System

Abstract

To provide a system capable of improving accuracy in identifying a fatigue degree of components constituting a vehicle.SOLUTION: A system includes: an identification section for identifying a fatigue degree of a predetermined component equipped in a vehicle based on road surface information indicating a road surface state and route information indicating a route for traveling of the vehicle; and a notification section for notifying a user of information related to the fatigue degree based on the identified fatigue degree. For example, the road surface information is the information indicating irregularity of a road surface. The identification section identifies the fatigue degree based on an irregularity state of a road surface on the route where the vehicle travels.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when evaluating a used vehicle, it is known to judge the fatigue level (life expectancy) of the vehicle based on the mileage and model year of the vehicle.

[0003] For example, a remaining life prediction device that predicts the fatigue (life) of components that make up a vehicle is disclosed in which life-related data is transmitted via wireless communication to a server at a remaining life management center along with the accumulated mileage related to the vehicle's travel, and the mileage where the accumulated mileage changes discontinuously is identified as a data-unacquired mileage where the remaining life management center was unable to receive life-related data, and the remaining life is predicted based on the unacquired mileage, taking into account the reduction in the life of the components during that data-unacquired mileage (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0004] Also, for example, a fatigue damage estimation device is described that includes an acquisition unit that acquires detection results from a parameter detection unit that detects parameters used when calculating a fatigue damage degree indicating the degree of fatigue in components that constitute the vehicle for each unit driving distance of the vehicle, and a calculation unit that calculates the fatigue damage degree for each unit driving distance based on the detection results acquired for each unit driving distance (see, for example, Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-67594 [Patent Document 2] JP 2017-96672 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The remaining life predicting device according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 predicts the remaining life based on the accumulated mileage.

[0007] Moreover, the fatigue damage level estimating device according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 2 calculates the fatigue damage level based on a unit traveling distance.

[0008] However, the load on the components of a vehicle varies depending on the driving environment of the vehicle. Therefore, even if the driving distance is the same, the degree of fatigue of each component will differ if the driving environment of the vehicle is different.

[0009] When determining the fatigue level of a part, the driving environment of the vehicle was not sufficiently taken into consideration, which may result in a decrease in accuracy in determining the fatigue level of the part.

[0010] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a system that can improve the accuracy of identifying the degree of fatigue of components that constitute a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, the system of the present disclosure comprises: an identification unit that identifies a fatigue level of a predetermined part of the vehicle based on road surface information indicating a road surface condition and route information indicating a route along which the vehicle travels; a notification unit that notifies a user of information regarding the fatigue level based on the determined fatigue level; Equipped with. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of components that constitute a vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic functional configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of damage and each of the time-series data and the environmental data. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the amount of metal fatigue damage for each component. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the maintenance alerts for each vehicle. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The system in the embodiment of the present disclosure identifies the fatigue level of a part based on data indicating the environment, since the fatigue level of the parts constituting the vehicle may differ depending on the vehicle environment when the vehicle is used by the user. In this embodiment, the road surface environment is described as an example of data indicating the environment. Furthermore, chassis system parts constituting the chassis system of the vehicle are described as an example of parts for which fatigue levels are to be identified. Furthermore, the fatigue level of metal fatigue is described as an example of fatigue level. Note that in the present disclosure, the data indicating the environment is not limited to the road surface environment, the parts for which fatigue levels are to be identified are not limited to chassis system parts, and the fatigue level is not limited to the fatigue level of metal fatigue. In the following description, chassis system parts may be simply referred to as "parts".

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, a system 100 according to the present embodiment has a server 1a. In FIG. 1, arrows indicate main data flows, and there may be data flows not shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1, each functional block indicates a functional configuration, not a hardware (device) configuration. Therefore, the functional blocks shown in FIG. 1 may be implemented in a single device, or may be implemented separately in multiple devices. Data may be exchanged between functional blocks via any means, such as a data bus or a communication network.

[0016] The server 1a includes a control device 1. The control device 1 includes a storage unit 2 and a control unit 3. The server 1a also includes a communication unit 4.

[0017] (Communications Department 4) The communication unit 4 transmits and receives data to and from the vehicle. Detection data indicating the detection results detected by the sensor and measurement data indicating the measurement results measured by the measuring instrument are transmitted from the first vehicle to the communication unit 4. In the following description, the detection data and measurement data transmitted from the first vehicle are referred to as "management data". The management data includes vehicle position information, which is time-series data in which information indicating the position of the vehicle is arranged in chronological order. The vehicle position information, which is time-series data in which information indicating the position of the vehicle is arranged in chronological order, can be, for example, route information indicating the route on which the vehicle travels. The communication unit 4 receives route information from the vehicle. In addition, the management data includes vehicle speed information and vehicle weight information (including load). The vehicle transmits various management data to the communication unit 4 at predetermined times according to the type of the management data.

[0018] (Storage unit 2) The memory unit 2 is a storage device such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of the computer that realizes the control device 1, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as the working area of ​​the control device 1, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or an SSD (Solid State Drive) that stores the OS (Operating System), application programs, various information referenced when the application programs are executed, and various maps.

[0019] The storage unit 2 stores the management data received by the communication unit 4. The storage unit 2 also stores environmental data indicating the environment.

[0020] (Environmental data, first map information) Next, the environmental data will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of damage and each of the time-series data and the environmental data. The environmental data includes first map information. In the first map information 201 (see FIG. 5), road surface information is represented as points of a predetermined color on a map. The road surface information is information showing the state of the road surface. The road surface information includes, for example, an uneven section of the road surface and an IRI (International Roughness Index), which is an index showing the degree of the unevenness of the road surface. For example, the uneven section is a section where the IRI is higher than a predetermined threshold. The IRI is a numerical value (mm / m or m / km) obtained by dividing the section cumulative value by the travel distance. Chassis system parts that constitute the chassis system of a vehicle suffer metal fatigue damage according to the magnitude of the IRI when the vehicle travels through the uneven section represented by the IRI. In addition, parts suffer metal fatigue damage according to the number of times the vehicle travels through the uneven section. Therefore, the metal fatigue damage is related to the magnitude and number (N) of the IRI. In FIG. 2, the relationship between metal fatigue damage and the first map information (IRI) and the number of times (N) is indicated by "○".

[0021] The control unit 3 is a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) of the control device 1, and functions as an acquisition unit 30, a calculation unit 31, and an identification unit 32 by executing programs stored in the storage unit 2.

[0022] 1 shows an example in which the control device 1 is configured as a single device. However, the control device 1 may be realized by, for example, multiple processors, memories, and other computational resources. In this case, each unit constituting the control unit 3 is realized by at least one of multiple different processors executing a program.

[0023] (Acquisition part 30) The acquisition unit 30 acquires the management data from the communication unit 4. The control unit 3 stores the management data acquired by the acquisition unit 30 (data indicating vehicle position information, vehicle speed information, and vehicle weight information) in the storage unit 2. Note that the vehicle position information 203 (see FIG. 5) may be referred to as GPS (Global Positioning System) information.

[0024] (Calculation unit 31) The calculation unit 31 calculates the number of times the vehicle has traveled through the bumpy section based on the vehicle position information.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the damage amount of metal fatigue of each part. The calculation unit 31 calculates the damage amount of metal fatigue of the part based on the vehicle position information and the first map information. Specifically, the calculation unit 31 calculates the damage amount of metal fatigue of the part based on the magnitude of IRI and the number of times (N). For example, the damage amount of metal fatigue is a multiplication value obtained by multiplying the magnitude of IRI and the number of times (N). FIG. 3 shows the damage amount of metal fatigue of parts A, B, and C, respectively, which are "320,000", "12,900", and "84,200". Note that the damage amount due to unevenness of the road surface is not limited to the above-mentioned method, and it is also possible to calculate the damage amount based on the integral amount of the magnitude of IRI, which indicates the degree of unevenness of the road surface on the route passed by the vehicle. The calculation unit 31 calculates a larger damage amount when the vehicle runs on a road surface with a large degree of unevenness many times or for a long time.

[0026] (Specific Section 32) The identifying unit 32 identifies the degree of metal fatigue of the part based on the amount of damage caused by the metal fatigue of the part. The identifying unit 32 identifies the degree of metal fatigue of the part by determining that the greater the amount of damage caused by the metal fatigue of the part, the greater the degree of metal fatigue of the part. The identifying unit 32 identifies the degree of fatigue of the part as each of the states of "R", "G" and "Y". The "R" state indicates a high degree of fatigue, and is a state that requires prompt maintenance or part replacement from the viewpoint of safety. The "G" state indicates a low degree of fatigue, and is a state that requires maintenance at the time of vehicle inspection (at the time of annual inspection) depending on the situation. The "Y" state indicates a medium degree of fatigue, and is a state that requires maintenance at the time of regular inspection (at the time of three-month inspection) depending on the situation.

[0027] Furthermore, the identifying unit 32 identifies the time or mileage until the risk of failure increases to a certain level or more, based on the amount of damage caused by metal fatigue of the part. Details will be described later in Modification 3 with reference to Fig. 4. The time or mileage until the risk of failure increases to a certain level or more can be said to be the time (inspection time) or mileage (inspection mileage) until an action such as inspection, repair, or replacement is required.

[0028] (Notification Section 5) The notification unit 5 has a display unit. The display unit displays the amount of damage and the fatigue level of the part (accumulated damage amount of the part). Furthermore, the standard assessment assesses damage to the interior and exterior. With the standard assessment alone, it is difficult to improve the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of the part, but by displaying the amount of damage and the fatigue level of the part, it becomes possible to improve the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of the part. The notification unit 5 corresponds to the "notification unit" of the present disclosure.

[0029] Next, an example of the operation of the system in the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the system in the embodiment of the present disclosure. This flow is started by an input operation by a user using a terminal device (tablet terminal), for example.

[0030] First, in step S110, the acquisition unit 30 acquires the vehicle position information 203 (GPS information). The acquisition unit 30 also acquires the first map information 201.

[0031] Next, in step S120, the calculation unit 31 calculates the amount of damage caused by metal fatigue based on the vehicle position information 203 and the first map information 201.

[0032] Next, in step S130, the identifying unit 32 identifies the fatigue level of the part based on the calculated damage amount.

[0033] Next, in step S140, the control device 1 outputs information indicating the fatigue level of the part to the notification unit 5 (display unit), after which this flow ends.

[0034] The system 100 in the above embodiment includes an identification unit 32 that identifies the fatigue level of a specific part of the vehicle based on road surface information indicating the state of the road surface and route information indicating the route along which the vehicle travels, and a notification unit 5 that notifies the user of information regarding the fatigue level based on the identified fatigue level. As a result, the fatigue level of the part is identified using accurate information, so it is possible to increase the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of the part. In addition, it is possible to notify the user of clearer information regarding the fatigue level. In addition, system 100 in the above embodiment is a system for identifying the fatigue degree of parts that constitute a vehicle, and includes an acquisition unit 30 that acquires vehicle position information 203, which is time series data in which information indicating the vehicle's position is arranged in chronological order, and first map information 201, which is environmental data, a calculation unit 31 that calculates the amount of damage to the parts based on the vehicle position information 203 and the first map information 201, and an identification unit 32 that identifies the fatigue degree of the parts based on the calculated amount of damage.

[0035] With the above configuration, the amount of damage to the components that make up the vehicle is calculated based on data indicating the environment of the vehicle when the vehicle is used by the user, thereby making it possible to improve the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of the components.

[0036] Furthermore, in system 100 in the above embodiment, the data includes time-series data including vehicle position information in which information indicating the vehicle position is arranged in chronological order, and environmental data indicating the surrounding environment of the vehicle, and calculation unit 31 calculates the amount of damage to the parts based on the time-series data and the environmental data. This makes it possible to clarify the environment in which the vehicle is used, and as the environment becomes clearer, the accuracy of calculating the amount of damage to the parts increases, making it possible to further improve the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of the parts.

[0037] In the system 100 according to the embodiment, the parts include chassis system parts that constitute the chassis system of the vehicle. This makes it possible to relatively easily assess the chassis system parts. In addition, the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of the chassis system parts can be improved, making it possible to operate the vehicle more safely.

[0038] Furthermore, in the system 100 in the above embodiment, the environmental data includes at least one of first map information 201 in which road surface information is displayed on a map and second map information 202 in which salt damage information is displayed on a map. This allows the fatigue level of the parts to be identified based on the road surface information or the salt damage information, so that the environment in which the vehicle is used becomes clearer, and the accuracy of calculating the damage level of the parts increases as the environment becomes clearer. As a result, it becomes possible to further increase the accuracy of identifying the fatigue level of the parts.

[0039] Moreover, the system 100 in the above embodiment further includes a storage unit 2 that stores at least one of the first map information 201 and the second map information 202. It is possible to appropriately read out the first map information 201 or the second map information 202 from the storage unit 2 and specify the fatigue level of the part using the read out map.

[0040] In the system 100 according to the above embodiment, the amount of damage includes at least one of information indicating the degree of rust and information indicating the degree of metal fatigue. This makes it possible to more accurately identify the degree of fatigue of the part from the perspective of rust or metal fatigue, thereby making it possible to further improve the accuracy of the degree of fatigue of the part.

[0041] (Variation 1) In the system 100 in the above embodiment, the amount of metal fatigue damage to the parts is calculated based on the vehicle position information 203, which is time-series data, and the first map information 201, which is environmental data, and the fatigue level of the parts is identified based on the calculated amount of damage. In contrast, in the system 100 in the first modification, the first map information 201 is replaced with the second map information 202 as the environmental data, and the second map information 202 is used to calculate the amount of rust damage to the parts. The system 100 in the first modification will be described below. In the description of the first modification, configurations different from the above embodiment will be mainly described, and the same configurations will be denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

[0042] (Environmental data, second map information) The second map information 202 (see FIG. 5) shows on a map salt damage areas and map information showing the magnitude of the stress amount that quantifies the stress on the parts. Salt damage is caused by salt when the atmosphere contains a lot of salt due to seawater in an area close to the sea. For example, salt damage is the occurrence of rust on parts. A salt damage area is an area where the degree of salt damage is large. For example, a salt damage area is an area that is a range that is shorter than a predetermined distance from the sea (coast). The stress amount is, for example, a parameter that is preset according to the salt concentration contained in the atmosphere. The larger the stress amount, the more the influence of rust and the like appears on the parts of the vehicle that stayed there. "Salt damage information" refers to information showing salt damage areas and the magnitude of the stress amount. It is divided into multiple stages according to the magnitude of the stress amount, and each divided stress amount is displayed in a predetermined color. The parts are damaged by salt damage. The stress amount on the parts is smaller according to the level of the rust prevention performance of the parts. Therefore, the amount of stress on components in salt-damaged areas is a relative value that takes into account the level of rust prevention performance of the components.

[0043] Damage caused by salt damage includes damage caused by salt contained in seawater carried to salt damage areas (e.g., coastal areas) by wind, etc. When a vehicle drives through a salt damage area or is parked or stopped in a salt damage area, parts are subject to rust damage from seawater depending on the time the vehicle stays in the salt damage area (driving time, parked time, stopped time). Parts are also subject to rust damage from seawater depending on the amount of stress. Therefore, rust damage is related to both the time spent there (sec) and the second map (amount of stress). In Figure 2, the relationship between rust (seawater) damage and the second map (amount of stress) and time (sec) is indicated by "○".

[0044] In the system 100 of the first modification, the calculation unit 31 calculates the time (sec) that the vehicle stayed in a salt damage area (e.g., a coastal area) based on the vehicle position information, and calculates the amount of rust damage to the parts based on the stay time and the second map information (amount of stress). The identification unit 32 identifies the fatigue level of the parts based on the amount of damage.

[0045] In the first variant example, the environmental data is changed from the first map information to the second map information, and the amount of rust damage to the parts caused by seawater (salt) is calculated based on the second map. However, the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the amount of damage to the parts (the amount of damage caused by metal fatigue, the amount of rust damage caused by salt) may be calculated based on both the first map information and the second map information.

[0046] (Variation 2) Next, the system 100 in the modified example 2 will be described. In the description of the modified example 2, the configuration different from the above embodiment will be mainly described, and the same configuration will be given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Damage caused by salt damage includes damage caused by salt contained in seawater, as well as damage caused by salt (calcium chloride or sodium chloride) contained in the snow-melting agent sprayed on the road surface. In the following description, the area where the snow-melting agent is sprayed on the road surface will be referred to as the "snow-melting agent sprayed area."

[0047] As described in the first modification, the second map information 202 (see FIG. 5) is a map showing salt damage areas and map information showing the magnitude of the stress amount that quantifies the stress on the parts. Also, "salt damage information" refers to information showing the salt damage areas and the magnitude of the stress amount. The stress amount is divided into a number of stages, and each divided stress amount is displayed in a predetermined color. The parts are damaged by salt damage.

[0048] Damage caused by salt includes rust damage to parts when a vehicle travels through a salt damage area (for example, an area where de-icing agents are sprayed) or when the vehicle is parked or stopped in an area where de-icing agents are sprayed. Parts suffer rust damage from de-icing agents depending on the distance (m) that the vehicle travels through the salt damage area. Parts also suffer rust damage from de-icing agents depending on the amount of stress. Therefore, rust damage from de-icing agents is related to both the distance traveled (m) and the second map (amount of stress). In Figure 2, the relationship between rust (de-icing agents), distance (m), and second map information (amount of stress) is indicated by "○".

[0049] In the system 100 of the second modification, the calculation unit 31 calculates the distance (m) that the vehicle has traveled in a salt damage area (e.g., an area where snow-melting agent has been sprayed) based on the vehicle position information, and calculates the amount of rust damage to the part based on the traveled distance (m) and the second map information (amount of stress). The identification unit 32 identifies the fatigue level of the part based on the amount of damage.

[0050] In addition, the road administrator designates areas where snow-melting agent is to be sprayed depending on the weather conditions, and sprays the snow-melting agent on the road surface. The server 1a may collect information indicating the areas where snow-melting agent is to be sprayed via the vehicle-mounted terminal, and display the collected areas where snow-melting agent is to be sprayed on the second map.

[0051] In Modification 2, the environmental data is changed from the first map information to the second map information, and the amount of damage to the parts caused by the rust due to the snow-melting agent is calculated based on the second map, but the present disclosure is not limited to this, and the amount of damage to the parts (the amount of damage due to metal fatigue, the amount of damage to the rust due to the snow-melting agent) may be calculated based on both the first map information and the second map information of Modification 2. Furthermore, the amount of damage to the parts (the amount of damage due to metal fatigue, the amount of damage to the rust due to seawater (salt), the amount of damage to the rust due to the snow-melting agent) may be calculated based on the first map information of the above embodiment, the second map information of Modification 1, and the second map information of Modification 2.

[0052] (Variation 3) Next, the third modification will be described with reference to FIG. 4. In the system in the above embodiment, the damage amount and the fatigue level of the parts are displayed on the notification unit 5 (display unit), but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, a maintenance alert for each vehicle may be output to the driver and / or manager's terminal device (tablet terminal, PC terminal). For example, the maintenance alert includes at least one of the time and the mileage until the risk of failure increases to a certain level. The damage amount may be output together with the maintenance alert. FIG. 4 shows "120,000", "80,000", and "1,930,000" as the damage amounts of vehicles A, B, and C, respectively. Also, "26,000h", "100,000h", and "200h" as the time until the risk of failure increases to a certain level, respectively, for vehicles A, B, and C. In addition, the mileages at which the risk of breakdown increases above a certain level for vehicles A, B, and C are shown as "243,000km," "603,400km," and "3,400km," respectively. From the maintenance alert shown in Fig. 4, it is clear that vehicle C requires part replacement, and by replacing the part, it is possible to prevent breakdowns from occurring. This makes it possible to operate the vehicles more safely.

[0053] In addition, in the third modification, the state of each part ("R", "G", and "Y" shown in FIG. 3) may be output together with the maintenance alert and the amount of damage.

[0054] In addition, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely examples of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and the technical scope of the present disclosure should not be interpreted as being limited by them. In other words, the present disclosure can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist or main features thereof. [Industrial Applicability]

[0055] The present disclosure is preferably used for a management device equipped with a system that requires increased accuracy in identifying the fatigue levels of components that constitute a vehicle. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1 Control device 1a Server 2 Storage section 3. Control Unit 4. Communications Department 5. Notification Department 30 Acquisition Department 31 Calculation section 32 Specific part 100 Systems 201 1st Map Information 202 2nd Map Information 203 Vehicle location information (GPS information)

Claims

1. an identification unit that identifies a fatigue level of a predetermined part of the vehicle based on road surface information indicating a road surface condition and route information indicating a route along which the vehicle travels; a notification unit that notifies a user of information regarding the fatigue level based on the determined fatigue level; A system comprising:

2. The road surface information is information indicating unevenness of the road surface, The identification unit identifies the fatigue level based on an unevenness state of a road surface on a route on which the vehicle has traveled. The system of claim 1 .

3. The determination unit determines the fatigue level such that the fatigue level increases as the unevenness of a road surface on a route traveled by the vehicle increases. The system of claim 2.

4. The road surface information is salt damage information indicating a degree of salt damage on the road surface, The identification unit identifies the fatigue level based on the information and a stay time of the vehicle on the route. The system of claim 1 .

5. A storage medium for storing the road surface information; A communication unit that receives the route information from the vehicle; Further having The system of claim 1 .

6. The notification unit notifies the user of at least one of a time and a running distance according to the determined fatigue level. A system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. an identification unit that identifies a fatigue level of a predetermined part of the vehicle based on location information indicating a location of the vehicle at each time and environmental information indicating an environment of the vehicle; a notification unit that notifies a user of information regarding the fatigue level based on the determined fatigue level; A system comprising:

8. The environmental information includes road surface information indicating a road surface condition and route information indicating a route along which the vehicle travels. The system of claim 7.

9. The environmental information includes a stay time of the vehicle at the location. The system of claim 7.

10. The parts include chassis system parts that configure a chassis system of the vehicle. The system of claim 7.

11. The environmental information includes at least one of first map information in which the road surface information is represented on a map and second map information in which salt damage information indicating a degree of salt damage is represented on a map. The system of claim 8.

12. Further comprising a storage unit that stores at least one of the first map information and the second map information. The system of claim 11.

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