JP4716896B2 - Communication area control device, communication area control method, in-vehicle device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication area controller or the like which can be practically used without increasing processing time regardless of an increase in traffic volume and does not direct beams to an undesired wave in performing multi-address type communication to vehicles from a roadside unit. <P>SOLUTION: A vehicle position acquiring part 34 makes an image processing processor 33, etc., detect the positions of a vehicle 20 and the like within a prescribed area 10 on the basis of a traffic situation within the prescribed area 10 collected by a visible camera 31 or the like. A communication area specifying part 35 specifies a communication area 1 or the like for communicating with the vehicle 20 or the like within the prescribed area 10 on the basis of the position of the vehicle 20 or the like. A beam pattern creating part 36 creates a beam pattern of an adaptive DBF (Digital Beam Forming) antenna 32 by a prescribed beam pattern creation method. A transmission processing part 37 performs transmission processing from the adaptive DBF antenna 32 on the basis of the created beam pattern. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication area control device and the like for controlling a communication area in road-to-vehicle communication, and more particularly to a communication area control device and the like for performing communication with a vehicle side using an adaptive digital beam forming antenna.

  In recent years, information providing services for safety applications have been promoted in road-to-vehicle communication. In this safety use information provision service, it is possible to reliably and quickly provide safety use information to a vehicle (mobile station) that enters a desired area from an installed roadside device (base station). is necessary. For this reason, it is ideal that the radio wave emitted from the roadside device reaches only within the desired area.

  In road-to-vehicle communication, when a non-directional antenna such as a dipole antenna is used for a base station, a non-directional (circular) radiation pattern is obtained. That is, since the omnidirectional antenna has a weak beam pattern and a wide beam pattern, it is difficult to concentrate radio waves in a desired area, and multipath fading generated by a building or the like cannot be avoided. There was a problem. In addition, there is a problem of emitting radio waves to unnecessary areas.

  On the other hand, in road-to-vehicle communication, when a directional antenna such as an aperture antenna or a goat (Yagi) antenna is used as a base station, a radiation pattern with a sharp directivity is obtained. That is, since the directional antenna has a sharp directivity, radio waves can be concentrated to some extent in a desired area. However, since the beam pattern of the directional antenna is fixed, the radio wave environment on the road surface where the directional surface hits is good, but there is a problem that unevenness occurs in the radio wave environment around the directional surface. . Furthermore, since antenna design and arrangement in consideration of the shape of a desired area are required, there is a problem that versatility is low.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the development of a technique for forming a wireless zone that covers a desired area by using an adaptive array antenna technique using a plurality of array antennas has been in progress (see Non-Patent Document 1). ). An adaptive array antenna is an array antenna in which antennas of a plurality of elements are arranged so that the amplitude and phase of excitation of each element can be controlled independently and combined. One of the functions of the adaptive array antenna is adaptive beam forming, which automatically follows the array beam even when the direction of arrival of the received wave is unknown or changes over time. Thus, the antenna directing surface can be directed toward a desired communication partner or communication area. Another function is adaptive null steering, which automatically directs the insensitive surface (null point) of the directivity pattern to an unnecessary area (interference wave direction). When an adaptive array antenna is used as an antenna for a base station, multipath fading can be avoided during reception, radio waves can be radiated strongly to a desired area without radiating to an unnecessary area during transmission, etc. It is a highly versatile technology.

  In the above-mentioned adaptive beam forming, the amplitude and phase of each element are adjusted with respect to a digital signal (baseband signal) obtained by performing A / D conversion on the input analog signal without adjusting the amplitude and phase of each element. The function of superimposing a digital value (weight) corresponding to the adjustment amount is called adaptive digital beam forming (adaptive DBF). In other words, the adaptive DBF is a function that can perform beam control at high speed by digital arithmetic processing, and an antenna that realizes the function is called an adaptive DBF antenna. Adaptive DBF uses high-speed characteristics based on the characteristics of radio waves transmitted by the mobile body (for example, the pilot signal and envelope of the transmitted packet) even when the communication partner is a high-speed mobile body such as a vehicle as in road-to-vehicle communication. Can be performed. Therefore, it is possible to create a tracking beam that controls the beam following the movement of the moving body. Actually, it is used in an airplane tracking system of a ground station for air traffic control in air communication. Further, the adaptive DBF forms a beam pattern that can direct the beam uniformly in a desired direction or area, and also directs the insensitive surface of the beam to an unnecessary area, in addition to tracking the moving body. be able to. For this reason, it is possible to create a uniform wireless zone (footprint) with respect to the ground. Accordingly, since communication is possible only within a desired area, the frequency can be effectively used by spatially dividing the radio area. Actually, it is used for a satellite antenna of a broadcasting satellite and a base station antenna of a PHS.

  Non-Patent Document 2 describes an example of a tracking beam by adaptive DBF. Non-Patent Document 2 proposes a band division and synthesis type CMA (Constant Modulus Algorithm) adaptive array as a countermeasure against multi-wave fading when a roadside device communicates with each vehicle in a high-speed mobile communication environment on land. The principle of operation of the adaptive array (arrival wave estimation algorithm) is roughly divided into a priori knowledge and an evaluation function regarding a desired signal, and the CMA (constant envelope algorithm) is a minimum 2 for constant envelope signals. It is said to be a modification of the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE). In the CMA adaptive array, the roadside machine performs a weight calculation so as to match the characteristics of a known incoming wave. CMA is an algorithm that utilizes the fact that the envelope of a signal to be communicated is constant in time series. For example, a frequency-modulated and phase-modulated signal has a constant temporal envelope. When these modulated waves are combined, their envelopes generally fluctuate, but if the receiver side knows the envelope power of the desired signal, beam control is performed using the steepest descent method so that it approaches that value. It is possible. The advantage of CMA is that a reference signal such as MMSE is not required if the condition that the desired signal has the constant envelope characteristic as described above is satisfied. However, there is a disadvantage that the certainty of the optimum weight is small, and when an unnecessary signal is also a constant envelope, there is no guarantee that a desired signal can be extracted.

  Patent Document 1 describes an example related to a footprint by adaptive DBF. Patent Document 1 assumes a base station antenna device such as a mobile phone. In the antenna directivity of a radio base station, the horizontal direction is an adaptive array using DBF, and the vertical direction is a cosecant to prevent multipath fading due to buildings or the like. As an antenna radiation characteristic having a square characteristic, a uniform footprint with respect to the ground is formed. By applying the above technique to a base station (roadside machine) in road-to-vehicle communication, it is possible to avoid a multipath fading caused by a building or the like and to always form a footprint that covers a desired area. For this reason, it is considered to be effective for broadcast-type communication.

Published by Nobuo Nakajima, “New Generation Wireless Technology”, Maruzen Co., Ltd., March 25, 2004. Zhang Yongmin, Katsutomo Tsuji, Yoshio Karasawa, “Characteristics of Bandwidth / Combined CMA Adaptive Array in Multiwave Environment”, IEICE Transactions B, IEICE, January 1999, No. J82-B, No. 1, pp. 97-108. JP 11-298225 A

  As described above, the band division / synthesis type CMA adaptive array proposed in Non-Patent Document 2 is effective in the case of one-to-one communication in which the roadside device communicates with each vehicle. However, in the case of broadcast communication from a roadside machine to a vehicle, it is necessary to obtain arrival information (information from the vehicle to the roadside machine) from all vehicles under the control of the roadside machine. Even if the arrival information is obtained from each vehicle in advance, it is necessary to comprehensively perform optimum beam control for each vehicle. Therefore, the processing amount increases as the traffic volume increases and the processing time is enormous. Therefore, there was a problem that it was impractical. As described above, since CMA uses an envelope, there is a disadvantage that the certainty of the optimum weight is small, and there is a problem that a beam may be directed to an unnecessary wave by mistake in estimation.

  As described above, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is considered to be effective for broadcast communication. However, since the road surface has various shapes, a desired area (service provision area) in road-to-vehicle communication is not wide and fixed like a cell phone cell. The service providing area is determined by vehicle speed, traffic volume, delay in communication processing, the type and amount of information to be communicated, and the like, and changes in a complicated manner. Therefore, when the technology for forming a footprint that constantly covers a desired area described in Patent Document 1 is applied to a service providing area in road-to-vehicle communication, the traffic volume is low at night or on holidays. On the other hand, there is a problem of causing unnecessary transmission power consumption, and there is a problem that the roadside device itself and other communications are adversely affected by the reflection of the road surface of the radio wave.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is made to solve the above-described problem, and when performing broadcast communication from a roadside machine to a vehicle, the processing time does not become enormous even if the traffic volume increases. It is an object of the present invention to provide a communication area control device or the like that can be used in an automatic manner and does not direct a beam to an unnecessary wave.

  The second object of the present invention is to suppress transmission power consumption to the minimum necessary according to traffic conditions while providing a stable radio wave environment, even in the case of a service providing area that changes complicatedly in road-to-vehicle communication. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication area control device or the like that does not adversely affect roadside equipment itself and other communications due to reflection of radio waves on the road surface.

A communication area control device according to the present invention is a communication area control device for controlling a communication area in road-to-vehicle communication, and the communication area control device is provided on a roadside machine side and is connected to a vehicle side and an adaptive digital beam forming device. Communication area , and the communication area constitutes a footprint according to the traffic volume in the travel lane, in a predetermined area subject to road-to-vehicle communication in the travel lane and a vehicle position acquisition means for acquiring a position of the vehicle by a predetermined acquisition method, wherein based on the position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquiring unit, a vehicle communication area to identify the communication area for communicating identified within a predetermined area And an adaptive digital beam according to the communication area specified by the communication area specifying means. Beam pattern creating means for creating a beam pattern of a forming antenna by a predetermined beam pattern creating method, and transmission processing means for performing transmission processing based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creating means It is characterized by that.

  Here, in the communication area control apparatus according to the present invention, the communication area control device further includes a transmission permission / inhibition determination unit that determines whether transmission processing is possible, and the transmission processing unit is determined to be capable of transmission processing by the transmission permission / inhibition determination unit. The transmission processing can be performed based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation means.

  Here, the communication area control device according to the present invention further comprises transmission timing determining means for determining a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication, and the vehicle position acquisition means is configured to perform predetermined broadcasting by the transmission timing determining means. When it is determined that it is time to transmit the type communication, the position of the vehicle in a predetermined area can be acquired by a predetermined acquisition method.

  Here, in the communication area control device of the present invention, transmission request determination means for determining whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from a vehicle side under the control of a roadside machine managed in advance by a roadside machine. Further, the beam pattern creation means is not a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing judgment means in addition to the creation of a beam pattern corresponding to the communication area specified by the communication area specification means And when the transmission request determination means determines that there is a transmission request by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine, an adaptive digital beam forming antenna is based on the transmission request. These beam patterns can be created by a predetermined beam pattern creation method.

  Here, in the communication area control device of the present invention, when it is determined by the transmission request determination means that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine, the transmission request Further comprising a plurality of transmission request determining means for determining whether the number of signals is plural, or the vehicle position acquisition means is a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing determining means. In addition to the determination, the transmission timing determination means determines that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication, and the transmission request determination means determines a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine. And when the plurality of transmission request determining means determines that there are a plurality of transmission requests. The position of the vehicle in a given area can be obtained by a predetermined acquisition method.

  Here, in the communication area control apparatus according to the present invention, the predetermined beam pattern generation method is a beam pattern in which a beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of sub-areas that are a part of the predetermined area is recorded. A beam pattern can be created by selecting from the table.

  Here, in the communication area control device according to the present invention, the predetermined acquisition method is based on the road situation in the predetermined area collected by the situation collection unit, and the position of the vehicle in the predetermined area is determined by the vehicle position detection unit. It can be made to detect by.

  Here, in the communication area control device of the present invention, the situation collection unit is a camera having sensitivity in a visible region and / or an infrared region, and the vehicle position detection unit is in the communication area control device or the communication area. It may be an image processor connected to the control device.

  Here, in the communication area control device according to the present invention, the situation collection unit is a millimeter wave sensor, and the vehicle position detection unit is a processing processor in the communication area control device or connected to the communication area control device. Can be.

  Here, in the communication area control device according to the present invention, in the road-to-vehicle communication, the roadside device side transmits predetermined control information, and the vehicle side that has received the predetermined control information transmits a registration request including the predetermined vehicle information. The vehicle position acquisition means acquires the position of the vehicle based on the communication method, and the communication area specifying means uses the vehicle position acquisition means. Based on the acquired position of the vehicle and the predetermined vehicle information, the communication area of the vehicle when providing the predetermined information can be specified.

The communication area control method of the present invention is a communication area control method for controlling a communication area in road-to-vehicle communication, wherein a communication area control device provided on the roadside machine side is connected to the vehicle side and adaptive digital beam forming. The communication is performed using an antenna, and the communication area constitutes a footprint corresponding to the traffic volume in the travel lane, and the communication area control device is a target of road-to-vehicle communication in the travel lane. a vehicle position acquiring step of acquiring the position of the vehicle by a predetermined acquisition method in a predetermined area comprising, based on the position of the vehicle said acquired by the vehicle position acquisition step, the communication area for communicating with the vehicle in a predetermined area According to the communication area specifying step to be specified and the communication area specified by the communication area specifying step A beam pattern creation step for creating a beam pattern of an adaptive digital beam forming antenna by a predetermined beam pattern creation method, and transmission processing based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation step And a transmission processing step for performing.

  Here, in the communication area control method according to the present invention, prior to the transmission processing step, the communication area control method further includes a transmission permission / inhibition determining step for determining whether or not transmission processing is possible, and the transmission processing step can perform the transmission processing by the transmission permission / inhibition determining step. If it is determined that the transmission pattern is determined, transmission processing can be performed based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation step.

  Here, in the communication area control method of the present invention, prior to the vehicle position acquisition step, the communication area control method further includes a transmission timing determination step for determining a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication. When it is determined by the timing determination step that it is a timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast communication, the position of the vehicle in a predetermined area can be acquired by a predetermined acquisition method.

  Here, in the communication area control method of the present invention, when it is determined in the transmission timing determination step that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication, from the vehicle side under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine A transmission request determination step for determining whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period of unicast communication, wherein the beam pattern creation step includes a beam and a beam corresponding to the communication area specified by the communication area specification step. In addition to creating a pattern, the transmission timing determining step determines that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication, and the transmission request determining step has a transmission request by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine. If it is determined, the adaptive digital video is transmitted based on the transmission request. The beam pattern of the beam-for Min ring antenna can be produced by a given beam pattern creation method.

  Here, in the communication area control method of the present invention, when it is determined in the transmission request determination step that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine, A plurality of transmission request determination steps for determining whether the number is plural or single, and the vehicle position acquisition step is determined to be a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing determination step. In addition to the case where it is determined that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing determination step, and within the predetermined period by the unicast type communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine by the transmission request determination step It is determined that there is a transmission request in the multiple transmission request determination step, and the plurality of transmission request determination steps includes a plurality of transmission requests. If it is determined that that the position of the vehicle in a given area can be obtained by a predetermined acquisition method.

  Here, in the communication area control method according to the present invention, the predetermined beam pattern creation method includes a beam pattern in which a beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of sub-areas that are a part of the predetermined area is recorded. A beam pattern can be created by selecting from the table.

  Here, in the communication area control method of the present invention, the predetermined acquisition method is based on the road situation in the predetermined area collected by the situation collecting unit, and the vehicle position detecting unit calculates the position of the vehicle in the predetermined area. It can be made to detect by.

  Here, in the communication area control method of the present invention, the situation collection unit is a camera having sensitivity in a visible region and / or an infrared region, and the vehicle position detection unit is in the communication area control device or the communication area control device. It may be an image processor connected to.

  Here, in the communication area control method of the present invention, the situation collection unit is a millimeter wave sensor, and the vehicle position detection unit is a processing processor in the communication area control device or connected to the communication area control device. Can be.

  Here, in the communication area control method according to the present invention, in the road-to-vehicle communication, the roadside device side transmits predetermined control information, and the vehicle side that has received the predetermined control information transmits a registration request including the predetermined vehicle information. The vehicle position acquisition step acquires the vehicle position based on the communication method, and the communication area specifying step includes the vehicle position acquisition step. Based on the acquired position of the vehicle and the predetermined vehicle information, the communication area of the vehicle when providing the predetermined information can be specified.

  The in-vehicle device of the present invention is an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle side that performs road-to-vehicle communication with a communication area control device, wherein the predetermined control information includes a provision time of the predetermined information, If the predetermined information is not received at the time, the registration request is transmitted again.

  According to the communication area control device and the like of the present invention, the vehicle position acquisition unit can acquire the position of the vehicle in a predetermined area by a predetermined acquisition method. As a predetermined acquisition method, a vehicle position detection unit such as an image processing processor is used to determine the position of a vehicle in a predetermined area based on road conditions (traffic conditions) in the predetermined area collected by a status collection unit such as a visible camera. The acquisition method to detect by is mentioned. The communication area specifying unit specifies a communication area or the like that communicates with the vehicle within a predetermined area based on the position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit. That is, the communication area specifying unit can specify a communication area where vehicles and the like are densely present. The beam pattern creation unit creates a beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna by a predetermined beam pattern creation method according to the communication area specified by the communication area specification unit. As a predetermined beam pattern creation method, a beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of sub-areas that are a part of a predetermined area is recorded in advance in a beam pattern table in the recording apparatus. A creation method for creating a beam pattern can be used by selecting a desired beam pattern suitable for the distribution of vehicles in a predetermined area in a certain time zone from the beam pattern table. The transmission processing unit performs transmission processing from the adaptive DBF antenna based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit. The communication area control device having the above-described configurations does not perform beam control tailored to each vehicle as in the case of performing one-to-one communication with a vehicle in the prior art. The communication area control device creates a beam pattern that matches the distribution of vehicles, so even if the traffic volume increases, the processing time does not become enormous and can be used practically. Can be eliminated. The communication area control device does not always form a footprint that covers a desired area in a fixed manner as in the prior art. The communication area controller creates a beam pattern that matches the distribution of vehicles, so that it can respond to traffic conditions while providing a stable radio wave environment, even in the case of service provision areas that change complicatedly in road-to-vehicle communication. Thus, the transmission power consumption can be suppressed to the minimum necessary, and the adverse effect on the roadside device itself and other communications due to the reflection of the radio wave on the road surface can be eliminated.

  Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a road-to-vehicle communication environment 1 using a communication area control device 30 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numerals 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 are vehicles having on-board units, 15 is a traveling lane, 14 is an opposite traveling lane that faces the traveling lane 15, and 10 is an area that is subject to road-to-vehicle communication ( (Predetermined area), 11, 12 and 13 are each a communication area for communicating with the vehicle 20 or the like set in the predetermined area 10, and 30 is a communication area 11 or the like when performing road-to-vehicle communication with the vehicle 20 or the like side. A communication area control device 32 for controlling the vehicle is an adaptive DBF antenna for communicating with the vehicle 20 and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication area control device 30 is expressed including the functional blocks of the device, the recording device 38, and the like. Although the communication area control device 30 is provided on the roadside machine (not shown) side, the description thereof is omitted because it has a normal function and the like related to the roadside machine. In the following description, the communication area control device 30 and the roadside machine are used in the same manner unless otherwise particularly required to be distinguished.

  Next, functions and the like of the communication area control device 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 as appropriate. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication area control device 30 includes a vehicle position acquisition unit (vehicle position acquisition means) 34 that acquires the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in a predetermined area 10 by a predetermined acquisition method. The function of the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 is preferably executed when it is time to perform broadcast type communication for the purpose of providing information for safety use from the roadside machine side to the vehicle 20 side or the like. As the predetermined acquisition method, as shown in FIG. 1, the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 based on the road conditions (traffic conditions) in the predetermined area 10 collected by the situation collecting unit 31. Can be obtained by the vehicle position detection unit 33. The situation collecting unit 31 is preferably a visible camera having a sensitivity wavelength range in the visible range or an infrared camera having a sensitivity wavelength range in the infrared range. Both a visible camera and an infrared camera may be provided, a visible camera may be used during the day, and an infrared camera may be used at night. A visible camera can also be used in an environment where the night illumination is high brightness even at night. A camera having a visible region and an infrared region may be used. As the vehicle position detection unit 33, an image processor (not shown) provided in the communication area control device 30 or an image processor (not shown) connected to the communication area control device 30 is suitable.

  When the situation collection unit 31 used by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 is a visible camera and the vehicle position detection unit 33 is an image processor, the position of the vehicle 20 or the like can be acquired by the following methods. The difference between the background image of the road or the like in the predetermined area 10 imaged by the visible camera 31 and the image of the vehicle 20 is compared by the image processor 33, so that the vehicle 20 or the like traveling in the predetermined area 10 It is possible to extract obstacles and the like (background difference method). Alternatively, by comparing the images at different times taken at desired time intervals with the image processor 33, the vehicle 20 and / or obstacles traveling in the predetermined area 10 can be extracted (time). Differential method). Based on the extraction by the image processor 33, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 can acquire information such as the position and speed of the vehicle 20 and / or obstacles, and detects an event such as a stopped vehicle or the end of a traffic jam. It is also possible. In FIG. 1, the predetermined area 10 is shown as a straight line. However, in the case of extremely severe road linear conditions such as having a sharp curve, it is visible that shadowing (hiding) of a small vehicle by a large vehicle frequently occurs. Even in the case of the installation conditions of the camera 31, information such as the position and speed of the vehicle 20 and / or obstacles can be acquired.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a road image including a predetermined area 10 imaged using the visible camera 31. In FIG. 2, the portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 25a, (the vehicle on the way is omitted), 25b, 25c, etc. travel on the lane side in the lane 15 and the vehicles 26a, 26b (on the way) 26c, 26d, etc. are traveling. The predetermined area 10 is set to a range including the vehicle 25a at the head and the vehicle 25b on the traveling lane side, and the vehicle 26b at the head and the vehicle 26c on the passing lane side. However, it can of course be set wider or narrower.

  FIG. 3 shows an image for explaining the acquisition of the position of the vehicle 25 a and the like by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34. In FIG. 3, the parts denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 16 denotes a grid used for extracting the vehicle 25 a and the like by the background difference method or the time difference method executed by the image processor 33. In the image shown in FIG. 3, it is assumed that the distance between each lattice point of the lattice 16 and the adaptive DBF antenna 32 and the direction (direction vector) from the lattice point match the actual value. The image processor 33 extracts the presence of the vehicle 25a and the like in the shaded portions 17a and 17b in the grid 16 by the above method. Since the direction vector from each grid point of the grid 16 matches the actual value, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 determines the vehicle 25a and the like based on each grid point in the shaded portions 17a and 17b in the grid 16. Information such as position can be acquired.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the communication area control device 30 specifies the communication area 11 or the like that communicates with the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 based on the position of the vehicle 20 or the like acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34. Unit (communication area specifying means) 35 is provided. FIG. 4 shows an image for explaining the function of the communication area specifying unit 35. In FIG. 4, the portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 and 3 indicate the same elements, and thus the description thereof is omitted. Based on the position of the vehicles 25a, 26b, etc. in the shaded portion 17a acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34, the communication area specifying unit 35 communicates with the vehicles 25a, 26b, etc. as the communication area 12. Can be identified. Similarly, the communication area specifying unit 35 is based on the position of the vehicles 25b, 26c, etc. in the shaded portion 17b acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34. 13 can be specified. That is, the communication area specifying unit 35 can specify the communication area 12 or the like where the vehicles 25a and the like are densely present.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the communication area control device 30 creates a beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 by a predetermined beam pattern creation method in accordance with the communication area 12 or the like specified by the communication area specifying unit 35. A pattern creating unit (beam pattern creating means) 36 is provided. FIG. 5 shows an image for explaining the function of the beam pattern creation unit 36. In FIG. 5, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. Since the reference numerals of the vehicles are complicated in the drawing, they are omitted except for the vehicle 25a. The beam pattern creation unit 36 creates a beam pattern to be created according to the communication areas 12 and 13 that are specified by the communication area specification unit 35 as vehicles 25a and the like being densely present. 12 is determined to match the rear part of the communication area 13 and the communication area 13 (the communication area 18 of the back 2/3 of the predetermined area 10), and a beam pattern in which the boresight (boresight) faces in the center of the communication area 18 is determined. create.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the communication area control device 30 includes a transmission processing unit (transmission processing unit) 37 that performs transmission processing from the adaptive DBF antenna 32 based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit 36. ing. For example, the transmission processing unit 37 performs transmission processing from the adaptive DBF antenna 32 based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit 36 and facing the boresight in the center of the above-mentioned 2/3 communication area. .

  In the above description, the situation collection unit 31 used by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 has been described as a visible camera, but the situation collection unit 31 may be an infrared camera. When the situation collection unit 31 used by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 is an infrared camera and the vehicle position detection unit 33 is an image processor, for example, a road in a predetermined area 10 by far infrared rays detected by the infrared camera 31 The image processor 33 processes a pair of a surface and a characteristic point (a high temperature point and a low temperature part such as a muffler and a tire) of the vehicle 20 and the like, and / or an obstacle traveling in the predetermined area 10 Etc. can be extracted. By using the infrared camera 31, the image processor 33 can extract the vehicle 20 and / or obstacles traveling in the predetermined area 10 even in a bad visibility environment such as fog or at night without lighting. Can do. Based on the extraction by the image processor 33, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 can acquire information such as the position and speed of the vehicle 20 and / or obstacles, and detects an event such as a stopped vehicle or the end of a traffic jam. It is also possible.

  The situation collection unit 31 used by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 may be a millimeter wave sensor and the vehicle position detection unit 33 may be a processing processor. The millimeter wave sensor 31 transmits a 76-77 GHz millimeter wave to a predetermined area 10, and the reflected wave is processed by the processing processor 33, thereby extracting a delay time and a Doppler shift of the reflected wave. Based on the extraction by the image processor 33, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 can acquire the position of the vehicle 20 or the like from the delay time of the reflected wave, and can acquire the speed of the vehicle 20 or the like from the Doppler shift of the reflected wave. Since the millimeter wave sensor 31 is an active sensor, it is easy to separate shadowing from an image camera such as a visible camera or an infrared camera. By using the millimeter wave sensor 31, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 can acquire information such as the position and speed of the vehicle 20 and / or obstacles even in a strong cold area such as a heavy fog or snowstorm. It is also possible to detect events such as a stopped vehicle and the end of a traffic jam.

  As described above, the communication area specifying unit 35 can specify the communication area 12 in which the vehicles 25a and the like are densely present. Therefore, the following method can be used as a predetermined beam pattern creation method of the beam pattern creation unit 36. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of sub-areas that are a part of the predetermined area 10 is recorded in advance on the beam pattern table 50 in the recording device 38. . By selecting a desired beam pattern suitable for the distribution of the vehicles 20 and the like in a predetermined area 10 in a certain time zone from the beam pattern table 50, a beam pattern is created.

  FIGS. 6A and 6B show a road-to-vehicle environment 1 for explaining a predetermined beam pattern creation method. 6A is a perspective view of the road-to-vehicle environment 1, and FIG. 6B is a plan view of the road-to-vehicle environment 1. 6A and 6B, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 indicate the same elements, and thus description thereof is omitted. 6A and 6B, communication areas 11, 12, and 13 correspond to subarea 1, subarea 2, and subarea 3, respectively. As described above, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 first acquires the position of the vehicle 20 or the like using the visible camera 31 or the like. Next, the communication area specifying unit 35 specifies the subarea 1 and the subarea 3 where the vehicles 20 and the like are densely present. It is desirable to control the directivity of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 so that the footprints 11-C1 and 13-C1 are created in the subarea 1 and the subarea 3 in the time zone of the road condition. That is, a beam pattern corresponding to the combination of subarea 1 and subarea 3 is recorded in advance in the beam pattern table 50 in the recording device 38, and suitable for the distribution of the vehicles 20 and the like in the time zone. The beam pattern may be selected from the beam pattern table 50.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of an internal representation of the beam pattern table 50. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 51 denotes a beam pattern number column, 52 denotes a beam pattern name column, 53 denotes a footprint image column, and sub-area 1 and sub-region shown in FIGS. Seven image footprints are created by one or more combinations of area 2 and sub-area 3. Reference numeral 53-1 is a subarea 1 column, 53-2 is a subarea 2 column, 53-3 is a subarea 3 column, and 54 is a transmission power consumption column. As shown in FIG. 7, the beam pattern A1 is a footprint of only the subarea 1, the beam pattern A2 is a footprint of only the subarea 2, and the beam pattern A3 is a footprint of only the subarea 3. Even the transmission power consumption is small. These beam patterns A1 and the like can be said to be beam patterns suitable for a time zone where the number of vehicles is sparse, such as at night. As shown in FIG. 7, the beam pattern B1 is a footprint of the combination of subareas 1 and 2, and the beam pattern B2 is a footprint of the combination of subareas 2 and 3, both of which have a medium transmission power consumption. Degree. These beam patterns B1 and the like can be said to be beam patterns suitable for a time zone in which vehicles form a certain group. As shown in FIG. 7, the beam pattern C1 is a footprint of the combination of subareas 1 and 3, and the transmission power consumption is medium. These footprints correspond to footprints 11-C1 and 13-C1 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the beam pattern D1 is a footprint of a combination of subareas 1 to 3, and the transmission power consumption is the largest among the seven footprints. The beam pattern D1 can be said to be a beam pattern suitable for traffic jams. A beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of the subareas 1 as described above is recorded in the beam pattern table 50, and a beam pattern suitable for the distribution of the vehicle 20 or the like is recorded in the beam pattern table 50. You can choose from.

  FIG. 8 is a detailed block diagram of the communication area control device 30 and the adaptive DBF antenna 32. In FIG. 8, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. On the side of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 in FIG. 8, reference numerals xm1, xm2 to xmN are connected to antennas (hereinafter referred to as “antenna xm1 etc.”), and 69-1, 69-2 to 69-N are connected to antennas xm1 etc. Amplifiers (hereinafter referred to as “amplifier 69-1 etc.”), 68-1, 68-2 to 68-N are respectively downconverters / upconverters (hereinafter referred to as “DC / UC68-1”) connected to the amplifier 69-1. Etc.), 67-1, 67-2 to 67-N are respectively AD / DA converters connected to DC / UC68-1 etc. (hereinafter referred to as “ADC / DAC67-1 etc.”), 66-. Reference numerals 1, 66-2 to 66 -N denote weight multipliers (hereinafter referred to as “weight multipliers 66-1 etc.”), 6 connected to the ADC / DAC 67-1 etc., respectively. The weight calculator for determining the respective weights such as weight multipliers 66-1, 63 is a synthesizer / separator that is connected to weight multipliers 66-1 like.

  As shown on the communication area control device 30 side in FIG. 8, sensor information d1 such as video output from the sensor 31 corresponding to the visible camera 31 is input to the image processing processor 33, and video difference information is output from the image processing processor 33. The image processing control information d2 is output to the communication control processing device 61. The communication control processing device 61 corresponds to the vehicle position acquisition unit 34, the communication area identification unit 35, and the beam pattern creation unit 36 described above. Based on the beam pattern selection information (information about which beam pattern to select in the beam pattern table 50) d4 output from the communication control processing device 61, a desired beam pattern is read from the beam pattern table 50. The weight information d5 based on is output. Communication control information and data signal d3 are output from communication control processing device 61 to radio signal processing unit 37 corresponding to transmission processing unit 37. A data signal d6 is output from the wireless signal processing unit 37 to the synthesizer / separator 63, weight information d5 is added to the data signal d6 by the adder 64, and the result is output to the weight calculator 65. The subsequent processing on the adaptive DBF antenna 32 side is the same as that of the conventional technique. The signal separated by the synthesizer / separator 63 is sent to the weight multiplier 66-1 or the like according to the weight determined by the weight calculator 65. The signal output from the weight multiplier 66-1 etc. is DA-converted by the ADC / DAC 67-1 etc., up-converted by the DC / UC 68-1, etc., and transmitted from the antenna xm1 etc. via the amplifier 69-1.

  Processing in the case where the adaptive DBF antenna 32 side receives is the same as that in the prior art. The signal received by the antenna xm1, etc. is down-converted by the DC / UC 68-1, etc. through the amplifier 69-1, etc., AD-converted by the ADC / DAC 67-1, etc., and the weight calculator 65, the weight multiplier 66-1, etc. Is added by the combiner / separator 63 and sent to the communication control processing device 61 via the wireless signal processing unit 37. Similar to the prior art, processing such as automatically directing the dead surface (null point) of the directivity pattern to an unnecessary area (interference wave direction) by adaptive null steering is performed.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the communication area control method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the communication area control device 30 first acquires the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 by a predetermined acquisition method (vehicle position acquisition step; step S10). Next, based on the position of the vehicle 20 or the like acquired in the vehicle position acquisition step (step S10), the communication area 11 or the like that communicates with the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 is specified (communication area specifying step, step S20). ). Subsequently, a beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 is created by a predetermined beam pattern creation method in accordance with the communication area 11 and the like identified in the communication area identification step (step S20) (beam pattern creation step, step S30). ). Finally, transmission processing is performed based on the beam pattern created in the beam pattern creation step (step S30) (transmission processing step, step S40).

  As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 acquires the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 by the predetermined acquisition method. As the predetermined acquisition method, based on the road condition (traffic condition) in the predetermined area 10 collected by the condition collection unit 31 such as a visible camera, the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 is an image processor or the like. An acquisition method in which the vehicle position detection unit 33 detects the vehicle is used. The communication area specifying unit 35 specifies the communication area 11 or the like that communicates with the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 based on the position of the vehicle 20 or the like acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34. That is, the communication area specifying unit 35 can specify the communication area 11 or the like where the vehicles 20 or the like are densely present. The beam pattern creation unit 36 creates a beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 by a predetermined beam pattern creation method according to the communication area 11 or the like identified by the communication area identification unit 35. The following method can be used as a predetermined beam pattern creation method. That is, a beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of sub-areas that are a part of the predetermined area 10 is recorded in advance in the beam pattern table 50 in the recording device 38. A beam pattern can be created by selecting a desired beam pattern suitable for the distribution of the vehicles 20 and the like in a predetermined area 10 in a certain time zone from the beam pattern table 50. The transmission processing unit 37 performs transmission processing from the adaptive DBF antenna 32 based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit 36. The communication area control device 30 having the above-described configurations does not perform beam control tailored to each vehicle as in the case of one-to-one communication with a vehicle in the prior art. Since the communication area control device 30 creates a beam pattern according to the distribution state of the vehicle 20 or the like, the processing time does not become enormous even if the traffic volume increases, and can be used practically. Can be eliminated. The communication area control device 30 does not always form a footprint that fixedly covers a desired area as in the prior art. Since the communication area control device 30 creates a beam pattern according to the distribution state of the vehicle 20 or the like, traffic can be provided while providing a stable radio wave environment even in the case of a service providing area that changes complicatedly in road-to-vehicle communication. The transmission power consumption can be suppressed to the minimum necessary according to the situation, and it is possible to prevent the roadside device itself and other communications from being adversely affected by the reflection of the radio wave on the road surface.

  FIG. 10 shows a road-to-vehicle communication environment 2 using the communication area control device 30 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, the functions added to the first embodiment in the second embodiment are a transmission timing determination unit (transmission timing determination unit) 40 and a transmission availability determination unit (transmission availability determination unit) 41. The transmission timing determination unit 40 has a function of determining the timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication for the purpose of providing information service for safety use. The vehicle position acquisition unit 34 acquires the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 by the above-described predetermined acquisition method when the transmission timing determination unit 40 determines that it is the timing to transmit the predetermined broadcast communication. To do. The transmission permission determination unit 41 has a function of determining whether transmission processing is possible. The transmission processing unit 37 performs transmission processing based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit 36 when the transmission permission judgment unit 41 determines that transmission processing is possible.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the flow of the communication area control method according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 11, processing blocks with the same step numbers as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, prior to the vehicle position acquisition step (step S10), the timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication is determined (transmission timing determination step, step S3). In the vehicle position acquisition step (step S10), when it is determined by the transmission timing determination step (step S3) that it is the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication, the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 is described above. Acquired by a predetermined acquisition method. If it is determined by the transmission timing determination step (step S3) that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast communication, the process returns to the transmission timing determination step (step S3) and repeats. As shown in FIG. 11, prior to the transmission processing step (step S40), it is determined whether or not transmission processing is possible (transmission availability determination step; step S35). In the transmission processing step (step S40), when it is determined that the transmission processing is possible in the transmission permission determination step (step S35), the transmission processing is performed based on the beam pattern generated in the beam pattern generation step (step S30). I do. If it is determined that the transmission process is not possible in the transmission permission determination step (step S35), the process returns to the transmission timing determination step (step S3) and is repeated.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the transmission timing determination unit 40 that determines the timing of transmitting a predetermined broadcast communication can be added to the function of the communication area control device 30. As a result, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 determines the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10 as described above when the transmission timing determination unit 40 determines that it is the timing to transmit the predetermined broadcast communication. It can be obtained by the method. In the first embodiment, the function of the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 is preferably executed when it is time to perform broadcast communication from the roadside machine side to the vehicle 20 side or the like. In the second embodiment, by further providing the timing determination function, it is possible to reliably perform broadcast communication from the roadside machine side to the vehicle 20 or the like side at a suitable timing. Furthermore, a transmission availability determination unit 41 that determines whether transmission processing is possible can be added to the function of the communication area control device 30. As a result, the transmission processing unit 37 can perform the transmission processing based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit 36 when the transmission permission determination unit 41 determines that transmission processing is possible.

  FIG. 12 shows a road-to-vehicle communication environment 3 using the communication area control device 30 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 12, portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. As shown in FIG. 12, the function added to the second embodiment in the third embodiment is a transmission request determining unit (transmission request determining means) 42, and a part of the function of the beam pattern creating unit 36 is accompanied by the addition. It is changed to be indicated as a beam pattern creation unit 36 '. The transmission request determination unit 42 has a function of determining whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by one-to-one unicast communication from the side of the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine. ing. Here, it is preferable that the predetermined period is, for example, a provision interval of broadcast communication for the purpose of providing information service for safety use. Since an interval in which the broadcast communication is not provided has a bandwidth, the interval can be used effectively. Since the transmission request includes information indicating the position of the vehicle 20 or the like, when the transmission timing determination unit 40 determines that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast communication, that is, the broadcast communication is performed. When the interval is not provided, the beam pattern can be created without using the function of the vehicle position acquisition unit 34. That is, the beam pattern creation unit 36 ′ transmits a predetermined broadcast communication by the transmission timing determination unit 40 in addition to the creation of the beam pattern corresponding to the communication area 11 specified by the communication area specification unit 35. Vehicles included in the transmission request when it is determined that it is not the timing and the transmission request determination unit 42 determines that a transmission request by unicast communication from the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine is within a predetermined period The beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 can be created by the above-described predetermined beam pattern creation method based on information indicating the position such as 20.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the flow of the communication area control method according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 13, processing blocks with the same step numbers as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, when it is determined at the transmission timing determination step (step S3) that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication, the vehicle 20 or the like side under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine Is further provided with a transmission request determination step (step S7) for determining whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication. In the beam pattern creation step (step S30 ′), in addition to the beam pattern creation corresponding to the communication area 11 and the like identified by the communication area identification step (step S20), a predetermined timing is determined by the transmission timing judgment step (step S3). It is determined that it is not time to transmit the broadcast type communication, and it is determined in the transmission request determination step (step S7) that there is a transmission request by unicast type communication from the vehicle 20 etc. under the roadside machine within a predetermined period. In this case, the beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 can be created by the above-described predetermined beam pattern creation method based on information indicating the position of the vehicle 20 or the like included in the transmission request. It is determined by the transmission timing determination step (step S3) that it is not the timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication, and the transmission request determination step (step S7) is performed by a unicast type communication from the vehicle 20 etc. under the roadside machine. If it is determined that there is no transmission request within the period, the process returns to the transmission timing determination step (step S3) and repeats.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the function of the communication area control device 30 is determined based on the one-to-one unicast communication from the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine. It is possible to add a transmission request determination unit 42 for determining whether or not there is a transmission request within the period of time. As a result, the beam pattern creation unit 36 ′ transmits a predetermined broadcast communication by the transmission timing determination unit 40 in addition to the creation of the beam pattern corresponding to the communication area 11 specified by the communication area specification unit 35. Included in the transmission request when the transmission request determination unit 42 determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine. Based on the information indicating the position of the vehicle 20 or the like, the beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 can be created by the above-described predetermined beam pattern creation method. In the second embodiment, when it is determined by the transmission timing determining step (step S3) that it is not the timing for transmitting the predetermined broadcast type communication, the process returns to the transmission timing determining step (step S3) and is repeated. In the third embodiment, even in such a case, within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine in the transmission request determining step (step S7). The presence / absence of a transmission request can be determined. If it is determined that there is a transmission request, the beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 can be generated based on the transmission request by the predetermined beam pattern generation method described above. .

  FIG. 14 shows a road-to-vehicle communication environment 4 using the communication area control device 30 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 14, portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. As shown in FIG. 14, the function added to the third embodiment in the fourth embodiment is a multiple transmission request determination unit (multiple transmission request determination unit) 43, and the function of the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 is one with the addition. The vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ is changed. The multiple transmission request determination unit 43 determines the number of transmission requests when the transmission request determination unit 42 determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine. Has a function of determining whether there is a plurality or a single. Assuming a case in which a transmission request is received from a plurality of vehicles 20 or the like within a predetermined period, the multicast transmission of the first embodiment is performed rather than multicast transmission to the plurality of vehicles 20 or the like in response to the transmission requests by the plurality of unicast communication. Thus, it is better to acquire the position of the vehicle 20 or the like using the function of the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 and create a beam pattern. Therefore, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ transmits the predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing determination unit 40 in addition to the case where the transmission timing determination unit 40 determines that it is the timing to transmit the predetermined broadcast type communication. The transmission request determining unit 42 determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine, and the multiple transmission request determining unit 43 Even when it is determined that the number of requests is plural (there is a transmission request by unicast communication within a predetermined period from the plurality of vehicles 20 etc.), the position of the vehicle 20 etc. in the predetermined area 10 is also determined. It can be acquired by the predetermined acquisition method described above. If the multiple transmission request determination unit 43 determines that the transmission request is single, the beam pattern creation unit 36 ′ indicates the position of the vehicle 20 or the like included in the transmission request, as in the third embodiment. Based on the information, the beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 is created by the predetermined beam pattern creation method described above.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the flow of the communication area control method according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 15, processing blocks with the same step numbers as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, when there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the side of the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine in the transmission request determining step (step S7). If it is determined, a plurality of transmission request determination steps (step S9) for determining whether the number of transmission requests is plural or single are further provided. The vehicle position acquisition step (step S10 ′) is predetermined by the transmission timing determination step (step S3) in addition to the case where it is determined by the transmission timing determination step (step S3) that the predetermined broadcast type communication is transmitted. It is determined that it is not time to transmit the broadcast type communication, and it is determined in the transmission request determination step (step S7) that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast type communication from the vehicle 20 etc. under the roadside machine. Even when the number of transmission requests is determined to be plural in the plural transmission request determining step (step S9), the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area can be acquired by the predetermined acquisition method described above. .

  As described above, according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention, a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine by the transmission request determination unit 42 is added to the function of the communication area control device 30. When it is determined that there is a transmission request, a plurality of transmission request determination units 43 that determine whether the number of transmission requests is plural or single can be added. As a result, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ performs the predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing determination unit 40 in addition to the case where the transmission timing determination unit 40 determines that it is the timing to transmit the predetermined broadcast type communication. It is determined that it is not the timing to transmit, and it is determined by the transmission request determination unit 42 that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the side of the vehicle 20 under the roadside machine, and the plurality of transmission request determination units 43 Even when it is determined that the number of transmission requests is plural (there is a transmission request by unicast communication within a predetermined period from the plurality of vehicles 20 etc.), the position of the vehicle 20 etc. in the predetermined area 10 Can be acquired by the predetermined acquisition method described above.

  The predetermined acquisition method used by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 in the first to fourth embodiments described above is based on the situation in the predetermined area 10 collected by the visible camera 31 or the like, and the position of the vehicle 20 or the like in the predetermined area 10. Is detected by the image processor 33 or the like. In the fifth embodiment, an example in which the position of the vehicle 20 or the like (distribution status of the vehicle 20 or the like) is detected by road-to-vehicle communication will be described. The road-to-vehicle communication in the fifth embodiment is such that the roadside machine side transmits predetermined control information, and the vehicle 20 or the like side that has received the predetermined control information transmits a registration request including the predetermined vehicle information. It is assumed that the communication method registered in is used.

  FIG. 16 shows the road-to-vehicle communication environment 5 using the communication area control device 30 ′ according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. 16 with the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 have the same functions, and thus description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 16, reference numeral 45 is a beacon transmitting device, and Z is a wireless zone where a beacon reaches. As shown in FIG. 16, first, predetermined control information including the ID, service content, position, communication speed, etc. of the roadside machine itself is periodically and broadcasted from the roadside machine (communication area control device 30 ') side. The beacon is transmitted from the beacon transmission device 45. The vehicle 20 or the like side that has received the beacon having the predetermined control information in the wireless zone Z includes the predetermined vehicle information having the ID, position, speed, travel vector, etc. of the vehicle 20 or the like when the service entry is desired. A registration request (service request) is transmitted to the roadside device. The registration request is received by the adaptive DBF antenna 32, and the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 'of the communication area control device 30' acquires the position of the vehicle 20 and the like based on the communication method. For example, when the roadside device receives a registration request from the vehicles 21, 22 and 23 (vehicle 21 etc.) in the communication area 13, based on predetermined vehicle information (position) such as the vehicle 21 included in the registration request, The position of the vehicle 21 or the like is acquired. As shown in FIG. 16, since the wireless zone Z includes outside the predetermined area 10, when the roadside device receives a registration request from the vehicles 25, 26 and 27 (the vehicle 25 and the like), it is included in the registration request. It is also possible to acquire the position of the vehicle 25 or the like based on predetermined vehicle information such as the vehicle 25 or the like. Subsequently, the communication area specifying unit 35 ′ determines predetermined information (as indicated in the service contents) based on the position of the vehicle 21 and the like acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ and predetermined vehicle information (speed, travel vector). A communication area in which the vehicles 21 and the like in providing service information) are densely identified is, for example, the communication area 12. The communication area specifying unit 35 ′ is a communication area in which the vehicles 25 and the like when providing predetermined information are densely based on the position of the vehicle 25 and the predetermined vehicle information acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′. For example, the communication area 13 can be specified.

  After that, as in the first embodiment, the beam pattern creating unit 36 has the communication area 12 or the vehicle 25 etc. densely specified by the communication area specifying unit 35 'as the vehicles 21 etc. being densely present. In accordance with the communication area 13 identified as the one, a beam pattern with a bore sight facing the center of the communication area 12 or 13 is created by the predetermined beam pattern creation method. The transmission processing unit 37 performs transmission processing from the adaptive DBF antenna 32 based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit 36.

FIG. 17 is a detailed block diagram of the communication area control device 30 ′ and the adaptive DBF antenna 32. In FIG. 17, portions denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. The block diagram shown in FIG. 17 is different from the block diagram shown in FIG. 8 in that the sensor 31 and the image processing processor 33 are not provided, and that the communication control processing device 61 includes the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ and the communication area specified above The point corresponding to the part 35 ′ and the beam pattern creation part 36 and the point where the entry vehicle table 62 is provided in the recording device 38. As described above, the registration request from the vehicle 21 or the like is received by the adaptive DBF antenna 32, and the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ (communication control processing device 61) of the communication area control device 30 ′ uses the vehicle 21 based on the communication method. Etc. can be acquired. That is, according to the above communication method, the sensor 31 and the image processor 33 are not necessary for acquiring the position of the vehicle 21 or the like. The registration request including predetermined vehicle information (position, speed, travel vector, etc.) from the received vehicle 21 or the like may be recorded in the entry vehicle table 62. Communication area specifying unit 35 '
The (communication control processing device 61) determines predetermined vehicle information such as the vehicle 21 recorded in the entry vehicle table 62 when specifying a communication area where the vehicles 21 and the like exist when providing the predetermined information. refer. The other functions are the same as those of the communication area control device 30 and the adaptive DBF antenna 32 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing the flow of the communication area control method according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 18, processing blocks with the same step numbers as in FIG. As shown in FIG. 18, road-to-vehicle communication is performed by the roadside machine side transmitting predetermined control information, and the vehicle 21 or the like side that has received the predetermined control information transmits a registration request including predetermined vehicle information. The communication method registered in the communication link of the machine is used. First, the communication area control device 30 'acquires the position of the vehicle 21 or the like based on the communication method (vehicle position acquisition step, step S10'). Next, based on the position of the vehicle 21 and the like acquired in the vehicle position acquisition step (step S10 ′) and the predetermined vehicle information, a communication area such as the vehicle 21 when providing the predetermined information is specified (communication area) Specific step, step S20 ′). Since the subsequent beam pattern creation step (step S30) and transmission processing step (step S40) are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  As described above, according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, road-to-vehicle communication is performed in such a way that the roadside device side transmits predetermined control information, and the vehicle 21 or the like side that has received the predetermined control information issues a registration request including the predetermined vehicle information. When the communication method registered in the communication link of the roadside device by transmitting is used, the position of the vehicle 21 or the like (distribution status of the vehicle 21 or the like) can be detected by communication. From the roadside machine side, predetermined control information including the ID of the roadside machine itself, service contents, position, communication speed, and the like is transmitted from the beacon transmission device 45 by a regular and broadcast type beacon. In the wireless zone Z, the side of the vehicle 21 or the like that has received the beacon having the predetermined control information includes the predetermined vehicle information having the ID, position, speed, traveling vector, etc. of the vehicle 21 or the like when the service entry is desired. A registration request (service request) is transmitted to the roadside device. The registration request is received by the adaptive DBF antenna 32, and the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 'of the communication area control device 30' can acquire the position of the vehicle 21 or the like based on the communication method. The wireless zone Z may also include outside the predetermined area 10. Based on the position of the vehicle 21 acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ and the predetermined vehicle information (speed, travel vector), the communication area specifying unit 35 ′ For example, the communication area 12 is identified as the communication area 12. The rest is the same as in the first embodiment. That is, according to the above communication method, the sensor 31 and the image processor 33 can be dispensed with in order to acquire the position of the vehicle 21 or the like. In the fifth embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, the communication area control device 30 ′ creates a beam pattern that matches the distribution state of the vehicle 21 and the like, and therefore, in the case of a service provision area that changes in complex in road-to-vehicle communication. Even so, while providing a stable radio wave environment, transmission power consumption can be suppressed to the minimum necessary according to traffic conditions, and the roadside device itself and other communications can be adversely affected by the reflection of radio waves on the road surface. Can be eliminated.

  Similar to the second embodiment with respect to the first embodiment, the functions of the transmission timing determination unit 40 and the transmission availability determination unit 41 can be added to the fifth embodiment. In this case, transmission is made to the communication area control device 30 ′ shown in FIG. 16 as the transmission timing judgment unit 40 and the transmission availability judgment unit 41 shown in FIG. 10 are added to the communication area control device 30 shown in FIG. A timing determination unit 40 and a transmission permission / inhibition determination unit 41 may be added. Similarly, the communication timing control method shown in FIG. 9 adds the transmission timing judgment step (step S3) and the transmission availability judgment step (step S35) shown in FIG. 11 to the communication shown in FIG. A transmission timing determination step (step S3) and a transmission permission determination step (step S35) may be added to the flowchart of the area control method.

  As described above, according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to add the transmission timing determining unit 40 that determines the timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication to the function of the communication area control device 30 ′. As a result, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ can acquire the position of the vehicle 21 or the like based on the communication method when it is determined by the transmission timing determination unit 40 that the predetermined broadcast communication is transmitted. it can. Furthermore, a transmission availability determination unit 41 that determines whether transmission processing is possible can be added to the function of the communication area control device 30 ′. As a result, the transmission processing unit 37 can perform the transmission processing based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit 36 when the transmission permission determination unit 41 determines that transmission processing is possible.

  Similar to the third embodiment with respect to the second embodiment, the function of the transmission request determining unit 42 is added to the sixth embodiment, and the function of the beam pattern creating unit 36 is partially changed in accordance with the addition, and the beam pattern creating unit 36 is added. It can also be '. In this case, the transmission request determination unit 42 shown in FIG. 12 is added to the communication area control device 30 shown in FIG. 10 and is changed to the beam pattern creation unit 36 ′. What is necessary is just to add the transmission request determination part 42 to '(not shown) and change it to the beam pattern creation part 36'. Similarly, the transmission request determination step (step S7) shown in FIG. 13 is added to the flowchart of the communication area control method shown in FIG. 11, and the beam pattern creation step (step S30 ′) is changed. A transmission request determination step (step S7) may be added to the flowchart (not shown) of the communication area control method 6 to change to the beam pattern creation step (step S30 ′).

  As described above, according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, the function of the communication area control device 30 ′ according to the sixth embodiment includes a one-to-one unit from the vehicle 21 or the like side under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine. A transmission request determination unit 42 that determines whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period of cast communication can be added. As a result, the beam pattern creation unit 36 ′ transmits a predetermined broadcast communication by the transmission timing determination unit 40 in addition to the creation of the beam pattern corresponding to the communication area 11 specified by the communication area specification unit 35. When the transmission request determining unit 42 determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle 21 or the like under the roadside machine, the beam of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 is determined. A pattern can be created by the predetermined beam pattern creation method described above. In the sixth embodiment, when it is determined by the transmission timing determination step (step S3) that it is not the timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication, the process returns to the transmission timing determination step (step S3) and is repeated. In the seventh embodiment, even in such a case, unicast-type communication from the side of the vehicle 20 or the like under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine by the added transmission request determination step (step S7, not shown). It is possible to determine whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period of time, and if it is determined that there is a transmission request, the beam pattern of the adaptive DBF antenna 32 can be generated by the above-described predetermined beam pattern generation method. it can.

  Similar to the fourth embodiment with respect to the third embodiment, the function of the multiple transmission request determination unit 43 is added to the seventh embodiment, and the function of the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 is partially changed along with the addition, and the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′. It is also possible. In this case, the communication area control device 30 of the seventh embodiment is added to the communication area control device 30 shown in FIG. 12 by adding the multiple transmission request determination unit 43 shown in FIG. What is necessary is just to add multiple transmission request judgment part 43 to '(not shown), and to change with vehicle position acquisition part 34'. Similarly, the multiple transmission request determination step (step S9) shown in FIG. 15 is added to the flowchart of the communication area control method shown in FIG. 13, and the vehicle position acquisition step (step S10 ′) is changed. What is necessary is just to add a multiple transmission request judgment step (step S9) to the flowchart (not shown) of the communication area control method of No. 7 and to change it to a vehicle position acquisition step (step SS10 ′).

  As described above, according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention, the function of the communication area control device 30 ′ according to the seventh embodiment has a predetermined function based on the unicast communication from the vehicle 20 side under the roadside machine by the transmission request determining unit 42. When it is determined that there is a transmission request within the period, a multiple transmission request determination unit 43 that determines whether the number of transmission requests is plural or single can be added. As a result, the vehicle position acquisition unit 34 ′ performs the predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing determination unit 40 in addition to the case where the transmission timing determination unit 40 determines that it is the timing to transmit the predetermined broadcast type communication. It is determined that it is not the timing to transmit, and it is determined by the transmission request determination unit 42 that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the side of the vehicle 20 under the roadside machine, and the plurality of transmission request determination units 43 Even when it is determined that the number of transmission requests is plural (there is a transmission request by unicast communication within a predetermined period from the plurality of vehicles 20 etc.), the position of the vehicle 21 etc. is determined by the above communication method. Can be acquired.

  The predetermined control information transmitted by the roadside device can include the time until service provision. In Example 9, the vehicle 21 etc. under the roadside machine knows the time from receiving the beacon to providing the service information (predetermined information), but does not receive the service information at that time. The processing in the case of a case will be described. Such a case occurs, for example, for reasons such as shadowing where the vehicle 21 or the like is hidden behind a large vehicle. Therefore, when the predetermined control information includes the time until provision of the service information or the service information provision time, the control information is mounted on the vehicle 21 or the like side that performs road-to-vehicle communication with the communication area control device 30 ′ of the fifth to eighth embodiments. If the predetermined information is not provided by the provision time or at the provision time, the in-vehicle device can be provided with a function of transmitting a registration request again. As a result, the roadside unit can create a beam pattern corresponding to the vehicle 21 and the like (and a vehicle that has newly entered by receiving a beacon) at the next service information provision time.

  As an application example of the present invention, application to a communication area control device or the like for controlling a communication area in road-to-vehicle communication for providing an information providing service for safety use can be given.

It is a figure which shows the road-to-vehicle communication environment 1 using the communication area control apparatus 30 in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the image of the road containing the predetermined area 10 imaged using the visible camera. It is a figure which shows the image explaining acquisition of positions, such as the vehicle 25a by the vehicle position acquisition part. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an image for explaining a function of a communication area specifying unit 35. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an image for explaining a function of a beam pattern creation unit 36. It is a figure which shows the road-to-vehicle environment 2 for demonstrating a predetermined beam pattern preparation system. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an internal representation of a beam pattern table 39. FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a communication area control device 30 and an adaptive DBF antenna 32. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the communication area control method in Example 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the road-to-vehicle communication environment 2 using the communication area control apparatus 30 in Example 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the communication area control method in Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the road-to-vehicle communication environment 3 using the communication area control apparatus 30 in Example 3 of invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the communication area control method in Example 3 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the road-to-vehicle communication environment 4 using the communication area control apparatus 30 in Example 4 of invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the communication area control method in Example 4 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the road-vehicle communication environment 5 using the communication area control apparatus 30 'in Example 5 of this invention. 3 is a detailed block diagram of a communication area control device 30 ′ and an adaptive DBF antenna 32. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the communication area control method in Example 5 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Road-to-Vehicle Communication Environment, 10 Predetermined Area, 11, 12, 13, 18 Communication Area, 11-C1, 13-C1 Footprint, 14, 15 Travel Lane, 16 Grid, 17a, 17b Shaded portion, 18 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25a, 25b, 25c, 26a, 26b, 26c, 26d Vehicle, 30, 30 'Communication area control device, 31 Status collection unit, 32 Adaptive digital Beam forming antenna, 33 vehicle position detection unit, 34, 34 'vehicle position acquisition unit, 35, 35' communication area identification unit, 36, 36 'beam pattern creation unit, 37 transmission processing unit, 38 recording device , 40 transmission timing determination unit, 41 transmission permission determination unit, 42 transmission request determination unit, 43 multiple transmission request determination unit, 45 beacon transmission device 50 Beam pattern table, 51 Beam pattern number column, 52 Beam pattern name column, 53 Footprint image column, 53-1 Subarea 1 column, 53-2 Subarea 2 column, 53-3 Subarea 3 column, 54 transmission power consumption column, 61 communication control processing device, 62 entry vehicle table, 63 synthesizer / separator, 64 adder, 65 weight calculator, 66-1, 66-2, 66-N weight multiplication 67-1, 67-2, 67-N AD converter / DA converter, 68-1, 68-2, 68-N down converter / up converter, 69-1, 69-2, 69-N amplifier.

Claims (21)

A communication area control device for controlling a communication area in road-to-vehicle communication, the communication area control device being provided on a roadside device side and communicating with a vehicle side using an adaptive digital beam forming antenna The communication area constitutes a footprint according to the traffic volume in the driving lane,
Vehicle position acquisition means for acquiring the position of the vehicle in a predetermined area subject to road-to-vehicle communication in the travel lane by a predetermined acquisition method;
Based on the position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition unit, a communication area specifying means for specifying the communication area to communicate with the vehicle in a predetermined area,
Beam pattern creating means for creating a beam pattern of an adaptive digital beam forming antenna according to a communication area identified by the communication area identifying means by a predetermined beam pattern creating method;
A communication area control apparatus comprising: a transmission processing unit that performs transmission processing based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation unit. The communication area control device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission availability determination unit that determines whether transmission processing is possible,
When the transmission processing means determines that transmission processing is possible, the transmission processing means performs transmission processing based on the beam pattern created by the beam pattern creation means. Control device. The communication area control device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a transmission timing determining means for determining a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast communication,
The vehicle position acquisition means acquires the position of the vehicle in a predetermined area by a predetermined acquisition method when it is determined by the transmission timing determination means that it is a timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication. Communication area control device. 4. The communication area control device according to claim 3, further comprising: a transmission request determination means for determining whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from a vehicle side under the roadside machine managed in advance by the roadside machine. Prepared,
The beam pattern creation means is determined not to be a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication by the transmission timing judgment means in addition to creating a beam pattern corresponding to the communication area specified by the communication area specification means. When the transmission request determination means determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine, adaptive digital beam forming is performed based on the transmission request. A communication area control device that creates a beam pattern of an antenna by a predetermined beam pattern creation method. The communication area control device according to claim 4, wherein when the transmission request determination means determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from a vehicle side under the control of a roadside machine, A plurality of transmission request determination means for determining whether the number is plural or single;
The vehicle position acquisition means is not the timing for transmitting the predetermined broadcast communication by the transmission timing determination means in addition to the case where the transmission timing determination means determines that it is the timing for transmitting the predetermined broadcast communication. And the transmission request determination means determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine, and the plurality of transmission request determination means determines that the number of transmission requests is plural. When it is judged that it is, the communication area control apparatus characterized by acquiring the position of the vehicle in a predetermined area by a predetermined acquisition system.   6. The communication area control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined beam pattern creation method includes a beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of sub-areas that are part of the predetermined area. A communication area control apparatus for creating a beam pattern by selecting from a recorded beam pattern table.   The communication area control device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the predetermined acquisition method is based on a road situation in the predetermined area collected by the situation collecting unit, and the position of the vehicle in the predetermined area. Is detected by a vehicle position detection unit.   The communication area control device according to claim 7, wherein the situation collection unit is a camera having sensitivity in a visible region and / or an infrared region, and the vehicle position detection unit is in the communication area control device or in the communication area control unit. A communication area control device, wherein the communication area control device is an image processor connected to the device.   8. The communication area control device according to claim 7, wherein the status collection unit is a millimeter wave sensor, and the vehicle position detection unit is a processing processor in the communication area control device or connected to the communication area control device. A communication area control device. 7. The communication area control device according to claim 1, wherein in the road-to-vehicle communication, the roadside machine side transmits predetermined control information, and the vehicle side that has received the predetermined control information includes predetermined vehicle information. It uses a communication method that registers with the communication link of the roadside machine by sending a registration request,
The vehicle position acquisition means acquires the position of the vehicle based on the communication method,
The communication area specifying means specifies a communication area of the vehicle when providing predetermined information based on the position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition means and the predetermined vehicle information. Area control device. A communication area control method for controlling a communication area in road-to-vehicle communication, in which a communication area control device provided on a roadside machine communicates with a vehicle using an adaptive digital beam forming antenna And the communication area constitutes a footprint according to the traffic volume in the travel lane, and the communication area control device comprises:
A vehicle position acquisition step of acquiring a position of the vehicle in a predetermined area to be subjected to road-to-vehicle communication in the travel lane by a predetermined acquisition method;
Based on the position of the vehicle said acquired by the vehicle position acquiring step, a communication area specifying step of specifying the communication area for communicating with the vehicle in a predetermined area,
A beam pattern creating step for creating a beam pattern of an adaptive digital beam forming antenna in accordance with a communication area identified by the communication area identifying step by a predetermined beam pattern creating method;
A communication area control method comprising: a transmission processing step for performing transmission processing based on the beam pattern created in the beam pattern creation step. The communication area control method according to claim 11, further comprising a transmission permission / inhibition determination step for determining whether transmission processing is possible or not prior to the transmission processing step.
In the transmission processing step, when it is determined that the transmission processing is possible in the transmission permission determination step, the transmission processing is performed based on the beam pattern created in the beam pattern creation step. Control method. The communication area control method according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising a transmission timing determination step of determining a timing of transmitting a predetermined broadcast type communication prior to the vehicle position acquisition step,
The vehicle position acquisition step acquires the position of the vehicle in a predetermined area by a predetermined acquisition method when it is determined by the transmission timing determination step that the predetermined broadcast type communication is transmitted. Communication area control method. 14. The communication area control method according to claim 13, wherein when it is determined in the transmission timing determination step that it is not the timing to transmit a predetermined broadcast type communication, the vehicle side under the roadside machine controlled by the roadside machine in advance is sent. A transmission request determination step of determining whether or not there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication;
The beam pattern creation step is determined not to be a timing for transmitting a predetermined broadcast communication by the transmission timing determination step in addition to the beam pattern generation corresponding to the communication area specified by the communication area specification step. When it is determined in the transmission request determining step that there is a transmission request by unicast communication from the vehicle side under the roadside machine, the beam of the adaptive digital beam forming antenna is based on the transmission request. A communication area control method, wherein a pattern is created by a predetermined beam pattern creation method. 15. The communication area control method according to claim 14, wherein if it is determined in the transmission request determination step that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from a vehicle side under the control of a roadside machine, the number of transmission requests Further comprising a multiple transmission request determination step for determining whether or not there are a plurality of transmission requests,
The vehicle position acquisition step is not the timing at which the predetermined broadcast type communication is transmitted by the transmission timing determination step in addition to the case where the transmission timing determination step determines that the predetermined broadcast type communication is transmitted. And the transmission request determination step determines that there is a transmission request within a predetermined period by unicast communication from a vehicle under the roadside machine, and the multiple transmission request determination step determines that the number of transmission requests is plural. A communication area control method characterized in that, when it is determined that the vehicle position is determined, the vehicle position in the predetermined area is acquired by a predetermined acquisition method.   The communication area control method according to any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the predetermined beam pattern creation method uses a beam pattern corresponding to one or more combinations of sub-areas that are part of the predetermined area. A communication area control method, wherein a beam pattern is created by selecting from a recorded beam pattern table.   The communication area control method according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the predetermined acquisition method is based on road conditions in the predetermined area collected by the state collection unit, and the position of the vehicle in the predetermined area. Is detected by a vehicle position detection unit.   18. The communication area control method according to claim 17, wherein the situation collection unit is a camera having sensitivity in a visible region and / or an infrared region, and the vehicle position detection unit is included in the communication area control device or in the communication area control device. A communication area control method, comprising: a connected image processing processor.   18. The communication area control method according to claim 17, wherein the status collection unit is a millimeter wave sensor, and the vehicle position detection unit is a processing processor in the communication area control device or connected to the communication area control device. A communication area control method. 17. The communication area control method according to claim 11, wherein in the road-to-vehicle communication, the roadside device side transmits predetermined control information, and the vehicle side that has received the predetermined control information includes predetermined vehicle information. It uses a communication method that registers with the communication link of the roadside machine by sending a registration request,
The vehicle position acquisition step acquires the position of the vehicle based on the communication method,
The communication area specifying step specifies a communication area of the vehicle when providing predetermined information based on the position of the vehicle acquired by the vehicle position acquisition step and the predetermined vehicle information. Area control method. The vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle side that performs road-to-vehicle communication with the communication area control device according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined control information includes a provision time of the predetermined information, and the provision time An in-vehicle device that transmits a registration request again when the provision of the predetermined information is not received.