US-20260129492-A1 - CONTROL DEVICE, COMMUNICATION DEVICE, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, OPERATION METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM

US20260129492A1US 20260129492 A1US20260129492 A1US 20260129492A1US-20260129492-A1

Abstract

A control device mounted on a vehicle, the control device comprising: a communication unit configured to perform either first communication using a first communication scheme or second communication using a second communication scheme, the second communication scheme being different from the first communication scheme; a detection unit configured to detect a communication state of the first communication; an acquisition unit configured to acquire device information of a communication device present either in an inside of the vehicle or in surroundings of the vehicle; and a determination unit configured to determine whether to switch from the first communication to the second communication via the communication device, based on the device information, in a case where the detection unit detects that the first communication is in a first communication state while the first communication is being performed.

Inventors

Yoshihiko Nakagawa

Assignees

HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251010
Priority Date: 20241107

Claims (20)

1 . A control device mounted on a vehicle, the control device comprising: a communication unit configured to perform either first communication using a first communication scheme or second communication using a second communication scheme, the second communication scheme being different from the first communication scheme; a detection unit configured to detect a communication state of the first communication; an acquisition unit configured to acquire device information of a communication device present either in an inside of the vehicle or in surroundings of the vehicle; and a determination unit configured to determine whether to switch from the first communication to the second communication via the communication device, based on the device information, in a case where the detection unit detects that the first communication is in a first communication state while the first communication is being performed.
2 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the acquisition unit acquires the device information, in a case where the detection unit detects that the first communication is in the first communication state while the first communication is being performed.
3 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the device information includes information indicating a communication state of the communication device, and the determination unit determines switching from the first communication to the second communication, in a case where the communication device is in a second communication state.
4 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the device information includes information indicating a type of an access point with which the communication device is communicating in the first communication scheme, and the determination unit determines switching from the first communication to the second communication, in a case where the type is different from a type of an access point with which the control device is communicating in the first communication scheme.
5 . The control device according to claim 4 , further comprising: a position information acquisition unit configured to acquire position information of the vehicle; and a storage unit configured to store communication intensity of every access point in association with an area, as communication intensity information, wherein the determination unit determines switching from the first communication to the second communication, in a case where the type is different from the type of the access point with which the control device is communicating in the first communication scheme, and in a case where communication intensity of the access point, with which the communication device is communicating in the first communication scheme in an area where the vehicle is located, is equal to or higher than predetermined intensity.
6 . The control device according to claim 5 , further comprising an update unit configured to update the communication intensity information stored in the storage unit, based on a detection result of the detection unit.
7 . The control device according to claim 5 , further comprising: an intensity information acquisition unit configured to acquire the communication intensity information from a server apparatus that manages the communication intensity information; and an update unit configured to update the communication intensity information stored in the storage unit, based on an acquisition result of the intensity information acquisition unit.
8 . The control device according to claim 1 , further comprising a notification unit configured to give notification indicating switching from the first communication to the second communication, wherein the device information includes owner information of the communication device, and the notification unit gives the notification, in a case where an owner of the communication device is different from an owner of the vehicle.
9 . The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the notification unit gives the notification to the communication device.
10 . The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the vehicle includes a display unit, and the notification unit gives the notification using the display unit.
11 . The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the vehicle includes a plurality of display units each corresponding to a respective seat, and the notification unit gives the notification using a display unit corresponding to a seat on which an owner of the communication device is seated.
12 . The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the notification unit gives the notification by transmitting, to the communication device, notification information for inquiring about either permission or denial of performing the second communication using the second communication scheme, and the control device further comprising a switching control unit configured to switch from the first communication to the second communication, in a case of receiving information indicating the permission from the communication device.
13 . The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the device information includes communication cost information of the communication device, and the notification unit gives the notification, in a case of recognizing that an additional cost is incurred in performing the second communication, based on the communication cost information.
14 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein in a case where the acquisition unit acquires device information of a plurality of communication devices, the determination unit determines whether to switch from the first communication to the second communication via one of the plurality of communication devices, based on the device information of the plurality of communication devices.
15 . The control device according to claim 14 , wherein the device information includes owner information of the communication device, and the one of the plurality of communication devices is a communication device, an owner of which is identical to an owner of the vehicle.
16 . The control device according to claim 15 , wherein in a case of determining not to switch to the second communication via the communication device, the owner of which is identical to the owner of the vehicle, the determination unit determines whether to switch from the first communication to the second communication via a communication device, an owner of which is different from the owner of the vehicle.
17 . The control device according to claim 1 , further comprising a switching control unit configured to switch from the first communication to the second communication, in a case where the determination unit determines switching from the first communication to the second communication.
18 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the first communication scheme is a cellular communication scheme, and the second communication scheme is a tethering communication scheme.
19 . A communication device that communicates with a vehicle, the communication device comprising: a device information transmission unit configured to transmit device information of the communication device to the vehicle in response to a request transmitted from the vehicle, in a case where first communication using a first communication scheme used by the vehicle being in a predetermined communication state is detected in the vehicle; a reception unit configured to receive, from the vehicle, notification indicating switching from the first communication to second communication using a second communication scheme via the communication device, in a case where switching from the first communication to the second communication is determined in the vehicle, based on the device information; an acceptance unit configured to accept an input of information indicating either permission or denial of switching in response to the notification; and a permission or denial information transmission unit configured to transmit, to the vehicle, information indicating either the permission or the denial accepted by the acceptance unit.
20 . A communication system comprising: a vehicle; and a communication device that communicates with the vehicle, wherein the vehicle includes: a request unit configured to transmit a request for acquiring device information of the communication device, in a case where first communication using a first communication scheme used by the vehicle being in a predetermined communication state is detected; a determination unit configured to determine whether to switch from the first communication to second communication using a second communication scheme via the communication device, based on the device information; and a notification unit configured to give notification indicating switching from the first communication to the second communication, in a case where the determination unit determines switching, and the communication device includes: a device information transmission unit configured to transmit the device information to the vehicle in response to the request; an acceptance unit configured to accept an input of information indicating either permission or denial of switching in response to the notification; and a permission or denial information transmission unit configured to transmit, to the vehicle, information indicating either the permission or the denial accepted by the acceptance unit.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims priority to and the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-195259, filed Nov. 7, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control device, a communication device, a communication system, an operation method, and a storage medium. Description of the Related Art Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-132301 discloses determining a communication priority in accordance with communication used by a vehicle. However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-132301, mobile communication is enabled by a contract between a vehicle and a communication carrier. However, there are places with good communication quality and places with poor communication quality for every communication carrier. For this reason, there is a problem that the communication quality changes while the vehicle is traveling and the vehicle communication environment becomes unstable. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and provides a technique for achieving a good vehicle communication environment. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control device mounted on a vehicle, the control device comprising: a communication unit configured to perform either first communication using a first communication scheme or second communication using a second communication scheme, the second communication scheme being different from the first communication scheme; a detection unit configured to detect a communication state of the first communication; an acquisition unit configured to acquire device information of a communication device present either in an inside of the vehicle or in surroundings of the vehicle; and a determination unit configured to determine whether to switch from the first communication to the second communication via the communication device, based on the device information, in a case where the detection unit detects that the first communication is in a first communication state while the first communication is being performed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle and a control device according to one embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the control device according to one embodiment; FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by a control device according to a first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by a control device according to a second embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a communication device according to the second embodiment; FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the communication device according to the second embodiment; and FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing performed by the communication device according to the second embodiment. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note, the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, and limitation is not made to an invention that requires a combination of all features described in the embodiments. Two or more of the multiple features described in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar configurations, and redundant description thereof is omitted. First Embodiment In the present embodiment, description will be made with regard to an example in which in a communication system including a vehicle and a communication device (such as a smartphone) that communicates with the vehicle, in a case where a communication state of cellular communication degrades while cellular communication used by the vehicle is being performed, whether to switch from the cellular communication to tethering communication via the communication device is determined, based on device information of the communication device. Control Device and its Application Example FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control device CNT according to one embodiment of the present invention, and is also a schematic diagram of a vehicle V, which is an application example of the control device CNT. In FIG. 1, an outline of the vehicle V is illustrated in a plan view and a side view. The vehicle V according to the present embodiment is, for example, a sedan-type four-wheeled passenger vehicle, and may be, for example, a parallel hybrid vehicle. Note that the vehicle V is not limited to the four-wheeled passenger vehicle, and may be a straddle type vehicle (a motorcycle or a three-wheeled vehicle) or a large-sized vehicle such as a truck or a bus. The control device CNT