JP7750059B2 - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a vehicle control device.

For example, there is known technology that suggests to the user that a vehicle function be used when certain conditions related to the vehicle's state or the vehicle's surrounding environment are met to determine that using that function is desirable (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2016-16765 A

However, Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the appropriateness of the conditions for determining whether it is desirable to use a vehicle function. As a result, for example, even if a vehicle occupant is offered the use of a target function in response to the establishment of the conditions, if the conditions are not very appropriate, not only may the occupant not use the function, but the occupant may find the offer annoying. Furthermore, for example, under the assumption that the number of functions that can be offered at one time is limited, if the conditions are met for multiple functions, a function with relatively inappropriate conditions may be offered to the occupant.

In light of the above issues, the objective is to provide technology that can take into account the appropriateness of conditions related to the vehicle's state and the vehicle's surrounding environment when proposing the use of a vehicle's functions.

In order to achieve the above object, in one embodiment of the present disclosure,
a determination unit that determines whether to recommend use of a function of a vehicle to a passenger of the vehicle based on whether a first condition related to at least one of a state of the vehicle and an environment around the vehicle is satisfied, in which use of the function is recommended;
a suggestion unit that suggests use of the function to a passenger of the vehicle when a positive determination is made by the determination unit;
a storage unit that stores information regarding a relationship between whether or not the function has been used in the past in a vehicle other than the vehicle and whether or not the first condition is satisfied;
the first condition is predetermined,
when the first condition is satisfied, the determination unit determines whether to suggest to the occupant of the vehicle to use the function depending on whether a second condition regarding the information stored in the storage unit is satisfied ; and
a ratio of the function being used when the first condition is satisfied and a ratio of the function not being used when the first condition is not satisfied are defined as a first conformance rate and a second conformance rate for the vehicle and the other vehicle, respectively;
The second condition is that the number of the functions for which the first condition is satisfied at the same time is equal to or less than a first threshold value which is a positive value, or that the number of the functions for which the first condition is satisfied at the same time exceeds the first threshold value and, among the functions for which the first condition is satisfied at the same time, the sum of the first precision rate and the second precision rate of the target function is in the upper ranks defined by the first threshold value, or that the sum of the first precision rate and the second precision rate is equal to or greater than a second threshold value which is a positive value .
A vehicle control device is provided.

According to the above-described embodiment, when suggesting the use of vehicle functions in response to the establishment of conditions related to the vehicle's state or the vehicle's surrounding environment, it is possible to take into account the appropriateness of those conditions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a configuration of a function proposal system. 10 is a diagram showing the results of tabulating the usage status of the vehicle's functions and the status of fulfillment of the usage compatibility conditions. FIG.

The following describes the embodiment with reference to the drawings.

[Overview of the function suggestion system]
An overview of a function suggestion system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the function proposal system 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the function proposal system 1 includes multiple vehicles 10 and a server 20.

Note that multiple vehicles 10 have similar configurations with respect to the function suggestion system 1, so Figure 1 shows one vehicle 10 as a representative.

The function suggestion system 1 suggests to the user (passenger) of the vehicle 10 how to use various functions of the vehicle 10 depending on the state of the vehicle 10 and the environment around the vehicle 10, etc.

The functions of the vehicle 10 are functions that are activated in response to requests (predetermined inputs) from the user of the vehicle 10 (passengers, including the driver). The functions of the vehicle 10 include, for example, various driving modes. The various driving modes include, for example, sport mode, eco mode, and snow mode. The sport mode is a driving mode that relatively increases the dynamic performance of the vehicle 10, such as accelerator response and acceleration performance, brake response and braking performance, steering response and cornering performance, etc., to achieve sporty driving. The eco mode is a driving mode that reduces energy consumption by, for example, slowing down the response to accelerator operation, brake operation, steering, etc. The snow mode is a driving mode that suppresses brake lock and skidding of the vehicle 10 on snowy roads, for example. The functions of the vehicle 10 also include, for example, a brake hold function. The brake hold function allows the vehicle 10 to remain stopped without maintaining brake operation when the vehicle 10 is stopped. The functions of the vehicle 10 also include, for example, adaptive cruise control (ACC). ACC is a function that maintains a constant distance from a preceding vehicle ahead of the vehicle 10 and follows the preceding vehicle, regardless of accelerator operation by the driver. The functions of the vehicle 10 also include, for example, a lane departure prevention function. The lane departure prevention function includes, for example, a lane departure warning (LDW) that issues an alarm when the vehicle 10 deviates from its lane, and a lane keeping assist system (LKAS) that prevents the vehicle 10 from deviating from its lane and assists in keeping the vehicle in its lane.

Hereinafter, functions that can be suggested for use to occupants of the vehicle 10 by the function suggestion system 1 (the function suggestion device 14 described below) may be referred to as "functions that can be suggested for use," and functions that are actually suggested for use may be referred to as "functions that are the subject of a suggestion for use."

Vehicle 10 travels by driving its drive wheels with the power of a prime mover, such as an engine (internal combustion engine) or a motor (electric motor). Vehicle 10 may travel under the control of a user (passenger), or it may travel autonomously without user control.

In addition, the vehicle 10 uses a function suggestion device 14 (described below) to suggest to the user (passenger) the use of functions possessed by the vehicle 10 depending on the state of the vehicle 10 and the environment surrounding the vehicle 10. Specifically, for each function possessed by the vehicle 10, if conditions related to the state of the vehicle 10 and the environment surrounding the vehicle 10 (hereinafter referred to as "usage suitability conditions") that make use of the target function preferable (recommended) are met, the use of the function is suggested to the user.

For example, in the case of snow mode, the usage suitability condition is "snow falling or snow accumulation exceeding a predetermined standard within a predetermined range including the vehicle 10's driving location." Also, for example, in the case of sport mode, the usage suitability condition is "a steering angle exceeding a predetermined standard occurs a predetermined number of times or more within a predetermined period at a vehicle speed above a predetermined standard (e.g., 30 km/h)." Also, for example, in the case of the brake hold function, the usage suitability condition is "the number of times the vehicle 10 repeatedly starts and stops within a predetermined period of time exceeds a predetermined standard." Also, for example, in the case of ACC, the usage suitability condition is "the vehicle 10 is driving on a specific road section such as an expressway." Also, for example, in the case of a lane departure prevention function, the usage suitability condition is "the vehicle 10 deviates from its lane" or "the distance between the vehicle 10 and the white line dividing the lane falls below a predetermined standard."

Vehicle 10 is also communicatively connected to server 20 via a specified communication line, and transmits various information (data) related to vehicle 10 to server 20. For example, vehicle 10 transmits to server 20 information regarding the usage status (whether or not the functions of vehicle 10 are being used) and the fulfillment status of the usage compatibility conditions for the functions of vehicle 10.

The predetermined communication line includes, for example, a wide area network (WAN). The wide area network includes, for example, a mobile communication network terminated at a base station, a satellite communication network using a satellite, the Internet, etc. The predetermined communication line also includes, for example, a local area network (LAN). The predetermined communication line also includes, for example, a short-distance communication line based on a predetermined communication standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wi-Fi.

The server 20 is communicatively connected to the vehicle 10 and acquires (collects) various information related to the vehicle 10 from the vehicle 10.

The server 20 also provides (transmits) information about other vehicles 10 to the vehicle 10. The information about other vehicles 10 transmitted from the server 20 to the vehicle 10 may be the information acquired from the other vehicles 10 itself, or may be information acquired from the other vehicles 10 that has been processed or edited. For example, the server 20 transmits to the vehicle 10 information about the usage status of functions in multiple other vehicles 10 and the success or failure status of usage compatibility conditions.

[Configuration of the function proposal system]
Next, the configuration of the function proposal system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2 in addition to FIG.

Figure 2 shows the results of tallying the usage status of the vehicle's 10 functions and the status of whether the usage compatibility conditions are met.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 10 includes a sensor 11, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 12, a communication device 13, and a function suggestion device 14.

The sensor 11 acquires measurement information (measurement data) and detection information (detection data) related to the state of the vehicle 10 and the environment surrounding the vehicle 10. The measurement information and detection information acquired by the sensor 11 is input into the function proposal device 14 via an in-vehicle network such as a one-to-one communication line, a Controller Area Network (CAN), or an in-vehicle Ethernet (registered trademark).

The sensors 11 include, for example, various sensors (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle state sensors" for convenience) that acquire measurement information (measurement data) and detection information (detection data) related to the state of the vehicle 10. The various vehicle state sensors include, for example, a wheel speed sensor that measures the rotational speed of the wheels of the vehicle 10, an acceleration sensor that measures the acceleration of the vehicle 10, and a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) that measures the angular velocity of the vehicle 10. The various vehicle state sensors also include a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) sensor that measures the position of the vehicle 10.

The sensors 11 also include various sensors (hereinafter referred to as "surrounding environment sensors" for convenience) that acquire measurement information (measurement data) and detection information (detection data) related to the environment around the vehicle 10. The various surrounding environment sensors include, for example, an outside air temperature sensor that measures the temperature around the vehicle 10, a raindrop sensor that detects raindrops in the area where the vehicle 10 is located, and an illuminance sensor that measures the illuminance in the area where the vehicle 10 is located. The various surrounding environment sensors also include, for example, a camera (image sensor) that detects objects around the vehicle 10. The various surrounding environment sensors also include, for example, a distance sensor that measures the distance to objects around the vehicle 10, such as a LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) or millimeter-wave radar.

ECU 12 is a control device that controls the vehicle 10. One or more ECUs 12 are installed in the vehicle 10. Examples of ECUs 12 include an ECU that controls the engine or motor that serves as the prime mover of the vehicle 10, an ECU that controls the braking device of the vehicle 10, and an ECU that controls the steering device of the vehicle 10.

The ECU 12 acquires (generates) control information (control data) regarding the state of the vehicle 10, for example. The control information regarding the state of the vehicle 10 acquired (generated) by the ECU 12 is input into the function proposal device 14 via a one-to-one communication line, an in-vehicle network, etc.

The communication device 13 communicates with external devices such as the server 20 via a specified communication line. The communication device 13 is, for example, a DCM (Data Communication Module).

The communication device 13 also acquires external information (external data) related to the environment around the vehicle 10 via a specified communication line. This external information includes, for example, information about the weather around the vehicle 10 and information about traffic congestion on roads around the vehicle 10. The external information related to the environment around the vehicle 10 acquired by the communication device 13 is imported into the function proposal device 14.

The function suggestion device 14 (an example of a vehicle control device) suggests to the occupant the use of functions of the vehicle 10 based on information about the state of the vehicle 10 and information about the environment around the vehicle 10, which is acquired from the sensors 11, ECU 12, and communication device 13. The function suggestion device 14 is, for example, a navigation device installed in the vehicle 10, and suggests to the occupant the use of functions of the vehicle 10 visually or audibly through a display device installed in the device itself or a speaker installed in the passenger compartment of the vehicle 10.

The function suggestion device 14 includes, as functional units, an information acquisition unit 141, a determination unit 142, a memory unit 143, a usage suggestion unit 144, a status acquisition unit 145, a memory unit 146, and an information transmission unit 147.

The functions of the function suggestion device 14 may be realized by any hardware or any combination of hardware and software. For example, the function suggestion device 14 is primarily composed of a computer including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), memory device, auxiliary storage device, interface device, input device, and display device. The functions of the information acquisition unit 141, determination unit 142, usage suggestion unit 144, status acquisition unit 145, and information transmission unit 147 are realized, for example, by loading a program installed in the auxiliary storage device into the memory device and executing it on the CPU. The functions of the storage units 143 and 146 are realized, for example, by storage areas defined in the memory device or auxiliary storage device. The memory device is, for example, SRAM (Static Random Access Memory). The auxiliary storage device is, for example, EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) or flash memory. The interface device includes, for example, an external interface for connecting to a recording medium and a communication interface for communicating with other devices inside the vehicle 10. This allows the function proposal device 14 to, for example, load various programs from a recording medium via an external interface, or load various programs from other devices via a communication interface. Furthermore, the function proposal device 14 can communicate with the sensors 11, ECU 12, and communication device 13 inside the vehicle 10 via the communication interface. The display device is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic electroluminescence (EL) display. The input device includes, for example, an operation input device capable of mechanical operation, such as a button, toggle, lever, or touch panel. Furthermore, the input device includes, for example, a voice input device capable of voice input, a gesture input device capable of gesture input, or a biometric input device capable of biometric input using fingerprint authentication, iris authentication, or the like.

The information acquisition unit 141 acquires information about the state of the vehicle 10 and information about the environment around the vehicle 10, which is collected at predetermined intervals from the sensors 11, ECU 12, and communication device 13.

The determination unit 142 determines, for each function (function that can be suggested for use) possessed by the vehicle 10, whether or not to suggest use of that function to the occupants of the vehicle 10 at each predetermined processing cycle. The predetermined processing cycle may be the same as or different from the cycle at which information about the state of the vehicle 10 is acquired (received) from the sensor 11, ECU 12, and communication device 13.

Specifically, for each predetermined processing cycle, the determination unit 142 determines whether the usage suitability conditions are met for all functions that can be suggested for use, based on information about the state of the vehicle 10 and information about the environment around the vehicle 10 acquired by the information acquisition unit 141. The determination unit 142 then determines to make a suggestion for use of a function that is not currently active, satisfies the usage suitability conditions, and has a relatively high priority, where the number of functions that can be suggested for use is within a predetermined threshold Nth. On the other hand, the determination unit 142 determines not to make a suggestion for use of a function that is currently active, does not satisfy the usage suitability conditions, or satisfies the usage suitability conditions but has a relatively low priority, among all functions that can be suggested for use. The threshold Nth is the maximum number of functions that can be suggested for use at the same time, and is set to, for example, 1 or 2. This prevents a situation in which the occupants of the vehicle 10 feel annoyed by multiple functions being suggested for use at the same time.

For example, if, in a certain processing cycle, there is at least one function that is currently inactive and for which the suitability for use conditions are met, and the total number of functions for which the suitability for use conditions are met is equal to or less than threshold value Nth, the determination unit 142 determines that a proposal for use will be made for all functions for which the suitability for use conditions are met. On the other hand, if, in a certain processing cycle, the total number of functions that are currently inactive and for which the suitability for use conditions are met exceeds threshold value Nth, the determination unit 142 determines that a proposal for use will be made for only the same number of functions as threshold value Nth, in descending order of priority, among the functions for which the suitability for use conditions are met. In other words, the determination unit 142 determines that, in a certain processing cycle, a proposal for use will not be made for functions that are currently inactive and for which the suitability for use conditions are met, but whose priority is lower than threshold value Nth, in descending order, among the functions for which the suitability for use conditions are met.

The memory unit 143 stores priority information for each function that can be suggested for use, which is used by the determination unit 142. The priority information is distributed from the server 20 to the vehicle 10 and imported into the function suggestion device 14 via the communication device 13. The priority information is also updated with the latest priority information distributed from the server 20 to the vehicle 10. This allows the determination unit 142 to make appropriate decisions using the latest priority information.

The usage suggestion unit 144 (an example of a suggestion unit) suggests to the occupants of the vehicle 10, via a display device, speaker, etc., the use of functions possessed by the vehicle 10 that the determination unit 142 has determined should be suggested for use to the occupants of the vehicle 10.

The status acquisition unit 145 acquires information regarding the usage status (whether or not the function is being used) of the vehicle 10 and whether or not the usage suitability conditions are met at each predetermined processing cycle. Specifically, the status acquisition unit 145 acquires, for each function (function that can be suggested for use) of the vehicle 10, information regarding whether or not the function is being used and information regarding whether or not the function's usage suitability conditions are met. Information regarding whether or not the function is being used is acquired, for example, from the ECU 12 that controls the function via a one-to-one communication line or an in-vehicle network. Information regarding whether or not the function's usage suitability conditions are met is acquired from the determination unit 142.

In the memory unit 146, information regarding the usage status of the functions of the vehicle 10 and information regarding the fulfillment status of the usage suitability conditions, acquired by the status acquisition unit 145, are stored together as information regarding the usage status of the functions of the vehicle 10 and the fulfillment status of the usage suitability conditions. Specifically, the memory unit 146 stores record information in chronological order, including identification information for the target function, whether or not the function is being used, and whether or not the usage suitability conditions for the function are fulfilled. In addition, the memory unit 146 may be partitioned into memory areas for each function of the vehicle 10 (functions that can be suggested for use), and record information including whether or not the function is being used and whether or not the usage suitability conditions for the function are fulfilled may be stored in chronological order in the corresponding memory areas.

The information transmission unit 147 transmits information stored in the memory unit 146 regarding the usage status of the vehicle 10's functions and the satisfaction status of the usage suitability conditions to the server 20 via the communication device 13. The information transmission unit 147 may transmit the latest information to the server 20 each time the information is stored (recorded) in the memory unit 146, or may compile and transmit the latest information group to the server 20 when a certain amount of information has accumulated chronologically in the memory unit 146. For example, when the vehicle 10 is stopped (e.g., the ignition is off) or started (e.g., the ignition is on), the information transmission unit 147 compiles and transmits the latest information group for the most recent trip of the vehicle 10 (i.e., from when the vehicle 10 is started to when the vehicle 10 is stopped) to the server 20.

In addition, the information stored in the memory unit 146 may be erased at a predetermined time after being transmitted (uploaded) to the server 20 by the information transmission unit 147. This is because the memory resources of the vehicle 10 are very limited.

The server 20 includes, as functional units, a status acquisition unit 201, a memory unit 202, a priority calculation unit 203, and a priority transmission unit 204.

The functions of the server 20 may be realized by any hardware or a combination of any hardware and software. For example, the server 20 is primarily configured with a computer including a CPU, a memory device, an auxiliary storage device, an interface device, an input device, and a display device. The server 20 may also include a high-speed calculation device linked to the CPU. The functions of the status acquisition unit 201, the priority calculation unit 203, and the priority transmission unit 204 are realized, for example, by loading a program installed in the auxiliary storage device into the memory device and executing it on the CPU. The storage unit 202 is realized, for example, by a storage area defined in the memory device or the auxiliary storage device. The memory device may be, for example, an SRAM or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The auxiliary storage device may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory. The interface device may include, for example, an external interface for connecting to a recording medium and a communication interface for communicating with an external device of the server 20. As a result, the server 20 can, for example, import various programs from a recording medium via an external interface or download various programs from an external device via a communication interface. The server 20 can also communicate with the vehicle 10 and the terminal device 30 via the communication interface. The input device includes, for example, an operation input device capable of mechanical operation, such as a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel. The input device also includes, for example, a voice input device capable of voice input, a gesture input device capable of gesture input, or a biometric input device capable of biometric input using fingerprint authentication, iris authentication, or the like. The display device is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The high-speed computing device is, for example, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or the like.

The status acquisition unit 201 acquires information (record information) received from the vehicle 10 regarding the usage status of the vehicle's 10 functions (functions that can be suggested for use) and the success or failure status of the usage compatibility conditions.

The memory unit 202 stores, in chronological order, information (record information) relating to the usage status of the vehicle 10's functions (functions that can be suggested for use) and the status of whether the usage suitability conditions are met, acquired by the status acquisition unit 201. Similar to the memory unit 146 described above, the memory unit 202 may be divided into memory areas for each of the vehicle 10's functions, and record information including whether the function is being used and whether the function's usage suitability conditions are met may be stored in chronological order in the corresponding memory areas.

The priority calculation unit 203 calculates the priority of each function (function that can be suggested for use) possessed by the vehicle 10 based on information stored in the memory unit 202 about the usage status of the target function in multiple vehicles 10 and the success or failure status of the usage compatibility conditions. For example, the priority calculation unit 203 periodically (for example, every day or every few days) calculates the latest priority by batch processing, reflecting the latest information in the memory unit 202.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the priority calculation unit 203, based on information on multiple vehicles 10 stored in the memory unit 202, tallies, for each function of the vehicle 10, whether the target function was used during the most recent specified period, and the number of occurrences of combinations of whether the usage suitability conditions were met. Specifically, the number of times N11 the function was used when the usage suitability conditions were met and the number of times N21 it was not used, as well as the number of times N12 the function was used when the usage suitability conditions were not met and the number of times N22 it was not used, are tallied. The most recent specified period may be the entire period from when collection of information on the usage status of the vehicle 10 and the status of whether the usage suitability conditions were met began to the present, or it may be a fixed period dating back from the present. In the latter case, older information will not be reflected in the priority, so the most recent information can be reflected in the priority.

Next, the priority calculation unit 203 calculates, for each function of the vehicle 10 (functions that can be suggested for use), suitability rates R1 and R2, which indicate the suitability of the usage suitability conditions for the target function, based on the results of the previous aggregation. The priority calculation unit 203 can calculate the suitability rates R1 and R2 using the following equations (1) and (2).

The relevance rate R1 represents the proportion (ratio) at which the target function was used when the usage suitability conditions for the target function were met for multiple vehicles 10. The relevance rate R2 represents the proportion (ratio) at which the target function was not used when the usage suitability conditions for the target function were not met for multiple vehicles 10. As a result, the higher the relevance rates R1 and R2, the more appropriate the usage suitability conditions are, and the more useful the target function is to the user of the vehicle 10.

The priority calculation unit 203, for example, calculates the sum of the compatibility rates R1 and R2 for each function (function that can be suggested for use) possessed by the vehicle 10, and sets the priority (e.g., order of precedence) so that the priority increases from the function with the largest sum of the compatibility rates R1 and R2. As a result, when the number of currently inactive functions for which the usage compatibility conditions are met exceeds the threshold value Nth, the function suggestion device 14 (usage suggestion unit 144) of the vehicle 10 can preferentially suggest the use of functions whose usage compatibility conditions are more appropriate and which are more useful to the occupants of the vehicle 10.

For example, when the vehicle 10 is traveling on a winding road, the conditions for using both the sport mode and the lane departure prevention function may be met.

If we assume that the above threshold Nth is "1," and priority is given to suggesting the use of the function whose usage suitability conditions are met first, then, for example, it is possible that suggestions for using the lane departure prevention function will be made continuously from the start of a winding road. In this case, there is a possibility that the opportunity to suggest the use of sport mode, which has a relatively low frequency of meeting usage suitability conditions, will be missed.

In contrast, if the sport mode has a higher priority than the lane departure prevention function, the function suggestion device 14 can suggest the use of the sport mode in preference to the lane departure prevention function when the conditions for suitability for use of the sport mode are met while driving on a winding road. This allows the function suggestion device 14 to have the opportunity to suggest to the occupants of the vehicle 10 the use of a relatively useful function (sport mode) whose conditions for suitability for use are met relatively infrequently.

In addition, instead of using priorities, the function suggestion device 14 (determination unit 142) of the vehicle 10 may use the sum of the compatibility rates R1 and R2 as is to determine which functions to actually suggest for use from among the number of functions exceeding the threshold Nth for which the suitability conditions for use are met. The determination unit 142 may also determine whether to suggest the use of a target function based on an absolute evaluation of each function that can be suggested for use, using the compatibility rates R1 and R2. For example, for each function that can be suggested for use, the determination unit 142 may determine to suggest the use of the function if the function is not operating, the suitability conditions for use of the function are met, and the sum of the compatibility rates R1 and R2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; otherwise, it may determine not to suggest the use of the function.

The priority transmission unit 204 transmits priority information calculated by the priority calculation unit 203 to the vehicle 10. This allows the function proposal device 14 of the vehicle 10 to use the latest priority to more appropriately propose the use of functions possessed by the vehicle 10.

The priority may be calculated by the vehicle 10 (e.g., the function suggestion device 14). In this case, the server 20 may transmit information on the relevance rates R1 and R2 for each function (function that can be suggested for use) possessed by the vehicle 10 to the vehicle 10. In this case, the server 20 may also transmit raw information for calculating the relevance rates R1 and R2 to the vehicle 10.

[Effect]
Next, the functions of the function proposal system 1 (function proposal device 14) of this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, the function suggestion device 14 includes a determination unit 142 that determines whether or not to suggest use of a function possessed by the vehicle 10 to the occupants of the vehicle 10, based on whether conditions (usage suitability conditions) related to at least one of the state of the vehicle 10 and the environment surrounding the vehicle 10 are met, and whether or not use of the function is desirable (recommended); a usage suggestion unit 144 that suggests use of the function to the occupants of the vehicle 10 when a positive determination is made by the determination unit 142; and a storage unit 143 that stores information (priority information) related to the usage status of the function in other vehicles 10 and the status of fulfillment of the usage suitability conditions. The determination unit 142 then determines whether or not to suggest use of the function to the occupants of the vehicle 10, taking into account the information (priority information) stored in the storage unit 143.

This allows the function suggestion device 14 to determine the degree of suitability of the function's suitability conditions based on the relationship between the function's usage status in other vehicles 10 and the fulfillment status of the suitability conditions. Therefore, by taking into account information regarding the function's usage status in other vehicles 10 and the fulfillment status of the suitability conditions, the function suggestion device 14 can consider how appropriate the suitability conditions for use of the target function are and make more appropriate suggestions for using the target function.

Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present disclosure is not limited to such specific embodiments, and various modifications and improvements are possible within the scope of the gist described in the claims.

1 Function proposal system 10 Vehicle 11 Sensor 12 ECU
13 Communication device 14 Function proposal device (vehicle control device)
20 Server 30 Terminal device 136 Transmission unit 141 Information acquisition unit 142 Determination unit 143 Storage unit 144 Usage suggestion unit (suggestion unit)
145 Status acquisition unit 146 Storage unit 147 Information transmission unit 201 Status acquisition unit 202 Storage unit 203 Priority calculation unit 204 Priority transmission unit

Claims (1)

a determination unit that determines whether to recommend use of a function of a vehicle to a passenger of the vehicle based on whether a first condition related to at least one of a state of the vehicle and an environment around the vehicle is satisfied, in which use of the function is recommended;
a suggestion unit that suggests use of the function to a passenger of the vehicle when a positive determination is made by the determination unit;
a storage unit that stores information regarding a relationship between whether or not the function has been used in the past in a vehicle other than the vehicle and whether or not the first condition is satisfied;
the first condition is predetermined,
when the first condition is satisfied, the determination unit determines whether to suggest to the occupant of the vehicle to use the function depending on whether a second condition regarding the information stored in the storage unit is satisfied ; and
a ratio of the function being used when the first condition is satisfied and a ratio of the function not being used when the first condition is not satisfied are defined as a first conformance rate and a second conformance rate for the vehicle and the other vehicle, respectively;
The second condition is that the number of the functions for which the first condition is satisfied at the same time is equal to or less than a first threshold value which is a positive value, or that the number of the functions for which the first condition is satisfied at the same time exceeds the first threshold value and, among the functions for which the first condition is satisfied at the same time, the sum of the first precision rate and the second precision rate of the target function is in the upper ranks defined by the first threshold value, or that the sum of the first precision rate and the second precision rate is equal to or greater than a second threshold value which is a positive value .
Vehicle control device.