IP Library Granted Patent US 7,657,373
Granted Patent B2
US 7,657,373 · App. 10/588,112 · Granted Feb 2, 2010

Vehicle-mounted information processing apparatus

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,657,373
App. No.
10/588,112
Granted
Feb 2, 2010
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present invention solves problems to provide an in-vehicle information processing device that is equipped in a vehicle to perform communications wirelessly and has a function as a communication terminal for transmitting and receiving information without an access point to form an ad-hoc wireless communication network, the device comprising: a road shape storage unit 19 operable to store road shape data of a road leading to a driver's destination; a propagation path derivation unit 21 operable to derive propagation path data from information received by a driver's vehicle, using position data of another vehicle from which the information is propagated; a determination unit 15 operable to determine whether or not the propagation path data matches the road shape data, and to generate match information in a case that the propagation path data matches the road shape data; and a notification unit 16 operable to notify the driver of the received information in a case that the match information is generated.

Claims (42)

1. An in-vehicle information processing device which is a communication terminal for communicating wirelessly via an ad-hoc wireless communication network by transmitting and receiving information without using an access point, said device comprising:

a road shape storage unit operable to store road shape data;

a propagation path derivation unit operable to derive propagation path data from information received by a driver's vehicle, using position data of another vehicle from which the information is propagated;

a determination unit operable to determine whether or not the propagation path data matches the road shape data, and to generate match information in a case that the propagation path data matches the road shape data; and

a notification unit operable to notify the driver of the received information in a case that the match information is generated.

2. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 ,

wherein said propagation path derivation unit is further operable to derive propagation direction data, and

said determination unit is further operable to determine whether or not the propagation direction data indicates that a direction of the propagation path is towards the driver's vehicle, and to generate the match information in a case that the propagation direction data indicates that the direction of the propagation path is towards the driver's vehicle.

3. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 2 , further comprising

an information destruction unit operable to destroy the received information in a case that the propagation direction data does not indicate that the direction of the propagation path is towards the driver's vehicle.

4. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 ,

wherein said determination unit is further operable to determine whether or not the propagation path data matches road shape data of a road ahead in a traveling direction of the driver's vehicle, and to generate the match information in a case that the propagation path data matches the road shape data.

5. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 ,

wherein said determination unit is further operable to determine whether or not the propagation path data matches road shape data of a road in a wheeling direction of the driver's vehicle, and to generate the match information in a case that the propagation path data matches the road shape data.

6. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 ,

wherein said road shape storage unit further includes route data indicating a shape of a route leading to the driver's destination, and

said determination unit is further operable to determine whether or not the propagation path data matches the route data, and to generate the match information in a case that the propagation path data matches the route data.

7. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 ,

wherein said propagation path derivation unit uses, as the propagation path data, data derived using travel route data indicating a travel route of the another vehicle included in the received information in a case that a number of the position data of the another vehicle included in the received information is less than a threshold value.

8. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a position data acquisition unit operable to acquire position data of the driver's vehicle;

an data adding unit operable to generate relay information by adding the position data of the driver's vehicle to the received information in a case that the information is received; and

a transmitting unit operable to transmit the relay information.

9. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 8 , further comprising

a travel route accumulation unit operable to accumulate a plurality of travel route data of the driver's vehicle which are acquired for a specific time period,

wherein said data adding unit is further operable to add the travel route data to the received information.

10. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 9 ,

wherein said data adding unit is further operable to add the travel route data to the received information in a case that a number of the relay in the received information is less than the threshold value.

11. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 8 , further comprising

a sensor operable to acquire vehicle data of the driver's vehicle,

wherein said data adding unit is further operable to add the vehicle data of the driver's vehicle acquired by said sensor to the received information.

12. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising

a road incident detection unit operable to detect a road incident using the vehicle data of the driver's vehicle acquired by said sensor,

wherein said transmitting unit is further operable to transmit information regarding the road incident in a case that the road incident is detected by said road incident detection unit.

13. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 12 ,

wherein said transmitting unit is further operable to transmit the travel route data including the plurality of position data of the driver's vehicle acquired for a specific time period.

14. The in-vehicle information processing to claim 1 , further comprising

an information destruction unit operable to destroy the received information in a case that the propagation path data does not match the road shape data.

15. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising

an information destruction unit operable to destroy the received information in a case that the propagation path data does not match the road shape data of the road ahead in the traveling direction of the driver's vehicle.

16. The in-vehicle information processing device according to claim 1 , further comprising

an information destruction unit operable to destroy the received information in a case that the propagation path data does not match the road shape data of the road in the wheeling direction of the driver's vehicle.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 10, 2014
From: PANASONIC CORPORATION (FORMERLY MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.)
To: GODO KAISHA IP BRIDGE 1
Reel/Frame 032209/0630 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Nov 14, 2008
From: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
To: PANASONIC CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 021835/0421 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 19, 2007
From: KINDO, TSUYOSHI
To: MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 019182/0237 →