Vehicle and vehicle management system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle and a vehicle management system compatible with various vehicles and capable of accurately managing the vehicles.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. At least one communication device is provided at left and right sides of the vehicle, respectively. A vehicle management system manages the above vehicle and includes the pass-by determination unit and a measurement unit which measures tire condition. The pass-by determination unit is configured to communicate with the communication devices to manage the vehicle information in one of the communication devices of the vehicle, as the vehicle information of the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

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, vehicles 91A and 91B are respectively equipped with communication devices (RFID) 92A and 92B. A vehicle management system 93 includes a passage determination unit (RFID receiver) 94 and a measurement unit 95. When the vehicles 91A and 91B approach, the passage determination unit 94 communicates with the communication devices 92A and 92B and receives information (such as vehicle identification information) of the vehicles 91A and 92B. This allows the vehicle management system 93 to record the passage times of the vehicles 91A and 92B. The measurement unit 95 is, for example, a device that measures tire conditions (such as wear conditions such as remaining tread depth), and can record the remaining tread depth data in association with the measurement time (in FIG. 1, the tires are shown as black rectangles). The passage determination unit 94 can manage the remaining tread depth data measured around the time of communication with the communication devices 92A and 92B of the vehicles 91A and 91B as the remaining tread depth information at the above-mentioned passage time of the vehicle 91. In this way, information on the vehicle's passing time and tire condition can be linked to vehicle data and managed. [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, since the distance between the left and right measurement targets (tires in this example) differs depending on the size of the vehicle, for example, if the separation distance between the two measurement units 95 is set so that the tire condition can be properly measured on a smaller vehicle 91A, on a larger vehicle 92A, one of the left and right tires may be misaligned in the width direction from the position of the measurement unit 95, making measurement difficult. Similarly, if the position of the measurement unit 95 is set based on the larger vehicle 92A, measurement may be difficult on the smaller vehicle 91A.

[0006] One solution to this problem would be to increase the size of the measuring unit (sensor), but this would increase costs.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle and a vehicle management system that can handle a variety of vehicles and accurately manage the vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] 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; A vehicle, characterized in that at least one of the communication devices is provided on the left side and the right side of the vehicle.

[0009] (2) The vehicle described in (1) above, wherein the communication unit has information on the installation location of the communication unit within the vehicle.

[0010] (3) A vehicle management system for managing the vehicle according to (1) or (2), The vehicle management system includes the passage determination unit and a measurement unit that measures a tire condition, 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 any one of the plurality of communication devices in the vehicle as the vehicle information of the vehicle.

[0011] (4) The system described in (3) above, wherein the passage determination unit further determines the direction of vehicle passage based on installation location information held by the communication device.

[0012] (5) The system according to (3) or (4), wherein each tire is associated with a measured tire condition based on the determined direction of vehicle passage. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle and a vehicle management system that can handle various vehicles and accurately manage the vehicles. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a conventional technique. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle and a vehicle management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the operation and effect of one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0016] <Vehicle> FIG. 2 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. 2, a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is equipped 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.

[0017] In this example, at least one communication device 2 (2a, 2b) is provided on the front left side and the right side of the vehicle (one each in the illustrated example). 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 on the left side and the right side of the vehicle. The left side of the vehicle is preferably within an area from the left end of the vehicle to 1 / 4 of the width of the vehicle body (toward the right end). In addition, the right side of the vehicle is preferably within an area from the right end of the vehicle to 1 / 4 of the width of the vehicle body (toward the left end). The communication device 2 preferably has information on the installation position of the communication device 2 in the vehicle 1. Specifically, the information on the installation position is preferably information on the position in the width direction of the vehicle 1. The information on the installation position may further have information on the position in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1. In addition, it is also preferable to arrange the communication device 2a (2b) provided on the left side of the vehicle and the communication device 2b (2a) provided on the right side of the vehicle so that their communication ranges do not overlap with each other in the width direction of the vehicle body 1.

[0018] 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. In addition, when the communication device 2 is provided on the inside of the window of the vehicle body 1 or in a position where the vehicle body 1 cannot be directly seen, 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 body 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 width of the vehicle body 1. The positions of the left and right communication devices 2 in the front-rear direction are preferably the same in the front of the vehicle body (preferably within an area from the front end of the vehicle to 1 / 4 of the length of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction (toward the rear end side)), or preferably the same in the rear of the vehicle body (preferably within an area from the rear end of the vehicle to 1 / 4 of the length of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction (toward the front end side)). In addition, the positions in the up-down direction of the left and right communication devices 2 may be the same or different.

[0019] <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 any one of the 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.

[0020] As shown in Fig. 2, 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, for example, by embedding it in the road surface. It is preferable that the measurement unit 5 has a communication unit. Note that, in Fig. 2 and other figures, tires are also shown diagrammatically as black rectangular shapes. The following describes the effects of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle management system 3 of this embodiment.

[0021] <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 at least one communication device 2 (2a, 2b) is provided on each of the left and right sides of the vehicle. As a result, if the passage determination unit 4 can communicate with either the left or right communication device 2 (either 2a or 2b), it can manage the vehicle information held by either of the communication devices 2 (either 2a or 2b) as vehicle information of the vehicle 1. As shown in Fig. 2, if the left side of the vehicle body 1 is the side closer to the passage determination unit 4 when traveling forward, the passage determination unit 4 can communicate with the left communication device 2a when traveling backward, and on the other hand, the passage determination unit 4 can communicate with the right communication device 2b when traveling backward.

[0022] 3, the case where the right side of the vehicle body 1 is closer to the passage determination unit 4 is shown as an example of forward travel, and if a small vehicle body 1A travels so that its right tire is measured by the measurement unit 5, the communication device 2Ab can communicate with the passage determination unit 4, and if a large vehicle body 1B travels so that its right tire is measured by the measurement unit 5, the communication device 2Bb can communicate with the passage determination unit 4. In both the small and large cases, the passage determination unit 4 links the passage information to the information on the vehicle bodies 1A and 1B, and the tire condition measured by the measurement unit 5 is further linked to this, thereby enabling management of the vehicle body 1. The above effects can be obtained in the same way regardless of the forward travel direction. In this way, according to the vehicle body 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to handle various vehicles and perform accurate vehicle management.

[0023] 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 within the vehicle 1. This allows for more accurate management of the vehicle. For example, when the passage determination unit 4 communicates with a communication device 2 that has information that the installation position is on the left side of the vehicle, it can determine that the tire condition is information on the left wheel, and it can also be prevented from being erroneously registered as information on the right wheel.

[0024] Next, the vehicle management system 3 of this embodiment includes a passage determination unit 4, and the passage determination unit 4 is configured to communicate with the communication devices 2 (2a, 2b) and manage vehicle information held by any of the multiple communication devices 2a, 2b in the vehicle 1 as vehicle information of the vehicle 1. The vehicle management system 3 also includes a measurement unit 5 that measures tire conditions. As a result, if the passage determination unit 4 can communicate with either the left or right communication device 2 (either 2a or 2b), it can manage the vehicle information held by the communication device 2 (either 2a or 2b) as the vehicle information of the vehicle 1. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, if the left side of the vehicle body 1 is closer to the passage determination unit 4, in the forward direction, the passage determination unit 4 can communicate with the left communication device 2a, and in the reverse direction, the passage determination unit 4 can communicate with the right communication device 2b. In addition, the tire condition measured by the measurement unit 5 can be further linked to the tire condition measured by the measurement unit 5 to manage the vehicle body 1. The above effects can be obtained in the same way regardless of which direction is forward. In this way, the vehicle body management system 3 of this embodiment can handle a variety of vehicles and accurately manage the vehicles.

[0025] It is preferable that the passage determination unit 4 further determines the direction of vehicle passage based on the installation position information held by the communication device 2. This is because it is possible to manage whether the vehicle 1 has passed forward or backward.

[0026] It is preferable to associate each tire with the measured tire condition based on the determined direction of vehicle passage, because this makes it possible to accurately associate each tire with its tire condition even if the vehicle passes in a direction different from the expected traveling direction.

[0027] It is preferable that the measuring unit 5 is configured to measure the tire condition of only one tire, either the left or right side. Specifically, it is possible to make the measuring unit 5 small and only one. It is also preferable that the measuring unit 5 has a communication unit, and the communication distance of the communication unit is shorter than the distance to the communication device 2 whose width direction position is the furthest.

[0028] In this system, it is preferable that when the passage determination unit 4 determines that the vehicle body 1 has passed in a forward direction, the measurement unit 5 is configured to measure only the tires on one side, and when the passage determination unit 4 determines that the vehicle body 1 has passed in a reverse direction, the measurement unit 5 is configured to measure only the tires on the opposite side to the above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 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; A vehicle, characterized in that at least one of the communication devices is provided on each of the left and right sides of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the communication unit has information on an installation position of the communication unit 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 and a measurement unit that measures a tire condition, 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 any one of the plurality of communication devices in the vehicle as the vehicle information of the vehicle.

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

5. 5. The system of claim 3 or 4, further comprising: associating each said tire with a measured tire condition based on the determined direction of vehicle passage.

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