Processing device, processing method, and processing program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11501640-B2
Application number	US-202016779698-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 3, 2020
Priority date	Feb 27, 2019
Publication date	Nov 15, 2022
Grant date	Nov 15, 2022

Abstract

Disclosed is a processing device that is mounted in a vehicle and is able to perform communication with a center server during a normal time. The processing device includes a controller configured to execute searching for one or a plurality of other vehicles with which a host vehicle is able to perform communication, in emergency where a situation of emergency occurs and communication with the center server is disrupted, inquiring the other vehicles searched by the search about whether or not to enable intervention control related to the situation, and deciding a center vehicle giving an instruction related to the intervention control from among the other vehicles replying to enable the intervention control and the host vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A processing device that is mounted in a vehicle and is able to perform communication with a center server during a normal time, the processing device comprising a controller configured to execute:
searching for one or a plurality of other vehicles with which a host vehicle is able to perform communication;
in emergency where a situation of emergency occurs and communication with the center server is disrupted, inquiring the other vehicles searched by the search about whether or not to enable intervention control related to the situation;
deciding a center vehicle giving an instruction related to the intervention control from among the other vehicles replying to enable the intervention control and the host vehicle; and
controlling the at least one of the other vehicles replying to enable the intervention control and the host vehicle to operate in an emergency mode based on the instruction.

2. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to search for the other vehicles connectable in a peer-to-peer manner through direct communication between the host vehicle and the other vehicles and direct communication between the other vehicles as the other communicable vehicles.

3. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to acquire resource information indicating at least one of mounted equipment, a load, a remaining amount of fuel, a remaining capacity of a battery, and a communication circumstance for each of the host vehicle and the other vehicles, and decide the center vehicle based on the resource information.

4. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case where the host vehicle is the center vehicle, the controller transmits an instruction for instructing to operate in the emergency mode and perform at least one of route guidance, traffic control, movement, transportation of goods, and supply of electric power to the other vehicles.

5. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to acquire circumstance information indicating surrounding circumstances from a sensor and determine the occurrence of the situation of emergency based on the circumstance information.

6. The processing device according to claim 1 , wherein, in a case where the host vehicle is decided as the center vehicle, and the host vehicle is able to perform communication with another center vehicle, a center vehicle giving an instruction related to the intervention control is decided from among the host vehicle, the other vehicles enabling intervention control from the host vehicle, the other center vehicle, and the other vehicles enabling intervention control from the other center vehicle.

7. A processing method where a in which a computer, which is mounted in a vehicle and is able to perform communication with a center server during a normal time, executes:
a step of searching for one or a plurality of other vehicles with which a host vehicle is able to perform communication;
a step of, in emergency where a situation of emergency occurs and communication with the center server is disrupted, inquiring the other vehicles searched by the search about whether or not to enable intervention control related to the situation;
a step of deciding a center vehicle giving an instruction related to the intervention control from among the other vehicles replying to enable the intervention control and the host vehicle; and
a step of controlling the at least one of the other vehicles replying to enable the intervention control and the host vehicle to operate in an emergency mode based on the instruction.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed by a computer that is mounted in a vehicle and is able to perform communication with a center server during a normal time, causes the computer to execute:
a step of searching for one or a plurality of other vehicles with which a host vehicle is able to perform communication;
a step of, in emergency where a situation of emergency occurs and communication with the center server is disrupted, inquiring the other vehicles searched by the search about whether or not to enable intervention control related to the situation;
a step of deciding a center vehicle giving an instruction related to the intervention control from among the other vehicles replying to enable the intervention control and the host vehicle; and
a step of controlling the at least one of the other vehicles replying to enable the intervention control and the host vehicle to operate in an emergency mode based on the instruction.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Murakami Kunihiro
• Sakakibara Katsuhiko
• Matsushita Makoto
• Sato Junya
• Yoshida Kiyonori
• Sugimura Tae
• Hayashi Takashi
• Endo Jun

Classifications

• H04W4/025

  using location based information parameters · CPC title

• H04W4/90

  Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS] · CPC title

• H04W4/021

  Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences · CPC title

• G08G1/0112

  from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD] · CPC title

• H04W4/46

  for vehicle-to-vehicle communication [V2V] · CPC title