Information provision system and in-vehicle apparatus

An in-vehicle apparatus in a vehicle, operable to communicate with an information center using a wireless communication, for providing an occupant of the vehicle with information, the in-vehicle apparatus comprising:

• a storage;
• a controller;
• a vehicle position detector;
• an output mechanism;
• and
• a wireless communication mechanism,
• the vehicle position detector acquiring a vehicle position information item indicating a present position of the vehicle;
• the wireless communication mechanism, using the wireless communication, communication position information item, which indicates several communication positions at which the wireless communication is allowed to be executed with the information center;
• the controller determining whether the vehicle reaches a communication position being one of the communication positions indicated by the acquired communication position information item, based on (i) the communication positions indicated by the communication position information item acquired by the wireless communication mechanism, and (ii) the present position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle position information item acquired by the vehicle position detector;
• the controller causing the wireless communication mechanism to transmit to the information center using the wireless communication, a reached communication position information item indicating a reached communication position, which is one of the several communication positions, when the controller determines that the vehicle reaches the one of the several communication positions;
• the wireless communication mechanism acquiring from the information center, using the wireless communication, a notification position information item and a notification information item associated with the reached communication position indicated by the reached communication position information item transmitted by wireless communication mechanism, the notification position information item indicating a notification position at which the in-vehicle apparatus is allowed to notify the occupant of the vehicle;
• the controller determining, based on (i) the notification position indicated by the notification position information item acquired by wireless communication mechanism, and (ii) the present position of the vehicle indicated by the vehicle position information item acquired by the vehicle position detector, whether the vehicle reaches the notification position;
• and
• the controller causing the output mechanism to notify the occupant of the vehicle of contents indicated by the notification information item acquired by the wireless communication mechanism when controller determines that the vehicle reaches the notification position.

A method for providing an occupant of a vehicle with information in a system including an information center and an in-vehicle apparatus in the vehicle, the information center and the in-vehicle apparatus communicable with each other using a wireless communication,

• the information center storing
• information on several communication positions at which the in-vehicle apparatus is allowed to execute the wireless communication with the information center, and
• notification-related information, which associates, with respect to each of the communication positions, (i) a notification position, and (ii) notification contents notified at the notification position,
• the in-vehicle apparatus acquiring a present position of the vehicle,
• the method comprising:
• transmitting from the information center to the in-vehicle apparatus the stored information on several communication positions;
• determining in the in-vehicle apparatus that the vehicle reaches a communication position being one of the several communication positions, based on an acquired present position;
• transmitting from the in-vehicle apparatus to the information center, information indicating the reached communication position;
• transmitting from the information center to the in-vehicle apparatus, notification-related information, which is selected from the stored notification-related information, the selected notification-related information containing a notification position and notification contents in association with the reached communication position;
• and
• determining by the in-vehicle apparatus that the vehicle reaches the notification position indicated by the received notification-related information, based on an acquired vehicle position, thereby notifying the occupant of the vehicle of the notification contents indicated by the received notification-related information at the reached notification position.