Vehicle dispatch management device and vehicle dispatch management method

Abstract

To allow each vehicle to efficiently use a service delivery facility.SOLUTION: A vehicle management device includes: a use request receiving unit for receiving a use request from each vehicle; a vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring vehicle information from each vehicle; an approach area identification unit for identifying an approach area where the vehicles are scheduled to approach each other based on the use request; a candidate location extraction unit for extracting candidate locations within the approaching area; an estimated arrival time calculation unit for calculating an estimated arrival time to the candidate locations by using a stopover route from a current location indicated by the vehicle information to each candidate location and a driving speed; a location determination unit for determining a location of a specific service delivery facility from among the candidate locations based on the estimated arrival time; a travel route updating unit for updating a travel route of the vehicle based on the stopover route corresponding to the determined location; and a travel route notification unit for notifying the vehicle of the updated travel route. The determination unit determines the candidate location that does not overlap a stay time period based on the estimated arrival time as the location.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle allocation management device and a vehicle allocation management method. [Background technology]

[0002] Mobility services are services that provide smooth transportation of passengers and / or luggage by vehicles. Mobility services require efficient vehicle allocation to increase the utilization rate of each vehicle and improve user convenience.

[0003] In some forms of mobility services, vehicles in service stop off at a particular facility to use it, but at the desired time the particular facility may already be in use by another vehicle, and reservation management is often required.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 listed below discloses a technology that calculates an estimated arrival time for a vehicle traveling with the user's terminal to arrive at a berth based on position information between the user's terminal and the berth, allocates a usage time for the vehicle arriving at the berth at the estimated arrival time to use the berth based on the calculated estimated arrival time and the availability of the berth, and notifies the terminal traveling with the vehicle arriving at the berth at the estimated arrival time of the allocated usage time. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-037645 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is premised on the use of a berth at a logistics facility, and does not take into consideration the situation in which vehicles coordinate the reservation of a berth at an appropriate logistics facility among multiple candidate logistics facilities. Therefore, for example, when there are multiple geographically separated locations (facilities) that provide a specific service, it may be possible to accept the use of multiple vehicles at only one location selected from the locations, by considering the arrival time and usage time of each vehicle in operation.

[0007] In view of such problems, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle dispatch management device and a vehicle dispatch management method that enable multiple vehicles (users) to efficiently use a specific service providing facility located at any one of multiple geographically separated locations.

[0008] Incidentally, if a specific service providing facility is mobile, there is no need to set up specific service providing facilities in each geographically distant location, and the use of a vehicle can be accommodated by a mobile specific service providing facility moving to a designated location in response to a request to use the vehicle.

[0009] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle dispatch management device and a vehicle dispatch management method that enable multiple vehicles (users) to efficiently use a mobile specific service providing facility at any one of multiple geographically separated locations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention, which aims to solve the above problems, includes the following invention-specific matters and technical features.

[0011] The present invention according to one aspect is a vehicle dispatch management device for managing the dispatch of a plurality of vehicles. The vehicle dispatch management device includes a usage request receiving unit for receiving a usage request for a specific service transmitted from any of the plurality of vehicles, a vehicle information acquiring unit for acquiring vehicle information including position information and a travel route of the vehicle, an approach area identifying unit for identifying an approach area where the vehicles are scheduled to approach each other on the travel route based on the usage requests from at least two or more of the vehicles at a predetermined reception time, a candidate site extracting unit for extracting candidate sites of a specific service providing facility in the approach area, an expected arrival time calculating unit for calculating an expected arrival time of the vehicle at the candidate site using a stopover route from a current position to each of the candidate sites based on the position information of each of the vehicles and a travel speed, a location determining unit for determining a location of the specific service providing facility from among the candidate sites based on the expected arrival time calculated for each of the vehicles, a travel route updating unit for updating the travel route of the vehicle based on the stopover route corresponding to the location of the specific service providing facility, and a travel route notifying unit for notifying the vehicle of the updated travel route. Then, the location determination unit determines the candidate location that does not overlap with the stay time period based on the expected arrival time of the vehicle as the location of the specific service providing facility.

[0012] The present invention also provides a vehicle allocation management method using a vehicle allocation management device that manages vehicle allocation in response to a vehicle allocation request, a computer program for executing the method, and a recording medium on which the method is non-temporarily recorded. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, a specific service providing facility located at any one of a plurality of geographically separated locations can be efficiently utilized by a plurality of vehicles (users).

[0014] Furthermore, according to the present invention, a specific service providing vehicle that has moved to any one of a plurality of geographically separated locations can be efficiently utilized by a plurality of vehicles (users).

[0015] Other technical features, objects, and operational effects or advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The effects described in this specification are merely examples and are not limited thereto, and other effects may also be present. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration model of a vehicle dispatch control device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing details of the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit in the vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a vehicle allocation management process performed by the vehicle allocation management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5A] FIG. 5A is a flowchart for explaining an example of a specific service providing process by the vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5B] FIG. 5B is a flowchart for explaining an example of a specific service providing process by the vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6A] FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining an example of selection of candidate sites for a specific service providing facility in the vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is a diagram for explaining an example of selection of candidate sites for a specific service providing facility in the vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a table for explaining the expected arrival time of each vehicle at a candidate location in the vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below is merely an example, and there is no intention to exclude various modifications and application of techniques not specified below. The present invention can be implemented by various modifications (for example, combining the respective embodiments) within the scope of the gist of the present invention. In addition, in the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are represented by the same or similar reference numerals. The drawings are schematic and do not necessarily correspond to actual dimensions, ratios, etc. The drawings may also include parts with different dimensional relationships and ratios.

[0018] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 includes a vehicle dispatch management device 10, a terminal device 20, and a vehicle V, which are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network N. In addition, the vehicle dispatch management system 1 can be connected via the communication network N to a road traffic information management system 30 that provides various types of traffic information in real time.

[0019] The vehicle dispatch management system 1 of the present disclosure provides a vehicle dispatch service using a plurality of vehicles V, for example, for a certain area. The vehicle dispatch service may be either an "on-demand" system or a "reservation" system. In addition, the vehicles V may be either a manned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle.

[0020] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 is a computing device that comprehensively manages a vehicle dispatch service by a plurality of vehicles V in a target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 implements, for example, a vehicle dispatch management server program and realizes the vehicle dispatch service by executing the vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor.

[0021] The vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes various databases 12 that accumulate and manage data necessary to realize such a vehicle dispatch service. The databases 12 may include, for example, a user information database 12a, a road map information database 12b, a vehicle information database 12c, and a vehicle dispatch plan database 12d (see FIG. 2). The databases 12 may be configured as a part of the vehicle dispatch management device 10, or all or a part of the databases 12 may be configured separately from the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0022] In general, the vehicle allocation management device 10 normally receives a vehicle allocation request from a user who wishes to allocate a vehicle V to a destination, refers to the vehicle information database 12c based on the vehicle allocation request, extracts a vehicle V to be allocated to the user from among multiple vehicles V, creates a vehicle allocation plan, and proposes the created vehicle allocation plan to the user. The vehicle allocation management device 10 confirms the proposed vehicle allocation plan based on the user's consent to the plan, and issues a vehicle allocation instruction to the vehicle V according to the confirmed vehicle allocation plan.

[0023] The vehicle dispatch plan includes a driving route that defines a route from a location where the vehicle V is waiting (a starting waiting location), passing through several points (boarding and disembarking points) along the way where the user gets on and off, to a final waiting location (not necessarily the same as the initial waiting location). If the vehicle V is waiting, the vehicle dispatch plan is newly created based on the received vehicle dispatch request, and if the vehicle V is in operation, the vehicle dispatch plan may be updated based on the vehicle dispatch request. The vehicle dispatch plan is updated as the driving route is updated.

[0024] The vehicle V is a vehicle registered in the vehicle information database 12c and is provided for use by a user. The vehicle V may be a conventional manned vehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle V may be an unmanned vehicle capable of autonomous driving using an automated driving system, and the so-called level of automated driving does not matter. In addition, the vehicle type of the vehicle V (e.g., sedan, minivan, SUV, etc.) does not matter.

[0025] The vehicle V includes a control device CTL that controls the vehicle V itself or its mounted devices according to a dispatch instruction from the vehicle dispatch management device 10, and a user interface UI that provides an interactive operating environment for the user (see FIG. 2). Although not shown, the control device CTL includes a processor, a memory, and the like, and realizes various functions by executing a control program. For example, the control device CTL acquires geographical position information (hereinafter referred to as "position information") of the vehicle V via a GPS system, controls the information to be transmitted to the vehicle dispatch management device 10, and receives a dispatch instruction from the vehicle dispatch management device 10 and controls the operation of various devices or equipment of the vehicle V according to the dispatch instruction. In addition, the user interface UI displays a travel route according to, for example, a navigation function under the control of the control device CTL. In the present disclosure, when a user riding in the vehicle V wants to use a specific service providing facility, the user can operate the user interface UI to input necessary items. In response to this, the control device CTL of the vehicle V transmits a usage request (hereinafter referred to as "usage request") for the usage of the specific service to the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0026] The specific service providing vehicle SV is a vehicle equipped with the functions of a specific service providing facility for the user of the vehicle V to use a specific service. The specific service providing facility is, for example, but is not limited to, a convenience store, a rest area, a restaurant, and / or a toilet. The specific service providing vehicle SV can move to a predetermined location by itself or by being towed according to a dispatch instruction from the vehicle dispatch management device 10.

[0027] The terminal device 20 is, for example, a computing device for a user who wishes to ride to make a vehicle dispatch request by operating a user interface. The terminal device 20 is, for example, a smartphone, a pad computer, a notebook personal computer, a desktop computer, etc., but is not limited to these. The terminal device 20 implements, for example, a vehicle dispatch management client program (so-called a vehicle dispatch application). The terminal device 20 executes the vehicle dispatch application under the control of the processor, thereby enabling the user to use the vehicle dispatch service of the vehicle dispatch management device 10. For example, the user can make a vehicle dispatch request from a vehicle dispatch request screen (not shown) on the user interface of the terminal device 20, and accept the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch management device 10 in response to the request, thereby making a reservation for a ride in the vehicle V.

[0028] The road traffic information management system 30 is an information and communication system that provides road traffic information in real time. For example, the road traffic information management system 30 collects road traffic data from vehicle sensors and cameras installed on roads, and also collects driving data from a control device CTL mounted on the vehicle V, and manages road traffic information that is integrated, processed, and edited from the data. The edited road traffic information may include, for example, information on road closures and detour routes, and the time required between points via a specific route. The road traffic information management system 30 appropriately provides the road traffic information to the vehicle dispatch management device 10 and the vehicle V.

[0029] In the vehicle dispatch management system 1 configured as above, when the vehicle dispatch management device 10 acquires a use request from several vehicles V in which users (here, crew members and / or passengers) are riding, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 identifies an area where the vehicles V are expected to approach each other (hereinafter referred to as an "approaching area") based on the current positions and driving routes of the vehicles V, and extracts candidate locations of the specific service providing facility in the identified approaching area. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 also calculates the expected arrival time of each vehicle V to the extracted candidate location. The expected arrival time is calculated based on the stopover route and driving speed of the vehicle V to the candidate location. Furthermore, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines the location of the specific service providing facility to be provided for use by the user from among the extracted candidate locations based on the expected arrival time of each vehicle V. In this case, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines the candidate location where the stay time periods of each vehicle V estimated based on the expected arrival time do not overlap as the location of the specific service providing facility. The stay time period is calculated based on, for example, the number of users of the vehicle V, personal attributes, and the usage time of the specific service providing facility based on the usage content. Then, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 updates the travel route of each vehicle V to include a stop at the determined location, and notifies the vehicle V of the updated travel route. As a result, each vehicle V that intends to stop at a specific service providing facility arrives and stays at a predetermined location with a time lag, making it possible to avoid congestion or crowding of vehicles V (users) at the specific service providing facility, and to ensure efficient use of the specific service providing facility. In addition, since the stay time period is calculated based on the number of users who have made a use request, the usage time based on personal attributes and / or usage content, it becomes possible to select a more optimal candidate location.

[0030] As described above, the specific service providing facility may be, for example, a convenience store, a rest area, a restaurant, and / or a toilet. The specific service providing facility may be a facility installed on a physical land, or may be a facility configured to be movable. In the following example, the specific service providing facility is a specific service providing vehicle SV. Such a specific service providing vehicle SV waits at a waiting location or patrols on the road, and when a location for providing a specific service is determined, it moves to the location by itself or is towed. This eliminates the need to permanently install a specific service providing facility at each candidate location, which is cost-effective. In addition, when determining the location of the specific service providing facility from among several candidate locations, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 may calculate the expected arrival time at which the specific service providing vehicle will arrive at the candidate location, and determine the location taking into consideration the expected arrival time of the specific service providing vehicle SV. This makes it possible to avoid the inconvenience of the vehicle V arriving before the specific service providing vehicle SV arrives at the location.

[0031] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration model of a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 can be configured as a functional configuration model including functional components such as a front-end processing unit 110, a vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit 120, and a vehicle communication unit 130. In addition, as described above, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 includes various databases 12. Such a functional model is realized by the vehicle dispatch management device 10 executing a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, thereby cooperating with various hardware resources. The functional configuration model shown here is an example, and all or part of the functions of a certain functional component may be realized by other functional components. In addition, in the figure, for convenience of explanation, a user's terminal device 20 and a control device CTL in a vehicle V are also shown.

[0032] The user information database 12a stores information about users who use the vehicle dispatch service (hereinafter referred to as "user information"). The user information includes, for example, a user ID and password, personal attributes (gender, age, need for assistance, etc.), and information about the service usage status. The user information is registered in the user information database 12a under the control of the vehicle dispatch management device 10 by the user inputting predetermined information, for example, when the vehicle dispatch app is first started.

[0033] The road map information database 12b stores road map information for the target area of ​​the vehicle dispatch service. The road map information includes map data related to addresses, place names, road networks (links and nodes), facilities, etc. The road map information may also include information necessary for searching for a driving route, such as road information, feature information, and environmental information. In the present disclosure, the road map information includes location information related to a location where a specific service providing facility is installed or can be installed. The location information includes, for example, information on whether or not a specific service providing facility is installed, position information, and the number of parking lots. In addition, in the case of a location where a specific service providing facility is installed, the location information may include information on the allowable number of people who can simultaneously use the specific service providing facility, etc.

[0034] The vehicle information database 12c stores information (vehicle information) about the vehicle V provided for use by the user. The vehicle information includes, for example, a vehicle ID, vehicle attributes (vehicle registration number, vehicle model, maximum number of passengers / maximum load capacity, manned or unmanned driving type, etc.), vehicle characteristics, other specifications, current vehicle dispatch plan, current location, and current status (service status, remaining battery capacity (driving range), number of passengers, and usage status of transportation space, etc.). The vehicle information acquired from the vehicle V via the vehicle communication unit 130 may be updated at any time. In the present disclosure, the vehicle information database 12c stores vehicle information about the specific service providing vehicle SV. Such vehicle information may include, for example, the content of the specific service that the specific service providing vehicle SV can provide, the allowable number of people who can use the specific service simultaneously, etc.

[0035] The vehicle allocation plan database 12d stores a vehicle allocation plan for each vehicle V created by the vehicle allocation plan formulation unit 120 based on a vehicle allocation request. As described above, the vehicle allocation plan includes a driving route from a waiting location serving as a starting point to a waiting location serving as an end point via several boarding and disembarking points (start and end points), an expected arrival time at each intermediate point, and the like.

[0036] The front-end processing unit 110 performs various processes with the user's terminal device 20. As an example, the front-end processing unit 110 refers to the user information database 12a in response to a login request from a vehicle dispatch application on the user's terminal device 20, and performs login authentication processing. The front-end processing unit 110 also communicates with the terminal device 20 in order to respond to a vehicle dispatch request from the vehicle dispatch application on the user's terminal device 20. More specifically, the front-end processing unit 110 receives a vehicle dispatch request, passes it to the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit 120, and in response thereto, transmits a vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit 120 to the terminal device 20, and causes the vehicle dispatch plan (candidate vehicles) to be displayed on the user interface of the terminal device 20. The front-end processing unit 110 receives a notification of acceptance or rejection by the user transmitted from the terminal device 20 in response thereto, and passes it to the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit 120.

[0037] The vehicle allocation plan formulation unit 120 extracts candidate vehicles V from among the vehicles V that can operate in the target area based on the vehicle allocation request delivered from the front-end processing unit 110, and creates and / or updates the vehicle allocation plan. The vehicle allocation plan formulation unit 120 proposes the created or updated vehicle allocation plan to the user via the front-end processing unit 110. When the vehicle allocation plan formulation unit 120 receives approval from the user for the proposed vehicle allocation plan, it finalizes the approved vehicle allocation plan, stores the finalized vehicle allocation plan in the vehicle allocation plan database 12d, and issues a dispatch instruction to the vehicle V of the vehicle allocation plan. In the present disclosure, when the vehicle allocation plan formulation unit 120 receives utilization requests from several vehicles V, it determines the location of a specific service providing facility used by the vehicle V (user), updates the driving route (vehicle allocation plan) to include the location as a route point, and notifies the vehicle V of the determined location. When updating the driving route for a specific vehicle V, the driving speed may also be updated. Furthermore, the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit 120 instructs the specific service providing vehicles SV to move to the location as necessary. As a result, when the location becomes ready to accept the use of the specific service by the specific service providing vehicles V, the vehicles V arrive and stay at the specific service providing facility at different times, which makes it possible to avoid congestion or congestion of the vehicles V (users) at the specific service providing facility, and promotes efficient use of the specific service providing facility.

[0038] The vehicle communication unit 130 exchanges various information with the vehicle V via the communication network N. For example, the vehicle communication unit 130 transmits a vehicle information transmission request to the vehicle V, and receives vehicle information transmitted by the vehicle V in response to the request. The vehicle information includes, for example, the position information and driving route of the vehicle V. The vehicle communication unit 130 also transmits driving instructions to the vehicle V according to the confirmed dispatch plan. In addition, in the present disclosure, the vehicle communication unit 130 receives a usage request transmitted by the vehicle V. Furthermore, the vehicle communication unit 130 notifies the vehicle V of the updated driving route in response to the usage request.

[0039] 3 is a block diagram showing details of the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit in the vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a functional model for realizing a specific service provision function of the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit 120 is shown. That is, as shown in the figure, as the functional model of the vehicle dispatch plan formulation unit 120, for example, a utilization request acceptance unit 121, a utilization time prediction unit 122, a vehicle information acquisition unit 123, an approach area specification unit 124, a candidate site extraction unit 125, an expected arrival time calculation unit 126, a location determination unit 127, a travel route update unit 128, and a travel route notification unit 129 are shown.

[0040] The usage request receiving unit 121 acquires and accepts a usage request from each vehicle V via the front-end processing unit 110. The usage request may include, for example, the vehicle ID of the vehicle V, the number of users who wish to use the specific service providing facility, personal attributes (e.g., gender, age, need for assistance, etc.), usage details, etc. This makes it possible to understand what type of users will use the specific service providing facility. The usage request receiving unit 121 passes the accepted usage request to the usage time prediction unit 122 and the vehicle information acquisition unit 123.

[0041] The use time prediction unit 122 predicts the time that the user of the vehicle V will use the specific service providing facility based on the personal attributes and use content indicated by the use request. For example, when the use content is use of a toilet, the use time prediction unit 122 predicts the use time according to the number of users and their personal attributes. Even if the number of users is the same, the predicted use time tends to be longer when the users include women, children, and people requiring assistance than when all users are adult men. Alternatively, the use time prediction unit 122 may determine the use time uniformly according to the number of users. This makes it possible to calculate the stay time period in the specific service providing facility using the use time predicted according to the number of users, their personal attributes, and the use content. The use time prediction unit 122 delivers the predicted use time to the location determination unit 127.

[0042] The vehicle information acquisition unit 123 communicates with the control device CTL of the vehicle V under the vehicle dispatch service via the vehicle communication unit 130, and acquires vehicle information including the position information and driving route of the vehicle V. The driving route may be acquired from the vehicle dispatch plan database 12d. The vehicle information acquisition unit 123 may acquire vehicle information from the vehicle V, for example, at the time of acquiring a dispatch request or a utilization request. Alternatively, the vehicle information acquisition unit 123 may acquire vehicle information from the vehicle V at a predetermined period. The vehicle information acquisition unit 123 updates the vehicle information database 12c based on the acquired vehicle information. In addition, the vehicle information acquisition unit 123 passes the acquired vehicle information to the approach area identification unit 124.

[0043] The approach area identification unit 124 refers to the road map information database 12b based on the current position and travel route of each vehicle V, and identifies an approach area where the vehicles V are scheduled to approach each other (see FIG. 6A). For example, when a first vehicle V1 that transmits a use request at a certain time and a second vehicle V2 that transmits a use request within a predetermined reception time from that time are traveling on a travel route in a direction approaching each other, the approach area identification unit 124 identifies an area of ​​a predetermined range centered on a point where the vehicles approach or pass each other after a predetermined time has elapsed as the approach area. When a candidate site is not extracted within the approach area, or when a specific service cannot be provided at the extracted candidate site, as described later, the approach area identification unit 124 expands the predetermined range and identifies the approach area again. The approach area identification unit 124 transfers the identified approach area to the candidate site extraction unit 125.

[0044] The candidate site extraction unit 125 refers to the road map information database 12b based on the identified approach area and extracts at least one candidate site that may be the location of the specific service providing facility. The candidate site extraction unit 125 passes the extracted candidate sites to the location determination unit 127.

[0045] The expected arrival time calculation unit 126 calculates the time when each vehicle V arrives at each extracted candidate location as the expected arrival time. For example, the expected arrival time calculation unit 126 determines a stopover route to each extracted candidate location based on the current position of each vehicle V. The stopover route may coincide with the travel route or may deviate from the travel route. Next, the expected arrival time calculation unit 126 calculates the expected arrival time at the candidate location based on the stopover route from the current position of each vehicle V to the candidate location and the travel speed. The travel speed is based on environmental information such as the legal speed limit and traffic congestion on the road on the stopover route. The expected arrival time calculation unit 126 associates the calculated expected arrival time and stopover route with the candidate location and transfers them to the location determination unit.

[0046] Furthermore, the expected arrival time calculation unit 126 may calculate the expected arrival time at the candidate location by changing the stopover route and / or the traveling speed of the specific vehicle V. The traveling speed is typically slower than the legal speed limit. This makes it possible to avoid overlapping of the expected arrival times of the vehicles V by intentionally delaying the expected arrival time of one of the vehicles V.

[0047] The location determination unit 127 determines the location of the specific service providing facility from among the extracted candidate locations based on the expected arrival time calculated for each vehicle V. For example, the location determination unit 127 determines a candidate location where the expected arrival times of each vehicle do not overlap as the location of the specific service providing facility. In this case, it is preferable that the location determination unit 127 calculates the stay time period by adding the predicted usage time of the user to the calculated expected arrival time, and determines a candidate location where the calculated stay time periods do not overlap as the location of the specific service providing facility. The overlap of the stay time periods may be allowed within a predetermined range. For example, when the number of use requests during a predetermined reception time is equal to or less than the number of vacant parking lots at the candidate location, the location determination unit 127 may determine the location by allowing the overlap of the stay time periods to a predetermined range. This allows a plurality of vehicles V that arrive at the location of the specific service providing facility to be simultaneously accepted in the parking lot while shifting the stay time periods of each vehicle V at the specific service providing facility as much as possible, thereby enabling efficient use of the specific service providing facility. Furthermore, when the number of users indicated by the utilization requests during a given reception time is equal to or less than the allowable number associated with a specific service providing facility, the location determination unit 127 may determine the location by allowing overlapping of the staying time periods within a given range. This allows for flexibility in determining the location of the specific service providing facility without impairing the convenience of the user.

[0048] When the location determination unit 127 can determine a candidate location where the expected arrival times of the vehicles do not overlap from among the extracted candidate locations as the location of the specific service providing facility, it transfers the determined location to the travel route update unit 128. On the other hand, when the location determination unit 127 cannot determine the location of the specific service providing facility, it requests the expected arrival time calculation unit 126 to recalculate the expected arrival time at the candidate location. In response to this, the expected arrival time calculation unit 126 changes, for example, the stopover route and / or the travel speed of the specific vehicle V to recalculate the expected arrival time at the candidate location. In this way, since the expected arrival time at the candidate location is recalculated using a different stopover route and / or travel speed, it becomes possible to determine the location of the specific service providing facility even when the number of candidate locations is limited. Alternatively, the location determination unit 127 requests the candidate location extraction unit 125 to extract another candidate location. In response to this, the candidate location extraction unit 125 extracts a new candidate location based on the approach area expanded by the approach area identification unit 124 and transfers it to the location determination unit 127. Furthermore, the expected arrival time calculation unit 126 calculates the expected arrival time at a candidate site newly extracted by the candidate site extraction unit 125. The place determination unit 127 passes the determined place and stop-off route to the travel route update unit 128.

[0049] The travel route update unit 128 updates the travel route of each vehicle V that has transmitted a usage request according to the determined locations and the corresponding stopover routes. Therefore, the updated travel route includes the determined locations as stopover points. The travel route update unit 128 also updates the travel route of the specific service providing vehicle SV. The travel route update unit 128 passes the updated travel route to the travel route notification unit 129. The vehicle allocation plan creation unit (not shown) updates the vehicle allocation plan of each vehicle V (and the specific service providing vehicle SV) based on the updated travel route.

[0050] The travel route notification unit 129 notifies each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV of the updated travel route via the vehicle communication unit 130. When the travel speed of a specific vehicle V has changed, the travel route notification unit 129 notifies the specific vehicle of the changed travel speed along with the travel route. As a result, each vehicle V receives the updated travel route (and travel speed) and moves to the location of the specific service providing facility according to the travel route (and travel speed). Furthermore, the specific service providing vehicle SV moves to the determined location according to the received travel route in order to provide the specific service at the determined location.

[0051] 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of a vehicle dispatch management process by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows a process flow for allocating (dispatching) a vehicle V in response to a vehicle dispatch request from a user in a target area of ​​a vehicle dispatch service. This process is realized by the vehicle dispatch management device executing a vehicle dispatch management server program under the control of a processor, in cooperation with various hardware resources.

[0052] As shown in the figure, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 waits until a new vehicle dispatch request is received from a user (S401). Meanwhile, for example, a user who wishes to ride inputs a vehicle dispatch request by operating a vehicle dispatch application on the user interface of the terminal device 20. When there is a vehicle dispatch request from the user (Yes in S401), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 refers to the road map information database 12b based on the vehicle dispatch request, and determines the user's departure point and destination (boarding and disembarking points) (S402).

[0053] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts one or more travel route candidates by referring to the road map information database 12b based on the determined starting and ending points (S403). Each travel route candidate has the same boarding and disembarking points, but different roads (links and nodes) along the way. Each travel route candidate may be associated with an average expected travel time, a travel distance, and the like.

[0054] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts one or more vehicles V as candidate vehicles according to the boarding and alighting points and the candidate travel routes (S404). For example, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 extracts vehicles V that are waiting or moving near the boarding point according to the current position indicated by the acquired vehicle information of each vehicle V.

[0055] Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines an optimal one of the travel route candidates as a recommended travel route based on, for example, an average expected travel time and a travel distance (S405). Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 creates or updates a vehicle allocation plan based on the determined travel route (S406). In other words, the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines a vehicle V to be assigned to the determined recommended travel route from among the vehicle V candidates.

[0056] Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 proposes the contents of the created / updated vehicle allocation plan to the user (S407). That is, the vehicle allocation management device 10 transmits the contents of the created / updated vehicle allocation plan to the terminal device 20, and in response, the terminal device 20 displays the contents on the user interface and prompts the user to accept or reject the proposed vehicle allocation plan.

[0057] The vehicle allocation management device 10 determines whether or not the vehicle allocation plan proposal has been accepted from the user (S408). If the vehicle allocation management device 10 accepts the vehicle allocation plan proposal from the user (Yes in S408), the vehicle allocation management device 10 confirms the current vehicle allocation plan (S409). The vehicle allocation management device 10 stores the confirmed vehicle allocation plan in the vehicle allocation plan database 12d. Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 transmits a notification of confirmation of the vehicle allocation reservation to the terminal device 20, and transmits a vehicle allocation instruction based on the vehicle allocation plan to the vehicle V (S410).

[0058] On the other hand, when the vehicle dispatch management device 10 receives a non-acceptance (rejection) from the user for the proposed vehicle dispatch plan (No in S408), it cancels the current vehicle dispatch plan based on the vehicle dispatch request of the user (S411). In this case, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 returns the temporarily reserved vehicle dispatch plan used for re-creating the vehicle dispatch plan to the original reserved vehicle dispatch plan. If the user desires a different vehicle dispatch service, the user will make a new vehicle dispatch request.

[0059] 5A and 5B are flowcharts for explaining an example of a specific service provision process by a vehicle dispatch management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figures show the process when a request for use is received from several vehicles V that have been instructed to be dispatched by the above-mentioned vehicle dispatch management process.

[0060] That is, as shown in FIG. 1A, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 monitors whether or not a utilization request has been received from the vehicle V (S501). For example, when a user (here, including a crew member and / or passenger) aboard the vehicle V wishes to use a specific service, the user operates a user interface UI installed in the vehicle to input the necessary items, and in response, the control device CTL of the vehicle V transmits a utilization request to the vehicle dispatch management device 10. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 performs the following processing based on utilization requests received within a predetermined reception time period starting from the time when the first utilization request was received during monitoring of utilization requests.

[0061] When the vehicle dispatch management device 10 receives a utilization request from each vehicle V (Yes in S501), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 predicts the time required for the user of the vehicle V to utilize the specific service providing facility based on the personal attributes and utilization details indicated in the utilization request (S502). For example, when the utilization details are utilization of a restroom, the utilization time prediction unit 122 predicts the utilization time according to the number of users and the personal attributes.

[0062] Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 acquires the current position, travel route, and travel speed of the vehicle V based on the received utilization request (S503). For example, the vehicle allocation management device 10 acquires position information of the vehicle V by referring to the vehicle information database 12c according to the vehicle ID indicated in the utilization request, and acquires the travel route by referring to the vehicle allocation plan database 12d. The vehicle allocation management device 10 also acquires position information and travel route of the specific service providing vehicle SV. Alternatively, the vehicle allocation management device 10 may request each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV to transmit vehicle information, and acquire the position information and travel route based on the vehicle information transmitted from each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV in response to the request.

[0063] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 refers to the road map information database 12b based on the current position and the travel route indicated by the acquired position information, and identifies an approach area where the vehicles V are scheduled to approach each other (S504). For example, when a first vehicle V1 that transmits a utilization request at a certain time and a second vehicle V2 that transmits a utilization request within a predetermined reception time from that time are traveling on a travel route in a direction approaching each other, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 identifies an area of ​​a predetermined range centered on a point where the vehicles will approach or pass each other after a predetermined time has elapsed as the approach area.

[0064] Next, the vehicle allocation management device 10 refers to the road map information database 12b, attempts to extract candidate locations in the identified approach area (S505), and determines whether candidate locations have been extracted (S506). If the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines that candidate locations in the approach area have not been extracted (No in S506), the vehicle allocation management device 10 expands the predetermined range to specify the approach area again (S507), and attempts to extract candidate locations again (S505).

[0065] On the other hand, when the vehicle dispatch management device 10 judges that a candidate location within the approach area has been extracted (Yes in S506), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 calculates the expected arrival time of each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV at each candidate location (S508). For example, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines a stopover route to each extracted candidate location based on the current position of each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV, and calculates the expected arrival time at each candidate location based on the stopover route from the current position of each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV to the candidate location and the driving speed. Note that, if the specific service providing vehicle SV is already parked at any candidate location, the expected arrival time is the current time. Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 excludes candidate locations for which the expected arrival time of the vehicle V is earlier than the expected arrival time of the specific service providing vehicle SV based on each calculated expected arrival time (S509). This makes it possible to avoid the inconvenience of the vehicle V arriving at the location before the specific service providing vehicle SV arrives at the location.

[0066] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 calculates the stay time slot for each vehicle V by adding the predicted user usage time to the calculated expected arrival time (S510 in FIG. 5B). Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 attempts to select a candidate location in which the stay time slots of each vehicle V do not overlap from among the extracted candidate locations (S511), and judges whether or not a candidate location in which the stay time slots of each vehicle V do not overlap has been selected (S512). If the vehicle dispatch management device 10 judges that a candidate location in which the stay time slots of each vehicle V do not overlap has not been selected (No in S512), the vehicle dispatch management device 10 expands the predetermined range to specify an approach area again (S507 in FIG. 5A), and attempts to extract a candidate location again (S505). Alternatively, although not shown, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 may change the stopover route and / or driving speed of a specific vehicle V to calculate the expected arrival time at the candidate location, and may attempt to select a candidate location based on the stay time slot based on the calculated expected arrival time.

[0067] On the other hand, when the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines that it has been able to select candidate locations in which the stay time periods of each vehicle V do not overlap (Yes in S512), it determines one of the selected candidate locations as the location of the specific service providing facility (S513). For example, the vehicle allocation management device 10 determines a candidate location that is less deviated from the driving route of each vehicle V as the location of the specific service providing facility. Alternatively, the vehicle allocation management device 10 may determine a candidate location with the most vacant parking spaces as the location of the specific service providing facility. Furthermore, when the number of utilization requests during a specified reception time is equal to or less than the number of vacant parking spaces at the candidate location, the vehicle allocation management device 10 may determine the location by allowing overlap between stay time periods within a specified range.

[0068] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 updates the travel routes of each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV according to the determined location and stopover route (S514). Note that if the specific service providing vehicle SV is already parked at the determined location, the travel route of the specific service providing vehicle SV is not updated.

[0069] Next, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 notifies each vehicle V and the specific service providing vehicle SV of the updated driving route (S515). When the vehicle dispatch management device 10 changes the driving speed of the specific vehicle V to calculate the expected arrival time, it notifies the specific vehicle V of the updated driving route and the changed driving speed. As a result, each vehicle V receives the updated driving route (and driving speed) and moves to the location of the specific service providing facility according to the driving route (and driving speed). Also, if the specific service providing vehicle SV is located away from the determined location, it moves to the determined location according to the received driving route in order to provide the specific service at the determined location.

[0070] (Specific examples) 6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining an example of candidate site selection for a specific service providing facility in a vehicle dispatch management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, a vehicle V1 is traveling eastward, and a vehicle V2 is traveling westward. Also, a specific service providing vehicle SV is traveling near a candidate site C.

[0071] It is assumed that at a certain time, a user aboard vehicle V1 transmits a utilization request, and that the user aboard vehicle V1 transmits the utilization request within a predetermined reception time starting from the reception time of the utilization request. In response to this, an approach area is specified based on the travel routes of each of vehicles V1 and V2, and candidate locations A to C within the approach area are extracted. The vehicle dispatch management device 10 determines a location for providing a specific service by the specific service providing vehicle SV from one of the candidate locations A to C.

[0072] In this case, the possible routes for vehicles V1 and V2 to stop at candidate locations A to C are shown in Figures 6B(a) to (c). For example, vehicle V1 will arrive at candidate location A in 3 minutes, candidate location B in 5 minutes, and candidate location C in 8 minutes (for convenience, these are expressed in relative time rather than expected arrival times; the same applies below), and vehicle V2 will arrive at candidate location A in 9 minutes, candidate location B in 5 minutes, and candidate location C in 2 minutes.

[0073] If the usage time of the users is the same, candidate location B is not selected as the location of the specific service providing facility because the stay time periods of the expected arrival times overlap. Therefore, candidate location A or C is selected, but considering the expected arrival time of the specific service providing vehicle SV, the vehicle V1 arrives at candidate location A before the specific service providing vehicle SV arrives, so candidate location C is ultimately determined as the location of the specific service providing facility. As a result, each vehicle V that wishes to stop by to use the specific service providing facility arrives and stays at a different time, so congestion or congestion of vehicles V (users) at the specific service providing facility can be avoided, and the specific service providing facility can be used efficiently.

[0074] In the above example, the specific service providing vehicle SV is assumed to be traveling near candidate location C, but it may also be parked at candidate location A or B, or traveling near candidate location A or B. FIG. 7 is a table for explaining the expected arrival time of each vehicle at a candidate location in a vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, for the sake of simplicity of explanation, the specific service providing vehicle SV is assumed to be parked at one of candidate locations A to C. As shown in the figure, it can be seen that candidate location A, where the stay time slots of vehicles V1 and V2 do not overlap due to the difference in the expected arrival times, may be selected depending on the current position of the specific service providing vehicle SV.

[0075] As described above, according to this embodiment, in response to a utilization request from the vehicle V (user), a specific service providing facility located at one location selected from a plurality of geographically separated candidate locations can be efficiently utilized by a plurality of vehicles V. In particular, according to this embodiment, the expected arrival time of each vehicle V at each candidate location is calculated, and a candidate location where the stay time periods based on the expected arrival times do not overlap is determined as the location of the specific service providing facility, so that congestion or crowding of the vehicles V (users) at the specific service providing facility can be avoided, and the specific service providing facility can be efficiently utilized. In addition, since the stay time period is calculated based on the utilization time based on the personal attributes and / or utilization content of the user who made the utilization request, a more optimal candidate location can be selected.

[0076] Also, according to this embodiment, by making the specific service providing facility a mobile specific service providing vehicle SV, there is no need to permanently install the specific service providing facility at each candidate site, which is advantageous in terms of cost. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, in addition to the expected arrival time of each vehicle V at the candidate site, the expected arrival time of the specific service providing vehicle SV is taken into consideration, so it becomes possible to prevent the vehicle V from arriving at the candidate site before the specific service providing vehicle SV.

[0077] The above-described embodiments are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention to these embodiments. The present invention can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0078] For example, in the methods disclosed herein, steps, operations, or functions may be performed in parallel or in a different order, provided that the results are consistent. The steps, operations, and functions described are provided merely as examples, and some of the steps, operations, and functions may be omitted or combined into one, or other steps, operations, or functions may be added, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0079] In addition, although various embodiments are disclosed in this specification, specific features (technical matters) in one embodiment can be added to or replaced with specific features in other embodiments, with appropriate modifications, and such forms are also included in the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0080] 1. Vehicle dispatch management system 10...Vehicle allocation management device 110...Front-end processing unit 120… Vehicle Allocation Planning Department 121...User request reception department 122...Usage time prediction unit 123…Vehicle information acquisition unit 124…Approach area identification section 125...Candidate location extraction part 126... Expected arrival time calculation unit 127…Location Determination Department 128…Route update section 129…Route notification unit 130…Vehicle communication unit 12. Database 12a…User information database 12b…Road map information database 12c…Vehicle information database 12d…Vehicle allocation plan database 20...Terminal device 30...Road traffic information management system N: Communication network V…Vehicle CTL: Control device

Claims

1. A vehicle allocation management device for managing the allocation of a plurality of vehicles, a usage request receiving unit that receives a usage request for a specific service transmitted from any one of the plurality of vehicles; a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information including position information and a driving route of the vehicle; an approach area specifying unit that specifies an approach area where the vehicles are scheduled to approach each other on the travel route based on the utilization requests from at least two or more of the vehicles during a predetermined reception time; a candidate site extraction unit that extracts candidate sites for a specific service providing facility in the approach area; an expected arrival time calculation unit that calculates an expected arrival time of the vehicle at the candidate location by using a stopover route and a travel speed from a current location to each of the candidate locations based on the position information of each of the vehicles; a location determination unit that determines a location of the specific service providing facility from among the candidate locations based on the expected arrival time calculated for each vehicle; a travel route update unit that updates the travel route of the vehicle based on the stopover route corresponding to the location of the specific service providing facility; a travel route notification unit that notifies the vehicle of the updated travel route, The location determination unit is determining the candidate site, which does not overlap with the stay time period based on the expected arrival time of the vehicle, as the location of the specific service providing facility; Vehicle dispatch management device.

2. The specific service providing facility is a specific service providing vehicle. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

3. the utilization request receiving unit acquires the utilization request including the number of users currently aboard the vehicle who wish to utilize the specific service providing facility, personal attributes, and utilization details; The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 2.

4. a usage time prediction unit configured to predict usage time of the user in the specific service providing facility based on the number of the users, the personal attributes, and the usage content of the users, The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 3.

5. The place determination unit calculates the staying time period based on the expected arrival time and the usage time. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 4.

6. the location determination unit determines the location while allowing overlap between the stay time periods within a predetermined range when the number of use requests during a predetermined reception time period is equal to or less than the number of available parking lots in the candidate location. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

7. the location determination unit determines the location by allowing an overlap between the staying time periods within a predetermined range when the number of users indicated by the use requests during a predetermined reception time period is equal to or less than a permissible number of users associated with the specific service providing facility. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

8. the expected arrival time calculation unit, when the candidate location whose stay time periods do not overlap is not extracted, recalculates the expected arrival time at the candidate location by using another stop-off route different from the stop-off route used for calculating the expected arrival time at the candidate location; The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

9. the expected arrival time calculation unit, when the candidate location whose stay time periods do not overlap is not extracted, recalculates the expected arrival time at the candidate location by using another travel speed that is slower than the travel speed on the stopover route used for calculating the expected arrival time at the candidate location; The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

10. A vehicle dispatch management method for managing the dispatch of a plurality of vehicles in a target area of ​​a vehicle dispatch service, comprising: receiving a request for use of a specific service transmitted from any one of the plurality of vehicles; acquiring vehicle information including location information and a driving route of the vehicle; Identifying an approach area on the travel route where the vehicles are scheduled to approach each other based on the utilization requests from at least two or more of the vehicles during a predetermined reception time; Extracting candidate locations for specific service providing facilities in the approaching area; calculating an expected arrival time of the vehicle at the candidate location using a stopover route and a travel speed from a current location to each of the candidate locations based on the location information for each of the vehicles; determining a location of the specific service providing facility from among the candidate sites based on the expected arrival time calculated for each vehicle; updating the travel route of the vehicle based on the stop route corresponding to the location of the specific service providing facility; notifying the vehicle of the updated driving route; Determining the location of the particular service providing facility includes: determining the candidate site, which does not overlap with the stay time period based on the expected arrival time of the vehicle, as the location of the specific service providing facility; Vehicle allocation management methods.

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