JP2003153341A - In-vehicle communication terminal, server, and method of registering in-vehicle communication terminal in server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out registration of a communication module of an in-vehicle communication terminal easily and surely to a provider and the like. SOLUTION: The in-vehicle communication terminal 10 includes a navigation unit 20, and a communication module 30 connected to the navigation unit for receiving and transmitting the information, so that the information to be sent out the vehicle is transmitted to a base station of a communication system and the information received from the base station is transmitted to the navigation unit. When the ignition is turned on, the navigation unit 20 reads out a telephone number as an ID number through the communication module 30 and stores it in an ID number management region 22, and transmits the ID number and a vehicle body number, stored previously in a vehicle number management region 23, to an outer server through a wireless unit 31. The server rewrites the user management data base by using the received identity code.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an in-vehicle communication terminal capable of acquiring various information from a service provider placed in a communication network by wireless communication with the outside of the vehicle, a server for managing information, and a server of the in-vehicle communication terminal. Regarding registration method to.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a navigation module is used as an information terminal device by connecting a communication module such as a car phone or a mobile phone to a vehicle-mounted device such as a navigation device to perform wireless communication with the outside of the vehicle. , There is a method in which an information request is sent to a provider as an external service provider, and various free or paid information is acquired from the provider via a wireless line based on the request. At this time, the information terminal device sends the request command with a telephone number for wireless communication as an identification code. On the other hand, on the provider side, the user management server refers to a database registered in advance in the server to identify the user who issued the request from the telephone number attached to the request command received from the terminal device and the registered vehicle number. Authentication is performed, and in the case of a pay service, the user is charged.

By the way, the on-vehicle device and the communication module are often provided by different companies such as a vehicle manufacturer and a communication carrier, and therefore, a vehicle identification code such as a chassis number or a registration number. And the identification code of the communication module, for example, a telephone number, are different from each other, and it is necessary to manage at least these identification codes as a set for user authentication. Then, for example, when the communication module is replaced due to a failure, it is necessary to register a new communication module with the provider. The registration of the identification code to the provider side may be a registration dedicated terminal or a registration procedure through the Internet, but the former is difficult to widely install the dedicated terminal in, for example, a vehicle service center, and the latter. Has a security problem regarding leakage of personal information.

In view of the above points, an object of the present invention is to enable simple and reliable new registration or update registration of an on-vehicle communication terminal device and / or its communication module with a provider or the like.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an information including a server provided in a communication network and having a database for managing at least identification information of a vehicle and an in-vehicle communication terminal mounted in the vehicle. An in-vehicle communication terminal that constitutes a communication system and transmits and receives information to and from the communication network by wireless communication, wherein the in-vehicle communication terminal includes a communication module and an information terminal device, and the communication module is , Has a unique identification code, and sends a received signal from the communication network to the information terminal device,
The transmission information acquired from the information terminal device is transmitted to the communication network, and the information terminal device has a storage unit that stores the identification code of the vehicle, and the identification code of the communication module is output from the communication module. It is characterized in that the read out identification code of the communication module and the stored identification code of the vehicle are paired and sent to the communication module as transmission information to the server.

According to the present invention, in an in-vehicle communication terminal comprising an in-vehicle information terminal device and a communication module corresponding to a communication interface between the information terminal device and the communication network outside the vehicle, the in-vehicle communication terminal device is a storage unit. Since the set of the identification code of the mounted vehicle stored in the vehicle and the identification code of the communication module read from the communication module is transmitted to the server that manages the identification code placed outside the vehicle, replacement due to a failure of the communication module is possible. Even if there is, the server can easily and surely register the communication module based on the vehicle identification code.

In this case, as in the invention described in claim 2, the storage section further stores the identification code of the communication module, and the information terminal device has the identification code of the read communication module. When it is different from the stored identification code of the communication module, the storage information of the identification code of the communication module of the storage unit is updated, and the contents of the database of the server are added to the transmission information to the server to be sent to the communication module. A database rewriting command for changing can be added.

On the other hand, as in the invention described in claim 4, the identification of the vehicle-mounted communication terminal, which is provided in the communication network and includes at least the vehicle identification code and the communication module and the information terminal device mounted on the vehicle A server for receiving and managing a code from the vehicle-mounted communication terminal via the communication network, having a storage unit for storing a database storing identification codes of each communication module and a vehicle, and the communication module A server that receives each identification code of the vehicle and the communication module and a database rewriting command from the in-vehicle communication terminal when the identification code of the above is changed, and rewrites the database with each received identification code based on the rewriting command. Can be

Further, as in the invention described in claim 5, it is mounted on a vehicle and comprises an information terminal device and a communication module, and communication between the information terminal device and the outside of the vehicle is performed via the communication module. A method of registering an in-vehicle communication terminal to a server that is outside a vehicle and performs user management of the in-vehicle communication terminal, wherein the information terminal device stores an identification code of the vehicle and an identification code of the communication module. While having a storage unit, the identification code of the communication module is read from the communication module at a predetermined timing, the read identification code is compared with the identification code of the communication module stored in the storage unit, and the comparison result is In the case of disagreement, the storage section is rewritten with the read identification code and the vehicle identification code stored in the storage section is rewritten. The identification code of the communication module is transmitted to the server via the communication module, and the server carries out user management of the in-vehicle communication terminal with the identification code of the communication module of the in-vehicle communication terminal and the in-vehicle communication terminal. Of the communication module corresponding to the received vehicle identification code in the database, while receiving the vehicle and communication module identification code transmitted from the vehicle-mounted communication terminal. The identification code can be changed and registered.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the information terminal device reads the identification code of the communication module when an ignition switch of the vehicle or a power switch of the information terminal device is turned on. Characterize.

According to the present invention, when the ignition switch of the vehicle or the power switch of the information terminal device is turned on, the identification code of the communication module is automatically read and the transmission information is transmitted to the server.
The registration process to the server can be reliably performed without bothering the user.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an in-vehicle communication terminal and a server of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an information communication system in which this embodiment is used. The in-vehicle communication terminal 10 mounted on the vehicle VL communicates with a base station BS of a mobile phone network forming a communication network. In addition, a server PSV that manages information related to users who receive the information service by a provider that performs the information service is connected to the communication network.
The information about the user managed by the server PSV includes a vehicle number that is an identification code of a vehicle used by the user, an account number of the user to be charged, and a personal identification number that the user inputs from the in-vehicle communication terminal 10 when using the information service. The user information consisting of, and the identification code of each of the navigation device 20 and the communication module 30 constituting the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 10 mounted on the vehicle are stored in the database DB, and are appropriately registered and changed.
In the following, the identification code of the communication module 30 will be the ID
The number and the identification code of the navigation device 10 are referred to as the information terminal number, respectively.

Therefore, when the user in the vehicle transmits a request for sending information from the in-vehicle communication terminal 10 to the provider, the transmission signal is sent to the server PSV via the base station BS and the communication network. Corresponding information is sent from the server PSV to the vehicle VL equipped with the in-vehicle communication terminal device 10 of the request source through a route reverse to the above.

FIG. 2 shows an in-vehicle communication terminal 10 of this embodiment.
3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of FIG. It should be noted that FIG. 2 shows only the portion related to the present invention and omits the other portions.

The on-vehicle communication terminal 10 displays a map information around the vehicle or a map information near a target point of the vehicle which changes as the vehicle travels, and a navigation device 20 which outputs various information in response to a user's operation input. , A communication module which is connected to the navigation device 20 to send and receive information, and which sends information to be sent out of the vehicle by the navigation device 20 to the base station BS and sends received information sent from the base station BS to the navigation device 20. It consists of 30 and.

The navigation device 20 includes an ID number management area 22 in which a telephone number as an ID number, which is an identification code of the communication module 30, and a vehicle number in which a chassis number as a vehicle number, which is an identification code of a vehicle, is stored. A memory 21 having a management area 23 and the like, and a terminal control unit 2 for performing registration processing such as management of ID numbers and vehicle numbers, creation of transmission information to a server PSV of a provider, and transmission.
4 and these functions are realized by a computer. Further, a manufacturing number of the navigation device 20 as an information terminal number which is an identification code of the navigation device 20 is written in a ROM (read only memory) not shown.

The communication module 30 causes the radio unit 31 to transmit and receive signals to and from the communication network outside the vehicle and the transmission information from the navigation unit 20 to be transmitted from the radio unit 31, and the reception signal received by the radio unit 31 to be sent to the navigation unit 20.
And a communication control unit 32 that sends the received information as reception information. Further, the communication control unit 32 has a ROM (not shown) in which a telephone number which is a unique identification code of the communication module 30 is written in advance.

The vehicle VL and the navigation device 20
The vehicle number, the information terminal number, and the ID number, which are identification codes of the communication module 30 and the communication module 30, may be anything as long as they are unique and can be distinguished from each other. That is, the vehicle number may be a registration number other than the chassis number. Also, the manufacturing number of the navigation device 20 is used as the information terminal number, and the telephone number (MDN: mobile directory number) of the communication module 30 is used as the ID number.
r), serial number of communication module 30 and ESN (elc
Various identification numbers used in mobile communication such as tronic serial number) can be used.

Next, the ID number management process of the vehicle-mounted information terminal 10 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

When the ignition switch of the vehicle VL is turned on in step 100 or the switch of the navigation device 20 which is an information terminal device is turned on, the ID number is read from the ROM of the communication module 30 in step 110. In step 120, the read ID number is stored in the ID number management area 22 of the memory 21.
It is determined whether or not it matches the D number, and if they match, this routine ends. When the communication module 30 is replaced with a new communication module due to a failure or the like, the two do not match and the process proceeds to step 130.

In step 130, the ID number management area 2
Data is updated by rewriting 2 to the ID number of the communication module 30 read in step 110.

Next, at step 140, the ID number stored in the ID number management area 22, the chassis number as the vehicle number stored in the vehicle number management area 23, and the ROM number (not shown) of the navigation apparatus 20 are written. The information terminal number, which is an identification code unique to the navigation device 20, is used as a data set, a database rewriting command is added to create transmission information, and this transmission information is sent to the server PSV.
To the communication control unit 32 of the communication module 30. The communication control unit 32 transmits the received transmission information to the base station BS via the wireless unit 31 to the server PSV. As a result, the ID number management process on the in-vehicle communication terminal 10 side ends.

On the other hand, on the server PSV side, as shown in the flow chart of FIG. 4, when the database rewriting command and the data set are received from the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 10 in step 200, the database is read according to the vehicle number in the data set in step 210. Search the DB. Next, in step 220, the information area of the searched vehicle number is rewritten with each information of the received data set. With the above, the registration process of the ID number, which is the identification code of the communication module 30 of the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 10, in the server PSV is completed.

Next, the registration processing of the identification code of the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 10 in the server PSV when the navigation apparatus 20 which is the information terminal apparatus of the vehicle-mounted communication terminal 10 is replaced with a new navigation apparatus due to a failure or the like. 5 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the navigation device 20 is replaced with a new navigation device 20, the navigation device 20 has a vehicle number management area 23.
Since no data is stored in, the user is requested to input the vehicle number in step 300. When the vehicle number is input, the vehicle number is stored in the vehicle number management area 23 in step 310. Next, in step 320, the ID number is read from the communication module 30, and the ID number read in step 330 is stored in the ID number management area 22. Then, in step 340, as in the case of step 140 above, the ID number, the vehicle number, and the information terminal number are used as a data set, a database rewriting command is added to create transmission information, and this transmission information is transmitted via the communication module 30. Send to server PSV.

The registration process in the server PSV is performed in the same manner as in steps 200 to 220 above.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the navigation device 20 as the information terminal device reads out the telephone number as the ID number which is the identification number of the communication module 30 which transmits and receives the signal to and from the outside of the vehicle, The ID number and the chassis number as the vehicle number, which is the vehicle identification number stored in advance, are used as a data set and a database rewriting command is added to the server PS via the communication module.
Since it is transmitted to V, the server PSV can rewrite the database for user management with the information of the data set based on the received database rewriting command,
The user registration process can be performed easily and reliably on the vehicle without providing a terminal dedicated to the user registration at a service center of the vehicle, for example.

Further, since the ID number of the communication module 30 is read when the ignition switch of the vehicle or the power switch of the navigation device 20 is turned on, the processing can be automatically started and the user's hand. Does not bother you. Therefore, even when the communication module 30 is replaced due to a failure or the like, the user registration to the server can be automatically and reliably changed.

Further, according to the present embodiment, when the navigation device 20 is replaced due to a failure or the like, it comprises at least the ID number of the communication module and the vehicle number required for user registration on the replaced navigation device. Since a data set can be acquired, a database rewriting command can be added to the data set, and the data can be transmitted to the server PSV via the communication module 30, it is not necessary to prepare a terminal dedicated for user registration, for example, at a service center of the vehicle. Thus, the user registration process can be performed easily and surely.

In the above embodiment, step 110 in FIG.
The ID number is read from the communication module 30 in the navigation device 20 when the ignition switch of the vehicle VL is turned on or as the information terminal device.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the process may be started from step 110 at predetermined intervals, for example, every hour during operation of the navigation device.

In the above embodiment, the wireless communication with the communication network of the communication module 30 is carried out by the base station BS of the mobile telephone network.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and even if it is road-to-vehicle communication in which a transceiver installed on the road is used as a base station to communicate by using light or radio waves, it is not limited to this. It may be inter-vehicle communication in which the machine functions as a relay station or a base station of a communication network to communicate with a preceding vehicle or an oncoming vehicle.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an information communication system in which an embodiment of the present invention is used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of I in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.
It is a figure which shows the flow of D number management processing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of registration processing of an in-vehicle communication terminal in the server according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of an identification code management process of the navigation device in the vehicle-mounted communication terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... In-vehicle communication terminal, 20 ... Navigation device as information terminal device, 21 ... Memory, 22 ... ID number management area, 23 ... Vehicle number management area, 30 ... Communication module, 31 ... Wireless section, 32 ... Communication control section , BS ... base station,
DB ... Database, PSV ... Server, VL ... Vehicle.

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Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An information communication system including a server provided in a communication network, the server having a database for managing identification information of at least a vehicle and an in-vehicle communication terminal mounted on the vehicle, the wireless communication being performed in response to the communication network. An in-vehicle communication terminal for transmitting and receiving information by means of the in-vehicle communication terminal, which comprises a communication module and an information terminal device, wherein the communication module has a unique identification code, and receives from the communication network. While sending a signal to the information terminal device, transmitting the transmission information acquired from the information terminal device to the communication network, the information terminal device has a storage unit for storing the identification code of the vehicle, The identification code of the communication module is read out from the communication module, and the identification code of the read communication module and the stored identification code of the vehicle are paired together. An in-vehicle communication terminal, which is sent as transmission information to the server to the communication module. 2. The storage unit further stores an identification code of the communication module, and the information terminal device, when the identification code of the read communication module is different from the identification code of the stored communication module. , Updating the storage information of the identification code of the communication module of the storage unit, and adding a database rewriting command for changing the contents of the database of the server to the transmission information to the server sent to the communication module. The in-vehicle communication terminal according to item 1. 3. The information terminal device reads the identification code of the communication module when an ignition switch of the vehicle or a power switch of the information terminal device is turned on. The in-vehicle communication terminal described in 2. 4. An in-vehicle communication terminal, which is provided in a communication network and has at least a vehicle identification code and an in-vehicle communication terminal including a communication module and an information terminal device mounted in the vehicle, is transmitted from the in-vehicle communication terminal via the communication network. A server that receives and manages, has a storage unit that stores a database that stores identification codes of each communication module and vehicle, and has the in-vehicle communication terminal when the identification code of the communication module is changed. A server which receives each identification code of the vehicle and the communication module and a database rewrite command, and rewrites the database with each received identification code based on the rewrite command. 5. An in-vehicle communication terminal which is mounted on a vehicle and which comprises an information terminal device and a communication module and communicates with the information terminal device and the outside of the vehicle via the communication module, the vehicle-mounted communication terminal being outside the vehicle and mounted on the vehicle. A method of registering a communication terminal to a server that performs user management, wherein the information terminal device has a storage unit that stores an identification code of the vehicle and an identification code of the communication module, and the communication module at a predetermined timing. The identification code of the communication module is read out, the read identification code is compared with the identification code of the communication module stored in the storage unit, and when the comparison result does not match, the read identification code is used. 100 million copies, the vehicle identification code stored in the storage section and the rewritten communication module identification code are stored in the communication module. To the server, and the server stores the user management of the in-vehicle communication terminal, the identification code of the communication module of the in-vehicle communication terminal, and the identification code of the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle communication terminal. The identification code of the vehicle and the communication module transmitted from the vehicle-mounted communication terminal is received by the database, and the identification code of the communication module corresponding to the identification code of the vehicle received in the database is changed and registered. A method of registering an in-vehicle communication terminal to a server, characterized by: