction range) to the destination of the host vehicle is searched to determine whether there is a specific area. If the area is searched, whether or not the vehicle reaches the specific area in less than the first predetermined condition (2 minutes) from the speed information of the own vehicle, the distance to the specific area, VICS information (congestion information), etc. It is to predict. This first predetermined condition may be set as a default or may be set as appropriate by the passenger.

Further, when route guidance is not performed by the navigation device, it is preferable to search whether there is a specific area in the predicted travel range of the host vehicle in the traveling direction.
In Step P30, whether or not the prediction result in Step P25 is a prediction result that the specific region is in the travel prediction range of the host vehicle and the host vehicle reaches the specific region in less than 2 minutes (2 minutes ahead) If there is a specific area where the own vehicle is predicted to be reached, it is determined. If "YES", the process proceeds to step P40, and the call prohibition flag for the other party telephone 4 is turned on. Turning on the call prohibition flag corresponds to call prohibition information (prohibition mode) for prohibiting a call, and turning off the call flag indicates callable information (possible mode) indicating that a call can be made. ).

In the next step P50, the call disconnection information indicating that the call disconnection is predicted and the call prohibition flag on are stored in the memory 15.
In the next step P60, the call disconnect information and the call prohibition flag on are transmitted to the partner telephone 4 (prediction information transmitting unit 74).
In the next step P70, the call disconnection information indicating that the call disconnection is predicted is displayed (notified) on the display unit 8 (call disconnection information notification control unit 73). The display contents are shown in FIG. In this case, the call disconnect information may be output (notified) to the speaker 10 by voice.

Thereafter, when the own vehicle enters the specific area, the communication between the mobile phone 3 and the other party's phone 4 is naturally cut off and the call is cut off. From the call disconnection to the next communication establishment, the display may be changed to the effect of “communication disconnection”.
In the next step P80, automatic call processing is executed (automatic call processing unit 75). The control content of this automatic call processing is shown in FIG.
In step Q10, the position of the host vehicle is acquired based on the information from the host vehicle position detection unit 13, and in step Q20, it is searched whether the host vehicle has passed a specific area.

  In step Q30, it is predicted whether or not there is a specific area (next specific area) to which the host vehicle arrives in less than the second predetermined condition, for example, less than 10 minutes (prediction unit 72). As in the above-described step P30, this prediction is performed by searching whether there is a specific area on the set travel route (travel prediction range) to the destination of the host vehicle. Whether or not the host vehicle reaches the specific area in less than the second predetermined condition (10 minutes) from the vehicle speed information, the distance to the specific area, VICS information (congestion information), etc. Whether or not there is a specific area to be predicted). The second predetermined condition is set to a time that is considered to have a slight margin from the average required time for one normal conversation. The second predetermined condition may be set as a default or may be set as appropriate by the passenger.

If it is determined in step Q30 that there is a specific area where the host vehicle can reach in less than 10 minutes (“YES” in step Q30), the process returns to step Q10, and the closed loop of steps Q10, Q20, and Q30 continues. Accordingly, the call prohibition is continued.
If it is determined in step Q30 that there is no specific area or it takes more than 10 minutes even if there is a specific area, it is determined that there is no specific area that the host vehicle can reach in less than 10 minutes. Then, the process proceeds to step Q40, and the call prohibition flag is turned off (a mode in which a call can be made).

In the next step Q50, the call prohibition flag OFF is stored in the memory 15. In the next step Q60, the calling prohibition flag OFF is transmitted to the other party telephone 4.
In the next step Q70, the call prohibition flag of the partner telephone 4 is confirmed. This confirmation is confirmed from the stored contents of the memory 15. Since the other party telephone 4 does not have a function for turning on / off the call prohibition flag, the call prohibition flag is assumed to be off as a default.

In step Q80, it is determined whether or not the call prohibition flag of the counterpart telephone 4 is not on and no call is being made. If “YES” in the step Q80, the process shifts to a step Q90 to execute a calling process. In this calling process, a signal having an instruction to call the telephone number of the other party's telephone 4 is transmitted to the mobile phone 3 via the BT communication interface unit 5, and the mobile phone 3 is called. .
In step Q100, it is determined whether or not a call has been established (the other party has responded to the incoming call). If the call is established, the call is started. If the call is not established, the process proceeds to step Q110 to wait for the incoming call. Then, the process returns to step Q90, and the calling process at step Q90 is repeated. Note that when a call is not established for a certain time, the calling process may be stopped.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when communication with the mobile phone 3 is established (call is started), the control unit 42 of the other party's phone 4 has user information (phone number or The type of landline or mobile phone, call disconnection information, etc.) is acquired and stored in a memory (not shown). In the next step R20, it is determined whether or not call disconnect information is transmitted from the mobile phone 3 that is the other party of the call. If “YES”, the process proceeds to step R30, and the call is soon displayed on the operation display unit 45. The fact that it is interrupted is notified (the other party information notification control unit 421). In this case, notification (notification) may be made by voice. Note that the call prohibition flag on information is transmitted from the mobile phone 3, but the call prohibition flag is effective in the hands-free call compatible telephone (second embodiment). The control unit 42 of the telephone 4 does not respond to the call prohibition flag.

  Thereafter, when the vehicle in which the mobile phone 3 is arranged (which is brought in and appropriately placed in the vehicle) enters a specific area, the communication between the own phone 4 and the mobile phone 3 is naturally cut off (call disconnection). Become). When an incoming call is received from the cellular phone 3 and a call is established (step R40), the process proceeds to step R10.

Here, the above-described control contents will be supplemented with specific examples. In FIG. 6, when the vehicle Z in the hands-free call state is traveling in the arrow Y direction, if the vehicle Z is in the tunnel Ua predicted to reach in less than 2 minutes (less than the first predetermined condition) Call disconnect information is displayed on the display unit 8. Then, when the vehicle Z passes through the tunnel Ua, it is determined whether or not there is a tunnel that is predicted to arrive in less than 10 minutes. If there is a tunnel Ub corresponding to this condition, the control unit 7 in the vehicle Z does not perform automatic call processing.
In addition, when the vehicle Z passes through this tunnel Ub and there is no tunnel predicted to arrive in less than 10 minutes ahead (if the destination tunnel Uc is predicted to reach in more than 10 minutes, or if the destination tunnel is If not, the control unit 7 performs automatic call processing.

  In FIG. 7, the example which has received the traffic information by VICS etc. is shown. In FIG. 7, if there is no traffic jam information in the traffic information, in this case, the call presence / absence situation is the same as in FIG. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that there is severe traffic jam information in the traffic information, and if the estimated travel time between the tunnels Ua and Ub is 10 minutes or more, automatic call processing is performed.

  In the first embodiment, the prediction unit 72 searches the map data for a specific area where it is difficult to make a call by the hands-free call execution unit 71, and when the specific area is searched, the vehicle is moved to the specific area. In order to predict whether or not the vehicle will arrive under the first predetermined condition, it is possible to easily search an area where a call is difficult by simply searching a specific area related to the road from the map data. It is possible to reduce the load of the prediction process of whether or not to reach under the predetermined condition. As a result, the call disconnection can be predicted and notified to the caller by a relatively simple control process.

  Then, the call disconnection information notification control unit 73 predicts that the call disconnection is predicted when the prediction unit 72 predicts that the own vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition. Since the information can be notified to the display unit 8 or the speaker 10 which is a call disconnect information notification means, the caller on the mobile phone 3 side can recognize that the call will be disconnected soon. Furthermore, when the prediction information transmitting unit 74 predicts that the own vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition by the prediction unit 72, call interruption information indicating that a call interruption is predicted. Since it is transmitted to the other party telephone 4 as another telephone, it is possible to notify the caller on the other party telephone 4 side of the call disconnection prediction result.

  In the first embodiment, when the other party telephone 4 is capable of receiving the call disconnect information and includes the operation display unit 45 as the other party information notification means, and when receiving the call disconnect information. A counterpart information notification control unit 421 is provided as a counterpart information notification control means for informing the operation display unit 45 of the call disconnect information. According to this, on the other party telephone 4 side, it is possible to notify the information that the call disconnection is predicted due to the situation on the mobile telephone 3 side.

  Furthermore, in the said 1st Embodiment, in the vehicle-mounted hands-free apparatus 2, after the own vehicle passes a specific area, the prediction part 72 is operated, The said prediction part 72 is the said own own vehicle being less than 2nd predetermined conditions. An automatic call processing unit 75 is provided that automatically performs call processing for the other telephone 4 when it is predicted that there is no next specific area to be reached.

  If an automatic call is made immediately after the host vehicle passes through a specific area, there is a problem that if the next specific area continues, the call is immediately interrupted. In this regard, according to the above configuration, after the own vehicle passes through the specific area, the automatic call is performed on the condition that there is no specific area where the call disconnection is predicted below the second predetermined condition. It is possible to prevent a situation where the call is interrupted immediately after the call is made.

In the first embodiment, since the time as the first predetermined condition for predicting a call disconnection is set to 2 minutes, a call to the user of the mobile phone 3 and the user of the other party of the call is predicted after the call disconnection is predicted. It is enough time to notify the disconnect information, and it is not too early to notify the disconnect information. However, this time may be appropriately changed by the user.
Further, in the first embodiment, after passing through a specific area, the time as the second predetermined condition until reaching the next specific area is set to 10 minutes. The 10 minutes is a little longer than the normal conversation time. Therefore, even if the call is resumed after passing through a specific area, the call is completed before reaching the next specific area if it is a normal conversation. It is possible.

Normally (when there is no traffic jam), even if there is a specific area that is reached below the first predetermined condition, there may be a case where the specific area reaches or exceeds the first predetermined condition if there is a traffic jam.
Therefore, according to the first embodiment, the prediction unit 72 predicts whether or not the own vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition (or less than the second predetermined condition) in consideration of the traffic jam information. Therefore, the prediction can be appropriately performed according to the degree and presence of the traffic jam. Note that the first predetermined condition and the second setting condition may each be a preset distance.

In addition, according to the first embodiment, since the specific area where the call disconnection is predicted is a tunnel, it is possible to easily search for an area where the call disconnection is surely performed.
(Second Embodiment)
9 to 15 show a second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the mobile phone 3 in the first embodiment is referred to as a first mobile phone 3A. The in-vehicle hands-free device that makes a hands-free call to the first mobile phone 3A is referred to as a second in-vehicle hands-free device 2A. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same part as 1st Embodiment.

  The other mobile phone that is the other party of the call of the first mobile phone 3A is the second mobile phone 3B that can make a hands-free call by the second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B having the same configuration as the first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A. Yes. In other words, in the second embodiment, each of the telephones is a mobile phone that supports hands-free calling, and an in-vehicle hands-free device is provided for each mobile phone.

  For convenience of description of specific examples to be described later, the control content of the control unit 7 in the first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A is shown in FIG. 10A, and the control content of the control unit 7 in the second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B is shown in FIG. This is shown in (b). These control contents are the same. FIG. 11A shows the control contents of step P80a in FIG. 10A, and FIG. 11B shows the control contents of step P80b in FIG. 10B. These control contents are the same. For convenience of explanation, the step symbol in FIGS. 10 (a) and 11 (a) is appended with the subscript “a”, and the step symbol in FIGS. 10 (b) and 11 (b) is appended. The letter “b” is attached.

  The control content of the control unit 7 in the in-vehicle hands-free device 2A (2B) differs from the first embodiment (FIGS. 2 and 3) in the following points. In step P10a and step P10b, the other party information is acquired and stored in the memory 15 (storage control unit 77). In this case, the other party information includes call disconnection information, call prohibition flag on depending on the other party situation. , Calling flag off is included.

In Step P12a and Step P12b, it is determined whether or not the call disconnection information has been received. If “YES”, the call on the other side is approaching the specific area on the display unit 8 in Step P14a and Step P14b. Is displayed (notified) (other device information notification control unit 76). In this case, the speaker 10 may output (notify) the same sound.
Here, the details of the control will be described in correspondence with specific call cases 1 and 2. In FIG. 12, it is assumed that a first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A and a mobile phone 3A are mounted on a vehicle Z1, and a second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B and a mobile phone 3B are mounted on a vehicle Z2. Both vehicles Z1 and Z2 have the same speed in FIG. FIG. 13 shows changes in the main operating state of both vehicles Z1, Z2.

(Call case 1)
Now, when both mobile phones 3A and 3B are in a hands-free call state, it is assumed that the vehicle Z1 reaches the tunnel Ua1 which is a specific area in less than the first predetermined condition (less than 2 minutes), and the tunnel Ua1 and the next It is assumed that the tunnel Ua2 is separated from the second predetermined condition (10 minutes) or more.
There is a tunnel Ub at the destination of the other vehicle Z2, and the entrance of this tunnel Ub is almost simultaneous with the tunnel Ua2 and the entrance in time series.
When the vehicle Z1 reaches a point ta where the vehicle Z1 is predicted to arrive in less than 2 minutes (less than the first predetermined condition), as shown in FIG. 13, the first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A performs step P30a in FIG. "YES" is determined, the call prohibition flag is turned on (step P40a), the call disconnection information and the call prohibition flag ON information are stored (step P50a), and the call disconnection information and the call prohibition flag ON information are stored in the second information. The data is transmitted to the mobile phone 3B (step P60a). Further, the call disconnection information is displayed on the display unit 8 of the first on-vehicle hands-free device 2A (step P70a).

In the second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B, the other party user information is acquired and stored in Step P10b of FIG. 10B, and the call disconnect information (the other party call disconnect information) is received as the other party user information in Step P12b. ("YES" is determined). Then, in step P14b, the other party call disconnect information is displayed on the display unit 8 of the second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B.
Thereafter, when the vehicle Z1 enters the tunnel Ua1, the call between the mobile phones 3A and 3B is naturally disconnected, and the first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A is placed in the call prohibition mode when the call prohibition flag is on. Become. The second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B remains disconnected.

  When the vehicle Z1 passes through the tunnel Ua1, the first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A determines “YES” at step Q20a in FIG. 11A (point tb), and is predicted to reach the destination in less than 10 minutes at step Q30a. A determination is made whether there is a tunnel to be performed. Assuming that the tunnel Ua2 is 10 minutes or more away in time, “NO” is set in this step Q30a, so that the call prohibition flag is turned off in step Q40a (the communication enable mode is set). Next, step Q50a and step Q60a are executed in order, and in step Q70a, the call prohibition flag of the second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B which is the counterpart telephone is confirmed.

In this case, if the call prohibition flag in the second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B is not turned on and if no call is made, “YES” is determined in step Q80a, and the first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A makes a call. Processing is executed (step Q90a). When communication is established (“YES” in step Q100a, points tc, tc ′), the call is resumed.
As described above, when any vehicle (in this case, the vehicle Z1) shifts to the prohibit mode, after returning to the enable mode, the status of the other party's call prohibit flag is checked, and if the other party is in the enable mode, Make a call and resume the call.

(Call case 2)
Thereafter, assuming that communication is established and the call is started, and it is predicted that the vehicle Z1 will first enter the tunnel Ua2 (point td) while the call is continuing, the call prohibition flag is turned on. Are stored, and the call disconnect information and the call prohibition flag ON are transmitted to the vehicle Z2 side. Next, when it is predicted that the vehicle Z2 will enter the tunnel Ub (point te), the call prohibition flag is turned on. At the same time, the call disconnection information and the call prohibition flag ON are transmitted to the vehicle Z1, but the vehicle Z1 has entered the tunnel Ua2 and is in a call disconnection state (communication disconnection). Can not.

  Thereafter, since the vehicle Z1 exits the tunnel Ua2 earlier in time, the first in-vehicle hands-free device 2A of the vehicle Z1 enters the possible mode first (the call prohibition flag is turned off first in step Q40a), When the call process (step Q90a) is repeated and the partner second in-vehicle hands-free device 2B enters the possible mode and the call is established, the call is started (point tf).

(Call case 3)
For example, FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 show a case where both vehicles Z1 and Z2 enter the prohibit mode immediately after the start of a call, cannot receive information from the other party, and exit the tunnel almost simultaneously. . Also in this case, as in the case of the call case 2, the person who enters the possible mode early (the person who early turns off the call prohibition flag in step Q40a or step Q40b) repeats the calling process, When the possible mode is entered, the call is established and the call is started.

In the second embodiment, when both the mobile phones 3A and 3B make a hands-free call by the in-vehicle hands-free devices 2A and 2B, the prediction information transmitting unit 74 of each in-vehicle hands-free device 2A and 2B includes the prediction unit 72. When the vehicle is predicted to reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition, the call disconnect information indicating that the call disconnect is predicted is transmitted to the mobile phone on the other side. Call disconnect information can be notified by 2A and 2B.
Each of the in-vehicle hands-free devices 2A and 2B further includes other device information as other device information notification control means for notifying the display unit 8 as other device information notification means of the call disconnect information transmitted from the counterpart mobile phone. Since the notification control unit 76 is provided, it can be notified that the call is cut off depending on the traveling state of the partner vehicle such that the partner vehicle will soon reach the specific area.

  Each of the in-vehicle hands-free devices 2A and 2B operates the prediction unit 72 after the own vehicle passes through the specific area, and the prediction unit 2 then reaches the destination vehicle below the second predetermined condition. The automatic call processing unit 75 that automatically performs call processing on the other party's mobile phone is provided on the condition that it is predicted that there is no specific area. According to this, after the own vehicle has passed the specific area, the automatic call is then made on the condition that there is no specific area where the call disconnection is predicted under the second predetermined condition. It is possible to prevent a situation where the call is interrupted immediately.

  Further, according to the second embodiment, the prediction information transmission unit 74 in each of the in-vehicle handsfree devices 2A and 2B is predicted by the prediction unit 72 that the host vehicle reaches the specific area under the first predetermined condition. Sometimes, call disconnect information and call prohibition flag on information, which is call prohibition information for prohibiting a call, are transmitted to the counterpart mobile phone, and each of the in-vehicle hands-free devices 2A, 2B further includes a memory 15 And a storage control unit 77 for storing the call prohibition flag on information of the counterpart mobile phone in the memory 15 when receiving the call prohibition flag on information from the counterpart mobile phone. Pass the specific area, and when the prediction unit 72 predicts that there is no next specific area that the host vehicle will reach under the second predetermined condition, the call prohibition is canceled (call prohibition flag is set). Automatically) with respect to the other party mobile phone, provided that the in-vehicle hands-free device is in the call prohibition release state and the call prohibition information of the other party mobile phone is not stored in the memory 15 Since the call processing is performed automatically, the in-vehicle hands-free device whose call prohibition has been canceled first becomes the side that calls the in-vehicle hands-free device whose call prohibition has been canceled later, The in-vehicle hands-free device for which calling prohibition is released later waits for an incoming call. As a result, when the call is automatically resumed, which in-vehicle hands-free device does not make an indefinite call, that is, the call is not established due to mutual calls.

  In the second embodiment, the user information on the other side is stored (steps P10a, P10b), and the information on the own vehicle side is stored (steps P50a, P50b, steps Q50a, Q50b), and the stored contents are referred to. However, for example, when the prohibit mode is canceled, the call processing may be uniquely repeated. In this case, if the other party is in the possible mode, the call is established. You can continue the conversation. In this way, for example, in a situation where both vehicles are in the prohibited mode, the person who has entered the possible mode first continues to make a call first, and the conversation can be resumed when the other party enters the possible mode.

  In addition, you may exclude the tunnel equipped with the communication antenna as a specific area. When both vehicles are provided with a navigation device, the display unit 8 may display the position of the opponent vehicle. The control functions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be preset in a mobile phone or a navigation device, or may be prepared as application software that can be added by installation or download. In each of the above embodiments, an example of a call using two telephones has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to a case where a telephone call is made using two or more telephones.

  In the drawings, 1 is a hands-free system, 2 is an in-vehicle hands-free device, 3, 3A and 3B are mobile phones, 4 is a partner phone (other phone), 5 is a BT communication interface unit (communication means), and 7 is a control unit. 71 is a hands-free call execution unit (hands-free call execution unit), 72 is a prediction unit (prediction unit), 73 is a call disconnection information notification control unit (call disconnection information notification control unit), and 74 is a prediction information transmission unit (prediction). (Information transmission means), 75 is an automatic call processing unit (automatic call processing unit), 76 is a partner information notification control unit (partner information notification control unit), 77 is a storage control unit (storage control unit), and 8 is a display unit. (Call disconnection information notifying means), 10 is a speaker (call disconnection information notifying means), 13 is a vehicle position detecting unit (own vehicle position detecting means), 15 is a memory (storage means), 421 is a partner side information notifying control unit. (Other party information notification control Stage), 45 denotes an operation display unit (mating information notification means).

Claims (13)

A mobile phone disposed inside a vehicle, and an in-vehicle hands-free device capable of making a hands-free call to the mobile phone, wherein the in-vehicle hands-free device is used to connect the mobile phone to another phone. A hands-free system that lets you talk in a state,
The in-vehicle hands-free device is
Communication means for communicating with the mobile phone;
Hands-free call execution means for performing a hands-free call using the mobile phone via the communication means;
Own vehicle position detecting means capable of detecting the position of the own vehicle;
When map data including a road-related specific area that makes it difficult to make a call by the hands-free call execution means is acquired, the specific area is searched from the map data and the position of the vehicle, and the specific area is searched. Predicting means for predicting whether or not the host vehicle reaches the specific area under a first predetermined condition;
Call disconnect information notification means;
When the prediction means predicts that the own vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition, the call disconnect information notifying means that the call disconnect information is notified that the call disconnect is predicted. Disconnect information notification control means,
Prediction information transmission for transmitting call disconnection information to the effect that a call disconnection is predicted when the prediction unit predicts that the own vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition. Hands-free system with means. The other telephone is capable of receiving the call disconnect information,
The other party information notification means,
The hands-free system according to claim 1, further comprising: a partner-side information notification control unit that causes the partner-side information notification unit to notify the partner-side information notification unit when the call disconnect information is received. The in-vehicle hands-free device further includes:
After the own vehicle passes through the specific area, the predicting means is operated, and when the predicting means predicts that there is no next specific area that the own vehicle will reach under the second predetermined condition, the other telephone set. The hands-free system according to claim 2, further comprising automatic call processing means for automatically performing call processing on the telephone. When the in-vehicle hands-free device is the first in-vehicle hands-free device and the mobile phone is the first mobile phone,
The other telephone is a second mobile phone capable of performing a hands-free call with a second in-vehicle hands-free device having the same configuration as the first in-vehicle hands-free device,
The prediction information transmitting means of each of the in-vehicle Humphrey devices is a call indicating that a call disconnection is predicted when the prediction means predicts that the host vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition. Connection information to the other party's mobile phone,
Each of the in-vehicle hands-free devices further includes
Other machine information notification means,
The hands-free system according to claim 1, further comprising other device information notification control means for causing the other device information notification means to notify the call disconnect information transmitted from the other party's mobile phone.   Each of the in-vehicle hands-free devices operates the prediction unit after the host vehicle passes through the specific area, and the prediction unit has no next specific area that the host vehicle reaches under the second predetermined condition. 5. A hands-free system according to claim 4, further comprising automatic call processing means for automatically performing call processing on the other party's mobile phone on the condition that the prediction is made. The predicted information transmitting means in each of the in-vehicle hands-free devices,
When the prediction means predicts that the own vehicle will reach the specific area under the first predetermined condition, the call disconnect information and the call prohibition information indicating that the call is prohibited are carried on the other party's side. To the phone,
Each of the in-vehicle hands-free devices further includes
Storage means;
Information storage control means for storing call prohibition information of the counterpart mobile phone in the storage means when receiving call prohibition information from the counterpart mobile phone;
The automatic call processing means prohibits the call when the own vehicle passes through the specific area and the prediction means predicts that there is no next specific area that the own vehicle will reach under the second predetermined condition. Is automatically released to the other party's mobile phone on condition that the in-vehicle hands-free device is in the call prohibition release state and the storage means does not store the call prohibition information of the other party's mobile phone. 6. The hands-free system according to claim 5, wherein the call processing is performed automatically.   The hands-free system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first predetermined condition is a preset time.   The hands-free system according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the second predetermined condition is a preset time. You can get traffic information,
The hands-free system according to claim 7, wherein the prediction unit predicts whether or not the host vehicle reaches the specific area under the first predetermined condition in consideration of the traffic jam information. You can get traffic information,
The hands-free system according to claim 8, wherein the prediction means predicts whether or not the host vehicle reaches the specific area under the second predetermined condition in consideration of the traffic jam information.   The hands-free system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the first predetermined condition is a preset distance.   The hands-free system according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the second predetermined condition is a preset distance. The hands-free system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the predetermined area is a tunnel.

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