Vehicle management system, vehicle management method, and vehicle management program

Abstract

To provide a vehicle management system capable of estimating the time of maintenance on a brake chamber of each vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle management system includes a processor configured to: acquire, as vehicle information of a vehicle, information indicating a relationship between the time and traveling position of the vehicle at the time; acquire infrastructure information including weather information in a region including the traveling position at the time corresponding to the traveling position; and output information on deterioration of a brake chamber of the vehicle on the basis of the vehicle information of the vehicle and the infrastructure information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Vehicles that use full air brakes, such as large trucks and tractors, usually have one brake chamber per wheel. It is known that the brake chambers of such vehicles have a possibility of water intrusion due to their structure. It is also known that deterioration of the brake chambers (failures due to rust) occurs due to the intrusion of water. Before such deterioration of the brake chambers leads to brake failure, it is desirable for users such as drivers of the vehicles, sales companies, maintenance companies, etc. to recognize the need for maintenance of the brake chambers of the vehicles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-56396 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2023-107082 A [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-78857 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle management system, a vehicle management method, and a vehicle management program that are capable of estimating the maintenance timing of the brake chamber of each vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A vehicle management system according to one embodiment of the present invention has a processor that acquires information indicating the relationship between time and the vehicle's driving position at the time as vehicle information of the vehicle, acquires infrastructure information including weather information in an area including the driving position at the time corresponding to the driving position, and outputs information regarding deterioration of the brake chamber of the vehicle based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and the infrastructure information. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle management system, a vehicle management method, and a vehicle management program capable of estimating the maintenance timing of the brake chamber of each vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a braking system for a vehicle. [Diagram 2] 2(a)-(c) are schematic diagrams showing a part of a sequence of operations of a brake chamber assembly of a braking device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 shows a vehicle management system used together with vehicles, GPS satellites, a server that transmits infrastructure information, and various terminals. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a schematic block diagram for obtaining vehicle information of a vehicle. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of a vehicle management system. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 shows a table showing the amount of water coverage for each vehicle based on infrastructure information and vehicle information for each vehicle, the driving time for each vehicle during the typhoon, the number of times each vehicle drove on flooded roads while inundated, the number of times each vehicle braked per kilometer, and the component status (presence or absence of a malfunction) of each vehicle's components (brake chambers). [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a first model for the control unit of the vehicle management system to estimate deterioration such as rust of the brake chamber. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a graph showing the risk of rust in a second model that estimates deterioration such as rust in the brake chamber calculated by the control unit of the vehicle management system using an appropriate formula based on the vehicle data of the actual vehicle shown in FIG. 6. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a graph showing the risk of rust in a second model that estimates deterioration such as rust of the brake chamber calculated based on the calculation formula and threshold values ​​set in the graph shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a brake device 12 of a vehicle 10. For example, full air brakes are increasingly being adopted for vehicles 10 of a certain size, such as large or medium-sized trucks and tractors.

[0009] A braking device 12 having a drum brake 30 is employed on each wheel (four or more wheels) of the vehicle 10. The braking device 12 opens and closes a brake valve 24 in response to operation of a brake pedal 22 by, for example, the driver, to control high-pressure air in an air tank 26. When the driver depresses the brake pedal 22, the brake shoe 30b is pressed against the inside of a brake drum 30a, which rotates together with the wheel (not shown), via a brake chamber assembly 28, to activate the drum brake 30 and brake the vehicle 10. When the driver releases the brake pedal 22, the brake shoe 30b is released from pressing against the inside of the brake drum 30a, releasing the braking effect of the drum brake 30.

[0010] In the following description, the brake pedal 22 is mainly operated by the driver, but when the vehicle 10 is driven by so-called automatic driving, the brake pedal 22 may be configured to operate automatically in response to the instructions of the traffic lights (green / yellow / red) of the vehicle's traffic signals and the driving conditions. Alternatively, when the vehicle 10 is driven by so-called automatic driving, the brake pedal 22 may not be provided on the vehicle 10, and the control unit 112 of the vehicle 10, which will be described later, may brake the vehicle 10 by controlling the opening and closing of the brake valve 24.

[0011] 2(a)-(c) show schematic cross-sectional views of the brake chamber assembly 28 of the brake device 12. The brake chamber assembly 28 is disposed near the drum brake 30 having the brake drum 30a that rotates with each wheel. The position of the brake chamber assembly 28 varies depending on the type of the vehicle 10 and the size of the wheels, but is, for example, about 0.4 m to 0.7 m above the ground. As shown in FIG. 2(a)-(c), the brake chamber assembly 28 generally includes a brake chamber 32, a diaphragm 34 that is provided in the brake chamber 32 and that deforms / relaxes in response to the supply / release of high-pressure air that can be supplied / released through the brake valve 24, and a piston rod 36 that moves linearly relative to the brake chamber 32 in response to the deformation / release of the diaphragm 34.

[0012] A breathing hole 32a is formed in the brake chamber 32. The breathing hole 32a is generally disposed on the lower side of the brake chamber 32.

[0013] The brake chamber assembly 28 may operate, for example, as follows.

[0014] When the driver depresses the brake pedal 22, the brake valve 24 opens, and the high-pressure air in the air tank 26 elastically deforms the diaphragm 34 of the brake chamber 32, as shown in Fig. 2(a). This elastic deformation pushes the piston rod 36 toward the drum brake 30 via the diaphragm 34, and operates the drum brake 30 in conjunction with the piston rod 36. As a result, the vehicle 10 is braked by the drum brake 30.

[0015] When the driver releases the brake pedal 22, the brake valve 24 is closed, the supply of high-pressure air in the air tank 26 is cut off, and as shown in FIG. 2(b), air is sucked in through the breathing hole 32a provided in the brake chamber 32, and the elastic deformation of the diaphragm 34 in the brake chamber 32 returns to its original state. As a result, the piston rod 36 linked to the diaphragm 34 releases its pressure against the drum brake 30. As a result, the braking of the vehicle 10 by the drum brake 30 is released. In other words, when the brake pedal 22 is released, the brake is released.

[0016] At this time, if there is a water surface S, for example due to rainwater, above the breathing hole 32a, or if there is moisture due to splashing rainwater near the breathing hole 32a, it is known that when the brake pedal 22 is released, water may be sucked up into the brake chamber 32 through the breathing hole 32a, causing water to enter the brake chamber 32.

[0017] When the driver depresses the brake pedal 22 to reactivate the drum brakes 30, the presence of water in the brake chamber 32 causes the pressure in the brake chamber 32 to rise compared to when there is no water in the brake chamber 32. At this time, because the breathing hole 32a is located on the lower side, some of the water in the brake chamber 32 is discharged from the breathing hole 32a. As shown in FIG. 2(c), the water that cannot be discharged from the breathing hole 32a presses the diaphragm 34, and there is a possibility that the water may enter, for example, the piston rod 36 side.

[0018] If time passes with water remaining in the brake chamber 32, it is expected that rust will form in the brake chamber 32, leading to deterioration of the brake chamber 32. Furthermore, when the vehicle 10 runs on a wet road surface, there is a higher possibility that water will enter the brake chamber 32 than when the vehicle 10 runs on a dry road surface.

[0019] A vehicle management system 100 capable of estimating the maintenance timing of the brake chamber 32 of each vehicle 10 and notifying related parties of the vehicle 10 of the maintenance timing will be described below with reference to Figs. 3 to 9.

[0020] Fig. 3 shows a vehicle management system 100 used together with a vehicle 10, a GPS satellite 200, a server 400 that transmits infrastructure information, and various terminals 301, 302. Fig. 4 shows a schematic block diagram for obtaining vehicle information of the vehicle 10. Fig. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of the vehicle management system 100.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 3, the vehicle management system 100 according to this embodiment can notify the terminals 301, 302 of deterioration information (information on whether maintenance is required) of the brake chamber 32 calculated based on the vehicle information of the vehicle 10 and infrastructure information. Specifically, the vehicle management system 100 determines whether or not a notification is required to prompt maintenance of the brake chamber 32 of the vehicle 10 based on the deterioration information of the brake chamber 32, and notifies the relevant persons of the vehicle 10 that maintenance of the brake chamber 32 is required when the determination is necessary. On the other hand, when the determination is not necessary, the notification of maintenance of the brake chamber 32 to the relevant persons of the vehicle 10 is, for example, withheld. Alternatively, the vehicle management system 100 notifies the relevant persons of the vehicle 10 that the determination is currently negative (no maintenance is required) as a result of the determination of whether maintenance of the brake chamber 32 is required.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle 10 includes a control unit 112, a communication unit 114, a receiving unit (antenna) 116 for receiving a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal, a storage unit (storage medium) 118, a brake sensor 120, and a battery 122.

[0023] The battery 122 supplies power to the control unit 112, the communication unit 114, the GPS receiving unit 116, the memory unit 118, and the brake sensor 120 of the vehicle 10.

[0024] The control unit 112 is, for example, configured from a computer or the like, and includes one or more processors (processing circuits). The processor includes any one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a microcomputer, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and the like.

[0025] Based on a signal from the control unit 112, the vehicle 10 uses the communication unit 114 to transmit and receive information to and from the vehicle management system 100 wirelessly or via wired communication.

[0026] The GPS receiving unit 116 communicates with, for example, four GPS satellites 200 (see FIG. 3) to obtain position information corresponding to the time information.

[0027] The storage unit 118 may include an auxiliary storage device in addition to a main storage device such as a memory. Examples of the storage unit 118 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a magnetic disk, an optical disk (CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, etc.), a magneto-optical disk (MO, etc.), and a non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor memory that can be written to and read from at any time.

[0028] In the vehicle 10, only one control unit 112 and one storage unit 118 may be provided, or multiple units may be provided. In the control unit 112, the processor performs processing by executing programs and the like stored in the storage unit 118 or the like. The programs executed by the processor of the control unit 112 may be stored in a computer (server) connected to the control unit 112 via a network such as the Internet, or in a server in a cloud environment. In this case, the processor of the control unit 112 downloads the programs via the network. Various calculation processes in the control unit 112 are executed by the processor and the like, and the storage unit 118 functions as a data storage unit.

[0029] At least a part of the processing by the control unit 112 may be executed by a cloud server configured in a cloud environment. The infrastructure of the cloud environment is configured by a virtual processor such as a virtual CPU and a cloud memory. In one example, various calculation processes are executed by the virtual processor, and the cloud memory functions as a data storage unit.

[0030] The brake sensor 120 detects, for example, the operation of the brake pedal 22 by the driver or the opening and closing of the brake valve 24. The signal detected by the brake sensor 120 is linked to the turning on and off of the brake lights by the control unit 112. The control unit 112 counts the turning on of the brake lights of the brake 30 as one count of the number of times the brake 30 is activated, and stores this in the memory unit 118. The activation time of the brake 30 corresponds to the turning on time of the brake lights of the vehicle 10, for example. The control unit 112 determines the turning on of the brake lights of the brake 30 as a first time t1 and the turning off of the brake lights as a second time t2, and outputs such a turning on time of the brake lights (t2-t1) as the operation time of the brake pedal 22 or the brake valve 24, and stores this in the memory unit 118. That is, the time and position of the vehicle 10 at which the driver depresses the brake pedal 22 and the time and position at which the driver releases the brake pedal 22 are stored as part of the vehicle information. For this reason, the control unit 112 obtains brake operation information corresponding to time and stores it in the memory unit 118.

[0031] For example, when the vehicle 10 is traveling and stopped, the control unit 112 acquires position information at a certain time using the GPS receiving unit 116. For this reason, the control unit 112 acquires information linking the position information and time information of the vehicle 10, and stores this in the storage unit 118 as a part of the vehicle information.

[0032] Furthermore, the control unit 112 acquires operation information of the brake sensor 120, for example, when the vehicle 10 is traveling and stopped, and stores this as part of the vehicle information in the storage unit 118. Note that the control unit 112 may acquire information linking the operation information of the brake sensor 120 with time information, for example, when the vehicle 10 is traveling and stopped, and store this as part of the vehicle information in the storage unit 118.

[0033] The control unit 112 transmits vehicle information to the vehicle management system 100, for example, when parking the vehicle.

[0034] The vehicle information may include the parking location and the parking time.

[0035] As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle management system 100 includes a control unit 102, a communication unit 104, and a storage unit (storage medium) 106.

[0036] The control unit 102 is, for example, configured from a computer or the like, and includes one or more processors (processing circuits). The processor includes any one of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a microcomputer, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc.

[0037] The communication unit 104 of the vehicle management system 100 transmits and receives information (vehicle information) to and from a large number of vehicles 10, wirelessly or via a wired connection, based on a signal from the control unit 102. In addition, the communication unit 104 transmits and receives information to and from a terminal 301 of a sales dealer or a maintenance business of the vehicle 10, or a mobile terminal 302 such as a smartphone of a registered user (company, etc.) of the vehicle 10, wirelessly or via a wired connection, based on a signal from the control unit 102.

[0038] The vehicle management system 100 is capable of acquiring vehicle information from each vehicle 10 and infrastructure information from the server 400 using the communication unit 104 based on a command from the control unit 102 .

[0039] The infrastructure information here is information about water on the road surface at the time when the target vehicle 10 is estimated to have traveled, such as rainfall information obtained from the Japan Meteorological Agency or an equivalent meteorological information organization or weather company of each country (hereinafter described as information is obtained mainly from the Japan Meteorological Agency) or road flooding information obtained from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan or an equivalent organization of each country (hereinafter described as information is obtained mainly from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism). Therefore, this infrastructure information is not forecast information, but the amount of rainfall per unit time at actual time, or the amount of flooding (depth of water) on the road surface at actual time. Note that the infrastructure information may include, for example, weather information such as rainfall amount and typhoon information from the Japan Meteorological Agency, and forecast information such as information on areas expected to be flooded from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

[0040] The weather information here refers to weather information for an area including the driving position at a time corresponding to the driving position. The weather information can be obtained, for example, from the meteorological agencies of each country, weather information providers, etc.

[0041] The weather information includes the amount of precipitation before the travel position, in addition to the weather information in the area including the travel position at the time corresponding to the travel position. The weather information may also include flooding information of the road that the vehicle 10 passed through at the time corresponding to the travel position. The flooding information may be based on information sent by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, a prefecture, or other local government, or information acquired and analyzed by, for example, an on-board camera attached to the vehicle 10 or another vehicle 10 that passes through the road and is capable of capturing images.

[0042] The storage unit 106 may include an auxiliary storage device (non-transient storage medium) in addition to a main storage device such as a memory. Examples of the storage unit 106 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a magnetic disk, an optical disk (CD-ROM, CD-R, DVD, etc.), a magneto-optical disk (MO, etc.), and a non-volatile memory such as a semiconductor memory that can be written to and read from at any time.

[0043] In the vehicle management system 100, only one control unit 102 and one storage unit 106 may be provided, or multiple units may be provided. In the control unit 102, the processor performs processing by executing programs and the like stored in the storage unit 106 or the like. The programs executed by the processor of the control unit 102 may be stored in a computer (server) connected to the control unit 102 via a network such as the Internet, or in a server in a cloud environment. In this case, the processor of the control unit 102 downloads the programs via the network. Various calculation processes in the control unit 102 are executed by the processor and the like, and the storage unit 106 functions as a data storage unit.

[0044] At least a part of the processing by the control unit 102 may be executed by a cloud server configured in a cloud environment. The infrastructure of the cloud environment is configured by a virtual processor such as a virtual CPU and a cloud memory. In one example, various calculation processes are executed by the virtual processor, and the cloud memory functions as a data storage unit.

[0045] In this embodiment, the control unit 102 can execute a vehicle management program or vehicle management method that outputs whether or not maintenance is required for the brake chamber 32 of each vehicle 10 and can estimate the time for maintenance of the brake chamber 32 of each vehicle 10.

[0046] The control unit 102 according to this embodiment can perform calculations to output whether or not maintenance of the brake chamber 32 is required.

[0047] In this embodiment, as examples of calculations of the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 that can output whether or not maintenance is required for the brake chamber 32 of each vehicle 10, a first model, a second model, or other appropriate models described below are exemplified.

[0048] FIG. 6 shows a table showing the amount of water covered by each vehicle 10 based on infrastructure information and vehicle information of each vehicle 10, the driving time of each vehicle 10 during a typhoon, the number of times each vehicle 10 drove on flooded roads while flooded, the number of times each vehicle 10 braked per kilometer, and the part status (presence or absence of a malfunction) of the part (brake chamber 32) of each vehicle 10. Note that the vehicles 10 (vehicles AJ) shown in FIG. 6 are vehicles of the same model having the same structure. Here, the vehicles 10 (10 vehicles AJ) are shown, but in reality, it is preferable that information of the level shown in FIG. 6 be obtained based on several hundred vehicles 10 or more. The information shown in FIG. 6 can be used in a first model, a second model, and other models described later.

[0049] Then, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 acquires the information of each vehicle 10 shown in FIG. 6 as training data, and stores the training data in the storage unit 106 of the vehicle management system 100.

[0050] [First model] 7 illustrates a schematic flow of a first model in which the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 estimates deterioration such as rust of the brake chamber 32. Note that, although the acquisition of vehicle information will be described as being performed by the control unit 112 of the vehicle 10, the case where the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 controls the control unit 112 of the vehicle 10 to acquire the vehicle information is also included. In other words, the vehicle information may be acquired by the control unit 112 of the vehicle 10, may be acquired by the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100, or may be acquired by both the control unit 112 of the vehicle 10 and the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 in cooperation with each other.

[0051] The control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 compares part condition data of a vehicle 10 that has previously broken down with part condition data of a vehicle 10 that can be used normally, and outputs a rust occurrence risk y using a first model of rust occurrence.

[0052] For example, in a model for estimating deterioration such as rust of the brake chamber 32, the risk of rust is y, and a model f for predicting the risk of rust y by inputting the created feature quantity x is as follows: y=f(x) Here, the feature quantity x of the model f is at least one of x1: the number of times the vehicle travels on flooded roads while flooded, x2: the total amount of rainwater received by the vehicle 10 (integrated value), and x3: the number of times the foot brake pedal 22 is operated / 1 km.

[0053] The control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 links the driving position and time in the vehicle information of the vehicle 10 that may be subject to maintenance with the driving position and surrounding flooding information in the infrastructure information at the time corresponding to the driving position, and obtains the number of times the vehicle 10 has driven through a flooded road while flooded.

[0054] The control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 obtains the total amount of rainfall on the vehicle 10 that may be subject to maintenance from the rainfall information in the infrastructure information. The amount of waterfall is obtained by linking the driving position and time in the vehicle information of the vehicle 10 with the driving position and the rainfall information around the driving position at the time corresponding to the driving position in the weather information in the infrastructure information.

[0055] The control unit 112 of the vehicle 10 obtains the traveling position and the operation of the brake pedal 22 at the time corresponding to the traveling position as vehicle information. The control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 obtains such vehicle information from the vehicle 10. Then, for example, by combining with rain information or flooded road driving information from the infrastructure information, the control unit 102 obtains the number of operations of the brake pedal 22 per kilometer on a rainy road surface.

[0056] The control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 obtains an average vehicle speed during rainfall from the traveling position at a certain time interval in the vehicle information and the weather information (rainfall information) at that time interval in the infrastructure information.

[0057] For example, based on the table shown in FIG. 6, of the 10 brake chambers 32 of vehicle AJ, three were judged to have deterioration (rust) (hereinafter, "fault"), and seven were judged to be in normal usable condition.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 7, if the total amount of rainwater on the vehicles 10 is less than 19,500 mm (S11-Yes), then of the 10 vehicles 10, there are four target vehicles 10, and of the brake chambers 32 of those vehicles, two have malfunctions and two are normally usable. If the number of times that the vehicles have traveled on a flooded road is more than two (S12-Yes), then there are two target vehicles 10, and of the brake chambers 32 of those vehicles 10, two have malfunctions and zero are normally usable. On the other hand, if the number of times that the vehicles have traveled on a flooded road is two or less (S12-No), then there are two target vehicles 10, and of the brake chambers 32 of those vehicles 10, there are zero malfunctions and two are normally usable.

[0059] Furthermore, when the total amount of rainwater received by the vehicles 10 was 19,500 mm or more (S11-No), six of the ten vehicles 10 were subject to the test, and of the brake chambers 32 of those vehicles 10, one had a malfunction and five were in normal use. Furthermore, when the number of brake 30 operations per kilometer was more than 20 (S13-Yes), four of the vehicles 10 were subject to the test, and of the brake chambers 32 of those vehicles 10, one had a malfunction and three were in normal use.

[0060] In addition, when the number of times the brake 30 was operated per kilometer was 20 or less (S13-No), there were two vehicles 10 in question, and of the brake chambers 32 of those vehicles 10, none were faulty and two were in normal use.

[0061] Therefore, even if the vehicle 10 is not covered in rain of a predetermined cumulative value (e.g., 19,500 mm), when the vehicle 10 travels on a flooded road several times, it is determined that there is a possibility that the brake chamber 32 of the vehicle 10 may deteriorate. Also, when the vehicle 10 is covered in rain of a predetermined cumulative value and the number of times the brakes 30 are operated per kilometer exceeds a predetermined number, it is determined that there is a possibility that the brake chamber 32 may deteriorate.

[0062] In the process of the first model of the rust risk y, it is determined that at least one of many actual vehicles 10 has a breakdown as shown by symbols E1 and E2 in FIG. 7. In this case, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 determines that the brake chamber 32 of the vehicle 10 that corresponds to the events shown by symbols E1 and E2 among the vehicles 10 traveling in the market may have deteriorated, based on the vehicle information and infrastructure information of each vehicle 10, using an equation similar to that of the first model. Then, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 notifies, for example, to the terminals 301 and 302, recommending maintenance of the brake chamber 32, even if it is not the time for a statutory inspection such as a vehicle inspection. That is, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 notifies the person concerned of the vehicle 10 that the maintenance of the brake chamber 32 is recommended, even if it is not the time for a statutory inspection such as a vehicle inspection.

[0063] Furthermore, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 may display information about maintenance on a display unit 124 such as an instrument panel of the vehicle 10 or a display screen of a car navigation system via the communication unit 114 of the vehicle 10 .

[0064] The feature quantity x may include, for example, x4: average vehicle speed during rainfall, x5: brake application time, x6: amount of movement of the diaphragm 34 and / or the piston rod 36 in each chamber assembly 28, x8: structural information of the vehicle (arrangement of the breather hole 32a), etc. For example, information on the height of the breather hole 32a of the brake chamber 32 and the orientation of the breather hole 32a (usually downward, but arranged upward, etc.) may be included. Basically, vehicles 10 of the same type have the same structure, including the orientation of the breathing hole 32a. For this reason, it is preferable to create a first model for each vehicle 10 of the same type.

[0065] Furthermore, the feature quantity x may include information about the maintenance that has actually been performed on the vehicle 10 (such as when the brake chamber 32 was replaced, or whether the brake chamber 32 was simply checked for deterioration, etc.).

[0066] When the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 performs calculations using the first model, it continues to collect data (see Figure 6) based on deterioration information (e.g., photographic image information of the brake chamber 32) of the actual vehicle 10, circulates a PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Action) cycle, and appropriately changes the equations in steps S11, S12, and S13 to create a model that can detect faulty brake chambers 32 at an earlier stage.

[0067] The formula can selectively adopt the above-mentioned x1, x2, x3, x4, .... Although the formula hierarchy is explained as an example of two hierarchical levels in the example shown in Fig. 7, the rust risk y may be determined by more hierarchical levels.

[0068] In processing using the first model of rust risk y, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 may output a result similar to that in the case where none of the actual many vehicles 10 are determined to have experienced a breakdown, as shown by symbols E3 and E4 in Fig. 7. In this case, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 can transmit, for example, to the terminals 301, 302, etc., information that a determination has been made as to whether or not maintenance of the brake chamber 32 of the vehicle 10 is required.

[0069] [Second model] 8 and 9 show an example of a second model for the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 to estimate deterioration such as rust of the brake chamber 32. In FIG.

[0070] For example, if the risk of rust is y and the created feature quantity x is input, the model for making a prediction is as follows: y=a1*x1+a2*x2+a3*x3+b Here, the feature quantity x is at least one of x1: the number of times the vehicle 10 has traveled on flooded roads while the vehicle 10 is flooded, x2: the total amount of rainwater (accumulated value), and x3: the number of times the foot brake pedal 22 has been operated / 1 km. In addition, a1, a2, a3, and b are appropriate variables. The variables a1, a2, a3, and b are set appropriately.

[0071] Figure 8 shows an example of rust risk y calculated using the actual vehicle data of the example shown in Figure 6 while appropriately changing variables a1, a2, a3, and b so as to separate a group in which deterioration (rust) of the brake chamber 32 has occurred from a group in which deterioration has not occurred using a rust threshold value.

[0072] As shown in Figure 8, of the 10 vehicles AJ, there was one vehicle 10 that was judged to be normal but had a brake chamber 32 that exceeded the rust threshold for the rust risk y. The remaining six vehicles 10 out of the 10 vehicles AJ that were judged to be normal were below the rust threshold.

[0073] FIG. 9 shows the result of applying the second model for the rust risk y using such variables a1, a2, a3, and b to a vehicle scheduled for maintenance. As an example, when the rust risk y is calculated for seven vehicles 10, it is determined that one of the seven vehicles 10 is a vehicle 10 having a brake chamber 32 that exceeds the rust threshold. For this one vehicle 10, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 issues a notification to, for example, the terminals 301 and 302, recommending maintenance of the brake chamber 32 even if it is not the time for a statutory inspection such as a vehicle inspection. In other words, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 issues a notification to those involved in the vehicle 10 recommending maintenance of the brake chamber 32 even if it is not the time for a statutory inspection such as a vehicle inspection.

[0074] Such fitting is obtained based on data of an example of the brake chamber 32 actually used in the vehicle 10 (see FIG. 6). These variables a1, a2, a3, and b may be set using machine learning to obtain even more rust occurrence data for the actual vehicle 10 and obtain an optimal solution for whether or not rust has occurred. For example, a large number of examples of images (photographic image information) of the brake chamber 32 and examples of the table shown in FIG. 6 can be collected and used as training data. Then, as the amount of data obtained from the brake chamber 32 of the actual vehicle 10 increases, the variables a1, a2, a3, and b are expected to converge, for example.

[0075] When the second model is operated, when the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 inputs data (x1, x2, x3) of a vehicle 10, for which it is unknown whether the brake chamber 32 has deterioration (rust), into the rust risk y of the second model, the control unit 102 determines whether the rust occurrence risk y exceeds a threshold value, as shown in Figure 9.

[0076] That is, when the threshold value of the rust occurrence risk y is exceeded based on an equation similar to that of the second model, based on the vehicle information and infrastructure information of each vehicle 10 among the vehicles 10 running in the market, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 sends a notification to, for example, the terminals 301, 302 recommending maintenance of the brake chamber 32 even if it is not the time for a statutory inspection such as a vehicle inspection. That is, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 sends a notification recommending maintenance of the brake chamber 32 to persons related to the vehicle 10 even if it is not the time for a statutory inspection such as a vehicle inspection.

[0077] Furthermore, the communication unit 104 of the vehicle management system 100 may display information regarding maintenance on a display unit 124 such as an instrument panel of the vehicle 10 or a display screen of a car navigation system via the communication unit 104 of the vehicle 10 .

[0078] The vehicle management system 100 may apply the second model equation for the rust risk y and display, for example, on the display unit 124 or the terminals 301, 302, what the current percentage of the brake chamber 32 of the vehicle 10 is relative to the rust threshold value that requires maintenance. This allows the user of the vehicle 10 to know in advance when the vehicle 10 will be due for maintenance, making it easier to manage the vehicle 10 when maintenance is required.

[0079] The feature quantity x may include, for example, x4: average vehicle speed during rainfall, x5: brake application time, x6: amount of movement of the diaphragm 34 and / or the piston rod 36 in each chamber assembly 28, x8: structural information of the vehicle (arrangement of the breather hole 32a), etc. For example, information on the height of the breather hole 32a of the brake chamber 32 and the orientation of the breather hole 32a (usually downward, but arranged upward, etc.) may be included. Basically, vehicles 10 of the same type have the same structure, including the orientation of the breathing hole 32a. For this reason, it is preferable to create a second model for each vehicle 10 of the same type.

[0080] Furthermore, the feature quantity x may include information about the maintenance that has actually been performed on the vehicle 10 (such as when the brake chamber 32 was replaced, or whether the brake chamber 32 was simply checked for deterioration, etc.).

[0081] When the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 performs calculations using the second model, it continues to collect data (see FIG. 6) based on deterioration information (e.g., photographic image information of the brake chamber 32) of the actual vehicle 10, and circulates a PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Action) cycle, changing the variables a1, a2, a3, and b in the equation as appropriate, to create a model that can detect faulty brake chambers 32 at an earlier stage.

[0082] In addition, the above-mentioned x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . can be selectively adopted as the formula.

[0083] On the other hand, when the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 determines from the vehicle information and infrastructure information of each vehicle 10 among the vehicles 10 running in the market that the threshold value of the rust occurrence risk y is not exceeded using an equation similar to that of the second model, the vehicle 10 is not a vehicle for which maintenance is proposed at that time. That is, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 does not notify, for example, the terminals 301 and 302, recommending maintenance. Alternatively, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 can transmit, for example, to the terminals 301 and 302, information that a determination has been made as to whether or not maintenance of the brake chamber 32 of the vehicle 10 is necessary.

[0084] In addition, when the vehicle 10 meets either the first model or the second model of rust occurrence risk y, the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 may determine that the vehicle 10 is one for which maintenance regarding the brake chamber 32 is to be suggested.

[0085] In this embodiment, two models for the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 to calculate the rust occurrence risk y have been described, but these models are merely examples and various modifications are permissible.

[0086] For example, when the control unit 102 of the vehicle management system 100 receives a notification on a terminal 301, 302, etc., recommending maintenance of the brake chamber 32, the sales dealer or maintenance company of the vehicle 10 can inform relevant parties such as the owner or user of the vehicle 10 that it would be a good idea to perform maintenance of the brake chamber 32.

[0087] Therefore, according to this embodiment, the vehicle management system 100 has a control unit (processor) 102 that acquires information indicating the relationship between time and the vehicle's driving position at that time as vehicle information of the vehicle, acquires infrastructure information in an area including the driving position at the time corresponding to the driving position, and outputs information regarding deterioration of the vehicle's brake chamber based on the vehicle information and infrastructure information of the vehicle. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a vehicle management system 100, a vehicle management method, and a vehicle management program that are capable of estimating the maintenance timing of the brake chamber 32 of each vehicle 10.

[0088] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention. The embodiments may be combined as appropriate, and in that case, the combined effect can be obtained. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiment includes various inventions, and various inventions can be extracted by combinations selected from the multiple components disclosed. For example, if the problem can be solved and the effect can be obtained even if some components are deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment, the configuration from which the components are deleted can be extracted as an invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0089] 10...vehicle, 12...brake device, 22...brake pedal, 24...brake valve, 26...air tank, 28...brake chamber assembly, 30...drum brake, 30a...brake drum, 30b...brake shoe, 32...brake chamber, 32a...breathing hole, 34...diaphragm, 36...piston rod, 100...vehicle management system, 102...control unit, 104...communication unit, 106...memory unit, 112...control unit, 114...communication unit, 116...GPS receiver, 118...memory unit, 120...brake sensor, 122...battery, 124...display unit, 200...GPS satellite, 301, 302...terminal, 400...server.

Claims

1. Acquire information indicating a relationship between a time and a traveling position of the vehicle at the time as vehicle information of the vehicle; acquiring infrastructure information including weather information in an area including the travel position at the time corresponding to the travel position; outputting information regarding deterioration of a brake chamber of the vehicle based on the vehicle information of the vehicle and the infrastructure information; A vehicle management system having a processor.

2. The vehicle management system according to claim 1 , wherein the processor causes brake operation information corresponding to the time to be acquired as part of the vehicle information.

3. When the weather information in the area including the traveling position at the time indicates rain, the processor acquires at least one of information regarding a duration of the rain, an amount of precipitation, and information regarding flooding of a road surface at the traveling position, as the weather information of the infrastructure information. The vehicle management system according to claim 1 .

4. When the processor determines that the vehicle traveled on a wet road surface at the travel position at the time based on the vehicle information and the infrastructure information, it determines that water has entered the brake chamber of the vehicle. The vehicle management system according to claim 1 or 2.

5. The processor stores information regarding deterioration of the brake chambers of the vehicle in a non-transitory storage medium, the processor determines whether or not it is necessary to notify a person related to the vehicle to prompt maintenance of the brake chamber based on information on deterioration of the brake chamber of the vehicle stored in the storage medium. The vehicle management system according to claim 1 or 2.

6. acquiring vehicle information including a time and a traveling position of the vehicle at said time; acquiring infrastructure information including weather information in an area including the traveling position at the time; outputting information regarding deterioration of a brake chamber of the vehicle based on the vehicle information and the infrastructure information; A vehicle management method comprising:

7. The vehicle management method according to claim 6 , wherein the vehicle information includes brake operation information corresponding to the time.

8. storing information regarding deterioration of the brake chambers of the vehicle in a respective non-transitory storage medium; determining whether or not to notify a person related to the vehicle to perform maintenance on the brake chamber based on the information on deterioration of the brake chamber of the vehicle stored in the storage medium; The vehicle management method according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising:

9. acquiring a time and a vehicle's traveling position at said time as vehicle information; acquiring infrastructure information including weather information in an area including the traveling position at the time; outputting information regarding deterioration of a brake chamber of the vehicle based on the vehicle information and the infrastructure information; A vehicle management program that causes a processor to execute the above.

10. The vehicle management program according to claim 9 , which causes the processor to acquire brake operation information corresponding to the time as part of the vehicle information.

11. storing information regarding deterioration of the brake chambers of the vehicle in a respective non-transitory storage medium; determining whether or not to notify a person related to the vehicle to perform maintenance on the brake chamber based on the information on deterioration of the brake chamber of the vehicle stored in the storage medium; The vehicle management program according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising:

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