Vehicle and control system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle capable of reducing a risk of falling of the vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle 1 according to the present disclosure includes a position acquisition unit 111 that acquires the position information, a speed acquisition unit 112 that acquires a speed, a sensor value acquisition unit 113 that acquires a value of a first sensor indicating a weight applied to the front portion of the chassis or the front wheel and a value of a second sensor indicating a weight applied to the rear portion of the chassis or the rear wheel, a determination unit 114 that determines whether or not a fall has occurred on the basis of temporal changes in the speed, the value of the first sensor and the value of the second sensor, a transmission unit 171 that transmits fall information in a case where it is determined that a fall has occurred, a reception unit 172 that receives a fall information database created on the basis of collected fall information, and a management unit 115 that performs attention calling or speed control in a case where a difference between the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 111 and the position information of the fall information database is within a predetermined distance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 29

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to vehicles and control systems. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, electric scooters have been attracting attention, and the number of users is on the rise. In addition to selling them to general users, electric scooter sharing services have also been launched. While electric scooters are convenient as a convenient means of transportation, they also pose a significant risk of falling.

[0003] As a technology for detecting a rollover of a vehicle, Patent Document 1 discloses an airbag device that detects a rollover of a motorcycle based on the inclination angle and the inclination angular acceleration of the vehicle body. In Patent Document 1, for example, a rollover is detected when the lateral inclination angle of the vehicle body is large and the lateral inclination angular acceleration is large. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-091181 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Small vehicles such as electric scooters are characterized by being lightweight and compact, and typically equipped with two tires, one at the front and one at the back. In addition, the tires used are significantly smaller in diameter than those used for general two-wheeled vehicles such as bicycles and motorcycles. For this reason, small vehicles such as electric scooters have a unique risk of falling over, which differs from bicycles and motorcycles. Because the tire size is small, for example, one tire may get stuck in a depression in the road surface, causing the other tire to float in the air, causing the vehicle to rotate in the front-rear direction (vertical direction) relative to the traveling direction of the vehicle, causing the vehicle to fall over. For this reason, it is very important to reduce the risk of falling over, which is unique to such vehicles, for such vehicles.

[0006] However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not fully consider reducing the risk of the vehicle tipping over.

[0007] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle and a control system capable of reducing the risk of the vehicle tipping over. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The vehicle according to the present disclosure is A vehicle having a chassis on which an object is mounted and at least two wheels as front and rear wheels, A position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle; A speed acquisition unit that acquires a speed of the vehicle; a sensor value acquisition unit that acquires a value of a first sensor that indicates a weight applied to a front portion or the front wheels of the chassis and a value of a second sensor that indicates a weight applied to a rear portion or the rear wheels of the chassis; a determination unit that determines whether or not a rollover of the vehicle has occurred based on a speed of the vehicle and changes over time in the values ​​of the first sensor and the second sensor; a transmission unit that transmits rollover information including the position information to a management device when it is determined that the vehicle has rolled over; a receiving unit that receives from the management device a rollover information database including position information of positions where vehicles have rolled over in the past, the database being created based on the rollover information collected from each of one or more vehicles; The device further includes a management unit that issues a warning or performs speed control when the difference between the location information acquired by the location acquisition unit and the location information in the fall information database is within a predetermined distance.

[0009] The control system according to the present disclosure comprises: A control system including a first vehicle, a second vehicle, and a management device, The first vehicle and the second vehicle are vehicles having a chassis for carrying an object and at least two wheels as front wheels and rear wheels, The first vehicle is A first position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the first vehicle; A first speed acquisition unit that acquires a speed of the first vehicle; a sensor value acquisition unit that acquires a value of a first sensor indicating a weight applied to a front portion or the front wheels of the chassis of the first vehicle and a value of a second sensor indicating a weight applied to a rear portion or the rear wheels of the chassis of the first vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether or not a rollover of the first vehicle has occurred based on a speed of the first vehicle and a change over time in the value of the first sensor and the value of the second sensor; a transmission unit that transmits first overturn information including position information of the first vehicle to the management device when it is determined that a overturn of the first vehicle has occurred; The management device includes: After storing the first fall information in a fall information database, transmitting second fall information, which is at least a part of the fall information database, to the second vehicle; The second vehicle is a receiving unit that receives the second fall information from the management device; A second position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the second vehicle; and a management unit that issues a warning or performs speed control when the difference between the position information of the second vehicle acquired by the second position acquisition unit and the position information included in the second fall information is within a predetermined distance. Effect of the Invention

[0010] The vehicle and control system according to the present disclosure can reduce the risk of the vehicle rolling over. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 2 is a configuration example of a vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a top view of a weight sensor installed on a board portion of a vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the position of a user's feet when riding in the vehicle according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a vehicle according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams for explaining the states of a vehicle and a user before and after a forward tipping occurs; [Figure 7] 7 is a graph showing an example of a change over time in a value output from a sensor value output section in each state described in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] 11 is a flowchart of a process for detecting a forward fall, which is executed by a control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart showing another example of the process for detecting a forward fall, which is executed by the control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams for explaining the states of a vehicle and a user before and after a rear rollover occurs. [Figure 11] 11 is a graph showing an example of a change over time in a value output from a sensor value output section in each state described in FIG. 10. [Figure 12]11 is a flowchart of a process for detecting a rearward fall, which is executed by a control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing another example of the process for detecting a rearward fall, which is executed by the control unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a fall information list according to the first embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a fall map in which a map and fall information are superimposed and displayed on a display unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a top view of a weight sensor installed on a board portion of a vehicle according to a second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the position of a user's feet when riding in a vehicle according to a second embodiment. [Figure 18] 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams for explaining the states of the vehicle and the user before and after a rightward rollover occurs; [Figure 19] 20 is a graph showing the change over time in the value output from the sensor value output section in each state described in FIG. 18. [Figure 20] 13 is a flowchart of a process for detecting a right fall, which is executed by a control unit according to the second embodiment. [Figure 21] 13 is a flowchart showing another example of the process for detecting a rightward fall, which is executed by the control unit according to the second embodiment. [Figure 22] 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams for explaining the states of the vehicle and the user before and after a left overturn occurs; [Diagram 23] 23 is a graph showing the change over time of the value output from the sensor value output section in each state described in FIG. 22. [Figure 24] 13 is a flowchart of a process for detecting a left fall, which is executed by a control unit according to the second embodiment. [Diagram 25] 13 is a flowchart showing another example of the process for detecting a left fall, which is executed by the control unit according to the second embodiment. [Figure 26] FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a system configuration of a control system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 27]FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a management device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 28] FIG. 11 is a functional block diagram of a vehicle according to a third embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a control unit according to a third embodiment. [Diagram 30] 13 is a configuration example of a fall information packet according to the third embodiment. [Diagram 31] 13 is a configuration example of a fall information table stored in a storage unit according to the third embodiment. [Diagram 32] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of attention calling information according to the third embodiment. [Diagram 33] 13 is a flowchart of an attention calling process executed by a control unit of a vehicle (second vehicle) according to a third embodiment. [Diagram 34] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a fall information table according to the fourth embodiment. [Diagram 35] 13 is a flowchart of an attention calling process executed by a control unit of a vehicle according to a fourth embodiment. [Diagram 36] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a fall information table according to a modified example of the fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals. For clarity of explanation, duplicated explanations will be omitted as necessary.

[0013] <Example 1> First, an overview of the vehicle 1 according to this embodiment will be described. The vehicle 1 includes a chassis on which an object is mounted, and at least two wheels as front and rear wheels. The object is typically a person, but is not limited to this. The object may also be an article such as luggage to be transported by the vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 is a vehicle with a relatively small size (small vehicle), and when the object mounted on the vehicle 1 is a person, it is possible for one to several people to be mounted (ridden) thereon.

[0014] Vehicle 1 is equipped with small wheels as the front and rear wheels. Small wheels refer to wheels with a smaller diameter than the wheels of a general bicycle or motorcycle (bike). Vehicle 1 is required to be equipped with at least two small wheels. Two weight sensors are arranged on the front and rear of vehicle 1 on the chassis. Vehicle 1 detects a rollover in the fore-aft direction of vehicle 1, which is a rollover specific to vehicles 1 having small wheels and is highly dangerous, based on the speed of vehicle 1 and the change over time in the values ​​of the two weight sensors. Note that a rollover in the fore-aft direction of vehicle 1 is sometimes called a rollover in the longitudinal direction of vehicle 1.

[0015] More specifically, when the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than the reference speed, the value of a front sensor provided at the front of the chassis increases, the value of a rear sensor provided at the rear of the chassis decreases, and then both values ​​become equal to or lower than a predetermined value, the vehicle 1 determines that a forward rollover (forward rollover) has occurred. A forward rollover is, for example, a rollover in which the vehicle 1 rolls forward. The reference speed is a speed that serves as a criterion for determining whether the vehicle 1 is in a normal running state.

[0016] Furthermore, when the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than the reference speed, the value of the front sensor decreases and the value of the rear sensor increases, and then the values ​​of both become equal to or less than a predetermined value, the vehicle 1 determines that a rollover in the rear direction (rear rollover) has occurred. A rear rollover is, for example, a rollover in which the vehicle 1 rolls backwards.

[0017] As another example, the vehicle 1 may determine that a rollover has occurred in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 when the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes equal to or greater than a reference speed and the difference between the front sensor value and the rear sensor value exceeds a predetermined reference range, and within a predetermined time, the front sensor value and the rear sensor value become equal to or less than a predetermined value. The reference range is a range of the difference between the front sensor value and the rear sensor value during normal driving. The reference range is used, together with the reference speed, to determine whether the vehicle 1 has rolled over. That is, the vehicle 1 may determine whether a rollover has occurred in the vehicle 1 based on the change over time in the front sensor value and the rear sensor value.

[0018] When it is determined that a fall has occurred, the vehicle 1 stores fall information regarding the fall. The fall information includes information on the fall position of the vehicle 1. The fall information may include a fall type indicating whether the fall occurred in the forward direction or the backward direction. The vehicle 1 may transmit the fall information to a predetermined destination.

[0019] FIG. 1 is an example of the configuration of a vehicle 1 in this embodiment. The X-axis shown in FIG. 1 indicates the width direction of the vehicle 1. The Y-axis indicates the length direction of the vehicle 1. The Z-axis direction indicates the height direction of the vehicle 1. In this embodiment, the positive Y-axis direction is the traveling direction of the vehicle 1. Therefore, the positive Y-axis direction is the front of the vehicle 1, the negative Y-axis direction is the rear of the vehicle 1, the positive X-axis direction is the right direction of the vehicle 1, and the negative X-axis direction is the left direction of the vehicle 1. The directions of each axis are common to the subsequent drawings.

[0020] The vehicle 1 in this embodiment is, for example, an electric kick scooter, but is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 has two wheels, a front wheel W1 and a rear wheel W2, at the front and rear. However, the vehicle 1 is not limited to two wheels, and may have three or more wheels. For example, the vehicle 1 may be a three-wheeled vehicle having two rear wheels W2, or a four-wheeled vehicle having two front wheels W1 and two rear wheels W2. For example, the vehicle 1 may be an electric cart, an electric wheelchair, or the like.

[0021] The front wheel W1 and the rear wheel W2 are, for example, about 6 to 10 inches in size, and may be about 12 inches, but are not limited to these sizes. The front wheel W1 and the rear wheel W2 may be different sizes. In this embodiment, the vehicle 1 is assumed to be an electric vehicle propelled by a motor, but is not limited to this. The vehicle 1 may be a vehicle equipped with an engine, or may be a vehicle propelled by human power (such as a non-electric kick scooter or a dolly). As shown in FIG. 1, a weight sensor (detection unit) SE is provided on the upper surface of the board portion (chassis) Bo of the vehicle 1 on which the user (passenger) rides.

[0022] 2 is a top view of the weight sensor SE installed on the board unit Bo of the vehicle 1. In this configuration example, a front sensor (first sensor) SE1 is installed at the front of the board unit Bo, and a rear sensor (second sensor) SE2 is installed at the rear of the board unit Bo of the vehicle 1. The front sensor SE1 outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the front of the board unit Bo or the front wheel W1. The rear sensor SE2 outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the rear of the board unit Bo or the rear wheel W2. When no user or luggage is riding on the vehicle 1, the weights measured by the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2 are both 0.

[0023] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the placement of the user's feet when riding in the vehicle 1. When the user rides in the vehicle as shown in Fig. 3 and the soles of the left and right feet are in contact with the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2, the weights measured by the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2 are both greater than 0. In other words, values ​​greater than 0 are detected by the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2 according to the weight of the user. Note that the placement of the feet may be reversed.

[0024] (Vehicle 1 Configuration) 4 is a functional block diagram of the vehicle 1 in this embodiment. The vehicle 1 includes a communication unit 17, a position identification unit 18, a sensor value output unit 12, a weight sensor SE, a timing unit 13, a speed detection unit 14, a storage unit 15, a display unit 16, and a control unit 11.

[0025] The vehicle 1 includes a processor and a memory (such as a semiconductor memory) as components not shown. A computer program implementing the processing according to this embodiment is stored in the storage unit 15, which is configured from a storage device such as a semiconductor memory. The processor can realize various functions of the vehicle 1 by reading the computer program from the storage device into the memory and executing the computer program. In addition, a control method (detection method) related to the vehicle 1 can be realized by any combination of hardware and software. For example, various functions provided by the control unit 11 can be realized by a combination of the processor, memory, and computer program. Each of the various functions provided by the control unit 11 may be realized by dedicated hardware. The various functions provided by the control unit 11 will be described later.

[0026] In addition, some or all of the components of the vehicle 1 may be realized by general-purpose or dedicated circuits, processors, etc., or a combination of these. These may be configured by a single chip, or by multiple chips connected via a bus. Some or all of the components of each device may be realized by a combination of the above-mentioned circuits, etc., and programs. As the processor, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), a quantum processor (quantum computer control chip), etc. can be used.

[0027] When some or all of the components of the vehicle 1 are realized by a plurality of information processing devices, circuits, etc., the plurality of information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be arranged in a centralized manner or in a distributed manner. For example, the information processing devices, circuits, etc. may be realized in a form in which each is connected via a communication network, such as a client-server system, a cloud computing system, etc.

[0028] The communication unit 17 includes a transmission unit 171 and a reception unit 172. The transmission unit 171 transmits information to the outside via a communication means (for example, a mobile phone network or the Internet). The reception unit 172 receives information from the outside via the communication means.

[0029] The position identifying unit 18 identifies position information indicating the current position of the vehicle 1. The position identifying unit 18 performs positioning using a technology such as GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System). The position identifying unit 18 may be configured with a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver, for example. The position identifying unit 18 outputs the position information indicating the position of the vehicle 1 to the control unit 11.

[0030] The sensor value output unit 12 outputs a value measured by the weight sensor SE to the control unit 11. As described above, the weight sensor SE is composed of two sensors, the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2. Instead of the weight sensor SE, the vehicle 1 may be provided with a pressure sensor that measures the pressure applied to the board unit Bo shown in FIG. 1. For example, pressure at two or more points on the board unit Bo may be measured using a pressure sensor that can measure the pressure distribution on the board unit Bo. The clock unit 13 outputs the current time to the control unit 11.

[0031] The speed detection unit 14 outputs the value of the traveling speed of the vehicle 1 to the control unit 11. That is, when the vehicle 1 is stopped, the value output by the speed detection unit 14 is 0. When the vehicle 1 is traveling, the value output by the speed detection unit 14 is a numerical value greater than 0. The speed detection unit 14 may detect the speed based on the number of rotations of the wheels and the diameter of the wheels, or may detect the speed based on a change in the position of the vehicle 1 (information from the position identification unit 18).

[0032] The storage unit 15 stores various data and programs. When the control unit 11 determines that the vehicle 1 has overturned, the storage unit 15 stores overturn information including position information of the overturned vehicle 1. At least a part of the storage unit 15 is configured with a non-volatile storage medium so that necessary data is retained even when the power of the vehicle 1 is turned off. Also, a part of the storage unit 15 may be configured with a removable storage medium such as a memory card. Note that "storing the overturn information" includes, for example, temporarily storing the overturn information in a memory or the like so that the vehicle 1 can transmit the overturn information to a predetermined destination (addressee).

[0033] The display unit 16 is configured with a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays necessary information to the user of the vehicle 1.

[0034] The control unit 11 controls the entire vehicle 1, and also monitors the values ​​output from the speed detection unit 14 and the sensor value output unit 12, and determines whether or not the vehicle 1 has overturned in the forward / rearward direction.

[0035] 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the control unit 11. The control unit 11 includes a position acquisition unit 111, a speed acquisition unit 112, a sensor value acquisition unit 113, and a determination unit 114. The position acquisition unit 111 acquires the position information of the vehicle 1 from the position identification unit 18. The speed acquisition unit 112 acquires the speed of the vehicle 1 from the speed detection unit 14.

[0036] The sensor value acquisition unit 113 acquires values ​​measured by the weight sensor SE from the sensor value output unit 12. Specifically, the sensor value acquisition unit 113 acquires a value V1 of the front sensor SE1 indicating the weight applied to the front part or the front wheel W1 of the board part Bo, and a value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 indicating the weight applied to the rear part or the rear wheel W2 of the board part Bo.

[0037] The determination unit 114 determines whether or not a rollover of the vehicle 1 has occurred based on the change over time in the value of the front sensor SE1 and the value of the rear sensor SE2. The rollover determination performed by the determination unit 114 will be specifically described below.

[0038] (Regarding forward falls) 6A and 6B are schematic diagrams for explaining the states of the vehicle 1 and the user before and after a forward rollover occurs. Fig. 6A shows a state during normal driving, in which the user gets into the vehicle 1 and the vehicle is driving at a certain speed.

[0039] FIG. 6(b) shows a state when a fall occurs. For example, the front wheel W1 of the vehicle 1 gets stuck in a depression in the road surface, causing the rear wheel W2 to float in the air, resulting in a front fall. In this case, the vehicle 1 suddenly tilts forward, so the user puts weight on the front feet. Meanwhile, the weight of the user on the rear feet decreases, and the rear feet may leave the board part Bo and float in the air. In addition, the user may move the rear feet, which were placed on the rear sensor SE2, onto the front sensor SE1 in an attempt to avoid falling. Note that this state is not limited to a situation in which the front wheel W1 gets stuck in a depression in the road surface, but may also occur when the front wheel W1 comes into contact with some obstacle, such as when the front wheel W1 hits a protrusion on the road surface, and normal movement of the front wheel W1 is hindered.

[0040] 6(c) shows a falling state in which the vehicle 1 is suspended in the air. For example, the front wheel W1 comes off the depression, the vehicle 1 flies into the air, and the user is also thrown from the vehicle 1 and flies into the air.

[0041] FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of the change over time of the value output from the sensor value output unit 12, i.e., the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, in each state described in FIG. 6. The horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time, and the vertical axis indicates the value (weight) output from the sensor value output unit 12. In this figure, the value V1 detected by the front sensor SE1 is shown by a solid line, and the value V2 detected by the rear sensor SE2 is shown by a dashed line. Furthermore, the sections Ta to Tc shown in this figure typically correspond to the states shown in FIGS. 6(a) to (c), respectively. However, this does not indicate that the states shown in FIGS. 6(a) to (c) always continue in each of the sections Ta to Tc.

[0042] 6(a), during normal running, the user distributes weight almost evenly between the front and rear feet, so the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 are almost equal. Of course, depending on the user's posture, there may be some difference between the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2, but in any case, a value equal to or greater than the first weight C1 is detected from both the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2.

[0043] When a fall occurs as shown in Fig. 6(b), the user puts more weight on the front legs and less weight on the rear legs, so the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 increases and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 decreases over time. If the rear legs are suspended in the air, the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 becomes 0. In this figure, the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 is 0 at time Tr, but this is just one example, and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 may also become 0 in the state shown in Fig. 6(c).

[0044] In the falling state of FIG. 6(c), the front wheel W1, which had been stuck in a depression in the road surface, lifts up, and the user is thrown from the vehicle 1, so that the front feet leave the board part Bo, following the rear feet. As a result, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 starts to increase, then decrease, and eventually becomes 0 as time passes. In this figure, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 becomes 0 at time Tf. This is the state in which both the vehicle 1 and the user are thrown into the air, and both of the user's feet are completely removed from the board part Bo.

[0045] There may also be cases where the vehicle 1 or the user is not completely airborne, but slides and moves with part of the vehicle 1 or the user's body in contact with the ground. Such a state (sliding state) is also called the falling state. Note that, when part of the user's body is in contact with the board part Bo, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 may not be completely 0. In any case, in the falling state of FIG. 6(c), the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 are significantly smaller than during normal driving, and are less than the first weight C1.

[0046] For example, the determination unit 114 can determine whether or not the vehicle 1 has rolled over in the front-rear direction by using one of the following two determination methods.

[0047] (Detection of forward fall by first determination method) The determination unit 114 determines that a rollover in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 has occurred when the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than a first weight C1 within a predetermined time T1 from a state in which the speed acquired by the speed detection unit 14 becomes equal to or greater than the reference speed VE, and the value of one of the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2 acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113 becomes equal to or greater than a first predetermined value A1 and the value of the other sensor becomes equal to or less than a second predetermined value A2.

[0048] 8 is a flowchart of the process for detecting a forward fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The process shown in this figure corresponds to the first determination method described above. The control unit 11 executes the process shown in this figure periodically (periodically). For example, once the process shown in this figure is completed, the control unit 11 may execute the process shown in this figure again after a predetermined time (for example, after one second).

[0049] In S100, the sensor value acquisition unit 113 acquires a value output from the sensor value output unit 12, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is equal to or greater than the first weight C1 and the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is equal to or greater than the first weight C1, i.e., whether or not a user is riding in the vehicle 1.

[0050] The first weight C1 is set to a sufficiently small value (e.g., 10 kg) relative to half the average weight of the user (e.g., 60 kg). If the user is in the vehicle 1 (S100: Yes), proceed to S110. If the user is not in the vehicle 1 (S100: No), return to S100 and repeat the process.

[0051] In S110, the speed acquisition unit 112 acquires a value output from the speed detection unit 14, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than the reference speed VE, i.e., whether the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. The reference speed VE may be set to, for example, the minimum speed at which the vehicle 1 can travel stably, for example, 4 km per hour (4 km / h). Of course, the reference speed VE may be set according to the type of the vehicle 1, and for example, the reference speed VE of an electrically propelled vehicle may be set higher than that of a human-propelled vehicle. If the vehicle 1 is currently traveling (S110: Yes), proceed to S120. If the vehicle 1 is not currently traveling (S110: No), return to S100 and repeat the process.

[0052] In S120, the determination unit 114 monitors the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is increasing. For example, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 detected in S100 (value during normal driving) is set as a reference value a1. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (for example, 20%) larger than the reference value a1 as a first predetermined value A1. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is increasing when the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 becomes equal to or larger than the first predetermined value A1.

[0053] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight (e.g., 30 kg) may be used as the reference value a1 to set the first predetermined value A1 (e.g., 40 kg). If the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 has increased (S120: Yes), the process proceeds to S130. If the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 has not increased (S120: No), the process ends.

[0054] In S130, the determination unit 114 monitors the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is decreasing. For example, the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 detected in S100 (value during normal driving) is set as the reference value a2. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (for example, 20%) smaller than the reference value a2 to the second predetermined value A2. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is decreasing when the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 becomes equal to or smaller than the second predetermined value A2.

[0055] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight (e.g., 30 kg) may be used as the reference value a2 to set the second predetermined value A2 (e.g., 20 kg). If the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 has decreased (S130: Yes), the process proceeds to S140. If the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 has not decreased (S130: No), the process ends.

[0056] In S140, the judgment unit 114 monitors the values ​​acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1 within a predetermined time T1 after the judgment in S130 is Yes.

[0057] Although the same first weight C1 is used in S140 and S100 here, different values ​​may be used in S140 and S100. For example, a third predetermined value A3 may be used in S100, and a fourth predetermined value A4 may be used in S140. For example, the third predetermined value A3 (e.g., 10 kg) is set to the same value as the first weight C1. Furthermore, the fourth predetermined value A4 (e.g., 5 kg) is set to a value smaller than the third predetermined value A3. The fourth predetermined value A4 may be set to a value smaller than the first predetermined value A1 and the second predetermined value A2.

[0058] The predetermined time T1 may be set based on the time it is assumed that the vehicle 1 will rise up and fall after some of the wheels of the vehicle 1 (in this case, the front wheel W1) come into contact with an obstacle, and may be set to, for example, 3 seconds. If the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1 within the predetermined time T1 (S140: Yes), proceed to S150, and if not (S140: No), end the process. Note that if S140: No, it is assumed that the balance of the vehicle 1 was temporarily lost, but the vehicle 1 did not fall over and throw the user.

[0059] In S150, the determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within a predetermined time T2 after the determination in S140 is Yes. The predetermined time T2 may be set based on the maximum time that the falling state is expected to continue, for example, 5 seconds. This process is based on the knowledge that the falling state is likely to end and the speed to become 0 within the predetermined time T2 after the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1. When the speed detection unit 14 detects the speed based on the number of rotations of the wheels, the predetermined time T2 may be set to be longer (for example, 20 seconds) on the assumption that the wheels may continue to rotate even after the vehicle 1 has fallen over. In addition, when the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1, control may be performed to stop the rotation of the wheels.

[0060] If the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within the predetermined time T2 (S150: Yes), proceed to S160. If not (S150: No), end the process. If S150: No, it is assumed that the user's feet temporarily left the board unit Bo, but the user did not fall to the point of being thrown out, and the user's feet got back on the board unit Bo and normal running was resumed. In S160, the determination unit 114 determines that a forward fall has occurred. Then, end the process.

[0061] This concludes the description of the process for detecting a forward fall using the first determination method. Note that S150 may be omitted, and if S140: Yes, the process may proceed to S160.

[0062] (Detection of forward fall by second judgment method) The determination unit 114 may determine that a rollover in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 has occurred when, within a predetermined time T1 from a state in which the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes equal to or greater than a reference speed VE and the difference value DN1 between the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 exceeds a first reference range D1, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than a first weight C1.

[0063] 9 is a flowchart showing another example of the process for detecting a forward fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The process shown in this figure corresponds to the second determination method described above.

[0064] In the process shown in this figure, the processes of S120 to S130 shown in Figure 8 are replaced with processes of S125 to S137. The processes other than S125 to S137 are the same as those in Figure 8, so their explanation will be omitted. In the process in this figure, if S110: Yes, proceed to S125.

[0065] In S125, the determination unit 114 sets a first reference range D1 as a reference for the difference between the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2. For example, the determination unit 114 sets the first reference range D1 based on the difference between the value of the front sensor SE1 and the value of the rear sensor SE2 at a time when the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than the reference speed VE, or when the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 are equal to or higher than a predetermined reference weight WE. The reference weight WE indicates a weight that serves as a reference when a user is riding on the vehicle 1 and is traveling normally. The reference weight WE is set to a value equal to or higher than the first weight C1, for example. For example, the first weight C1 may be set as the reference weight WE. Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (for example, 60 kg), a weight (for example, 20 kg) slightly smaller than half the weight (for example, 30 kg) may be set as the reference weight WE.

[0066] Specifically, the determination unit 114 calculates an absolute value d1 of the difference between the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 at the time when S100: Yes is determined or when S110: Yes is determined (for example, the value obtained by subtracting the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 from the value V1 of the front sensor SE1). Next, the determination unit 114 calculates a value d2 (=d1×1.3) by multiplying the absolute value d1 by a predetermined magnification (for example, 1.3 times). The determination unit 114 uses the range of -d2 or more and +d2 or less (-d2 to +d2) as the first reference range D1.

[0067] In S135, the determination unit 114 first calculates a value (current difference value) DN1 obtained by subtracting the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 from the value V1 of the front sensor SE1. In the case of a forward fall, this value is positive.

[0068] In S137, the determination unit 114 determines whether the difference value DN1 exceeds the first reference range D1 on the positive side. If the difference value DN1 is greater than the value d2, it is determined that the difference value DN1 exceeds the first reference range D1 on the positive side, and if the difference value DN1 is equal to or less than the value d2, it is determined that the difference value DN1 does not exceed the first reference range D1 on the positive side. If the difference value DN1 exceeds the first reference range D1 on the positive side (S137: Yes), the process proceeds to S140, and if not (S137: No), the process ends. The process from S140 onwards is as described above. This concludes the description of the forward fall detection process using the second determination method.

[0069] (Regarding rear falls) Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining the state of the vehicle 1 and the user before and after the occurrence of a rear rollover. Fig. 10(a) shows a state during normal driving, in which the user gets into the vehicle 1 and the vehicle is driving at a certain speed.

[0070] FIG. 10(b) shows a state when a fall occurs. For example, the rear wheel W2 of the vehicle 1 gets stuck in a depression in the road surface, causing the front wheel W1 to lift off the ground and causing a rear rollover. In this case, the vehicle 1 suddenly tilts backwards, so the user puts weight on the rear feet. Meanwhile, the weight of the user on the front feet decreases, and the front feet may leave the board part Bo and lift off in the air. In addition, the user may move the front feet, which were previously placed on the front sensor SE1, onto the rear sensor SE2 in an attempt to avoid a fall. Note that this state is not limited to a situation in which the rear wheel W2 gets stuck in a depression in the road surface, but may also occur when the rear wheel W2 comes into contact with some obstacle, such as when the rear wheel W2 hits a protrusion on the road surface, and normal movement of the rear wheel W2 is hindered.

[0071] 10C shows a falling state in which the vehicle 1 is suspended in the air. For example, the rear wheel W2 comes off the depression, the vehicle 1 flies into the air, and the user is also thrown from the vehicle 1 and flies into the air.

[0072] Fig. 11 is a graph showing an example of the change over time in the value output from the sensor value output unit 12, i.e., the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, in each state described in Fig. 10. In this figure, the value V1 detected by the front sensor SE1 is shown by a solid line, and the value V2 detected by the rear sensor SE2 is shown by a dashed line.

[0073] 10(a), during normal running, the user distributes weight almost evenly between the front and rear feet, so the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 are almost equal. Of course, depending on the user's posture, there may be some difference between the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2, but in any case, a value equal to or greater than the first weight C1 is detected from both the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2.

[0074] When a fall occurs in Fig. 10(b), the user puts more weight on the rear legs and less weight on the front legs, so the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 increases and the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 decreases over time. If the front legs are in the air, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 becomes 0. In this figure, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 is 0 at time Tf, but this is just one example, and the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 may also become 0 in the state of Fig. 10(c).

[0075] In the falling state of FIG. 10(c), the rear wheel W2 stuck in the depression in the road surface is lifted up, and the user is thrown from the vehicle 1, so that the rear feet leave the board part Bo following the front feet. As a result, the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 starts to increase and decreases, and eventually becomes 0 as time passes. In this figure, the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 becomes 0 at time Tr. This is a state in which both the vehicle 1 and the user are thrown into the air, and both feet of the user are completely removed from the board part Bo. Note that, if a part of the user's body is in contact with the board part Bo, the values ​​V1 of the front sensor SE1 and V2 of the rear sensor SE2 may not become completely 0. In any case, in the falling state of FIG. 6(c), the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become significantly smaller than those during normal driving, and become less than the first weight C1.

[0076] (Detection of rear fall by first determination method) 12 is a flowchart of a process for detecting a rearward fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The process shown in this figure corresponds to the first determination method described above. The control unit 11 periodically (periodically) executes the process shown in this figure.

[0077] In S200, the sensor value acquisition unit 113 acquires a value output from the sensor value output unit 12, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is equal to or greater than the first weight C1 and the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is equal to or greater than the first weight C1, i.e., whether or not a user is riding in the vehicle 1.

[0078] The first weight C1 is set to a sufficiently small value (e.g., 10 kg) relative to half the average weight of the user (e.g., 60 kg). If the user is in the vehicle 1 (S200: Yes), proceed to S210. If the user is not in the vehicle 1 (S200: No), return to S200 and repeat the process.

[0079] In S210, the speed acquisition unit 112 acquires a value output from the speed detection unit 14, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than a reference speed VE (e.g., 4 km / h), i.e., whether the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. If the vehicle 1 is currently traveling (S210: Yes), the process proceeds to S220. If the vehicle 1 is not currently traveling (S210: No), the process returns to S200 and repeats the process.

[0080] In S220, the determination unit 114 monitors the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113 and determines whether the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is increasing. For example, the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 detected in S200 (value during normal driving) is set as a reference value a1. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (for example, 20%) larger than the reference value a1 as a first predetermined value A1. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is increasing when the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 is equal to or larger than the first predetermined value A1. Note that, although the first predetermined value A1 used in the determination of a forward rollover is used here, a predetermined value different from that used in the determination of a forward rollover may be used. The same applies to the second predetermined value A2 described below.

[0081] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight (e.g., 30 kg) may be used as the reference value a1 to set the first predetermined value A1 (e.g., 40 kg). If the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 has increased (S220: Yes), the process proceeds to S230. If the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 has not increased (S220: No), the process ends.

[0082] In S230, the determination unit 114 monitors the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is decreasing. For example, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 detected in S200 (value during normal driving) is set as the reference value a2. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (for example, 20%) smaller than the reference value a2 to the second predetermined value A2. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is decreasing when the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 becomes equal to or smaller than the second predetermined value A2.

[0083] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight (e.g., 30 kg) may be used as the reference value a2 to set the second predetermined value A2 (e.g., 20 kg). If the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 has decreased (S230: Yes), the process proceeds to S240. If the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 has not decreased (S230: No), the process ends.

[0084] In S240, the judgment unit 114 monitors the values ​​acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1 within a predetermined time T1 after the judgment in S230 is Yes.

[0085] Although the same first weight C1 is used in S240 and S200 here, different values ​​may be used in S240 and S200. For example, the third predetermined value A3 may be used in S200, and the fourth predetermined value A4 may be used in S240. For example, the third predetermined value A3 (e.g., 10 kg) is set to the same value as the first weight C1. Furthermore, the fourth predetermined value A4 (e.g., 5 kg) is set to a value smaller than the third predetermined value A3. The fourth predetermined value A4 may be set to a value smaller than the first predetermined value A1 and the second predetermined value A2.

[0086] The predetermined time T1 may be set based on the time it is assumed that the vehicle 1 will rise up and fall after some of the wheels of the vehicle 1 (in this case, the rear wheel W2) come into contact with an obstacle, and may be set to, for example, 3 seconds. If the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1 within the predetermined time T1 (S240: Yes), proceed to S250, and if not (S240: No), end the process. Note that if S240: No, it is assumed that the balance of the vehicle 1 was temporarily lost, but the vehicle 1 did not fall over and throw the user.

[0087] In S250, the determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within a predetermined time T2 after the determination in S240 is Yes. The predetermined time T2 may be set based on the maximum time that the falling state is expected to continue, for example, 5 seconds. This process is based on the knowledge that the falling state is likely to end and the speed to become 0 within the predetermined time T2 after the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1. As described in the forward roll detection, when the speed detection unit 14 detects the speed based on the number of rotations of the wheels, the predetermined time T2 may be set longer, or the rotation of the wheels may be stopped when the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 become less than the first weight C1.

[0088] If the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within the predetermined time T2 (S250: Yes), proceed to S260. If not (S250: No), end the process. If S250: No, it is assumed that the user's feet temporarily left the board unit Bo, but the user did not fall to the point of being thrown out, and the user's feet got back on the board unit Bo and normal running was resumed. In S260, the determination unit 114 determines that a backward fall has occurred. Then, end the process.

[0089] This concludes the description of the process for detecting a rearward fall using the first determination method. Note that S250 may be omitted, and if S240: Yes, the process may proceed to S260.

[0090] (Detection of rear fall by second judgment method) As in the case of a forward fall, the control unit 11 may perform processing corresponding to the above-mentioned second determination method. Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing another example of processing for detecting a backward fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The processing shown in this figure corresponds to the above-mentioned second determination method. The control unit 11 periodically (periodically) executes the processing shown in this figure.

[0091] The process shown in this figure replaces the processes of S220 to S230 shown in Figure 12 with processes of S225 to S237. The processes other than S225 to S237 are the same as those in Figure 12, so their explanation will be omitted. In the process of this figure, if S210: Yes, proceed to S225. S225 is the same as S125 described above. From S225, proceed to S235.

[0092] In S235, the determination unit 114 first calculates a value (current difference value) DN1 obtained by subtracting the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 from the value V1 of the front sensor SE1. In the case of a rearward fall, this value is negative.

[0093] In S237, the determination unit 114 determines whether the difference value DN1 exceeds the first reference range D1 on the negative side. If the difference value DN1 is smaller than the value -d2 obtained by multiplying the value d2 by -1, it is determined that the difference value DN1 exceeds the first reference range D1 on the negative side, and if the difference value DN1 is equal to or greater than the value -d2, it is determined that the difference value DN1 does not exceed the first reference range D1 on the negative side. If the difference value DN1 exceeds the first reference range D1 on the negative side (S237: Yes), the process proceeds to S240, and if not (S237: No), the process ends. The process from S240 onwards is as described above. This concludes the description of the backward fall detection process using the second determination method.

[0094] To summarize the second determination method, the determination unit 114 sets a first reference range D1 based on the difference between the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 at a time when the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than the reference speed VE, or when the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 are equal to or greater than a predetermined reference weight WE. The reference weight WE is set to a value equal to or greater than the first weight C1, for example. In the above example, the range between -d2 and d2 is the first reference range D1, and the rest is a range beyond the first reference range D1.

[0095] Then, the determination unit 114 determines that a rollover in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 (forward rollover or rearward rollover) has occurred when the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes equal to or higher than the reference speed VE and the difference value DN1 between the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 becomes less than the first weight C1 (or the above-mentioned fourth predetermined value A4) within the predetermined time T1 from the state in which the difference value DN1 exceeds the first reference range D1. That is, when a rollover in the longitudinal direction (vertical direction) of the vehicle 1 is detected without distinguishing between a forward rollover and a rear rollover, it is sufficient to determine whether or not the difference value DN1 has exceeded the first reference range D1. Note that the signs (plus / minus) of the difference value DN1 and the first reference range D1 can be chosen arbitrarily and are not limited to the above-mentioned example. For example, in the case of a rear rollover, the difference value DN1 may be calculated to be positive.

[0096] The control unit 11 may execute both or only one of the process of Fig. 8 or Fig. 9 and the process of Fig. 12 or Fig. 13. That is, the control unit 11 may execute at least one of the process of detecting a forward fall and the process of detecting a backward fall.

[0097] If it is determined that a forward fall or a backward fall has occurred, the control unit 11 obtains the current position (latitude, longitude, etc.) from the position identification unit 18, obtains the current date and time from the timing unit 13, and stores (records) a list of fall information (fall information list) in the memory unit 15.

[0098] 14 is a diagram showing an example of the fall information list L. As shown in the figure, the fall information list L is data that associates the date and time of the fall (date and time of the fall) with the location of the fall (latitude, longitude), and one row indicates one fall. In other words, when a new fall occurs, new data (a new row) is added to the fall information list L.

[0099] Although omitted in this figure, information indicating whether it is a forward fall or a backward fall (fall type) may be further added to the items of the fall information list L. For example, for each row in FIG. 14, a fall type may be added that is "1" for a forward fall and "2" for a backward fall.

[0100] Furthermore, the latitude and longitude may be converted into an address and a road name using an address database and a map database stored in the memory unit 15, and displayed on the display unit 16. The address database and the map database may be obtained from an external server or the like via the communication unit 17.

[0101] The control unit 11 may record all past fall information, or may record fall information that occurred within a predetermined period (for example, the most recent three months) in the fall information list L. The control unit 11 may periodically erase data after the predetermined period has elapsed.

[0102] The control unit 11 may read out the fall information list L at any timing and display it on the display unit 16. For example, the fall information list L may be displayed on the display unit 16 in a table format as shown in Fig. 14. The user of the vehicle 1 may operate an operation unit (not shown) to sort the list in ascending / descending order by an item specified by the user (date and time of fall occurrence or position of fall).

[0103] The control unit 11 may display the information of the fall information list L on a map using a map database stored in the storage unit 15. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a fall map M in which a map and fall information are superimposed and displayed on the display unit 16. As shown in this figure, the locations where falls have occurred in the past are indicated with a predetermined mark (here, an "X" mark), and the date and time of the fall are also displayed. By displaying in this manner, the user can intuitively grasp the circumstances of falls that have occurred in the past, and can prevent falls from occurring by, for example, slowing down in places where falls are common.

[0104] Furthermore, when the fall information list L includes the fall type, the control unit 11 may display information on the fall type on the display unit 16, or may change the display format according to the fall type. For example, the control unit 11 may display a red x mark on the fall map M in the case of a forward fall, and a blue x mark on the fall map M in the case of a backward fall.

[0105] In addition, when the vehicle 1 does not have the display unit 16, the control unit 11 may transmit the fall information list L to a terminal device such as a smartphone carried by the user via the communication unit 17 (transmission unit 171), and the terminal device may perform a display as shown in Fig. 15. The communication unit 17 may communicate with the terminal device using long-distance communication such as a mobile phone line, or may communicate with the terminal device using short-distance communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0106] Furthermore, the fall information list L may be recorded on a removable storage medium such as a memory card, and a manager of the vehicles 1, such as a sharing service provider, may remove the storage medium, obtain the fall information list L, and view it on an external device other than the vehicle 1. Furthermore, the vehicle 1 and the external device may be connected by wire or wirelessly, and the control unit 11 may transmit the fall information list L to the external device via the communication unit 17.

[0107] The sharing service provider may set the usage fee and the rental conditions based on the fall information list L. For example, a premium may be set for users who have fallen many times, or rental may be restricted. For example, a discounted fee may be set for users who have fallen few times, or service vouchers or coupons may be provided. Furthermore, the vehicle insurance company may set the insurance premium based on the fall information list L. For example, the insurance premium may be increased for users who have fallen many times, and decreased for users who have fallen few times. Such measures can increase the awareness of safe driving among vehicle users.

[0108] Furthermore, when the control unit 11 determines that a fall has occurred, the control unit 11 may transmit fall information indicating that a fall has occurred to a predetermined destination via the communication unit 17 (transmission unit 171). The predetermined destination is, for example, an emergency contact center, an insurance company, a security company, a sharing service provider, a family member, etc., and may be registered in advance by the user or manager of the vehicle 1, and multiple destinations may be registered.

[0109] In the case of a fall in the forward or backward direction (forward or backward fall), there is a high possibility that the user will be seriously injured, so there is a strong need to perform such an automatic report. The fall information includes the date and time when the fall occurred and the location information, but may also include the type of fall as described above. 7 and 11, information such as times Tf and Tr, and information indicating the duration of the falling state may be included in the fall information. Furthermore, if the vehicle 1 is equipped with an acceleration sensor, data measured by the acceleration sensor may be included in the fall information as information indicating the magnitude of the impact at the time of the fall.

[0110] In this embodiment, two weight sensors are installed on the board part Bo of the vehicle 1 to detect the toppling of the vehicle 1 in the front-rear direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a similar process can be performed using weight sensors that measure the weight applied to the front wheel W1 of the vehicle 1 and the weight applied to the rear wheel W2 of the vehicle 1.

[0111] As described above, according to this embodiment, the vehicle 1 can accurately detect a rollover in the forward / rearward direction. Furthermore, the vehicle 1 stores the rollover information list L in the storage unit 15 when a rollover occurs. By viewing the rollover information list L, the user or manager of the vehicle 1 can easily and intuitively grasp the rollover information that has occurred in the past, and can therefore slow down and proceed with caution at that point, or select a safer route. For example, a sharing service provider can provide a safer route with fewer rollover accidents in the past as a recommended route to the user (customer) of the vehicle 1. Furthermore, by transmitting a notification of the rollover and the current location to a predetermined destination, it becomes possible to perform quick life-saving measures for the occupant.

[0112] In the above-mentioned prior art, it is possible to detect a rollover in the left-right direction of the vehicle, but it is difficult to detect a rollover in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. In contrast, the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment can accurately detect a rollover in the front-rear direction, which is more important to detect in vehicles with small wheels such as electric kick scooters.

[0113] The vehicle 1 in this embodiment may be a vehicle operated by a human or an autonomous vehicle. Even an autonomous vehicle may roll over if it cannot fully recognize the road surface condition or if it malfunctions. In addition, in this embodiment, an example in which a user boards the vehicle 1 is shown, but the vehicle 1 may be a vehicle in which no human boards. For example, the vehicle 1 may be an unmanned autonomous vehicle that transports luggage. If no human boards the vehicle 1, the human will not be injured by the roll over, but the luggage may be damaged. If such an unmanned vehicle rolls over, a notification is sent to a specified destination, so that the recipient of the luggage can be notified of a delivery delay or a replacement vehicle can be quickly arranged. For this reason, it is useful to detect roll over even in an unmanned vehicle.

[0114] <Modification 1 of Example 1> In the first embodiment, the control unit 11 of the vehicle 1 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 has rolled over in the forward / rearward direction. In this modified example, the vehicle 1 is assumed to be equipped with a reverse driving function, and a method in which the control unit 11 detects a forward / rearward roll (forward roll or backward roll) that occurs when the vehicle 1 is traveling backward will be described. The functional block diagram of the vehicle 1 in this modified example is the same as that of the first embodiment. Also, in this modified example, the negative Y-axis direction shown in FIG. 1 etc. is the traveling direction of the vehicle 1.

[0115] When the rear wheel W2 of the vehicle 1 gets stuck in a depression in the road surface while the vehicle 1 is traveling backward, the control unit 11 can determine whether the vehicle 1 has rolled backward by executing the flowchart shown in Fig. 12 or 13 of the first embodiment. Also, when the front wheel W1 of the vehicle 1 gets stuck in a depression in the road surface while the vehicle 1 is traveling backward, the control unit 11 can determine whether the vehicle 1 has rolled forward by executing the flowchart shown in Fig. 8 or 9 of the first embodiment.

[0116] According to this modification, it is possible to determine that a rollover in the forward / rearward direction occurs when the vehicle 1 is traveling backward.

[0117] <Modification 2 of Example 1> In the first embodiment, the vehicle 1 is provided with each unit (each function) shown in FIG. 4, but in this modified example, a detection device that can be installed in the vehicle 1 is provided with some of the functions. The detection device in this modified example is provided with a control unit 11, a clock unit 13, a memory unit 15, a display unit 16, a communication unit 17, a position identification unit 18, and further includes a vehicle communication unit (not shown). For example, a holder for mounting (installing) the detection device on the handle of the vehicle 1 may be provided to make the detection device detachable. In the vehicle 1, the control unit 11, the clock unit 13, the memory unit 15, the display unit 16, the communication unit 17, and the position identification unit 18 may be omitted. The vehicle communication unit of the detection device is provided with a wired or wireless (short-distance wireless) interface and communicates with the vehicle 1. The control unit 11 of the detection device is capable of acquiring data from the speed detection unit 14 and the sensor value output unit 12 of the vehicle via the vehicle communication unit. Therefore, the detection device that can be installed in the vehicle 1 can execute each function described in the first embodiment. For example, such a detection device can be realized by executing a predetermined application (program) installed on a smartphone or tablet terminal. That is, the detection device can be realized by any combination of hardware and software. Also, each step of the control method (detection method) related to the vehicle 1 can be realized by executing a computer program by a CPU provided in the detection device (smartphone, etc.).

[0118] According to this modification, a detection device separate from the vehicle can accurately detect the toppling of the vehicle, so that a toppling detection function can be easily added to the vehicle later. In addition, the number of processing units required for the vehicle can be reduced, so that the cost of manufacturing the vehicle can be reduced, and the maintenance cost of the vehicle can also be reduced. In addition, a smartphone or tablet terminal owned by the user can be used as the detection device. Therefore, in addition to being able to easily improve the function and processing speed in accordance with the evolution of smartphones and apps, the user can use his or her own smartphone, etc., so that the operation is easy and the display contents are easy to understand. In addition, since the user uses his or her own smartphone, the device is handled with care, and the frequency of breakdowns can be expected to be reduced. For this reason, this modification is particularly suitable for a sharing service in which an unspecified number of users use vehicles.

[0119] <Example 2> Next, an overview of the vehicle 1 according to the second embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, forward and backward rollover of the vehicle 1, that is, rollover in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1, was detected. In this embodiment, the vehicle 1 determines the rollover state in more detail. The vehicle 1 detects rollover in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 in addition to rollover in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1. The rollover in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 is sometimes called rollover in the lateral direction of the vehicle 1. The following mainly describes the differences from the first embodiment, and explanations of overlapping parts are omitted as appropriate.

[0120] In this embodiment, a weight sensor for detecting a difference in weight between the left and right sides is further disposed on the chassis of the vehicle 1. The vehicle 1 detects a rollover in the forward / rearward direction and the left / right direction of the vehicle 1 based on the speed of the vehicle 1 and the change over time in the values ​​of each weight sensor.

[0121] More specifically, the vehicle 1 determines that a rollover to the left (left rollover) has occurred when the speed of the vehicle 1 exceeds the reference speed, the value of the left sensor provided on the left part of the chassis increases, the value of the right sensor provided on the right part of the chassis decreases, and then both values ​​become equal to or less than a predetermined value. Also, the vehicle 1 determines that a rollover to the right (right rollover) has occurred when the speed of the vehicle 1 exceeds the reference speed, the weight of the left sensor decreases, the weight of the right sensor increases, and then both weights become equal to or less than a predetermined value.

[0122] As another example, the vehicle 1 may determine that a rollover has occurred in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 when the speed of the vehicle 1 reaches or exceeds a reference speed and the difference between the right sensor value and the left sensor value exceeds a predetermined reference range, and within a predetermined time, the right sensor value and the left sensor value fall to or below a predetermined value. That is, the vehicle 1 may determine whether or not a rollover of the vehicle 1 has occurred based on the change over time in the right sensor value and the left sensor value.

[0123] This allows the vehicle 1 to detect four types of fall types: forward fall, backward fall, left fall, and right fall. When a fall occurs, the vehicle 1 records the fall information in the same manner as in the first embodiment, but in this embodiment, more detailed fall types can be recorded. Furthermore, when the fall information is transmitted to a predetermined destination, more detailed fall information can be transmitted.

[0124] In this embodiment, a weight sensor SE is installed on the board part Bo of the vehicle 1 on which a user rides, similarly to Fig. 1 in the first embodiment. Fig. 16 is a top view of the weight sensor SE installed on the board part Bo of the vehicle 1 in this embodiment. In addition to the front sensor SE1 and rear sensor SE2 of the first embodiment, the weight sensor SE further includes a left sensor (third sensor) SE3 that outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the left part of the board part Bo, and a right sensor (fourth sensor) SE4 that outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the right part of the chassis.

[0125] In the example shown in the figure, a left front sensor SE31 and a right front sensor SE41 are installed in the front part of the board part Bo of the vehicle 1. In addition, a left rear sensor SE32 and a right rear sensor SE42 are installed in the rear part of the board part Bo. The left front sensor SE31 and the left rear sensor SE32 correspond to the left sensor SE3. The right front sensor SE41 and the right rear sensor SE42 correspond to the right sensor SE4. That is, the sum of the value of the left front sensor SE31 and the value of the left rear sensor SE32 is the value V3 of the left sensor SE3, and the sum of the value of the right front sensor SE41 and the value of the right rear sensor SE42 is the value V4 of the right sensor SE4. In addition, the left front sensor SE31 and the right front sensor SE41 correspond to the front sensor SE1, and the left rear sensor SE32 and the right rear sensor SE42 correspond to the rear sensor SE2.

[0126] However, the weight sensor SE is not limited to this configuration example. For example, four sensors may be arranged in a diamond shape on the front, back, left and right. Also, instead of four independent sensors, a sensor capable of measuring the planar weight distribution (pressure distribution) on the board part Bo in detail may be used. When a user is not riding on the vehicle 1, the values ​​of the left front sensor SE31, the right front sensor SE41, the left rear sensor SE32, and the right rear sensor SE42 each indicate 0.

[0127] Fig. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the position of the user's feet when riding in the vehicle 1. When the user is riding in the vehicle as shown in Fig. 17, the left front sensor SE31, the right front sensor SE41, the left rear sensor SE32, and the right rear sensor SE42 each indicate a value greater than 0.

[0128] The functional block diagram of the vehicle 1 in this embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the sensor value acquisition unit 113 of the control unit 11 acquires, in addition to the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 indicating the weight applied to the left part of the board part Bo, and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 indicating the weight applied to the right part of the board part Bo. The control unit 11 controls the entire vehicle 1, and monitors the values ​​output from the speed detection unit 14 and the sensor value output unit 12, and judges whether the vehicle 1 has overturned in the forward / rearward direction and whether the vehicle 1 has overturned in the left / right direction. A specific method of judgment will be described later.

[0129] The detection of a rollover in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 is similar to the processing in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 12, and FIG. 13 in the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the total value of the weights measured by the left front sensor SE31 and the right front sensor SE41 is made to correspond to the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 in the first embodiment. Also, the total value of the weights measured by the left rear sensor SE32 and the right rear sensor SE42 is made to correspond to the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 in the first embodiment. In this manner, the vehicle 1 can perform the processing to detect a rollover in the front-rear direction in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The method of detecting a rollover in the left-right direction will be described in detail below.

[0130] (About falling to the right) Fig. 18 is a schematic diagram for explaining the state of the vehicle 1 and the user before and after the occurrence of a rightward rollover. Fig. 18(a) shows a state during normal driving, in which the user gets into the vehicle 1 and the vehicle is driving at a certain speed.

[0131] FIG. 18(b) shows a state when a fall occurs. Specifically, it shows a state in which the front wheel W1 of the vehicle 1 fails to climb up a step in the road surface, causing a fall to the right. In this case, the vehicle 1 suddenly tilts to the right, so the user puts weight on the right side of the sole of the foot. Meanwhile, the weight that the user puts on the left side of the sole of the foot decreases, and the left side of the sole of the foot may leave the board part Bo and become suspended in the air. Also, the user may move the foot that was previously placed on the left side of the board part Bo to the right side of the board part Bo in an attempt to avoid falling.

[0132] FIG. 18(c) shows the state after the vehicle 1 has fallen over, with the vehicle 1 falling to the right and the user separated from the board portion Bo.

[0133] Fig. 19 is a graph showing the change over time of the value output from the sensor value output unit 12, i.e., the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, in each state described in Fig. 18. In this figure, the value V4 detected by the right sensor SE4 is shown by a solid line, and the value V3 detected by the left sensor SE3 is shown by a dashed line. As described above, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 is the sum of the values ​​of the right front sensor SE41 and the right rear sensor SE42. Moreover, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 is the sum of the values ​​of the left front sensor SE31 and the left rear sensor SE32.

[0134] Moreover, the intervals Ta to Tc shown in this figure typically correspond to the states shown in Fig. 18(a) to (c), respectively. However, this does not mean that the states shown in Fig. 18(a) to (c) always continue in each of the intervals Ta to Tc.

[0135] During normal driving in FIG. 18(a), the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 are almost equal. Of course, depending on the user's posture, there may be some difference between the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3, but in any case, both the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 are equal to or greater than the second weight C2. The second weight C2 may be the same value as the first weight C1 described above.

[0136] 18(b), when the vehicle 1 suddenly tilts to the right, the user places his / her weight on the right side of the sole of his / her foot. As a result, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 increases with time, and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 decreases.

[0137] After the fall in FIG. 18(c), the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 are essentially 0. If part of the user's body is in contact with the board part Bo after the fall, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 may not be completely 0. In any case, after the fall in FIG. 18(c), the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 are significantly smaller than during normal riding, and are less than the second weight C2.

[0138] For example, the determination unit 114 can determine whether or not the vehicle 1 has rolled over in the left-right direction by using one of the two determination methods, similarly to the first embodiment.

[0139] (Detection of a right-side fall using the first determination method) The judgment unit 114 judges that a rollover in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 has occurred when the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 become less than the second weight C2 within a predetermined time T2 from a state in which the speed acquired by the speed detection unit 14 becomes equal to or greater than the reference speed VE, and the value of one of the left sensor SE3 and the right sensor SE4 becomes equal to or greater than the fifth predetermined value A5, and the value of the other sensor becomes equal to or less than the sixth predetermined value A6.

[0140] 20 is a flowchart of a process for detecting a rightward fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The process shown in this figure corresponds to the first determination method described above. The control unit 11 periodically (periodically) executes the process shown in this figure.

[0141] In S300, the sensor value acquisition unit 113 acquires a value output from the sensor value output unit 12, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is equal to or greater than the second weight C2 and the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is equal to or greater than the second weight C2, i.e., whether or not a user is riding in the vehicle 1.

[0142] The second weight C2 is set to a sufficiently small value (e.g., 10 kg) relative to half the average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg). The determination unit 114 may make the determination using the values ​​of each of the four sensors. For example, instead of the second weight C2, the determination may be made using a value that is sufficiently small compared to ¼ of the weight of a typical user. If the user is in the vehicle 1 (S300: Yes), proceed to S310. If the user is not in the vehicle 1 (S300: No), return to S300 and repeat the process.

[0143] In S310, the speed acquisition unit 112 acquires a value output from the speed detection unit 14, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than a reference speed VE (e.g., 4 km / h), i.e., whether the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. If the vehicle 1 is currently traveling (S310: Yes), the process proceeds to S320. If the vehicle 1 is not currently traveling (S310: No), the process returns to S300 and repeats the process.

[0144] In S320, the determination unit 114 monitors the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the weight applied to the right sensor SE4 is increasing. Specifically, the determination unit 114 determines whether the total value of the right front sensor SE41 and the right rear sensor SE42, that is, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4, is increasing.

[0145] For example, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 detected in S300 (value during normal driving) is set as the reference value a5. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (e.g., 20%) larger than the reference value a5 as the fifth predetermined value A5. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight acting on the right sensor SE4 is increasing when the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 becomes equal to or larger than the fifth predetermined value A5.

[0146] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight (e.g., 30 kg) may be used as the reference value a5 to set the fifth predetermined value A5 (e.g., 40 kg). If the weight applied to the right sensor SE4 has increased (S320: Yes), the process proceeds to S330. If the weight applied to the right sensor SE4 has not increased (S320: No), the process ends.

[0147] In S330, the determination unit 114 monitors the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the weight applied to the left sensor SE3 is decreasing. Specifically, the determination unit 114 determines whether the total value of the left front sensor SE31 and the left rear sensor SE32, that is, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 is decreasing.

[0148] For example, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 detected in S300 (value during normal driving) is set as the reference value a6. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (e.g., 20%) smaller than the reference value a6 as the sixth predetermined value A6. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight acting on the left sensor SE3 is decreasing when the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 becomes equal to or smaller than the sixth predetermined value A6.

[0149] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight (e.g., 30 kg) may be used as the reference value a6 to set the sixth predetermined value A6 (e.g., 20 kg). If the weight applied to the left sensor SE3 has decreased (S330: Yes), the process proceeds to S340. If the weight applied to the left sensor SE3 has not decreased (S330: No), the process ends.

[0150] In S340, the judgment unit 114 monitors the values ​​acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 become less than the second weight C2 within a predetermined time T3 after the judgment in S330 is Yes.

[0151] Although the same second weight C2 is used in S340 and S300 here, different values ​​may be used in S340 and S300. For example, a seventh predetermined value A7 may be used in S300, and an eighth predetermined value A8 may be used in S340. For example, the seventh predetermined value A7 (e.g., 10 kg) is set to the same value as the second weight C2. Furthermore, the eighth predetermined value A8 (e.g., 5 kg) is set to a value smaller than the seventh predetermined value A7. The eighth predetermined value A8 may be set to a value smaller than the fifth predetermined value A5 and the sixth predetermined value A6.

[0152] The predetermined time T3 may be set based on the time it is assumed that the vehicle 1 will roll over after the wheel comes into contact with an obstacle, and may be set to, for example, 5 seconds. If the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 become less than the second weight C2 within the predetermined time T3 (S340: Yes), the process proceeds to S350. If not (S340: No), the process ends. If S340: No, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 temporarily lost balance but did not fall over to the extent that the user was thrown out.

[0153] In S350, the determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within a predetermined time T4 after the determination in S340 is Yes. The predetermined time T4 may be set based on the maximum time that the vehicle 1 is expected to slide and move while remaining in the rollover state, and may be set to, for example, 10 seconds. Note that, as in the description of the first embodiment, when the speed detection unit 14 detects the speed based on the number of rotations of the wheels, the predetermined time T4 may be set to a longer value (for example, 30 seconds), or control may be performed to stop the rotation of the wheels when the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 become less than the second weight C2.

[0154] If the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within the predetermined time T4 (S350: Yes), proceed to S360. If not (S350: No), end the process. If S350: No, it is assumed that the user's feet temporarily left the board unit Bo, but the user did not fall to the point of being thrown out, and the user's feet got back on the board unit Bo and normal running was resumed. In S360, the determination unit 114 determines that a fall to the right has occurred. Then, end the process.

[0155] This concludes the description of the process for detecting a rightward fall using the first determination method. Note that S350 may be omitted, and if S340: Yes, the process may proceed to S360.

[0156] (Detection of right-side fall using the second judgment method) The determination unit 114 may determine that a rollover in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1 has occurred when, within a predetermined time from a state in which the vehicle speed becomes equal to or greater than a reference speed VE and the difference between the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 exceeds a second reference range, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 become less than a second weight.

[0157] 21 is a flowchart showing another example of the process for detecting a rightward fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The process shown in this figure corresponds to the second determination method described above. The control unit 11 periodically (periodically) executes the process shown in this figure.

[0158] The process shown in this figure is obtained by replacing the processes of S320 to S330 shown in Figure 20 with processes of S325 to S337. The processes other than S325 to S337 are the same as those in Figure 20, so their explanation will be omitted. In the process of this figure, if S310: Yes, proceed to S325.

[0159] In S325, the determination unit 114 sets a second reference range D2 as a reference for the difference between the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4. For example, the determination unit 114 sets the second reference range D2 based on the difference between the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 at a time when the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or higher than the reference speed VE, or when the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 are equal to or higher than a predetermined reference weight WE. The reference weight WE is set to a value equal to or higher than the second weight C2, for example.

[0160] Specifically, the determination unit 114 calculates an absolute value d3 of the difference between the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 at the time when S300: Yes is determined or when S310: Yes is determined (for example, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 minus the value V3 of the left sensor SE3). Next, the determination unit 114 calculates a value d4 (=d3×1.3) by multiplying the absolute value d3 by a predetermined magnification (for example, 1.3 times). The determination unit 114 uses the range of -d4 or more and +d4 or less (-d4 to +d4) as the second reference range D2.

[0161] In S335, the determination unit 114 first calculates a value (current difference value) DN2 by subtracting the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 from the value V4 of the right sensor SE4. In the case of a rightward fall, this value is positive.

[0162] In S337, the determination unit 114 determines whether the difference value DN2 exceeds the second reference range D2 on the positive side. If the difference value DN2 is greater than the value d4, it is determined that the difference value DN2 exceeds the second reference range D2 on the positive side, and if the difference value DN2 is equal to or less than the value d4, it is determined that the difference value DN2 does not exceed the second reference range D2 on the positive side. If the difference value DN2 exceeds the second reference range D2 on the positive side (S337: Yes), the process proceeds to S340, and if not (S337: No), the process ends. The process from S340 onwards is as described above. This concludes the description of the process of detecting a right fall using the second determination method.

[0163] (Falling to the left) Fig. 22 is a schematic diagram for explaining the state of the vehicle 1 and the user before and after the occurrence of a left overturn. Fig. 22(a) shows a state during normal driving, in which the user gets into the vehicle 1 and the vehicle is driving at a certain speed.

[0164] Fig. 22(b) shows a state when a fall occurs. Specifically, it shows a state in which the front wheel W1 of the vehicle 1 fails to climb up the step on the road surface, causing a fall to the left. In this case, the vehicle 1 suddenly tilts to the left, so the user puts weight on the left side of the sole of the foot. Meanwhile, the weight of the user on the right side of the sole of the foot decreases, and the right side of the sole of the foot may leave the board part Bo and float in the air.

[0165] FIG. 22(c) shows the state after the vehicle 1 has fallen over, with the vehicle 1 falling to the left and the user separated from the board portion Bo.

[0166] Fig. 23 is a graph showing the change over time in the value output from the sensor value output unit 12, i.e., the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, in each state described in Fig. 22. In this figure, the value V4 detected by the right sensor SE4 is shown by a solid line, and the value V3 detected by the left sensor SE3 is shown by a dashed line.

[0167] In Fig. 22(a) during normal driving, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 are almost equal. In Fig. 22(b) when the vehicle 1 rolls over, the user puts weight on the left side of the sole of the foot because the vehicle 1 suddenly tilts to the left. As a result, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 increases and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 decreases with the passage of time.

[0168] After the fall in FIG. 22(c), the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 are essentially 0. If part of the user's body is in contact with the board part Bo after the fall, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 may not be completely 0. In any case, after the fall in FIG. 22(c), the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 are significantly smaller than during normal riding, and are less than the second weight C2.

[0169] (Detection of a left fall using the first determination method) 24 is a flowchart of a process for detecting a left fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The process shown in this figure corresponds to the first determination method described above. The control unit 11 periodically (periodically) executes the process shown in this figure.

[0170] In S400, the sensor value acquisition unit 113 acquires a value output from the sensor value output unit 12, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the weight applied to the front sensor SE1 is equal to or greater than the second weight C2 and the weight applied to the rear sensor SE2 is equal to or greater than the second weight C2, i.e., whether or not a user is riding in the vehicle 1.

[0171] The second weight C2 is set to a sufficiently small value (e.g., 10 kg) relative to half the average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg). The determination unit 114 may make the determination using the values ​​of each of the four sensors. For example, instead of the second weight C2, the determination may be made using a value that is sufficiently small compared to ¼ of the weight of a typical user. If the user is in the vehicle 1 (S400: Yes), proceed to S410. If the user is not in the vehicle 1 (S400: No), return to S400 and repeat the process.

[0172] In S410, the speed acquisition unit 112 acquires a value output from the speed detection unit 14, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than a reference speed VE (e.g., 4 km / h), i.e., whether the vehicle 1 is currently traveling. If the vehicle 1 is currently traveling (S410: Yes), the process proceeds to S420. If the vehicle 1 is not currently traveling (S410: No), the process returns to S400 and repeats the process.

[0173] In S420, the determination unit 114 monitors the value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the weight applied to the left sensor SE3 is increasing. Specifically, the determination unit 114 determines whether the total value of the left front sensor SE31 and the left rear sensor SE32, that is, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3, is increasing.

[0174] For example, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 detected in S400 (value during normal driving) is set as the reference value a5. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (for example, 20%) larger than the reference value a5 as the fifth predetermined value A5. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight acting on the left sensor SE3 is increasing when the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 becomes equal to or larger than the fifth predetermined value A5. Note that although the fifth predetermined value A5 used to determine a rightward rollover is used here, a different predetermined value from that used to determine a rightward rollover may be used. The same applies to the sixth predetermined value A6 described below.

[0175] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight may be used as the reference value a5 to set the fifth predetermined value A5 (e.g., 40 kg). If the weight applied to the left sensor SE3 has increased (S420: Yes), the process proceeds to S430. If the weight applied to the left sensor SE3 has not increased (S420: No), the process ends.

[0176] In S430, the determination unit 114 monitors the values ​​acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the weight acting on the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 is decreasing. Specifically, the determination unit 114 determines whether the total value of the right front sensor SE41 and the right rear sensor SE42, i.e., the value V4 of the right sensor SE4, is decreasing.

[0177] For example, the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 detected in S400 (value during normal driving) is set as the reference value a6. The determination unit 114 sets a value that is a predetermined percentage (e.g., 20%) smaller than the reference value a6 as the sixth predetermined value A6. The determination unit 114 may determine that the weight acting on the right sensor SE4 is decreasing when the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 becomes equal to or smaller than the sixth predetermined value A6.

[0178] Also, for example, assuming an average weight of a user (e.g., 60 kg), half that weight (e.g., 30 kg) may be used as the reference value a6 to set the sixth predetermined value A6 (e.g., 20 kg). If the weight applied to the right sensor SE4 has decreased (S430: Yes), the process proceeds to S440. If the weight applied to the right sensor SE4 has not decreased (S430: No), the process ends.

[0179] In S440, the judgment unit 114 monitors the values ​​acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and determines whether the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 become less than the second weight C2 within a predetermined time T3 after the judgment in S430 is Yes.

[0180] Although the same second weight C2 is used in S440 and S400 here, different values ​​may be used in S440 and S400. For example, the seventh predetermined value A7 may be used in S400, and the eighth predetermined value A8 may be used in S440. For example, the seventh predetermined value A7 (e.g., 10 kg) is set to the same value as the second weight C2. Furthermore, the eighth predetermined value A8 (e.g., 5 kg) is set to a value smaller than the seventh predetermined value A7. The eighth predetermined value A8 may be set to a value smaller than the fifth predetermined value A5 and the sixth predetermined value A6.

[0181] The predetermined time T3 may be set based on the time it is assumed that the vehicle 1 will roll over after the wheel comes into contact with an obstacle, and may be set to, for example, 5 seconds. If the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 become less than the second weight C2 within the predetermined time T3 (S440: Yes), proceed to S450. If not (S440: No), end the process. If S440: No, it is assumed that the vehicle 1 temporarily lost balance but did not fall over to the extent that the user was thrown out.

[0182] In S450, the determination unit 114 determines whether the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within a predetermined time T4 after the determination in S440 is Yes. The predetermined time T4 may be set based on the maximum time that the vehicle 1 is expected to slide and move while remaining in the rollover state, and may be set to, for example, 10 seconds. This process is based on the knowledge that the sliding state is likely to end and the speed to become 0 within the predetermined time T4 after the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 and the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 become less than the second weight C2. As described above, when the speed detection unit 14 detects the speed based on the number of rotations of the wheels, the predetermined time T4 may be set to a longer time (for example, 30 seconds), or the rotation of the wheels may be stopped when the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 become less than the second weight C2.

[0183] If the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes 0 within the predetermined time T4 (S450: Yes), proceed to S460. If not (S450: No), end the process. If S450: No, it is assumed that the user's feet temporarily leave the board part Bo, but the user does not fall and is thrown out, and the user's feet get back on the board part Bo and normal running is resumed. In S460, the determination unit 114 determines that a fall to the left has occurred. Then, end the process. This concludes the description of the left fall detection process using the first determination method. It is also possible to omit S450 and proceed to S460 if S440: Yes.

[0184] (Detection of a fall to the left using the second determination method) As in the case of a right fall, the control unit 11 may perform processing corresponding to the second determination method described above. Fig. 25 is a flowchart showing another example of processing for detecting a left fall, which is executed by the control unit 11 in this embodiment. The processing shown in this figure corresponds to the second determination method described above. The control unit 11 periodically (periodically) executes the processing shown in this figure.

[0185] The process shown in this figure replaces the processes of S420 to S430 shown in Figure 24 with processes of S425 to S437. The processes other than S425 to S437 are the same as those in Figure 24, so their explanations will be omitted. In the process of this figure, if S410: Yes, proceed to S425. S425 is the same as S325 described above. From S425, proceed to S435.

[0186] In S435, the determination unit 114 first calculates a value (current difference value) DN2 by subtracting the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 from the value V4 of the right sensor SE4. In the case of a left fall, this value will be negative.

[0187] In S437, the determination unit 114 determines whether the difference value DN2 exceeds the second reference range D2 on the negative side. If the difference value DN2 is smaller than the value -d4 obtained by multiplying the value d4 by -1, it is determined that the difference value DN2 exceeds the second reference range D2 on the negative side, and if the difference value DN2 is equal to or greater than the value -d4, it is determined that the difference value DN2 does not exceed the second reference range D2 on the negative side. If the difference value DN2 exceeds the second reference range D2 on the negative side (S437: Yes), the process proceeds to S440, and if not (S437: No), the process ends. The process from S440 onwards is as described above. This concludes the description of the left fall detection process using the second determination method.

[0188] To summarize the second determination method, the determination unit 114 sets the second reference range D2 based on the difference between the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 at the time when the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than the reference speed VE, or when the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 are equal to or greater than a predetermined reference weight WE. The reference weight WE is set to a value equal to or greater than the second weight C2, for example. In the above example, the range between -d4 and d4 is the second reference range D2, and the rest is a range beyond the second reference range D2.

[0189] Then, the determination unit 114 determines that the vehicle 1 has overturned in the left-right direction (left overturn or right overturn) when the speed of the vehicle 1 becomes equal to or higher than the reference speed VE and the difference value DN2 between the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 exceeds the second reference range D2 and the difference value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 becomes less than the second weight C2 (or the above-mentioned eighth predetermined value A8) within the predetermined time T3. That is, when detecting the overturning in the left-right direction (lateral direction) of the vehicle 1 without distinguishing between right overturn and left overturn, it is sufficient to determine whether the difference value DN2 has exceeded the second reference range D2. Note that the signs (plus / minus) of the difference value DN2 and the second reference range D2 can be chosen arbitrarily and are not limited to the above-mentioned example. For example, in the case of a left overturn, the difference value DN2 may be calculated to be positive.

[0190] The control unit 11 may execute both the process of Fig. 20 or Fig. 21 and the process of Fig. 24 or Fig. 25, or may execute only one of them. That is, the control unit 11 may execute at least one of the process of detecting a left fall and the process of detecting a right fall. Furthermore, the control unit 11 may execute a combination of at least one of the process of detecting a forward fall and the process of detecting a backward fall.

[0191] When it is determined that any of a forward fall, a backward fall, a right fall, and a left fall has occurred, the control unit 11 acquires the current position (latitude, longitude, etc.) from the position identification unit 18, acquires the current date and time from the clock unit 13, and stores (records) the fall information list L in the storage unit 15. The fall type list L may also include fall type information. The fall type information may be any symbol or number. For example, in the fall type information, a forward fall may be "1", a backward fall may be "2", a right fall may be "3", and a left fall may be "4". Of course, some of these may be omitted. Also, for example, in the fall type information, a fall in the forward / backward direction may be "A", and a fall in the left / right direction may be "B". As described in the first embodiment, the control unit 11 may display the information of the fall information list L on the display unit 16 in the format shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15. In addition, at that time, the display form may be changed according to the fall type information. For example, in the display shown in FIG. 15, the display unit 16 may display a red x mark in the case of a forward fall, a blue x mark in the case of a backward fall, a red △ mark in the case of a right fall, and a blue △ mark in the case of a left fall.

[0192] The above-mentioned prior art is capable of detecting a rollover in the left-right direction, but because it is designed for motorcycles, it is not necessarily suitable for vehicles with different structures and driving characteristics. In contrast, the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment is capable of accurately detecting a rollover in the left-right direction of a vehicle having small wheels, such as an electric kick scooter.

[0193] In this embodiment, the rollover information includes the date and time when the rollover occurred, as well as location information, and information on the type of rollover (information for identifying a forward rollover, a backward rollover, a right rollover, and a left rollover). This allows the storage unit 15 to store rollover information including rollover type information indicating whether the rollover of the vehicle 1 occurred in the forward / rearward direction of the vehicle 1 or in the left / right direction of the vehicle 1. That is, the storage unit 15 can store the rollover information list L including such detailed rollover type information. By allowing the user or manager of the vehicle 1 to view it, the user or manager can easily and intuitively grasp the locations where the vehicle is likely to roll over and the type of rollover, which can be useful in preventing future accidents.

[0194] <Example 3> Next, an overview of the control system 10 according to the third embodiment will be described. The control system 10 is a system that prevents each vehicle from overturning by storing information on vehicle overturns that occur at various locations in a database using a management device, distributing the information on overturns to the vehicles, and performing warning processing and speed control processing. Each of one or a plurality of vehicles transmits the information on overturns to a server (management device). The management device manages a database of overturns that associates the positions of overturns with the types of overturns.

[0195] The management device distributes information from the database to each vehicle. The management device may distribute all data from the database to each vehicle, or may extract data required for each vehicle from the database and distribute the extracted data to each vehicle. For example, the management device may obtain position information of each vehicle, extract data on the point where a fall occurred within a predetermined distance from the position of each vehicle, and distribute the data to each vehicle. When each vehicle approaches a point where a fall occurred in the past, the vehicle issues a warning or controls the speed based on the information received from the management device, thereby preventing a fall accident. For example, each vehicle displays a message or outputs a warning sound (alert sound) as a warning. Furthermore, each vehicle controls the speed by slowing down or stopping the vehicle.

[0196] Furthermore, each vehicle issues different warnings and controls speed depending on the type of rollover. Specifically, at the point where a rollover occurs in the forward / reverse direction, which is more dangerous, the vehicle displays a message urging the driver to stop or controls the brakes to stop the vehicle. On the other hand, at the point where a rollover occurs in the left / right direction, the vehicle displays a message urging the driver to slow down or controls the motor to slow down the vehicle.

[0197] FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the control system 10. The control system 10 includes a management device 2 and a plurality of vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d. The management device 2 is configured, for example, as a Web server. In this figure, a single management device 2 is shown, but a configuration in which a plurality of management devices 2 exist may also be used. The management device 2 communicates with the plurality of vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d via a communication network N (for example, a mobile phone network or the Internet). Also, in this figure, an example in which the control system 10 includes four vehicles is shown, but the number of vehicles is arbitrary. The control system 10 may include only one vehicle.

[0198] Each of the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d may have the same configuration or different configurations. In the following, the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d will be described as having the same configuration. Therefore, each of the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d may be simply referred to as a vehicle 1. In this embodiment, any one vehicle that detects a rollover is called a first vehicle, and any one vehicle that uses the rollover information to prevent a rollover accident is called a second vehicle. The first vehicle and the second vehicle may be different vehicles, or the first vehicle and the second vehicle may be the same vehicle.

[0199] In this embodiment, similar to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a board (chassis) Bo for carrying an object (user or baggage) and at least two wheels as front and rear wheels. A weight sensor SE is installed on the board Bo.

[0200] (Management device 2) FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram of the management device 2 in this embodiment. The management device 2 includes a communication unit 27, a timer unit 23, a storage unit 25, and a control unit 21. The management device 2 includes a processor and a memory (such as a semiconductor memory) as components not shown. The storage unit 25, which is made up of a storage device such as a semiconductor memory, stores a computer program in which the processing according to this embodiment is implemented. The processor can realize various functions of the management device 2 by reading the computer program from the storage device into the memory and executing the computer program. For example, the various functions of the control unit 21 can be realized by a combination of the processor and the memory. The various functions of the control unit 21 may each be realized by dedicated hardware. The various functions of the control unit 21 will be described later.

[0201] The communication unit 27 communicates with the vehicle 1 via a communication network N. The communication unit 27 includes a transmission unit 271 and a reception unit 272. The transmission unit 271 transmits information to the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d via the communication network N. The reception unit 272 receives information from the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d via the communication network N. The clock unit 23 outputs the current time.

[0202] The storage unit 25 stores various data and programs. For example, the storage unit 25 records a fall information table (fall information database) TB1, which will be described later. At least a part of the storage unit 25 is configured with a non-volatile storage medium so that necessary data is retained even when the power of the management device 2 is turned off.

[0203] The control unit 21 controls the entire management device 2. The control unit 21 also transmits at least a part of the fall information table TB1 to the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d. For example, the control unit 21 stores first fall information transmitted from a first vehicle (e.g., vehicle 1a) in the fall information table TB1, and then transmits second fall information, which is at least a part of the fall information table TB1, to a second vehicle (e.g., vehicle 1b). Note that the fall information table TB1 may include fall information of vehicles other than the first vehicle.

[0204] (Vehicle 1) 28 is a functional block diagram of a vehicle 1 in this embodiment. In addition to the communication unit 17, position identification unit 18, sensor value output unit 12, weight sensor SE, timer unit 13, speed detection unit 14, storage unit 15, display unit 16, and control unit 11 in the first and second embodiments, the vehicle 1 includes a voice output unit 19 and a propulsion control unit 20. The position identification unit 18, sensor value output unit 12, timer unit 13, and speed detection unit 14 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described here. The following description will focus on the differences from the first and second embodiments, and will not be repeated.

[0205] The communication unit 17 communicates with the management device 2 via the communication network N. The transmission unit 171 transmits information (data) to the management device 2 via the communication network N. For example, when it is determined that a rollover of the vehicle 1 has occurred, the transmission unit 171 transmits rollover information including position information to the management device 2. The rollover information may include rollover type information that identifies at least two types of rollover of the vehicle 1, namely, forward rollover, backward rollover, left rollover, and right rollover, or rollover type information that identifies a rollover in the forward / backward direction and a rollover in the left / right direction of the vehicle 1.

[0206] The receiving unit 172 receives information (data) from the management device 2 via the communication network N. For example, the receiving unit 172 receives second fall information from the management device 2, which is at least a part of the data in a fall information table TB1 that includes position information of positions where vehicles have previously fallen, and which is created based on fall information collected from each of one or more vehicles 1. The second fall information includes the same attributes (items) as the fall information table TB1, and may include fall type information. Since the second fall information is at least a part of the data in the fall information table TB1, it can be said to be a fall information database.

[0207] The storage unit 15 records the second overturn information received by the receiving unit 172 as a overturn information table TB1b. The storage unit 15 may store all the second overturn information previously received from the management device 2 in the overturn information table TB1b, or may delete unnecessary data as appropriate. The display unit 16 serves as an interface for displaying the speed of the vehicle 1 and attention-calling information. The audio output unit 19 outputs an audio message of the attention-calling information or outputs an alarm sound. The audio output unit 19 is, for example, a speaker. The propulsion control unit 20 controls the propulsion state of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the propulsion control unit 20 controls the motor and brakes of the vehicle 1. As a result, the propulsion control unit 20 can control the speed of the vehicle 1 to be a constant value or can stop the vehicle 1.

[0208] The weight sensor SE includes a first sensor that outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the first portion or the first wheel of the board part Bo, and a second sensor that outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the second portion or the second wheel of the chassis. As described in the first embodiment, the first portion and the second portion of the board part Bo are, for example, the front portion and the rear portion of the board part Bo. The first wheel and the second wheel are, for example, the front wheel W1 and the rear wheel W2. The front sensor SE1 of the first embodiment can be used as the first sensor. The rear sensor SE2 of the first embodiment can be used as the second sensor.

[0209] The weight sensor SE may include a third sensor that outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the left part of the board part Bo, and a fourth sensor that outputs a value indicating the weight applied to the right part of the board part Bo. The left sensor SE3 of the second embodiment may be used as the third sensor. The right sensor SE4 of the second embodiment may be used as the fourth sensor.

[0210] In this embodiment, the weight sensor SE will be described as having the same configuration as that of the weight sensor SE of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 16. Thus, the weight sensor SE includes a left front sensor SE31, a left rear sensor SE32, a right front sensor SE41, and a right rear sensor SE42. The left front sensor SE31 and the right front sensor SE41 correspond to the front sensor SE1, which is the first sensor. The left rear sensor SE32 and the right rear sensor SE42 correspond to the rear sensor SE2, which is the second sensor. In addition, the left front sensor SE31 and the left rear sensor SE32 correspond to the left sensor SE3, which is the third sensor. The right front sensor SE41 and the right rear sensor SE42 correspond to the right sensor SE4, which is the fourth sensor.

[0211] The control unit 11 controls the entire vehicle 1, and also monitors values ​​output from the speed detection unit 14 and the sensor value output unit 12 to determine whether the vehicle 1 has rolled over in the forward / backward or left / right direction. The control unit 11 also transmits information to the management device 2 via the communication unit 17 according to the determination result. Furthermore, the control unit 11 performs management to prevent the vehicle 1 from rolling over based on the information received from the management device 2.

[0212] 29 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the control unit 11. The control unit 11 includes a management unit 115 in addition to the position acquisition unit 111, the speed acquisition unit 112, the sensor value acquisition unit 113, and the determination unit 114 of the first and second embodiments.

[0213] The determination unit 114 determines whether or not a rollover in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 has occurred based on the temporal changes in the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2. The determination unit 114 may determine whether or not a rollover in the front-rear direction has occurred as described in the first embodiment.

[0214] In addition to determining whether a rollover has occurred in the front-rear direction, the determination unit 114 may also determine whether a rollover has occurred in the left-right direction of the vehicle based on the speed of the vehicle 1 and the temporal changes in the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4. The determination unit 114 may determine whether a rollover has occurred in the left-right direction as described in the second embodiment.

[0215] The management unit 115 issues a warning or performs speed control when the difference between the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 111 and the position information in the fall information table TB1b is within a predetermined distance. The management unit 115 may issue a warning or perform speed control according to the fall type information. For example, the management unit 115 may issue a warning or perform stop control to prompt the vehicle 1 to stop when the fall type information is a fall in the forward / backward direction. The management unit 115 may also issue a warning or perform speed control to prompt the vehicle 1 to decelerate when the fall type information is a fall in the left / right direction. That is, the management unit 115 may issue a warning or perform stop control to prompt the vehicle 1 to stop when there is a high possibility of a fall in the forward / backward direction, which is relatively high risk (having a large impact on the user), and may issue a warning or perform speed control to prompt the vehicle 1 to decelerate when there is a high possibility of a fall in the left / right direction, which is relatively low risk.

[0216] A specific description will be given using an example of two vehicles. For example, the first vehicle is vehicle 1a, and the second vehicle is vehicle 1b. The determination unit 114 of the vehicle 1a determines whether or not the vehicle 1a has rolled over based on the speed of the vehicle 1a and the temporal changes in the value V1 of the front sensor SE1 and the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2 of the vehicle 1a. When it is determined that the vehicle 1a has rolled over, the transmission unit 171 of the vehicle 1a transmits the first rollover information including the position information of the vehicle 1a to the management device 2 via the communication unit 17.

[0217] The management device 2 stores the first overturn information in the overturn information table TB1. The management device 2 may similarly receive overturn information from other vehicles and store it in the overturn information table TB1. Thereafter, the management device 2 transmits second overturn information, which is at least a part of the overturn information table TB1, to the vehicle 1b. The receiving unit 172 of the vehicle 1b receives the second overturn information from the management device 2, and the storage unit 15 of the vehicle 1b stores the second overturn information in the overturn information table TB1b. The management unit 115 of the vehicle 1b issues a warning or performs speed control on the vehicle 1b when the difference between the position information of the vehicle 1b and the position information included in the second overturn information (the overturn information table TB1b) is within a predetermined distance. In this way, the user of the vehicle 1b can prevent a overturn in advance based on the overturn information obtained due to the overturn of the other vehicle.

[0218] When the control unit 11 of the vehicle 1 (first vehicle) determines that the vehicle 1 has turned over, the control unit 11 generates a turn-over information packet P1. The control unit 11 transmits the turn-over information packet P1 to the management device 2 via the communication unit 17.

[0219] Fig. 30 is a configuration example of a fall information packet P1. The control unit 11 sets the date and time output from the clock unit 13 when the fall occurs as the fall occurrence date and time. The control unit 11 sets the fall position (latitude, longitude) output from the position identification unit 18 as the fall position (latitude, longitude). The control unit 11 sets fall type information as the fall type. In this embodiment, when the determination unit 114 determines that a fall has occurred, "1" is set in the case of a forward fall, "2" in the case of a backward fall, "3" in the case of a right fall, and "4" in the case of a left fall. Furthermore, when any other type of fall is detected, "5" indicating "other fall" may be set.

[0220] When the control unit 21 of the management device 2 receives the overturn information packet P1 from the vehicle 1, the control unit 21 records the contents of the overturn information packet P1 in the overturn information table TB1 of the storage unit 25. In other words, the overturn information table TB1 is a table showing the history of past overturns of each vehicle.

[0221] Fig. 31 shows an example of the configuration of a fall information table TB1 stored in the storage unit 25. As shown in the figure, the fall information table TB1 is data that associates the date and time of the fall, the fall position, and the type of fall. Although omitted in the figure, identification information (such as a vehicle ID) for identifying the vehicle may also be stored. The configuration of the fall information table TB1b stored in the storage unit 15 is also similar to that shown in Fig. 31.

[0222] The control unit 21 of the management device 2 distributes the fall information table TB1 recorded in the storage unit 25 to each of the vehicles 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d at predetermined intervals (e.g., 10 minutes). Alternatively, each vehicle may transmit its current position to the management device 2 at a predetermined timing, and the management device 2 may transmit to the target vehicle fall information whose fall position is included within a predetermined range (e.g., within a radius of 10 km) from the current position of the target vehicle. That is, the management device 2 may transmit all data (records) of the fall information table TB1 to each vehicle as the second fall information, or may extract necessary data for each vehicle according to the current position of each vehicle and transmit the extracted data to each vehicle as the second fall information.

[0223] In each vehicle, the control unit 11 records the second overturn information received from the management device 2 in the overturn information table TB1b of the storage unit 15. The control unit 11 may store (additionally record) all the second overturn information received in the past in the overturn information table TB1b, may store (overwrite) only the latest second overturn information in the overturn information table TB1b, or may delete unnecessary data (data that is a predetermined distance or more from the current position, data with an old date and time, etc.) as appropriate. The management unit 115 of the control unit 11 monitors the overturn position (latitude, longitude) of each record in the overturn information table TB1b recorded in the storage unit 15 while the vehicle 1 is traveling. In the following, among the records (rows) in the overturn information table TB1b, a specific record to be processed that is close to the current position of the vehicle 1 (second vehicle) is called record R. The management unit 115 refers to the overturn information table TB1b and identifies, as record R, a record that includes a overturn position within a predetermined distance from the position information output by the position identification unit 18. Then, the management unit 115 executes an attention calling process according to the type of fall in the record R. That is, when it is determined that the vehicle 1 is approaching the fall position (latitude, longitude) in the record R, the management unit 115 executes an attention calling process according to the type of fall in the record R.

[0224] 32 is a diagram showing an example of the attention calling information A to D. As an example of the attention calling process, when the fall type of the record R is set to "1", the management unit 115 displays the attention calling information A on the display unit 16. In this case, a message such as "There is a possibility of falling forward. Please stop the vehicle" is displayed on the display unit 16. Furthermore, the audio output unit 19 may output such a message by voice or output a warning sound indicating that the vehicle should be stopped.

[0225] When the fall type of the record R is set to "2", the management unit 115 displays the attention-calling information B on the display unit 16. In this case, a message such as "There is a possibility of falling backwards. Please stop the vehicle" is displayed on the display unit 16. In addition, the audio output unit 19 may output such a message by voice or output a warning sound indicating the vehicle should be stopped.

[0226] This is a process of stopping (stopping) the vehicle 1 when the fall type is "1" or "2", i.e., when a fall in the forward / backward direction has occurred in the past and there is a high possibility that a fall in the forward / backward direction will occur this time as well, based on the knowledge that there is a high possibility that an occupant will be seriously injured if the vehicle falls in the forward / backward direction. Note that instead of the management unit 115 displaying the attention calling information A or B on the display unit 16, the propulsion control unit 20 may actually automatically stop the vehicle 1. Furthermore, after displaying the attention calling information on the display unit 16, if the user of the vehicle 1 does not perform a stopping operation, the propulsion control unit 20 may control the brakes to stop the vehicle 1.

[0227] When the fall type of the record R is set to "3", the management unit 115 displays the attention-calling information C on the display unit 16. In this case, a message such as "There is a possibility of falling to the right. Be careful of the step on the right. Slow down" is displayed on the display unit 16. In addition, the audio output unit 19 may output such a message by voice, or output a warning sound indicating deceleration or slowing down.

[0228] When the fall type of the record R is set to "4", the management unit 115 displays the attention-calling information D on the display unit 16. In this case, a message such as "There is a possibility of falling to the left. Be careful of the step on the left. Slow down" is displayed on the display unit 16. In addition, the audio output unit 19 may output such a message by voice, or output a warning sound indicating deceleration or slowing down.

[0229] This is a process for decelerating the vehicle 1 when the type of fall is "3" or "4", i.e., when a fall in the left-right direction has occurred in the past and there is a high possibility that a fall in the left-right direction will occur this time as well, based on the knowledge that a fall in the left-right direction is dangerous but is less dangerous than a fall in the front-rear direction. Note that instead of the management unit 115 displaying the attention alert information C or D on the display unit 16, the propulsion control unit 20 may actually control the speed of the vehicle 1 to be equal to or lower than a certain value. Furthermore, if the user of the vehicle 1 does not perform a deceleration operation after displaying the attention alert information on the display unit 16, the propulsion control unit 20 may control the brakes or motor to reduce the speed of the vehicle 1 to be equal to or lower than a certain value.

[0230] The management unit 115 may set the importance of the warning depending on the risk of an accident or the degree of injury expected if an accident occurs, and may issue a warning in a different manner depending on the importance. For example, the management unit 115 may display the warning information A and B in red, and the warning information C and D in yellow. The management unit 115 may adjust the size of the characters displayed on the display unit 16 or the volume of the sound output from the sound output unit 19. In other words, the higher the importance, the more noticeable the display may be, such as in larger characters, or a louder or more attention-grabbing sound may be output.

[0231] In addition, if information indicating "other falls" (for example, "5") is recorded as the fall type in the fall information table TB1b, a message such as "This is a point where a fall has occurred in the past. Please proceed with caution" may be displayed on the display unit 16, or a warning sound may be output from the audio output unit 19.

[0232] FIG. 33 is a flowchart of the attention drawing process executed by the control unit 11 of the vehicle 1 (second vehicle). In S500, the sensor value acquisition unit 113 acquires the value output from the sensor value output unit 12, and the determination unit 114 monitors the acquired value. The management unit 115 determines whether the value of each weight sensor provided in the weight sensor SE is equal to or greater than the third weight C3, that is, whether or not a user is riding in the vehicle 1. Note that the management unit 115 may perform the process of S500 using the second weight C2, similar to S300 in the flowchart of FIG. 20 described in the second embodiment. The process of S510 is the same as S310 in the flowchart of FIG. 20.

[0233] In S520, the management unit 115 identifies record R based on the output of the position identification unit 18, and judges whether the vehicle 1 is approaching the fall position (latitude, longitude) of record R. Specifically, a record that includes the fall position (latitude, longitude) within a range of a predetermined distance (for example, 50 m) from the current position of the vehicle 1 is identified as record R, and if the vehicle 1 is heading toward the fall position of record R, the management unit 115 judges Yes. Note that the predetermined distance may be set according to the speed of the vehicle 1. For example, the predetermined distance may be set longer as the speed of the vehicle 1 is faster. If it is judged that the vehicle 1 is approaching the fall position (latitude, longitude) (S520: Yes), proceed to S530. If it is judged that the vehicle 1 is not approaching the fall position (latitude, longitude) (S520: No), return to S500 and repeat the process.

[0234] In S530, the management unit 115 determines whether the fall type of record R is "1". If the fall type is "1" (S530: Yes), the process proceeds to S540. If the fall type is not "1" (S530: No), the process proceeds to S550. In S540, the management unit 115 displays attention information A on the display unit 16. Thereafter, the process ends.

[0235] In S550, the management unit 115 determines whether the fall type of record R is "2". If the fall type is "2" (S550: Yes), the process proceeds to S560. If the fall type is not "2" (S550: No), the process proceeds to S540. In S560, the management unit 115 displays attention information B on the display unit 16. Thereafter, the process ends.

[0236] In S570, the management unit 115 determines whether the fall type of record R is "3". If the fall type is "3" (S570: Yes), the process proceeds to S580. If the fall type is not "3" (S570: No), the process proceeds to S590. In S580, the management unit 115 displays attention information C on the display unit 16. Thereafter, the process ends.

[0237] In S590, the management unit 115 determines whether the fall type of record R is "4". If the fall type is "4" (S590: Yes), proceed to S600. If the fall type is not "4" (S590: No), end the process. In S600, the management unit 115 displays attention information D on the display unit 16. Then, end the process.

[0238] As described above, in S540, S560, S580, and S600, the audio output unit 19 may output a voice message of attention-calling information, and the propulsion control unit 20 may stop or decelerate the vehicle 1.

[0239] Furthermore, the control unit 21 of the management device 2 may obtain the current time from the clock unit 23, and delete any record in the fall information table TB1 recorded in the storage unit 25, for which the fall occurrence date and time is significantly (for example, two years) away from the current date and time. This process is based on the knowledge that the condition of the road surface at the fall position of that record may have improved, and the risk of a fall occurring at that position may have decreased.

[0240] In the above description, four types of fall types are used, but the present invention is not limited to these. For example, the management unit 115 may treat a front fall and a rear fall as a fall in the front-rear direction without distinguishing between a front fall and a rear fall, and may treat a right fall and a left fall as a fall in the left-right direction without distinguishing between a right fall and a left fall. The management unit 115 may also issue a warning or control the speed without using the fall type. For example, the fall type may be omitted from being recorded in the fall information table TB1, and when the vehicle 1 approaches the fall position, the management unit 115 may uniformly display a message such as "This is the point where a fall occurred in the past. Please be careful" or uniformly control the deceleration.

[0241] As described above, the first vehicle and the second vehicle may be the same vehicle. For example, when the control unit 11 of the vehicle 1a detects a fall, the vehicle 1a may transmit the first fall information to the management device 2, and the vehicle 1a may receive a fall information database including the first fall information from the management device 2, and perform the attention calling process and the speed control process. In this case, the vehicle 1a serves as both the first vehicle and the second vehicle. Also, for example, when the control unit 11 of the vehicle 1a detects a fall, the fall information may not be transmitted to the management device 2, but may be stored in the storage unit 15 of the vehicle 1a as a fall information database, and the management unit 115 of the vehicle 1a may refer to the fall information database in the storage unit 15 to perform the attention calling process and the speed control process. In other words, the vehicle 1 does not necessarily need to transmit the fall information to the management device 2, and the vehicle 1 does not necessarily need to receive the fall information database from the management device 2, and the vehicle 1 may perform the attention calling process and the speed control process based on the fall information database in which the vehicle 1 has accumulated past fall information of the vehicle. Of course, the vehicle 1 can receive and use the rollover information database including rollover information of other vehicles from the management device 2, thereby performing the warning process and the speed control process with higher accuracy.

[0242] As described above, in the control system 10 according to the present embodiment, the management device 2 collects detailed information on rollovers of each vehicle, manages the collected information as a database, and distributes necessary data in the database to each vehicle. In this way, the control system 10 can efficiently perform effective warning processing and speed control processing. This makes it possible to prevent the risk of a vehicle rolling over.

[0243] <Modification of the third embodiment> In the third embodiment, at a point where a rollover in the forward / reverse direction has occurred in the past, the vehicle 1 displays a message urging the vehicle to stop or performs control to stop the vehicle, and at a point where a rollover in the left / right direction has occurred in the past, the vehicle 1 displays a message urging the vehicle to slow down or performs control to slow down. In this modification, the vehicle 1 issues a warning and controls the speed according to the number of past rollovers around the vehicle 1. At a point where many rollovers have occurred in the past (a high-rollover point), the vehicle 1 displays a message urging the vehicle to stop or performs control to stop the vehicle, regardless of the type of rollover. Also, at a point where the number of past rollovers has been low, the vehicle 1 displays a message urging the vehicle to slow down or performs control to slow down.

[0244] In this modified example, if the determination in S550 in the flowchart of Fig. 33 is No, the process proceeds to S562 (not shown). In S562, the management unit 115 refers to the fall information table TB1b and counts the number of data (number of falls) that exist within a predetermined range (for example, within a radius of 50 m) from the fall position of record R. In other words, the management unit 115 counts the number of records in which the fall position is recorded within a predetermined distance from the fall position of record R. At this time, the management unit 115 may count by fall type, may count separately for falls in the front-back direction and falls in the left-right direction, or may count regardless of fall type. The process proceeds from S562 to S564 (not shown).

[0245] In S564, the management unit 115 determines whether the counted number of falls satisfies a predetermined condition. For example, if the counted number is five or more regardless of the type of fall, it may be determined that the predetermined condition is met. Alternatively, for example, if there is one or more falls in the front-back direction and two or more falls in the left-right direction, it may be determined that the predetermined condition is met. If the counted number of falls satisfies the predetermined condition (S564: Yes), the process proceeds to S566 (not shown), and if not (S564: No), the process proceeds to S570.

[0246] In S566, the management unit 115 displays a message on the display unit 16 to encourage the vehicle to stop (temporarily stop). For example, a message such as "There have been 10 falls in the past ahead. It is dangerous, so please pause and proceed at a speed of 6 km / h or less for about 100 m" is displayed. Of course, such a message may be output by voice from the voice output unit 19. In addition, the propulsion control unit 20 may control the brakes to temporarily stop the vehicle 1, and then control the motor to drive the vehicle 1 at a speed of 6 km / h or less for a predetermined section. That is, even if the record R indicates a lateral fall, if there are many falls in the vicinity (if the area is a frequent fall area), the management unit 115 displays a message encouraging the vehicle to temporarily stop instead of decelerating, or temporarily stops the vehicle 1. After executing S566, the process ends.

[0247] Note that even when the type of fall in record R is "1" or "2", that is, a fall in the forward / rearward direction, the management unit 115 may similarly perform processing according to the number of falls in the vicinity. For example, the management unit 115 may count the number of falls that exist within a predetermined range from the fall position in record R, and change the control after temporarily stopping the vehicle 1 depending on whether or not the number of falls in the vicinity satisfies a predetermined condition. For example, the predetermined condition may be "five or more falls in the vicinity," and when this condition is satisfied, the management unit 115 determines that the location is a frequent fall location, and limits the speed in a predetermined section (e.g., 100 m) after the temporary stop to 6 km / h or less. On the other hand, when this condition is not satisfied, the management unit 115 determines that the location is not a frequent fall location, and does not limit the speed after the temporary stop, or relaxes the speed limit, and limits the speed in a predetermined section (e.g., 100 m) to 20 km / h or less.

[0248] According to this modification, the control system 10 issues warnings and controls the speed according to the number of past rollovers around the vehicle 1, thereby further reducing the risk of the vehicle 1 rolling over and preventing rollover accidents. This further improves the safety of the vehicle 1.

[0249] <Example 4> In the fourth embodiment, similarly to the third embodiment, the vehicle 1 transmits rollover information to the management device 2, and the management device 2 creates a rollover information table, but the rollover information includes more detailed information such as tire size and speed. When the vehicle 1 approaches a point where a previous rollover occurred and the state of the vehicle 1 (tire size, speed) is similar to the previous rollover information, the vehicle 1 issues a warning and controls the speed. This allows the vehicle 1 to issue warnings and control the speed with higher accuracy.

[0250] The functional block diagram of the vehicle 1 in this embodiment is the same as that in the third embodiment, but in this embodiment, the vehicle 1 has the following functions different from those in the third embodiment.

[0251] When it is determined that a fall has occurred, the control unit 11 of the vehicle 1 (first vehicle) generates a fall information packet P2 (not shown) that includes more detailed information compared to Example 3. Specifically, the control unit 11 generates the fall information packet P2 by adding the tire size of the vehicle 1 and the speed during normal driving immediately before the fall to the fall information packet P1 shown in Fig. 30. The control unit 11 transmits the generated fall information packet P2 (first fall information) to the management device 2 via the transmission unit 171.

[0252] The control unit 21 of the management device 2 receives the fall information packet P2 via the receiving unit 272, and records (stores) it in the fall information table TB2 of the storage unit 25. FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of the fall information table TB2 in this embodiment. As shown in this figure, compared to the fall information table TB1 of FIG. 31 described in the third embodiment, tire size (wheel size) and speed (speed during normal driving immediately before the fall) are added. The control unit 21 distributes at least a part of the data in the fall information table TB2 to each vehicle 1 as second fall information via the transmitting unit 271.

[0253] The control unit 11 of the vehicle 1 (second vehicle) receives the second fall information via the receiving unit 172 and stores it in the fall information table TB2b of the storage unit 15. The configuration of the fall information table TB2b is similar to that of Fig. 34. The management unit 115 issues a warning or performs speed control when the difference between the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit 111 and the position information in the fall information table TB2b is within a predetermined distance and the wheel size of the vehicle 1 is equal to or smaller than a reference value set based on the wheel size in the fall information table TB2.

[0254] 35 is a flowchart of the attention calling process executed by the control unit 11 of the vehicle 1 in this embodiment. S700 to S720 are the same as S500 to S520, respectively. If it is determined that the answer is Yes in S720, the process proceeds to S730.

[0255] In S730, the management unit 115 judges whether the tire size of the vehicle 1 is close to the tire size of the record R (similar to the tire size of the record R). Specifically, if the tire size of the vehicle 1 is included in a predetermined range (reference range) centered on the tire size of the record R, the management unit 115 judges that the tire size of the vehicle 1 is close to the tire size of the record R. For example, if the predetermined range is ±1 inch, and the tire size of the vehicle 1 is 8 inches and the tire size of the record R is 9 inches, the management unit 115 judges Yes. This is processing based on the knowledge that if the tire size is close to the tire size of the vehicle 1 that has fallen over in the past, there is a high possibility that it will fall over in the same place. If the tire size of the vehicle 1 is close to the tire size of the record R (S730: Yes), proceed to S740. If not (S730: No), return to S700 and repeat the processing.

[0256] In S740, the management unit 115 judges whether the speed of the vehicle 1 is close to the speed in record R (similar to the speed in record R). Specifically, if the current speed of the vehicle 1 is included in a predetermined range centered on the speed in record R, the management unit 115 judges that the speed of the vehicle 1 is close to the speed in record R. For example, if the predetermined range is ±5 km / h, and the current speed of the vehicle 1 is 15 km / h and the speed in record R is 20 km / h, the management unit 115 judges Yes. This is processing based on the knowledge that if the speed is close to the speed of the vehicle 1 that has fallen over in the past, there is a high possibility that it will fall over at the same place. If the speed of the vehicle 1 is close to the speed in record R (S740: Yes), proceed to S750. If not (S740: No), return to S700 and repeat the processing.

[0257] S750 to S820 are the same as S530 to S600, respectively. That is, the management unit 115 issues a warning by display and sound according to the type of fall. Furthermore, the propulsion control unit 20 may control the speed.

[0258] Although in S730 it is determined whether the tire size of the vehicle 1 is close to the tire size of the record R, the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, the management unit 115 may determine whether the tire size of the vehicle 1 is equal to or smaller than a threshold value (reference value) based on the tire size of the record R. For example, if the tire size of the record R is 10 inches, a threshold value of 12 inches is set by adding a predetermined value (for example, 2 inches). Then, if the tire size of the vehicle 1 is 12 inches or smaller, the management unit 115 determines Yes in S730. This is processing based on the knowledge that the smaller the tire size of the vehicle 1, the more likely it is to tip over, and the larger the tire size, the less likely it is to tip over.

[0259] Also, in S740, it is determined whether the speed of the vehicle 1 is close to the speed in record R, but the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, the management unit 115 may determine whether the speed of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than a threshold based on the speed in record R. For example, if the speed in record R is 20 km / h, a threshold value of 15 km / h obtained by subtracting a predetermined value (for example, 5 km / h) from the speed in record R is set. Then, the management unit 115 determines Yes in S740 if the speed of the vehicle 1 is 15 km / h or greater. This is processing based on the knowledge that the faster the speed of the vehicle 1, the more likely it is to tip over, and the slower the speed, the less likely it is to tip over.

[0260] According to this embodiment, the vehicle 1 performs processing according to whether the vehicle 1 is approaching a point where a fall has occurred in the past, and whether the state of the vehicle 1 at that time (tire size, speed state) is close to record R, so that the possibility of a fall can be predicted with higher accuracy. This allows the vehicle 1 to further improve the accuracy of warnings and speed control. In other words, the vehicle 1 can perform necessary warnings and speed control, and avoid unnecessary warnings and speed control.

[0261] <Modification of the fourth embodiment> In this modified example, in addition to the processing of Example 4, the vehicle 1 uses weight distribution (pressure distribution) information obtained from a weight sensor to issue a warning or control the speed when the condition of the vehicle 1 (tire size, speed, weight distribution) is similar to past fall information.

[0262] In this modification, the vehicle 1 has the following functions different from those of the fourth embodiment. When it is determined that the vehicle 1 has rolled over, the control unit 11 generates a fall information packet P3 (not shown) including more detailed information than that of the fourth embodiment. Specifically, the control unit 11 generates a fall information packet P3 by adding the tire size of the vehicle 1, the speed during normal driving just before the rollover, and information (values) of each weight sensor during normal driving just before the rollover to the fall information packet P1 shown in FIG. 30. The storage unit 15 stores the speed during normal driving just before the rollover and information (values) of each weight sensor during normal driving just before the rollover. For example, the control unit 11 may put the values ​​of each weight sensor measured in S700 into the fall information packet P3. The control unit 11 transmits the generated fall information packet P3 to the management device 2 via the transmission unit 171. That is, when the determination unit 114 determines that the vehicle has overturned, the transmission unit 171 transmits to the management device 2 overturn information including values ​​of the multiple sensors detected by the weight sensor SE during normal driving immediately before the overturn.

[0263] The control unit 21 of the management device 2 receives the fall information packet P3 via the receiving unit 272, and records (stores) it in the fall information table TB3 of the storage unit 25. FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of the fall information table TB3 of this modified example. Information on each weight sensor is added to the items (attributes) of the fall information table TB2 shown in FIG. 34. The fall information table TB3 shown in this figure includes values ​​of the left front sensor SE31, right front sensor SE41, left rear sensor SE32, and right rear sensor SE42 during normal driving immediately before the fall.

[0264] However, the weight sensor information is not limited to this. For example, as described in the first embodiment, the control unit 11 may use only two weight sensors, the front sensor SE1 and the rear sensor SE2, and record their values. Also, for example, the control unit 11 may record the values ​​of two weight sensors, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3 (the sum of the value of the left front sensor SE31 and the value of the left rear sensor SE32) and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4 (the sum of the value of the right front sensor SE41 and the value of the right rear sensor SE42).

[0265] For example, the control unit 11 may record four values, namely, the value V1 of the front sensor SE1, the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2, the value V3 of the left sensor SE3, and the value V4 of the right sensor SE4. In this case, the control unit 11 may use the sum of the value of the left front sensor SE31 and the value of the right front sensor SE41 as the value V1 of the front sensor SE1. The control unit 11 may use the sum of the value of the left rear sensor SE32 and the value of the right rear sensor SE42 as the value V2 of the rear sensor SE2. The control unit 21 distributes at least a part of the data in the overturn information table TB3 to each vehicle 1 as second overturn information via the transmission unit 271.

[0266] The control unit 11 of the vehicle 1 (second vehicle) receives the second fall information via the receiving unit 172 and stores it in the fall information table TB3b of the storage unit 15. The configuration of the fall information table TB3b is similar to that of Fig. 36. The management unit 115 calculates difference values ​​between the multiple sensor values ​​detected by the weight sensor SE and the multiple sensor values ​​in the corresponding fall information table TB3b, and issues a warning or performs speed control when each difference value is within a predetermined range.

[0267] In this modification, a process using information from each weight sensor is added to the flowchart shown in Fig. 35. Specifically, after S740: Yes is determined, the process proceeds to S745 (not shown). In S745, the management unit 115 determines whether the weight sensor information of the vehicle 1 is similar to the weight sensor information of the record R.

[0268] For example, the management unit 115 may determine Yes when the total value of each weight sensor of the vehicle 1, i.e., the weight of the user, is within a predetermined range centered on the total value of record R. Alternatively, the management unit 115 may calculate a value (difference value) by subtracting the value of each weight sensor of record R from the value of each weight sensor of the vehicle 1, and determine Yes when all of the difference values ​​are within a predetermined range. For example, when the predetermined range of each weight sensor is ±10 kg, if the difference value of the left front sensor SE31 is +5 kg, the difference value of the right front sensor SE41 is -2 kg, the difference value of the left rear sensor SE32 is +3 kg, and the difference value of the right rear sensor SE42 is +5 kg, the management unit 115 determines Yes. This is processing based on the knowledge that the more similar the weight distribution determined according to the weight and posture of the user, i.e., the weight balance, is to the weight distribution of record R, the more likely it is that a fall will occur. When using the total value of each weight sensor, it is not necessary to put the value of each weight sensor (values ​​of multiple sensors) in the fall information packet P3, but the total value of each weight sensor (one value) may be put in. In this case, the fall information table TB3 and the fall information table TB3b do not need to store values ​​of multiple weight sensors, but only need to store the total value of each weight sensor.

[0269] If the weight sensor information of the vehicle 1 is similar to the weight sensor information of the record R (S745: Yes), the process proceeds to S750. If not (S745: No), the process returns to S700 and repeats the process.

[0270] In S745, it is determined whether the weight sensor information of the vehicle 1 is similar to the weight sensor information of the record R, but the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, the management unit 115 may determine whether the weight sensor information of the vehicle 1 is equal to or greater than a threshold based on the weight sensor information of the record R. For example, if the total value of the weight sensor information of the record R is 70 kg, 60 kg obtained by subtracting a predetermined value (for example, 10 kg per hour) from the total value is set as the threshold. Then, the management unit 115 determines Yes in S745 when the total value of the weight sensor information of the vehicle 1 is 60 kg or more. This is processing based on the knowledge that the heavier the weight of the vehicle 1 is, the more likely it is to tip over, or the greater the impact of tipping over, the greater the weight. In addition, instead of the total value of the weight sensor, a threshold value may be set for each weight sensor, and S745: Yes may be determined when the value of each weight sensor is equal to or greater than the corresponding threshold.

[0271] According to this modification, the vehicle 1 performs processing according to whether the state of the vehicle 1 (tire size, speed state, weight state) is close to record R or not, so that the possibility of tipping over can be predicted with higher accuracy. This allows the vehicle 1 to further improve the accuracy of warnings and speed control. In other words, the vehicle 1 can perform necessary warnings and speed control, and avoid unnecessary warnings and speed control.

[0272] Each functional component of the vehicle 1, management device 2, and detection device in the above-described embodiment and modified example may be realized by hardware (e.g., a hardwired electronic circuit, etc.) that realizes each functional component, or may be realized by a combination of hardware and software (e.g., a combination of an electronic circuit and a program that controls it, etc.). For example, the present disclosure may be realized by having a CPU execute a computer program for any process. In addition, a control method related to the vehicle 1 may be realized by any combination of hardware (e.g., a CPU provided in the vehicle 1 or a CPU provided in the detection device) and software (e.g., a program stored in a storage unit of the vehicle 1 or a storage unit of the detection device).

[0273] The program includes instructions (or software code) that, when loaded into a computer, cause the computer to perform one or more functions described in the embodiments. The program may be stored on various types of non-transitory computer readable medium or tangible storage medium. By way of example and not limitation, non-transitory computer readable medium or tangible storage medium includes Random-Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, Solid-State Drive (SSD) or other memory technology, CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device. The program may also be transmitted on various types of transitory computer readable medium or communication medium. By way of example and not limitation, transitory computer readable medium or communication medium includes electrical, optical, acoustic, or other form of propagating signal.

[0274] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment and modifications, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiment and modifications may be combined in any desired manner.

[0275] This disclosure includes matters that contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of "Good health and well-being for all," and contribute to value creation through healthcare products and services. [Explanation of symbols]

[0276] Cars 1, 1a-1d 2 Management device 10. Control System 11, 21 Control section 12 Sensor value output section 13, 23 Timing section 14 Speed ​​detection section 15, 25 Storage section 16 Display section 17, 27 Communications Department 18 Location identification part 19 Audio output section 20 Propulsion control section 111 Position acquisition part 112 Speed ​​acquisition section 113 Sensor value acquisition unit 114 Judgment section 115 Management Department 171, 271 Transmitter 172, 272 Receiver A~D Alert information Bo Board (chassis) C1 1st weight C2 2nd weight C3 3rd weight D1 First reference range D2 Second reference range DN1, DN2 difference value L Fall Information List M Fall Map N Communication Network P1~P3 Fall information packet SE Weight Sensor (Detection Unit) SE1 Front sensor (first sensor) SE2 Rear sensor (second sensor) SE3 Left sensor (third sensor) SE4 Right sensor (4th sensor) SE31 Left front sensor SE32 Left rear sensor SE41 Right front sensor SE42 Right rear sensor TB1~TB3, TB1b~TB3b Fall information table (Fall information database) V1 Value of front sensor SE1 V2 Rear sensor SE2 value V3 Value of left sensor SE3 V4 Right sensor SE4 value VE reference speed W1 Front wheel W2 rear wheel WE standard weight

Claims

1. A vehicle having a chassis on which an object is mounted and at least two wheels as front and rear wheels, A position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the vehicle; A speed acquisition unit that acquires a speed of the vehicle; a sensor value acquisition unit that acquires a value of a first sensor that indicates a weight applied to a front portion or the front wheels of the chassis and a value of a second sensor that indicates a weight applied to a rear portion or the rear wheels of the chassis; a determination unit that determines whether or not a rollover of the vehicle has occurred based on a speed of the vehicle and changes over time in the values ​​of the first sensor and the second sensor; a transmission unit that transmits rollover information including the position information to a management device when it is determined that the vehicle has rolled over; a receiving unit that receives from the management device a rollover information database including position information of positions where a vehicle has rolled over in the past, the database being created based on the rollover information collected from each of one or more vehicles; a management unit that issues a warning or controls speed when a difference between the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit and the position information in the fall information database is within a predetermined distance. vehicle.

2. The transmission unit transmits the fall information including a size of a wheel of the vehicle, The receiving unit receives the fall information database including a size of a wheel of the fallen vehicle, The management unit issues the warning or performs the speed control when a difference between the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit and the position information in the fall information database is within the predetermined distance and a wheel size of the vehicle is equal to or smaller than a reference value set based on the wheel size in the fall information database.

2. The vehicle of claim 1.

3. the sensor value acquisition unit further acquires a value of a third sensor indicating a weight applied to a left portion of the chassis and a value of a fourth sensor indicating a weight applied to a right portion of the chassis; the determination unit determines whether or not a rollover in a forward / rearward direction of the vehicle has occurred based on a speed of the vehicle and a change over time in the values ​​of the first sensor and the second sensor, and determines whether or not a rollover in a left / right direction of the vehicle has occurred based on a speed of the vehicle and a change over time in the values ​​of the third sensor and the fourth sensor, the transmission unit transmits the overturn information including overturn type information indicating whether the overturn of the vehicle is a overturn in a forward / rearward direction of the vehicle or a overturn in a left / right direction of the vehicle; The receiving unit receives the fall information database including the fall type information, The management unit performs the warning or the speed control in response to the fall type information.

3. A vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

4. the transmission unit, when the determination unit determines that a rollover of the vehicle has occurred, transmits the rollover information including the sensor value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit during normal traveling before the rollover; The receiving unit receives the fall information database including values ​​of the sensors acquired in a vehicle that has fallen over, The management unit calculates a difference value between the sensor value acquired by the sensor value acquisition unit and the sensor value in the fall information database, and performs the warning or the speed control when a difference between the position information acquired by the position acquisition unit and the position information in the fall information database is within a predetermined distance and the difference value is within a predetermined range.

3. A vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

5. A control system including a first vehicle, a second vehicle, and a management device, the first vehicle and the second vehicle are vehicles having a chassis for carrying an object and at least two wheels as front wheels and rear wheels; The first vehicle is A first position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the first vehicle; A first speed acquisition unit that acquires a speed of the first vehicle; a sensor value acquisition unit that acquires a value of a first sensor indicating a weight applied to a front portion or the front wheels of the chassis of the first vehicle and a value of a second sensor indicating a weight applied to a rear portion or the rear wheels of the chassis of the first vehicle; a determination unit that determines whether or not a rollover of the first vehicle has occurred based on a speed of the first vehicle and changes over time in the values ​​of the first sensor and the second sensor; a transmission unit that transmits first overturn information including position information of the first vehicle to the management device when it is determined that a overturn of the first vehicle has occurred, The management device includes: After storing the first fall information in a fall information database, transmitting second fall information, which is at least a part of the fall information database, to the second vehicle; The second vehicle is a receiving unit that receives the second fall information from the management device; A second position acquisition unit that acquires position information of the second vehicle; a management unit that issues a warning or performs speed control when a difference between the position information of the second vehicle acquired by the second position acquisition unit and the position information included in the second fall information is within a predetermined distance. Control system.

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