Vehicle and vehicle management system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle and a vehicle management system capable of accurately managing the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle includes a plurality of communication devices having the same vehicle information and capable of communicating with a pass-by determination unit which determines passing vehicles, the communication devices being provided at the front and rear of the vehicle. A vehicle management system manages the above vehicle and includes the pass-by determination unit. The pass-by determination unit is configured to communicate with the communication devices to manage the vehicle information in the communication devices of the vehicle, as the vehicle information of the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle and a vehicle management system. [Background technology]

[0002] Many systems have been proposed that link the entry and exit times of vehicles to vehicle data and manage them using a passage determination unit that communicates with vehicles equipped with communication devices such as RF (Radio Frequency) ID tags (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, a communication device (RFID) 92 is attached to a vehicle 91. A vehicle management system 93 includes a passage determination unit (RFID receiver) 94 and a measurement unit 95. When the vehicle 91 approaches, the passage determination unit 94 communicates with the communication device 92 and receives information about the vehicle 91 (such as vehicle identification information). This allows the vehicle management system 93 to record the passage time of the vehicle 91. The measurement unit 95 is, for example, a device that measures the tire condition (such as the wear condition of the remaining tread depth, etc.), and can record the remaining tread depth data in association with the measurement time. The passage determination unit 94 can manage the remaining tread depth data (in the illustrated example, the remaining tread depth data of each tire of a total of three axles, one front wheel and two rear wheels) measured around the time of communication with the communication device 92 of the vehicle 91 as the remaining tread depth information at the above-mentioned passage time of the vehicle 91. In this way, the vehicle passage time and tire condition information can be managed in association with the vehicle data. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2020 / 0400420 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when trying to implement the above technology in urban areas or on small premises, there are cases where information different from the information that should have been recorded is mistakenly managed.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle and a vehicle management system capable of accurately managing vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The gist and configuration of the present invention are as follows. (1) A vehicle equipped with a communication device capable of communicating with a passage determination unit that determines the passage of a vehicle, providing a plurality of the communication devices each having the same vehicle information; The vehicle, wherein the communication devices are provided at a front and a rear of the vehicle.

[0008] (2) The vehicle described in (1) above, wherein the communication device has information on the installation location of the communication device within the vehicle.

[0009] (3) A vehicle management system for managing the vehicle according to (1) or (2), The vehicle management system includes the passage determination unit, The system is characterized in that the passage determination unit is configured to communicate with the communication device and manage the vehicle information held by the multiple communication devices in the vehicle as the vehicle information of the vehicle.

[0010] (4) The system described in (3) above, wherein the vehicle management system further includes a measurement unit that measures tire conditions.

[0011] (5) The system described in (3) or (4), wherein the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed when communicating continuously with different communication devices in the same vehicle having the same vehicle information.

[0012] (6) A system described in any one of (3) to (5), wherein the passing determination unit, when communicating continuously with different communication devices in the same vehicle having the same vehicle information, determines that the vehicle passing time is any time between the time around the time of communication with one of the communication devices and the time around the time of communication with the other communication device.

[0013] (7) The system according to any one of (3) to (6), wherein the passage determination unit further determines a direction in which the vehicle passes relative to the measurement unit based on installation location information held by the communication device. Effect of the Invention

[0014] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle and a vehicle management system that can accurately manage vehicles. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a conventional technique. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an example of a pattern in which erroneous recognition occurs in vehicle management in the prior art. [Diagram 3] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining other examples of patterns in which erroneous recognition occurs in vehicle management in the conventional technology. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining another example of a pattern in which erroneous recognition occurs in vehicle management in the conventional technology. [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle and a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6A] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating examples of mounting positions of communication devices. [Figure 6B] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating examples of mounting positions of communication devices. [Figure 6C] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating examples of mounting positions of communication devices. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0017] As a result of extensive research by the present inventors to solve the above problems, it was found that the following patterns of erroneous recognition occur in the conventional techniques.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of a pattern in which erroneous recognition occurs in vehicle management in the conventional technology. As shown in Fig. 2, when two vehicles, 91A and 91B, move backwards in succession, the remaining tread depth of the tires measured by the measuring unit 95 immediately after the passing determination unit 94 communicates with the communication device 92A of the vehicle 91A is the two front wheels of the vehicle 91A and the four rear wheels of the vehicle 91B, and the remaining tread depth data of the four rear wheels of the vehicle 91B is erroneously linked and recorded as the management information of the vehicle 91A.

[0019] Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining another example of a pattern in which erroneous recognition occurs in vehicle management in the conventional technology. As shown in Fig. 3, when a vehicle 91 moves forward, a passing determination unit 94 communicates with a communication device 92 of the vehicle 91, a measurement unit 95 measures the remaining tread depth data of the front wheels, and then the vehicle stops and moves backwards, the measurement unit 95 next measures the remaining tread depth of the same front wheels, and therefore erroneously records the remaining tread depth data of the front wheels as the remaining tread depth data of the rear wheels as management information for the vehicle 91.

[0020] Fig. 4 is a diagram (viewed from above) for explaining another example of a pattern in which erroneous recognition occurs in vehicle management in the conventional technology. As shown typically in Fig. 4, when vehicle 91A, which is a registered vehicle in the vehicle management system, is not intended to measure the remaining tread depth, if vehicle 91B, which is not a registered vehicle in the management system, passes over measurement unit 95 immediately after passage determination unit 94 communicates with communication device 92A of vehicle 91A, the remaining tread depth data of vehicle 91B is erroneously linked and recorded as management information for vehicle 91A.

[0021] An embodiment of a vehicle and a vehicle management system according to the present disclosure, which have been obtained based on the above findings, will be described below by way of example.

[0022] <Vehicle> FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a system including a vehicle and a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a communication device 2 (2a, 2b) capable of communicating with a passage determination unit 4 (a component of a vehicle management system 3) that determines the passage of the vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is provided with a plurality of communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) having the same vehicle information (identification information that can identify the vehicle). The communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) have a communication function and a vehicle identification function. Specifically, the communication device 2 may be a communication device that can be read by RFID, ETC (registered trademark), or a device using Wi-Fi (registered trademark), etc.

[0023] In the illustrated example, the communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) are provided at the front and rear of the vehicle (one each). In the illustrated example, the vehicle 1 is provided with two communication devices 2 (2a, 2b), but may be provided with three or more communication devices 2. In that case, it is preferable that one or more communication devices 2 are provided at the front and rear of the vehicle. The front of the vehicle is preferably within an area extending from the front end of the vehicle to ¼ of the length of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction (toward the rear end). The rear of the vehicle is preferably within an area extending from the rear end of the vehicle to ¼ of the length of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction (toward the front end). The communication device 2 preferably has information on the installation position of the communication device 2 within the vehicle 1. The information on the installation position is preferably information on the position of the communication device 2 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1, specifically. The information on the installation position may further have information on the position of the communication device 2 in the width direction of the vehicle 1 (for example, on which side, left or right). In addition, it is also preferable to arrange the communication device 2a provided at the front of the vehicle and the communication device 2b provided at the rear of the vehicle so that the communication ranges of the communication device 2a provided at the front of the vehicle and the communication device 2b provided at the rear of the vehicle are sufficiently separated in the fore-and-aft direction so that they do not overlap.

[0024] The communication device 2 is preferably provided near the tire attached to the vehicle 1. This is because vehicle information can be managed more accurately when the tire condition is measured by the measuring unit 5. FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 6C are diagrams showing examples of the attachment positions of the communication devices. As shown in FIG. 6A, the communication device 2a can be arranged at the position of the front wheels, and the communication device 2b can be arranged at the position of the rear wheels (the rear axle of the two rear wheels). As shown in FIG. 6B, the communication device 2a can be arranged rearward of the front wheels, and the communication device 2b can be arranged forward of the rear wheels (the front axle of the two rear wheels). As shown in FIG. 6C, the communication device 2a can be arranged forward of the front wheels, and the communication device 2b can be arranged rearward of the rear wheels (the rear axle of the two rear wheels). In this way, any combination of the position of the front wheels, the front of the front wheels, and the rear of the front wheels, and any combination of the position of the rear wheels, the front of the rear wheels, and the rear of the rear wheels, can be used. Furthermore, when the communication device 2 is disposed on the inside of a window of the vehicle 1 or in a position where it cannot be directly seen from the vehicle body 1, the communication device 2 can be protected from wind, rain, and flying stones. When the communication device 2 is attached to the outside of the vehicle 1, communication performance can be improved. When three or more communication devices 2 are provided, one of them can be provided in the center of the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1. Furthermore, the positions of the front and rear communication devices 2 in the up-down direction can be the same or different. Furthermore, the position of the communication device 2 in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 is not particularly limited, and it may be provided near the center, for example. This is because communication over a wide range is possible regardless of the installation position of the passage determination unit 4.

[0025] <Vehicle management system> A vehicle management system 3 according to one embodiment of the present invention is a system that manages the vehicle 1 of the above embodiment. As shown in Fig. 5, the vehicle management system 3 includes a passage determination unit 4. The passage determination unit 4 has a communication unit (not shown) and is configured to communicate with the communication device 2 and manage vehicle information held by multiple communication devices 2a, 2b (corresponding to the respective installation positions of the multiple communication devices 2) in the vehicle 1 as vehicle information of the vehicle 1. The passage determination unit 4 may include, for example, a processor.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 5, the vehicle management system 3 of this embodiment further includes a measurement unit 5 that measures the tire condition. The measurement unit 5 can be, for example, a wear sensor. The measurement unit 5 can be installed by embedding it in the road surface. The measurement unit 5 preferably includes a communication unit. As long as the passage determination unit 4 and the measurement unit 5 are provided in the vicinity of each other, their relative positions in the front, rear, left and right directions are not particularly limited and can be variously arranged. The following describes the effects of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle management system 3 of this embodiment.

[0027] <Action and effect> First, a vehicle 1 of this embodiment is provided with a plurality of communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) having the same vehicle information, and the communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) are provided at the front and rear of the vehicle, respectively. This allows the passage determination unit 4 to communicate with the communication device 2 and manage the vehicle information held by the multiple communication devices 2a, 2b in the vehicle 1 (vehicle information from the communication device 2a provided at the front of the vehicle and vehicle information from the communication device 2b provided at the rear of the vehicle) as vehicle information of the vehicle 1.

[0028] 2, by managing the vehicle information of the communication device 2b at the rear of the first vehicle 1A and the communication device 2a at the front of the vehicle 1A as the vehicle information of the vehicle 1A, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of erroneous recognition. Note that the communication device 2a at the front of the first vehicle 1A and the communication device 2b at the rear of the second vehicle 1B have different vehicle information, so it is possible to prevent erroneous management such as the vehicle information of the vehicle 1B being mixed with the vehicle information of the vehicle 1A.

[0029] Regarding the erroneous recognition pattern shown in FIG. 3, when vehicle 1 moves as shown in FIG. 3, the passage determination unit 4 communicates only with the communication device 2a in front of vehicle 1, thereby preventing the vehicle information of vehicle 1A from being managed as incomplete information.

[0030] Regarding the erroneous recognition pattern shown in Figure 4, when vehicle 1 moves as shown in Figure 4, the passage determination unit 4 communicates only with the communication device 2a in front of vehicle 1A, thereby preventing the vehicle information of vehicle 1A from being managed as incomplete information.

[0031] As described above, the vehicle 1 of this embodiment can accurately manage the vehicle 1. In particular, the present embodiment can prevent erroneous recognition and can accurately manage the vehicle 1, particularly in small areas where multiple vehicles may approach each other, such as service stations, parking lots, and roads.

[0032] In the vehicle 1, it is preferable that the communication device 2 (2a, 2b) has information on the installation position of the communication device 2 in the vehicle 1. This allows for more accurate management of the vehicle. For example, if the communication device 2a provided at the front of the vehicle and having information that the installation position is at the front of the vehicle communicates with the passage determination unit 4 first, and then the communication device 2b provided at the rear of the vehicle and having information that the installation position is at the rear of the vehicle communicates with the passage determination unit 4, the passage determination unit 4 can determine that the vehicle 1 is moving forward, and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 can be included in the information on the passage determination. When determining the tire state as described later, it is also possible to prevent erroneous registration of information on the front wheels and information on the rear wheels.

[0033] Next, the vehicle management system 3 of this embodiment is equipped with a passing determination unit 4, and the passing determination unit 4 is configured to communicate with a communication device 2 (2a, 2b) and manage the vehicle information held by multiple communication devices 2a, 2b in the vehicle 1 as vehicle information of the vehicle 1. This enables the passage determination unit 4 to communicate with the communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) and manage the vehicle information held by the multiple communication devices 2a, 2b in the vehicle 1 (vehicle information from the communication device 2a provided at the front of the vehicle and vehicle information from the communication device 2b provided at the rear of the vehicle) as vehicle information for the vehicle 1.

[0034] As with the above-described operational effects of the vehicle 1 of this embodiment, erroneous recognition of the patterns shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 does not occur. Therefore, the vehicle management system 3 of this embodiment can accurately manage vehicles.

[0035] It is preferable that the vehicle management system 3 further includes a measurement unit 5 that measures the tire condition, because this allows not only the passage of the vehicle 1 but also the tire condition to be managed (linked to the vehicle information of the vehicle 1 and the passage information).

[0036] In the vehicle management system 3, it is preferable that the passage determination unit 4 determines that the vehicle has passed when it has continuously communicated with different communication devices 2a, 2b in the same vehicle 1 having the same vehicle information. This is because it allows for more accurate vehicle management. In particular, it is effective in further preventing the erroneous recognition pattern shown in FIG. 2.

[0037] In the vehicle management system 3, when the passage determination unit 4 continuously communicates with different communication devices 2a, 2b in the same vehicle 1 having the same vehicle information, it is preferable that the passage determination unit 4 determines the vehicle passage time to be any time between the time of communication with one communication device (2a or 2b) and the time of communication with the other communication device (2b or 2a). This is because it allows for more accurate vehicle management.

[0038] In the vehicle management system 3, it is preferable that the passage determination unit 4 further determines the direction in which the vehicle 1 passes relative to the measurement unit 5, based on the installation position information held by the communication device 2 (2a, 2b). This is because it is possible to manage whether the vehicle 1 passes forward or backward.

[0039] In order to avoid the erroneous recognition pattern of Figure 4, it is preferable that the passage determination unit 4 does not determine that a vehicle has passed when communicating with a communication device with different vehicle information among the communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) having the same vehicle information.

[0040] The communication distance between the communication device 2 and the passage determination unit 4 is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, 50 cm to 1 m in the traveling direction (passing direction) of the vehicle 1.

[0041] In a multi-storey parking lot or the like where the passage determination units 4 are installed above and below the vehicle 1, it is preferable that the communication devices 2 installed at the front and rear of the vehicle are also installed at the top and bottom of the vehicle (for example, one at the front and top of the vehicle, one at the front and bottom of the vehicle, one at the rear and top of the vehicle, and one at the rear and bottom of the vehicle). This is because the communication devices 2 at the top of the vehicle and the communication devices 2 at the bottom of the vehicle, which have the same vehicle information, can be linked to the vehicle 1 to perform more accurate vehicle management. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1: Vehicle, 2: communication devices, 3: Vehicle management system, 4: Passage determination section, 5: Measuring part, 91: Vehicles, 92: Communication devices, 93: Vehicle management system, 94: Passage determination section, 95: Measuring part

Claims

1. A vehicle equipped with a communication device capable of communicating with a passage determination unit that determines the passage of a vehicle, providing a plurality of the communication devices each having the same vehicle information; The vehicle, wherein the communication devices are provided at a front and a rear of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the communication device has information on an installation position of the communication device within the vehicle.

3. A vehicle management system for managing the vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, The vehicle management system includes the passage determination unit, The system is characterized in that the passage determination unit is configured to communicate with the communication device and manage the vehicle information held by the multiple communication devices in the vehicle as the vehicle information of the vehicle.

4. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the vehicle management system further comprises a measurement unit for measuring a tire condition.

5. The system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the passage determination unit determines that the vehicle has passed when successive communications have been performed with different communication devices in the same vehicle having the same vehicle information.

6. The system described in claim 3 or 4, wherein the passage determination unit, when communicating continuously with different communication devices in the same vehicle having the same vehicle information, determines that the vehicle passage time is any time between the time around the time of communication with one of the communication devices and the time around the time of communication with the other of the communication devices.

7. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the passage determination unit further determines a direction in which the vehicle passes relative to the measurement unit, based on installation position information held by the communication device.

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