Unloading support device

Abstract

To provide an unloading support device capable of automatically opening doors for unloading in a vehicle with multiple doors.SOLUTION: An unloading support device 20 includes a control unit 32 that controls a right door, a left door, and a back door in different positions on a vehicle. The unloading support device 20 includes a selection unit configured to select a door out of the right door, the left door, and the back door, which are capable of unloading based on the position information of the vehicle, surrounding information of the vehicle when parking, and the size information of the luggage in the vehicle. The control unit 32 controls the door selected by the selection unit 34 to open.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an unloading assistance device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 proposes a vehicle luggage management device that predicts when a passenger will get in the vehicle and, if the passenger is carrying luggage, determines where the luggage should be loaded and assists in opening a nearby door.

[0003] Patent document 2 discloses a device that notifies the driver of the luggage to be unloaded when the delivery vehicle arrives at the unloading location, for example by lighting a lamp attached to the part where the luggage is carried. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-1724 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2002-265062 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Patent Document 1 does not support the unloading of cargo loaded on a vehicle. Patent Document 2 supports unloading by notifying the location of the cargo to be unloaded when unloading. However, the delivery vehicle realized in the embodiment is a vehicle that has only a door on the rear side, and there is only one door that is used when unloading.

[0006] Here, in a vehicle with multiple doors, it may be difficult to open a door depending on the surrounding conditions of the area where the vehicle is stopped, and in such a case, the worker is required to judge which other door to open each time.

[0007] In such a vehicle having a plurality of doors for unloading, it is preferable to be able to select which door to open, since this allows unloading work to be carried out efficiently. An object of the present invention is to provide an unloading assistance device that can automatically open doors required for unloading in a vehicle having multiple doors for unloading. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, the unloading assistance device is equipped with a control unit that controls multiple opening / closing bodies provided at different positions in the vehicle, and assists in unloading of luggage inside the vehicle by opening the opening / closing bodies through the opening control of the control unit, and is equipped with a selection unit that selects an opening / closing body (hereinafter referred to as an applicable opening / closing body) from the multiple opening / closing bodies that can be used for unloading based on in-vehicle position information of the luggage inside the vehicle, information about the exterior of the vehicle when parked, and size information of the luggage inside the vehicle, and the control unit controls the opening of the applicable opening / closing body selected by the selection unit.

[0009] With the above configuration, when parking, the selection unit controls the opening and closing of an applicable opening-closing body selected by the selection unit from among the multiple opening-closing bodies based on the in-vehicle position information of the in-vehicle luggage, the outside of the vehicle surrounding information when parked, and the size information of the in-vehicle luggage.

[0010] In addition, it is preferable that the selection unit selects the applicable opening-closing body based on the exterior vehicle surroundings information and the size information of the luggage inside the vehicle, and if there are multiple applicable opening-closing bodies as a result of the selection, selects the opening-closing body that is closest to the luggage inside the vehicle as the optimal applicable opening-closing body based on the interior vehicle position information.

[0011] With the above configuration, it is possible to select the opening / closing body that is closest to the luggage inside the vehicle as the optimal applicable opening / closing body from among multiple applicable opening / closing bodies selected based on information about the surrounding area outside the vehicle and information about the size of the luggage inside the vehicle.

[0012] The vehicle may also be equipped with at least one of an exterior surrounding information acquisition unit that acquires exterior surrounding information when the vehicle is parked, an interior position information acquisition unit that acquires interior position information of the luggage inside the vehicle, and a size information acquisition unit that acquires the size information.

[0013] In addition, it is preferable that the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition unit includes a distance sensor that detects a distance between the vehicle and surrounding objects when parked. The in-vehicle position information acquisition unit may be an RFID sensor that is provided in the vehicle and receives an ID code and an RSSI value of the in-vehicle baggage transmitted from an RFID tag attached to the in-vehicle baggage. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, in a vehicle having multiple doors for unloading, it is possible to automatically open the doors required for unloading. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] 1 is a block diagram of a schematic configuration of an unloading support device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a car navigation device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the contents initially stored in a storage unit of the car navigation device. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the contents stored in a storage unit of the car navigation device when luggage is loaded into the vehicle. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the contents stored in the storage unit of the car navigation device after one of the baggage items in the vehicle is unloaded. [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart of a door selection program executed by the unloading assistance device of one embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the opening angle of the back door. [Figure 9]FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an unloading assistance device according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] (Embodiment) An unloading assistance device embodying the present invention will now be described with reference to Figs. First, a vehicle 10 on which an unloading assistance device 20 of this embodiment is mounted will be described.

[0017] <1. Overview of vehicle configuration> As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 10 has a driver's cab 7 in which a driver's seat 5 and a passenger seat 6 are provided, and a luggage compartment 8 provided behind the driver's cab 7.

[0018] The vehicle 10 has a right door 14 and a left door 16 provided at approximately the center of the front and rear of both left and right sides of the vehicle 10, and a back door 18 provided at the rear of the vehicle 10. The right door 14 and the left door 16 are sliding doors that open and close between a closed position shown by a solid line and an open position shown by a two-dot chain line. The back door 18 is a flip-up door that opens and closes via a hinge (neither of which are shown in the figures) on the roof, and opens and closes between a closed position shown by a solid line and an open position shown by a two-dot chain line in Figures 1 and 8. The right door 14, the left door 16, and the back door 18 correspond to opening and closing bodies.

[0019] 1, the floor surface of the luggage compartment 8 of the vehicle 10 serves as a loading surface for loading luggage inside the vehicle, and has areas A, B, and C. Area A serves as an area where luggage inside the vehicle placed on the floor surface of area A can be unloaded by opening a door opening (not shown) for the right door 14 when the right door 14 is in the open position.

[0020] When the left door 16 is in the open position, a door opening (not shown) for the left door 16 is opened in area B, allowing for unloading of baggage placed on the floor surface of area B. When the back door 18 is in the open position, a door opening (not shown) for the back door 18 is opened in area C, allowing for unloading of baggage placed on the floor surface of area C.

[0021] These areas A, B, and C are set based on the RSSI values ​​received from the RFID tags of the luggage in the vehicle by the vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B described later. For convenience of explanation, the areas A, B, and C in Fig. 1 are each illustrated as a rectangular frame, but these are merely examples and are not limited to rectangular frames.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 1, the right door 14, the left door 16 and the back door 18 are respectively fitted with vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition units 60R, 60L and 60B, which will be described later. The vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition unit 60R acquires surrounding information on the right side of the vehicle 10. The vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition unit 60L acquires surrounding information on the left side of the vehicle 10. The vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition unit 60B acquires surrounding information on the rear side of the vehicle 10. Details of the vehicle exterior surrounding information will be described later.

[0023] A pair of in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B, which will be described later, are attached to the underside of the roof (not shown). For convenience of explanation, the in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B are shown by two-dot chain lines in Fig. 1.

[0024] 1, the vehicle interior position information acquisition unit 70R is disposed so as to be located above the front right corner of the area A. The vehicle interior position information acquisition unit 70L is disposed so as to be located above the front left corner of the area B. The vehicle interior position information acquisition unit 70B is disposed so as to be located above the center in the left-right direction of the rearmost part of the area C. Details of the luggage loading position information will be described later.

[0025] A size information acquisition unit 72 (described later) is attached to the underside of a roof (not shown) located above approximately the center in the left-right direction at the frontmost part of the luggage compartment 8. The size information will be described later.

[0026] <2. Unloading support device 20> Next, the unloading assist device 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The unloading assistance device 20 includes a door ECU 30, vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, and 60C, vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B, and a size information acquisition unit 72.

[0027] <2.1. Vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, 60C> 1 are composed of distance sensors. The distance sensors are composed of, for example, LiDAR, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic sensors, stereo cameras, etc. The distance sensors detect the distance between the vehicle 10 and surrounding objects.

[0028] For example, as shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition unit 60R can detect the vehicle surroundings, particularly the right side distance Rd between the right door 14 in the closed position and a surrounding object Sr on the right outside. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition unit 60L can detect the vehicle surroundings, particularly the left side distance Ld between the left door 16 in the closed position and a surrounding object Sl on the left outside.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition unit 60B can detect the surroundings of the vehicle, in particular the rear separation distance Bd between the back door 18 in the closed position and a surrounding object Sb located behind and outside the vehicle.

[0030] The vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition unit 60C shown in FIG. 2 includes a vehicle speed sensor 92 and a shift position sensor 94, each of which is electrically connected to the door ECU 30. The vehicle speed sensor 92 detects the vehicle speed of the vehicle 10. The shift position sensor 94 detects whether a shift lever (not shown) is in parking (P), reverse (R), neutral (N), drive (D), engine brake (B), or other position.

[0031] Here, when the shift position sensor 94 detects drive (D) and the vehicle speed sensor 92 detects the vehicle speed to be "0," this means that there is sufficient space behind the vehicle 10 at the position where the vehicle 10 is parked.

[0032] In this case, the door ECU 30 stores parking information meaning "forward facing" in a storage unit (not shown). In addition, when the shift position sensor 94 detects reverse (R) and the vehicle speed sensor 92 detects the vehicle speed to be "0", the door ECU 30 stores parking information meaning "backwards" in the memory unit (not shown).

[0033] <2.2. In-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, 70B> The vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B are configured with RFID sensors that read RFID tags attached to luggage in the vehicle. The RFID tags attached to luggage in the vehicle are not limited to passive RFID tags, and may be active RFID tags.

[0034] <2.3. Size information acquisition unit 72> The size information acquisition unit 72 is configured with a 3D sensor. The 3D sensor is configured with, for example, a LiDAR. The LiDAR is configured with a laser light source (not shown) that is directed downward from the roof side (not shown) and configured to be able to scan the surface of the luggage inside the vehicle, and a camera or a light receiving sensor (neither of which is shown) that captures the reflected light of the laser beam projected on the surface of the luggage inside the vehicle. In this embodiment, the luggage inside the vehicle is in the shape of a square box, wrapped in a cardboard box or the like.

[0035] In this embodiment, the description will be given on the assumption that "horizontal loading is strictly prohibited" for in-vehicle luggage. That is, when the in-vehicle luggage is placed in the luggage compartment 8 of the vehicle 10, the placement surface thereof has a width (W) and a length (D). Therefore, by utilizing the time delay method using the LiDAR, it is possible to detect the external dimensions of the in-vehicle luggage including the package, that is, the width (W), length (D), and height (H). Note that the length (D) is equal to or greater than the width (W).

[0036] The camera has a CCD or CMOS image sensor as an imaging element. The configuration of the 3D sensor is not limited to the above configuration, and for example, an optical interferometer may be used instead of the camera or the light receiving sensor. A stereo camera may be used as the 3D sensor. Alternatively, a laser beam may be irradiated onto the luggage in the vehicle, and the three-dimensional external dimensions of the luggage in the vehicle may be detected by a light cutting method.

[0037] <2.4. Door ECU30> 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM for storing various programs including a control program and a door selection program, a RAM as a working memory, and an interface (none of which are shown in the figures). The door ECU 30 is connected to a car navigation device 50, vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, and 60B, a vehicle speed sensor 92, and a shift position sensor 94 via the interfaces.

[0038] 2 is described in terms of functional blocks in which the CPU functions. The CPU has the functions of a control unit 32 and a selection unit . The control unit 32 controls a right door drive circuit 40 to drive a door motor 41, thereby opening and closing the right door 14. The control unit 32 controls a left door drive circuit 42 to drive a door motor 43, thereby opening and closing the left door 16. The control unit 32 also controls a back door drive circuit 44 to drive a door motor 45, thereby opening and closing the back door 18.

[0039] In addition, when the opening angle of the closed position of the tailgate 18 is set to 0°, the control unit 32 is capable of positioning the tailgate 18 at an open position between the fully open position (opening angle 90°) and the minimum open position (opening angle θ) permitted for unloading work (see Figure 8).

[0040] The selection process of the selection unit 34 will be described in detail in the section (Function) below. <3. Car navigation device 50> As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a car navigation device 50 is communicably connected to the door ECU 30 via the interface.

[0041] A control device 51 of a car navigation device 50 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 52, a ROM (not shown), a RAM (not shown) which is a working memory, an interface (not shown) for connecting to various sensors and devices, and a storage unit 53. The ROM (not shown) stores a control program, a route search program, a guidance program, etc. The storage unit 53 is composed of a writable and readable hard disk, SSD, etc.

[0042] The control device 51 includes a current location detection unit 80 that detects the position of the vehicle 10, a display device 54 consisting of a liquid crystal display or the like, an operation unit 55 including a touch panel and mechanical switches, a voice output unit 56 that outputs synthetic voice from a speaker, and a map database 57. In addition, a size information acquisition unit 72 and in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, 70B are connected to the control device 51, and output the acquired size information and in-vehicle position information to the control device 51, respectively.

[0043] The current location detection unit 80 includes a GPS receiver 82 that detects (locates) the location of the vehicle 10 based on radio waves transmitted from GPS satellites, a gyro sensor 84, a geomagnetic sensor 86, and a vehicle speed sensor 92. Based on inputs from the GPS receiver 82, the gyro sensor 84, the geomagnetic sensor 86, and the vehicle speed sensor 92, the control device 51 detects the current location (absolute position), traveling direction, speed, traveled distance, current time, etc. of the vehicle 10 with high accuracy.

[0044] Furthermore, the control device 51 displays the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle 10 superimposed on the screen of the display device 54 along with a road map around the vehicle, based on the current position of the vehicle 10 and map data obtained from the map database 57. When a destination is set by the operator, the car navigation device 50 executes the route search program and the guidance program to perform a route search that calculates a recommended route (path) from the starting point (current position) to the destination.

[0045] Alternatively, when a destination is set by a command from the control device 51, the car navigation device 50 executes the route search program and the guidance program to perform a route search that calculates a recommended route (path) from the starting point (current location) to the destination.

[0046] Additionally, the car navigation device 50 executes a route guidance function that provides route guidance along a recommended route determined by the route search. The route search uses, for example, the well-known Dijkstra algorithm. That is, using the road map data (link and node data) in the map database 57, a search is made for roads (links) from the starting point (current location) to the next reachable intersection (node) toward the destination, and the cost (evaluation value) is calculated in sequence. Then, a route search is made for a connected route (link sequence) with the minimum cost to the destination.

[0047] (Operation of the embodiment) The operation of the unloading assist device 20 configured as above will now be described. 4, ID codes for a plurality of in-vehicle packages, delivery destination information for each in-vehicle package (including the delivery destination address, the delivery destination company name, etc.), etc. are stored in the storage area of ​​the storage unit 53 of the control device 51 in the car navigation device 50. The ID code will be described later.

[0048] 4, the ID codes of the multiple in-vehicle packages are stored in the ID code column 53a of the storage area of ​​the storage unit 53 in the order of delivery, and the delivery destination information column 53d stores the delivery destination information for each in-vehicle package. These pieces of information are stored in the car navigation device 50 by communication with an external delivery management center or the like via a communication device (not shown).

[0049] As shown in Fig. 4, in the initial information transmitted from an external delivery management center or the like, the in-vehicle baggage is not loaded onto the vehicle 10 with respect to the multiple in-vehicle baggage. Therefore, the size information column 53b and the in-vehicle position information column 53c for each in-vehicle baggage are blank in the storage area of ​​the storage unit 53. The size information column 53b is an area in which the size of the in-vehicle baggage is stored.

[0050] <1. When loading luggage into the vehicle> The luggage inside the vehicle is loaded sequentially into the luggage compartment 8 by an operator with the right door 14, the left door 16, and the back door 18 in the open position.

[0051] Each time this luggage is loaded into the vehicle, the external dimensions of the luggage detected by the size information acquisition unit 72, i.e., width (W), length (D), and height (H), are linked to an ID code described later and transmitted to the car navigation device 50.

[0052] <1. Acquiring in-vehicle location information> Here, RFID tags are attached to the luggage loaded in the vehicle. The RFID tags store a "GTIN" identification code. The "GTIN" identification code is a combination of "a specific product's batch / lot number and serial number" and is used to digitally identify products or services in catalogs, purchase orders, and invoices. In the following, the "GTIN" identification code is simply referred to as the ID code.

[0053] When an in-vehicle baggage is loaded into any one of the areas A, B, or C (see FIG. 1) of the luggage compartment 8, the in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B receive an ID code and an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) value transmitted from an RFID tag attached to the in-vehicle baggage. The RSSI value is the strength of the signal received by the RFID tag when the RFID tag receives the transmission from the in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B.

[0054] The ID codes and RSSI values ​​acquired by the in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B are transmitted to the control device 51 of the car navigation device 50. When the CPU 52 of the control device 51 receives the ID code and the RSSI value, it determines in which of the areas A, B, and C the baggage having that ID code is located.

[0055] Here, the RSSI value has a negative correlation with the distance between the RFID sensor and the RFID tag. Therefore, it is possible to roughly calculate the distance based on the RSSI value. In this embodiment, the CPU 52 determines whether the position of the RFID tag (car luggage) is in area A, B, or C based on the distance between the RFID sensors arranged at three different positions and the RFID tag linked to a common ID code.

[0056] The result of this determination and the external dimensions of the in-vehicle luggage linked to the above-mentioned ID code are written by the CPU 52 to the in-vehicle position information column 53c and size information column 53b corresponding to the relevant ID code in the memory unit 53, as shown in Figure 5.

[0057] 5 shows an example of a case where a package with the "first" delivery order is loaded into the vehicle. In this example, the ID code of the package loaded into the vehicle is "XXX△", its size information is "W1×D1×H1", and its internal location information is determined to be area A.

[0058] Thereafter, when up to the "nth" package in the delivery order are loaded into the vehicle 10, the memory unit 53 will store the size information of the "nth" package up to its ID code "○△×△△" as "Wn×Dn×Hn", as well as the results of their position determination, as shown in Figure 5.

[0059] When the size information and the result of the position determination of the in-vehicle package whose delivery order is "nth" are stored, the CPU 52 sets the delivery destination information of the in-vehicle package whose delivery order is "first" as the destination. Thus, the CPU 52 executes the route search program and the guidance program to execute a route search for determining, by calculation, a recommended route (path) from a starting point (current location) to a destination.

[0060] Additionally, the car navigation device 50 executes a route guidance function that provides route guidance along a recommended route determined by the route search. <2. When vehicle 10 is parked at the delivery destination> A case where the vehicle 10 is parked at the delivery destination will be described.

[0061] When the car navigation device 50 detects that the current position of the vehicle 10 matches the destination in the delivery destination information, the car navigation device 50 transmits a destination arrival signal to the door ECU 30. When the destination arrival signal is received, and when the vehicle speed sensor 92 detects that the vehicle speed is "0" and the shift position sensor 94 detects that the vehicle is in parking (P), the CPU of the door ECU 30 executes the door selection program of FIG.

[0062] Hereinafter, a description will be given of the flowchart of the door selection program in Fig. 7. In the following, the processing of each step executed by the CPU of the door ECU 30 will simply be referred to as processing of the door ECU 30. (S10) In S10, the door ECU 30 requests the reading of size information and in-vehicle position information linked to the ID code in the memory unit 53 associated with the destination (delivery destination information) of the current delivery order, and the transmission of the size information and in-vehicle position information to the door ECU 30. In this way, the door ECU 30 obtains the in-vehicle position information and size information of the in-vehicle package of the current delivery order.

[0063] In addition, the door ECU 30 acquires parking information based on the separation distances Rd, Ld, Bd detected by the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, and the detection results of the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition unit 60C stored in a memory unit (not shown).

[0064] Based on this information, the selection unit 34 of the door ECU 30 selects the opening / closing body that is to be allowed for unloading, that is, the applicable opening / closing body, by the following methods (A-1) to (C-3-2). <How to select an applicable opening and closing device> Here, a method for selecting an applicable opening / closing body for the first in-vehicle parcel in the delivery order will be described.

[0065] In the following description, Kr is the front-to-rear length of the right door opening of the vehicle 10 when the right door 14 is in the open position. Kl is the front-to-rear length of the left door opening of the vehicle 10 when the left door 16 is in the open position. Kb is the left-to-right length of the back door opening of the vehicle 10 when the back door 18 is in the open position. α is the space required for the worker to unload the cargo. Kr, Kl, Kb, and α are constants and are preset in the door selection program.

[0066] The right door 14 is an applicable opening / closing body if the following condition (A-1) or (A-2) is met. Note that D1 (length of the luggage inside the vehicle) ≧ W1 (width of the luggage inside the vehicle).

[0067] (A-1) Conditions under which the right door 14 is considered an applicable opening / closing body When Kr (the longitudinal length of the right door opening) > W1 (the width of the in-vehicle luggage) and Kr (the longitudinal length of the right door opening) < D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage), the in-vehicle luggage cannot be taken out from the right door opening from the side having the length of the in-vehicle luggage. Therefore, the in-vehicle luggage has to be taken out from the width side of the in-vehicle luggage. In this case, it is necessary to satisfy Rd (the right separation distance) > D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage) + α.

[0068] (A-2) Conditions for the right door 14 to be an applicable opening / closing body When Kr (the longitudinal length of the right door opening) > W1 (the width of the in-vehicle luggage) and Kr (the longitudinal length of the right door opening) > D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage), the in-vehicle luggage can be unloaded from the right door opening either from the side having the length of the in-vehicle luggage or from the width side of the in-vehicle luggage. In this case, it is sufficient to satisfy Rd (the right separation distance) > D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage) + α or Rd (the right separation distance) > W1 (the width of the in-vehicle luggage) + α.

[0069] (B-1) Conditions for the left door 16 to be an applicable opening / closing body When Kl (the longitudinal length of the left door opening) > W1 (the width of the in-vehicle luggage) and Kl (the longitudinal length of the left door opening) < D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage), the in-vehicle luggage cannot be taken out from the left door opening from the side having the length of the in-vehicle luggage. Therefore, the in-vehicle luggage has to be taken out from the width side of the in-vehicle luggage. In this case, it is necessary to satisfy Ld (the left separation distance) > D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage) + α.

[0070] (B-2) Conditions for the left door 16 to be an applicable opening / closing body When Kl (the longitudinal length of the left door opening) > W1 (the width of the in-vehicle luggage) and Kl (the longitudinal length of the left door opening) > D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage), the in-vehicle luggage can be unloaded from the left door opening either from the side having the length of the in-vehicle luggage or from the width side of the in-vehicle luggage. In this case, it is sufficient to satisfy Ld (the left separation distance) > D1 (the length of the in-vehicle luggage) + α or Ld (the left separation distance) > W1 (the width of the in-vehicle luggage) + α.

[0071] (C-1) Conditions for the back door 18 to be an applicable opening / closing body When the parking information is "forward", since there are no obstacles behind the back door 18 and it is on the path where the vehicle 10 can travel, the back door 18 can be opened and closed at the open position (open angle 90°) when fully opened. Therefore, the selection unit 34 of the door ECU 30 selects the back door 18 as an applicable opening and closing body.

[0072] That is, when Kb (the left - right length of the back door opening) > W1 (the width of the in - vehicle luggage) and Kb (the left - right length of the back door opening) < D1 (the length of the in - vehicle luggage), the in - vehicle luggage can be unloaded from the width side of the in - vehicle luggage, so the back door 18 is used as an applicable opening and closing body.

[0073] Also, when Kb (the left - right length of the back door opening) > W1 (the width of the in - vehicle luggage) and Kb (the left - right length of the back door opening) > D1 (the length of the in - vehicle luggage), the in - vehicle luggage can be unloaded from both the width side and the side with the length of the in - vehicle luggage, so the back door 18 is used as an applicable opening and closing body.

[0074] The following conditions (C - 2 - 1), (C - 2 - 2), (C - 3 - 1) and (C - 3 - 1) apply when the parking information is "backward". In this case, when the back door 18 is positioned at the open position, the lower end of the back door 18 is lifted and moves backward. Therefore, the entire back door 18 at the open position extends backward from the vehicle 10. Thus, the relationship between the vertical length L of the back door 18 at the open position and the rear separation distance Bd becomes a problem. Note that L is the vertical length of the back door 18 at the closed position. In FIG. 8, the case where Bd (rear separation distance) > L (vertical length of the back door 18) is illustrated.

[0075] When Bd (rear separation distance) > L (vertical length of the back door 18) (see FIGS. 1 and 8), the conditions for the back door 18 to be an applicable opening and closing body are the following (C - 2 - 1) or (C - 2 - 2).

[0076] (C - 2 - 1) When Kb (the left - right length of the back - door opening) > W1 (the width of the in - vehicle load), and Kb (the left - right length of the back - door opening) < D1 (the length of the in - vehicle load), the in - vehicle load cannot be taken out from the back - door opening from the side with the length of the in - vehicle load. Therefore, the in - vehicle load has to be taken out from the width side of the in - vehicle load. In this case, it is necessary to satisfy Bd (the rear - side separation distance) > D1 (the length of the in - vehicle load)+α.

[0077] (C - 2 - 2) When Kb (the left - right length of the back - door opening) > W1 (the width of the in - vehicle load), and Kb (the left - right length of the back - door opening) > D1 (the length of the in - vehicle load), the in - vehicle load can be unloaded from the back - door opening either from the side with the length of the in - vehicle load or from the width side of the in - vehicle load. In this case, it is sufficient to satisfy Bd (the rear - side separation distance) > D1 (the length of the in - vehicle load)+α, or Bd (the rear - side separation distance) > W1 (the width of the in - vehicle load)+α.

[0078] When L (the up - down length of the back - door 18) ≥ Bd (the rear - side separation distance) > L·cos(90° - θ) (see Fig. 8), the conditions for the back - door 18 to be an applicable opening - closing body are the following (C - 3 - 1) or (C - 3 - 2).

[0079] (C - 3 - 1) When Kb (the left - right length of the back - door opening) > W1 (the width of the in - vehicle load), and Kb (the left - right length of the back - door opening) < D1 (the length of the in - vehicle load), the in - vehicle load cannot be taken out from the back - door opening from the side with the length of the in - vehicle load. Therefore, the in - vehicle load has to be taken out from the width side of the in - vehicle load. In this case, it is necessary to satisfy Bd (the rear - side separation distance) > D1 (the length of the in - vehicle load)+α.

[0080] (C - 3 - 2) If Kb (length of the back door opening)>W1 (width of the luggage inside the vehicle) and Kb (length of the back door opening)>D1 (length of the luggage inside the vehicle), the luggage inside the vehicle can be unloaded from the back door opening on either the length side or the width side of the luggage inside the vehicle. In this case, it is sufficient to satisfy Bd (rear clearance)>D1 (length of the luggage inside the vehicle)+α or Bd (rear clearance)>W1 (width of the luggage inside the vehicle)+α.

[0081] In addition, when L·cos(90°-θ)>Bd (rear separation distance), when the tailgate 18 is operated to the open position, there is a risk of interference with a surrounding object Sb located at the rear separation distance Bd, so the selection unit 34 of the door ECU 30 does not select the tailgate 18 as an applicable opening / closing body.

[0082] (S20) In S20, the selection unit 34 of the door ECU 30 determines whether the number of applicable opening-closing objects selected in S10 is multiple, single, or none. If there are multiple applicable opening-closing objects, the process proceeds to S30. If there is only one applicable opening-closing object, the process proceeds to S40. If there are no applicable opening-closing objects, the process proceeds to S50.

[0083] (S30) In S30, based on the in-vehicle position information linked to the in-vehicle cargo in the current delivery order, the selection unit 34 of the door ECU 30 selects the opening / closing body that is closest to the in-vehicle cargo among the selected multiple applicable opening / closing bodies (doors) as the optimal applicable opening / closing body.

[0084] Here, when the in-vehicle position information is area A, the optimal applicable opening / closing body closest to area A is the right door 14, so the control unit 32 controls the right door drive circuit 40 to open, thereby driving the door motor 41 to open the right door 14 from the closed position to the open position.

[0085] Additionally, the control unit 32 transmits information indicating that the doors have been controlled to the open position to the car navigation device 50. In this embodiment, the control unit 32 transmits a signal indicating that the right door 14 has been controlled to the open position to the car navigation device 50.

[0086] The process performed by the car navigation device 50 based on the transmitted information indicating that the door has been controlled to the open position will be described later. In this embodiment, the case where the vehicle interior position information is in area A has been described, but when the vehicle interior position information is in area B, the most suitable applicable opening / closing body closest to area B is the left door 16. Therefore, the control unit 32 controls the left door drive circuit 42 to open, thereby driving the door motor 41 to open the left door 16 from the closed position to the open position.

[0087] Furthermore, when the vehicle interior position information is area C, the most suitable applicable opening / closing body closest to area C is the back door 18. Therefore, the control unit 32 controls the back door drive circuit 44 to open, thereby driving the door motor 45 to open the back door 18 from the closed position to the open position.

[0088] When the back door 18 is moved from the closed position to the open position, in the above-mentioned (C-2-1) or (C-2-2), the control unit 32 positions the back door 18 up to the open position with an opening angle of 90°.

[0089] Furthermore, when the back door 18 is moved from the closed position to the open position, in the case of (C-3-1) or (C-3-2), the control unit 32 positions the back door 18 to the open position at the opening angle θ.

[0090] When the process of S30 is completed, the flow exits from this flowchart. (S40) In S40, if there is only one applicable opening-closing body, the control unit 32 determines that the selected applicable opening-closing body is the most suitable one and controls the drive circuit of the door as the applicable opening-closing body to open, thereby driving the door motor to move the door from the closed position to the open position. At the same time, the control unit 32 transmits information to the car navigation device 50 that the door has been controlled to the open position.

[0091] When the door selected as the applicable opening / closing body is the right door 14 or the left door 16, the control is performed in the same manner as described in S30. Furthermore, when the door as the selected applicable opening / closing body is the back door 18, in the above (C-2-1) or (C-2-2), the control unit 32 positions the back door 18 to an open position with an opening angle of 90°. Furthermore, when the door is the back door 18, in the above (C-3-1) or (C-3-2), the control unit 32 positions the back door 18 to an open position with an opening angle of θ.

[0092] When the process of S40 is completed, the flow exits from this flowchart. (S50) In S50, since there is no applicable opening-closing object, the control unit 32 transmits information to the car navigation device 50 to that effect, and then exits from this flowchart.

[0093] <Processing of the car navigation device 50 when receiving information indicating that the door has been controlled to the open position> When the CPU 52 of the car navigation device 50 receives information that the doors have been controlled to the open position, for example, that the right door 14 has been controlled to the open position, the CPU 52 displays that fact on the display device 54 and the audio output unit 56 and notifies the user by audio.

[0094] Furthermore, when the car navigation device 50 receives information that the door has been controlled to the open position, the car navigation device 50 updates the memory in the memory unit 53. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the CPU 52 sets the next in-vehicle package in the delivery order by deleting the ID code, size information, in-vehicle position information, and delivery destination information related to the in-vehicle package in the current delivery order.

[0095] As a result, when the vehicle 10 travels to the next delivery destination, the CPU 52 executes the route search program and the guidance program to calculate a recommended route (path) from the starting point (current location) to the destination, thereby searching for a route to the next delivery destination.

[0096] At the same time, the car navigation device 50 executes a route guidance function that provides route guidance along a recommended route determined by the route search. <Processing of the car navigation device 50 when receiving information indicating that there is no applicable opening / closing object> When the CPU 52 of the car navigation device 50 receives information indicating that there is no applicable opening / closing object, it displays a message "Request to change parking location" on the display device 54 and outputs a message by voice on the audio output unit 56.

[0097] This embodiment has the following features. (1) The unloading assistance device 20 includes a selection unit 34 that selects an applicable opening / closing body (door) that allows unloading of the luggage from among a plurality of doors (opening / closing bodies) based on the vehicle interior position information of the luggage, the vehicle exterior surrounding information when parked, and the size information of the luggage. The control unit 32 opens the applicable opening / closing body selected by the selection unit 34.

[0098] As a result, in a vehicle having multiple doors for unloading, the doors required for unloading can be automatically opened. (2) When there are multiple applicable opening / closing objects (doors) as the selection result, the selection unit 34 of the unloading assistance device 20 selects the opening / closing object (door) that is closest to the luggage in the vehicle as the optimal applicable opening / closing object based on the in-vehicle position information.

[0099] As a result, the opening / closing body (door) closest to the baggage to be unloaded can be selected as the most suitable applicable opening / closing body. (3) The unloading assistance device 20 is equipped with vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, 60C, vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, 70B, and a size information acquisition unit 72.

[0100] Therefore, the unloading assistance device can be configured more easily than in a case where these acquisition units are not included. (4) The vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, and 60B each include a distance sensor that detects the distance between the vehicle 10 and the surrounding objects Sr, Sl, and Sb when parked. As a result, in this embodiment, the distance sensor can detect the distance between the vehicle 10 and the surrounding objects Sr, Sl, and Sb when parked.

[0101] (5) The in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B are RFID sensors provided in the vehicle 10 and receive the ID code and RSSI value of the in-vehicle baggage transmitted from an RFID tag attached to the in-vehicle baggage. The RFID tag stores a "GTIN" identification code (ID code) for the in-vehicle baggage, and the "GTIN" identification code (ID code) and RSSI value for the in-vehicle baggage can be acquired via the RFID sensor. This makes it possible to identify the in-vehicle baggage and obtain the in-vehicle position of the baggage based on the RSSI value.

[0102] (Other embodiments) Next, an unloading support device 20 according to another embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Note that the same components as those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0103] In the above embodiment, the CPU (not shown) of the door ECU 30 functions as the selection unit 34. Alternatively, a support ECU 100 may be provided as shown in Fig. 9. The support ECU 100 includes a selection unit 110 configured by a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

[0104] In this case, the car navigation device 50 , the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60 R, 60 L, and 60 B, the vehicle speed sensor 92 and the shift position sensor 94 of the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition unit 60 C are connected to the assistance ECU 100 .

[0105] The selection unit 110 of the assistance ECU 100 has the same functions as those in the above embodiment. When the selection unit 110 selects an applicable opening-closing body or an optimal applicable opening-closing body, as in the above embodiment, the selection unit 110 controls the opening of a drive circuit of the selected applicable opening-closing body, thereby moving the opening-closing body (door) to an open position by the door motor.

[0106] With this configuration, the same effects as in the first embodiment are achieved. This embodiment can be modified and implemented as follows. The present embodiment and the following modified examples can be implemented in combination with each other to the extent that no technical contradiction occurs.

[0107] In each embodiment, the in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R and 70L are RFID sensors, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R and 70L may be cameras. In this case, it is determined whether the in-vehicle baggage is loaded in area A, B, or C based on the images captured by the respective cameras.

[0108] As a modification of the above embodiment, when the vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R and 70L are cameras as described above, a QR code (registered trademark) or a barcode may be attached to the surface of the package of the vehicle interior baggage instead of an RFID tag. In this case, the QR code or the barcode describes the ID code of the vehicle interior baggage.

[0109] When the camera reads the QR code or barcode, it transmits the ID code of the in-vehicle baggage contained in the code to the control device 51 of the car navigation device 50. The control device 51 refers to the transmitted ID code and an ID code stored in advance in the storage unit 53, and thereby associates the transmitted ID code with the delivery destination information.

[0110] In the above embodiment, in steps S10, S20, and S30, an applicable opening-closing object capable of unloading a load is selected based on the size information and the vehicle exterior surroundings information, and then, from among the applicable opening-closing objects, an applicable opening-closing object closest to the load inside the vehicle is selected as the most suitable applicable opening-closing object. Instead of this, the following may be performed.

[0111] The applicable opening / closing object (door) on which the cargo can be unloaded may be selected based on the size information and the vehicle exterior surrounding information, in the order of the opening / closing object (door) closest to the cargo inside the vehicle. In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle position information acquiring units 70R, 70L, and 70B are used. However, the in-vehicle position information acquiring unit 70B may be omitted, and the in-vehicle position of the baggage may be determined by the in-vehicle position information acquiring units 70R and 70L.

[0112] The method of determining the position of the baggage inside the vehicle in the above embodiment may be modified as follows. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, "processing performed by the CPU" will be described as "processing performed by the door ECU 30".

[0113] The door ECU 30 measures the direction of arrival of a radio signal transmitted by an RFID tag attached to the baggage in the vehicle, and determines the location of the baggage in the vehicle, for example, by the AOA (Angle Of Arrival) method. In the AOA method, when the signal transmitted by the RFID tag is received by the vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R and 70L, the arrival angle of the arriving radio wave is measured based on a reference direction (for example, the front direction of the vehicle interior position information acquisition unit 70R), and the location of the baggage in the vehicle is determined.

[0114] Note that instead of the AOA method, a TDOA (Time Difference Of Arrival) method may be used. In the TDOA (Time Difference Of Arrival) method, the door ECU 30 receives a wireless signal emitted by an RFID tag with the in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R and 70L, and determines the position of the baggage in the vehicle from the difference in the reception time at each of the in-vehicle position information acquisition units 70R and 70L.

[0115] The in-vehicle position information acquisition unit may be a camera. In this case, the camera may capture an image with identification information of the in-vehicle baggage (e.g., a QR code) added thereto, and it may be possible to determine in which of the areas A, B, or C the baggage is located based on the position and direction of the camera and the position of the baggage in the captured image.

[0116] In the first embodiment, the opening angle of the back door 18 in the open position when it is fully open is set to 90°, but this is not limited to this and may be an opening angle exceeding 90° or less than 90°.

[0117] In the above embodiment, the unloading assistance device 20 is equipped with vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, 60C, vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, 70B, and size information acquisition unit 72, but is not limited to this configuration.

[0118] For example, all of the acquisition units may be omitted, or at least one of the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, and 60C, the vehicle interior position information acquisition units 70R, 70L, and 70B, and the size information acquisition units may be omitted.

[0119] In addition, when the vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, and 60C are omitted, the vehicle exterior surrounding information may be acquired from the vehicle exterior surrounding information acquisition units 60R, 60L, 60B, and 60C as external devices.

[0120] Alternatively, when the in-vehicle position information acquiring units 70R, 70L, and 70B are omitted, the in-vehicle position information may be acquired from the in-vehicle position information acquiring units 70R, 70L, and 70B as external devices. Moreover, when the size information acquisition unit 72 is omitted, the size information may be acquired from the size information acquisition unit 72 as an external device.

[0121] In the above embodiment, the number of opening / closing bodies (doors) is three, but it is acceptable as long as there are two or more opening / closing bodies. In the above embodiment, the in-vehicle luggage is described as "horizontal loading strictly prohibited", but the in-vehicle luggage may be other than "horizontal loading strictly prohibited". If the in-vehicle luggage is shaped like a square box by packaging such as cardboard, when it is placed in the luggage compartment 8 of the vehicle 10, the loading surface may be a surface having a width (W) and a length (D). The length in the vertical direction from the loading surface is defined as the height (H). Therefore, by utilizing the time delay method using LiDAR, it is possible to detect the external dimensions of the in-vehicle luggage including the packaging, that is, the width (W), length (D), and height (H). [Explanation of symbols]

[0122] 8. Luggage compartment 10. Vehicle 14…Right door (opening / closing body) 16...Left door (opening / closing body) 18...Back door (opening and closing body) 20...Unloading support device 30…Door ECU 32...Control section 34…Selection section 40…Right door drive circuit 41...Door motor 42...Left door drive circuit 43...Door motor 44…Back door drive circuit 45…Door motor 50…Car navigation device 51...Control device 52…CPU 53...Storage section 53a…ID code field 53b…Size information section 53c…In-vehicle location information section 53d…Delivery information field 54…Display device 55...Operation unit 56…Audio output section 57…Map database 60R, 60L, 60B, 60C...Exterior surrounding information acquisition section 70R, 70L, 70B…In-vehicle location information acquisition unit 72...Size information acquisition unit 80…Current location detection section 82…GPS receiver 84...Gyro sensor 86...Geomagnetic sensor 92...Vehicle speed sensor 92 94...Shift position sensor Rd…Right side separation distance Ld…Left side separation distance Bd...Rear separation distance A, B, C… area Sr, Sl, Sb...peripheral objects L…Vertical length

Claims

1. A loading assistance device that includes a plurality of opening / closing bodies provided at different positions on a vehicle and a control unit that controls the opening / closing bodies, and that assists in the unloading of baggage within a vehicle by opening the opening / closing bodies through opening control of the control unit, a selection unit that selects an opening / closing body from among the plurality of opening / closing bodies that is to be capable of unloading the baggage (hereinafter, an applicable opening / closing body) based on the in-vehicle position information of the baggage inside the vehicle, the vehicle exterior surrounding information when parked, and the size information of the baggage inside the vehicle, The control unit controls the opening of the applicable opening / closing body selected by the selection unit.

2. The unloading assistance device described in claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects the applicable opening / closing object based on the vehicle exterior surrounding information and the size information of the luggage inside the vehicle, and if there are multiple applicable opening / closing objects as a result of the selection, selects the opening / closing object that is closest to the luggage inside the vehicle based on the vehicle interior position information as the optimal applicable opening / closing object.

3. The unloading assistance device according to claim 1 or claim 2, further comprising at least one of an exterior surrounding information acquisition unit that acquires exterior surrounding information of the vehicle when the vehicle is parked, an interior position information acquisition unit that acquires interior position information of the luggage within the vehicle, and a size information acquisition unit that acquires the size information.

4. The unloading assistance device according to claim 3 , wherein the vehicle exterior surroundings information acquisition unit includes a distance sensor that detects a distance between the vehicle and surrounding objects when parked.

5. 4. The unloading assistance device according to claim 3, wherein the in-vehicle position information acquisition unit is an RFID sensor that is provided in the vehicle and receives an ID code and an RSSI value of the in-vehicle baggage transmitted from an RFID tag attached to the in-vehicle baggage.

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