Information processing apparatus and information processing method

Abstract

To provide an information processing apparatus that, even when information on the state of delivery vehicles is displayed as a list, can quickly and individually recognize the occurrence of a trouble in every delivery vehicle and quickly recognize a method to address the trouble as well.SOLUTION: A processing part 10 of a server device SV detects the progress of movement for each of a plurality of delivery vehicles in a scheduled course for each of the delivery vehicles including respective places to make a stop together with unarrived places at which the delivery vehicles do not arrive, and displays the detected unarrived places on a display D in an identifiable way together with the progress of movement of each of the delivery vehicles. At this time, a display control part 2 displays a map including the positions of the unarrived places on the basis of an operation to specify the unarrived places, and displays the positions of any of the deliver vehicles present within a range of the map on the display D together with the map.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of information processing devices and information processing methods, and more particularly to the technical field of information processing devices and information processing methods that display various information related to a mobile object and a map related to the mobile object. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, the delivery of packages and the like using commercial delivery vehicles has become widespread. In such cases, delivery companies that own these delivery vehicles need to manage the operations and labor of each delivery vehicle and its driver by recording the status (movement status, etc.) of each delivery vehicle. Furthermore, when an urgent delivery is required, it may be necessary to have a nearby delivery vehicle pick up the package. Due to these needs, delivery companies need to keep track of the status of moving delivery vehicles in real time. More specifically, the "status of the delivery vehicle" in this case refers to, for example, whether each delivery vehicle is parked or stopped.

[0003] An example of a prior art document that discloses a technology that meets such a demand is Patent Document 1 listed below. The management system related to the technology described in Patent Document 1 is configured to set up a homepage to obtain information on the progress of vehicle movement (such as predicted arrival times and delays for each cargo item), and to notify the information via the homepage to, for example, the delivery vehicles themselves or a management center. The status of the delivery vehicles is also configured to be displayed as a list for multiple delivery vehicles. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-16573 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1, which has the above-mentioned configuration, has the problem that because a large amount of information regarding the status of multiple delivery vehicles is displayed in a list at once, it is not possible to quickly and individually recognize problems occurring with individual delivery vehicles, such as a delivery vehicle not arriving at a stop that it should have passed through for some reason, and to quickly recognize how to deal with the problem.

[0006] Therefore, the present application has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and one example of the objective thereof is to provide an information processing device and information processing method that can quickly and individually recognize the occurrence of problems in individual delivery vehicles, even when information regarding the status of multiple delivery vehicles is displayed in a list, and can also quickly recognize how to deal with the problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 comprises a detection means for detecting the progress of movement of each of a plurality of moving bodies along a planned course for each of the moving bodies, each of which includes a stop-off point, along with non-arrival points that are stop-off points at which the moving body has not yet arrived, and a display control means for causing a display means to identifiably display the detected non-arrival points along with each of the detected progress, wherein the display control means is configured to display a map including the location of the non-arrival point based on an operation to specify the non-arrival point, and to display the location of any of the moving bodies within the range of the map together with the map.

[0008] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 10 is an information processing method executed in an information processing device connected to a display means, and includes a detection step of detecting the progress of movement of each of a plurality of moving bodies along a planned course for each of the moving bodies, each of which includes a stop-off point, along with non-arrival points that are stop-off points at which the moving body has not yet arrived, and a display control step of causing the display means to identifiably display the detected non-arrival points along with each of the detected progress, wherein the display control step is configured to display a map including the location of the non-arrival point based on an operation to specify the non-arrival point, and to display the location of any of the moving bodies within the range of the map together with the map. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing apparatus according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a delivery management system according to an embodiment; [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are block diagrams showing the detailed configuration of a delivery management system according to an embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a block diagram showing the general configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a block diagram showing the general configuration of a server device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the contents of databases according to an embodiment, where FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a status information database according to an embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating a delivery vehicle database according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a display control process according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a diagram (I) showing a display example according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a diagram (II) showing a display example according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram (III) showing a display example according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a map display according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information processing device according to the embodiment.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, an information processing device S according to the embodiment includes a detection means 1 and a display control means 2 connected to a display means D.

[0012] In this configuration, the detection means 1 detects the progress of movement of each of a plurality of moving bodies along a planned course for each of the moving bodies, each of which includes a stop-off point, along with non-arrival points that are stop-off points at which the moving body has not yet arrived. Then, the display control means 2 causes the display means D to identifiably display the non-arrival points detected by the detection means 1 together with the progress detected by the detection means 1.

[0013] At this time, the display control means 2 displays a map including the position of the unlanded point based on the operation to specify the unlanded point, and also displays the position of any moving object within the range of the map together with the map.

[0014] As described above, according to the operation of the information processing device S of the embodiment, the progress of movement of each moving object along a predetermined planned course for each moving object, including stopover points, is detected, along with the detected non-landing points where the moving object has not yet arrived, and the detected non-landing points are identifiable and displayed together with the progress of the movement. Then, based on an operation to specify the non-landing point, a map including the location of the non-landing point is displayed, and the location of any moving object within the map is also displayed together with the map. Therefore, the progress of movement of each moving object can be recognized collectively, and the existence of a moving object that may reach the non-landing point can be quickly identified, allowing each moving object to be moved efficiently to deal with the occurrence of a non-landing point. [Example]

[0015] Next, specific examples corresponding to the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 2 to 9. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the general configuration of a delivery management system according to the embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the delivery management system. Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the contents of a database according to the embodiment, Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing display control processing according to the embodiment, Figs. 6 to 8 are diagrams showing display examples according to the embodiment, and Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a map display according to the embodiment. In Fig. 3, the same component numbers as those of the information processing device S according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 are used for the components of the embodiment corresponding to the components of the information processing device S.

[0016] The following example is an example in which the embodiment is applied to display control when displaying the status of each delivery vehicle on the server device in a delivery management system in which a terminal device mounted on each delivery vehicle and a server device are connected via a network such as the Internet. Here, the status of the delivery vehicle refers to the status of each delivery vehicle, such as driving, parked, taking a break, unloading, loading, returning to the office, etc.

[0017] In this case, the "parked" state refers to a state in which the driver or passenger of the delivery vehicle indicates that the delivery vehicle is parked. In the following description, the driver or passenger of the delivery vehicle will be simply referred to as the "passenger" of the delivery vehicle. The "resting" state refers to a state in which the passenger of the delivery vehicle indicates that the delivery vehicle is stopped because the passenger is taking a scheduled break, such as lunch, and the delivery vehicle is in a stopped state. The "unloading" state refers to a state in which the passenger indicates that the passenger is stopping because the passenger is performing scheduled unloading work and the delivery vehicle is in a stopped state, and the passenger indicates that the passenger is loading the delivery vehicle. Finally, the "returning to work" state refers to a state in which the passenger indicates that the delivery vehicle has completed its scheduled delivery work for that day and is returning to work.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the delivery management system SS according to the embodiment includes terminal devices T1, T2, ..., Tn (n is a natural number), a server device SV, and a network NW, such as the Internet, that connects the server device SV to the terminal devices T1, T2, ..., Tn wirelessly or via a wired connection. In the following description, when describing matters common to the terminal devices T1, T2, ..., Tn, these will be collectively referred to as the "terminal device T." In the above configuration, the server device SV is installed, for example, at the location of an administrator who manages the delivery management system SS. Meanwhile, each terminal device T is mounted on each delivery vehicle. Each terminal device T detects the location, direction, and speed of the delivery vehicle using a sensor, such as a GPS (Global Positioning System), and provides guidance for the vehicle's movement. For this reason, each terminal device T is equipped with an interface for acquiring various traffic congestion information, a guidance processing unit for searching for a recommended route, and the like, as described below. Furthermore, each terminal device T transmits, at a preset time interval, status information including location data indicating the location of each delivery vehicle, date data and time data indicating the date and time when the location indicated by the location data was detected, speed data indicating the speed detected by the terminal device T at that time, and status data indicating which of the above-mentioned states the delivery vehicle is in, via the interface and the network NW, in association with a vehicle ID for identifying each delivery vehicle. Here, the time interval is, for example, 1 second, but this time interval can be set arbitrarily by the administrator or the like.

[0019] Next, as shown in FIG. 3(a), each terminal device T according to the embodiment is composed of an interface 15, a guidance processing unit 16 consisting of a CPU, RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), etc. and including the above-mentioned sensors (not shown), a display 19 consisting of an LCD display or the like, an operation unit 17 consisting of a touch panel, operation buttons, a remote control, etc., and a recording unit 18 consisting of an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), etc.

[0020] In the configuration of this terminal device T, the interface 15, under the control of the guidance processing unit 16, acquires various types of congestion information and transmits the status information, including the location data, date data, time data, speed data, and status data, to the server device SV via the network NW in association with the vehicle ID. Meanwhile, the recording unit 18 temporarily stores the location data and the like, non-volatilely records map data and road data for the guidance, and also pre-stores programs and the like for searching the recommended route executed by the guidance processing unit 16 in non-volatile memory. When the passenger performs an operation on the operation unit 17 to input the status data indicating the status of the delivery vehicle or a setting operation for searching the recommended route, the operation unit 17 generates an operation signal indicating the performed operation and outputs it to the guidance processing unit 16. Based on the operation signal, the guidance processing unit 16 performs the search for the recommended route using the map data and the like, displays the search result on the display 19, and transmits the status information via the interface 15.

[0021] 3(b), the server device SV according to the embodiment includes an interface 3, an operation unit 4 including a keyboard, a mouse, etc., a storage unit 5 including an HDD or SSD, etc., that non-volatilely stores the status information database DB1, the delivery vehicle database DB2, and the map database MDB according to the embodiment, a processing unit 10 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and a display D including a liquid crystal display, etc. The processing unit 10 also includes a detection unit 1 and a display control unit 2. In this case, the detection unit 1 and the display control unit 2 that constitute the processing unit 10 may be realized in hardware by a logic circuit included in the CPU of the processing unit 10, or may be realized in software by the CPU of the processing unit 10 reading and executing a program corresponding to a flowchart showing the display control process according to the embodiment, which will be described later.

[0022] The display D corresponds to an example of the display means D according to the embodiment, the detection unit 1 corresponds to an example of the detection means 1 according to the embodiment, and the display control unit 2 corresponds to an example of the display control means 2 according to the embodiment. Furthermore, the operation unit 4 corresponds to an example of the "selection means" according to the present application. Furthermore, as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 3(b), the detection unit 1 and the display control unit 2 constitute an example of the information processing device S according to the embodiment.

[0023] In the configuration of this server device SV, the interface 3 controls the exchange of the status information with each terminal device T via the network NW under the control of the processing unit 10. On the other hand, the recording unit 5 non-volatilely records the status information database DB1, the delivery vehicle database DB2, and the map database MDB.

[0024] In this case, the status information database DB1 is a database that records, for each delivery vehicle, the vehicle ID, etc., included in the status information acquired (received) from each terminal device T, along with reception time data indicating the time the status information was received by the server device SV. The delivery vehicle database DB2 is a database that associates the delivery vehicle on which each terminal device T is installed, the organization to which it belongs, and the planned route planned for each day for each delivery vehicle. The planned route for each delivery vehicle is the planned route along which the corresponding delivery vehicle should operate (i.e., travel) on that day. This planned route includes destination information indicating the location and name of destinations that the corresponding delivery vehicle should reach on the planned route, along with order information indicating the order of arrival at each destination and designated time information indicating the designated arrival time at each destination. These destinations correspond to an example of a "stop-off point" according to the present application. A planned route typically includes one or more destinations that the delivery vehicle must reach in the order of arrival, and after the corresponding delivery vehicle reaches one destination, the next destination in the order of arrival becomes the new destination at that time in the guidance process for that delivery vehicle. Furthermore, the map database MDB is a database that stores map data for displaying on the display D a map including the travel range of each delivery vehicle equipped with each terminal device T. The data structure of the map data stored in the map database MDB is basically the same as that of conventional map data.

[0025] On the other hand, when the manager or the like performs a necessary instruction operation on the operation unit 4, the operation unit 4 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the instruction operation to the processing unit 10. As a result, the processing unit 10 performs management processing as the server device SV, including a display control processing according to the embodiment, based on the contents recorded in the status information database DB1, the contents recorded in the delivery vehicle database DB2, the contents recorded in the map database MDB, and the operation signal, while displaying information to be presented to the manager or the like on the display D. At this time, the display control processing according to the embodiment includes a process of displaying on the display D a list of the progress of the movement of the delivery vehicles according to the embodiment for each scheduled course, and a process of displaying on the display D the map including the movement range of each delivery vehicle.

[0026] Next, the contents of the state information database DB1 will be explained with reference to an example in FIG. 4(a).

[0027] As illustrated in FIG. 4(a), the status information database DB1 stored in the recording unit 5 includes the date data, time data, location data, speed data, and status data transmitted as status information from each terminal device T via the network NW. The date data, time data, location data, speed data, and status data are associated with a vehicle ID for identifying the vehicle on which the terminal device T is installed, and are recorded in the order of time indicated by the time data and for each vehicle ID (i.e., for each terminal device T). The date data, etc., is also associated with the reception time data indicating the time at which the status information including the date data, etc., was received by the server device SV. The location data may be data indicated by coordinates within a coordinate plane previously set in association with a map, as illustrated in FIG. 4(a), or simply latitude / longitude data. In the example illustrated in FIG. 4(a), the location data for a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 1" indicates that the delivery vehicle is gradually decelerating from the location indicated by the coordinates (x1, y1) and has stopped at the location indicated by the coordinates (x4, y4) (i.e., its speed is 0). It can also be seen that the content of the status data input by the occupant of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 1" at 10:00:04 in the terminal device T of the delivery vehicle is "taking a rest." In the example shown in Figure 4(a), the status data up until the delivery vehicle stopped at 10:00:04 is "in motion," but this is not because the occupant input "in motion" into the terminal device T of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 1," but because the processing unit 10 of the server device SV detected that the speed data was not "0" (i.e., significant), and recorded it as "in motion" in the status information database DB1.

[0028] Next, the contents of the delivery vehicle database DB2 will be explained with reference to FIG. 4(b).

[0029] As shown in FIG. 4(b), the delivery vehicle database DB2 recorded in the recording unit 5 stores data on the name of the scheduled route assigned to each delivery vehicle for each day, data on a destination list that lists each destination included in the scheduled route, and date data indicating the date on which the scheduled route will be applied, in association with the vehicle ID (i.e., the terminal device T) and recorded in the order of the vehicle ID. Each destination list contains the destination information, order information, and designated time information for the corresponding scheduled route. Although not shown in FIG. 4(b), the vehicle ID is associated with vehicle information including the vehicle number of the delivery vehicle associated with the vehicle ID and the driver's name for that day (see FIGS. 6 to 8). The "vehicle number" here refers to the vehicle registration number or vehicle number of the delivery vehicle.

[0030] The delivery vehicle database DB2 also stores data indicating the name of the organization to which each delivery vehicle belongs ("Sales Department 1" in the example shown in FIG. 4(b)). The organization in this case corresponds to an example of a "management unit" according to the present application. Furthermore, delivery vehicles for which no scheduled route is set and only a destination list is recorded (in the example shown in FIG. 4(a), delivery vehicles with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 3" and delivery vehicles with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 4") are scheduled to travel to only one destination on that day (in the example shown in FIG. 4(b), "XX-cho, Bunkyo-ku"). Furthermore, delivery vehicles for which neither a scheduled route nor a destination list is recorded (in the example shown in FIG. 4(a), delivery vehicles with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 1" and delivery vehicles with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 2") are not scheduled to travel toward a predetermined route or destination on that day. Note that even delivery vehicles that do not travel toward a predetermined route or destination may still be traveling (operating) for various purposes.

[0031] Next, the display control process according to the embodiment, which is mainly executed by the processing unit 10 of the server device SV, will be specifically described with reference to Figures 5 to 9. The display control process according to the embodiment is a process that is constantly executed as part of the management process of the server device SV.

[0032] A flowchart corresponding to the display control process according to the embodiment is shown in Figure 5. As part of the display control process according to the embodiment, the processing unit 10 first receives the status information transmitted from the terminal device T of each delivery vehicle via the interface 3 for each delivery vehicle (step S1), and records each time the status information is received in the status information database DB1 as the progress of movement of the delivery vehicle that sent the information (step S2; see Figure 4(a)). At this time, the status information is transmitted from each terminal device T, for example, every second. The processing unit 10 then records the date data and the like contained in the received status information in the status information database DB1 together with the corresponding reception time data.

[0033] Next, the detection unit 1 of the processing unit 10 checks for each delivery vehicle the status of the delivery vehicle indicated by the status data contained in the status information received immediately before, and whether or not status information has been received for a predetermined threshold time or longer corresponding to that status, based on the reception time data in the status information database DB1 (step S3).

[0034] If it is determined in step S3 that there is a delivery vehicle for which status information has not been received for the threshold time corresponding to each status or longer (step S3: YES), the display control unit 2 updates the list display on the display D of the movement progress of each delivery vehicle based on the new status information, including a message indicating that the delivery vehicle is experiencing a communication abnormality (step S4). The list display at this time and the message indicating that the delivery vehicle is experiencing a communication abnormality will be described in detail later using Figures 6 to 8.

[0035] Here, the threshold time is a threshold time preset for each state of the delivery vehicle to determine whether the delivery vehicle is experiencing a communication abnormality. For example, communication may be temporarily interrupted when the delivery vehicle is traveling through a tunnel, or may be interrupted for a longer period of time if the delivery vehicle's engine is stopped for a passenger's break or work. Therefore, it is preferable to set a threshold time from when communication is interrupted until a communication abnormality is determined to exist for each state of the delivery vehicle. If status information is not received from a delivery vehicle that should be in that state for the threshold time corresponding to that state, the display control unit 2 of the processing unit 10 displays a message indicating this on the display D so that the delivery vehicle can be distinguished from other delivery vehicles. More specifically, the threshold time is set to, for example, 5 minutes when the speed data included in the most recently received status information is significant and the delivery vehicle is in a moving state. Furthermore, the threshold time is set to, for example, 30 minutes when the status data included in the most recently received status information indicates that the delivery vehicle is parked. Furthermore, when the status data included in the most recently received status information indicates that the delivery vehicle is stopped because the passenger is taking a break, the threshold time is, for example, 1 hour. Furthermore, when the status data included in the most recently received status information indicates that the delivery vehicle is stopped because the passenger is unloading or loading, the threshold time is, for example, 2 hours. Finally, when the status data included in the most recently received status information indicates that the delivery vehicle has returned to the company, the threshold time is, for example, 24 hours. These threshold times are basically set in advance empirically or experimentally, for example, using statistical methods that take into account the normal movement (operation) status of each delivery vehicle.

[0036] On the other hand, if the judgment in step S3 is that there is no delivery vehicle that has not received status information for more than the threshold time corresponding to each status (step S3: NO), the detection unit 1 then checks whether there is a progress abnormality in any delivery vehicle, where the progress of the delivery vehicle's movement indicated by the above-mentioned status data contained in the status information received from the terminal device T of each delivery vehicle differs from the content of the scheduled route assigned to that delivery vehicle for that day (step S5).

[0037] Here, the above-mentioned progress abnormality may be, for example, when a delivery vehicle is moving without stopping at one of the destinations included in the scheduled route (i.e., not arriving at that destination), or when the guidance processing by the terminal device T indicates that the vehicle will arrive at the destination later than the designated arrival time indicated by the above-mentioned designated time information.

[0038] If it is determined in step S5 that a delivery vehicle is experiencing a progress abnormality (step S5: YES), the display control unit 2 proceeds to step S4 and updates the list display based on the new status information, including a display indicating that the delivery vehicle is experiencing a progress abnormality. The list display and the display indicating the progress abnormality will be described in detail later using Figures 6 to 8.

[0039] On the other hand, if the determination in step S5 is that no delivery vehicle is experiencing a progress abnormality (step S5: NO), the display control unit 2 updates the list display based on the new status information to a normal state that does not include a display indicating that the delivery vehicle is experiencing a communication abnormality (see step S3 above) or a display indicating that the delivery vehicle is experiencing a progress abnormality (see step S5 above) (step S6). The normal list display at this time will also be described in detail later using Figures 6 to 8.

[0040] Next, the processing unit 10 determines whether an operation to change the list display on the display D by sorting has been performed on the operation unit 4, focusing on delivery vehicles experiencing a communication abnormality related to step S3 or delivery vehicles experiencing a progress abnormality related to step S5 (step S7). In the following description, the operation to change the list display by sorting will be simply referred to as a "sort operation." If the determination in step S7 is that the sort operation has not been performed (step S7: NO), the processing unit 10 proceeds to the determination in step S9, which will be described later. On the other hand, if the determination in step S7 is that the sort operation has been performed (step S7: YES), the display control unit 2 updates the list display on the display D in accordance with the sort operation (step S8). The update of the list display at this time will be described in detail later using Figures 7 and 8.

[0041] Next, when a progress abnormality indicating that a delivery vehicle is moving without stopping at a required destination is displayed on the display D (see step S4 above), the processing unit 10 checks whether the display portion has been selected by an operation on the operation unit 4 (step S9). In the following description, a destination where the delivery vehicle has moved on to the next destination without stopping at the required destination, i.e., a destination that should have been visited on the planned route but was not, is simply referred to as a "missed destination." In the confirmation of step S9, if a missed destination has not occurred, or if a display indicating that a missed destination has occurred is displayed but not selected (step S9: NO), the processing unit 10 proceeds to the determination of step S14 described below. On the other hand, in the confirmation of step S9, if the display indicating that a missed destination has occurred is selected by an operation on the operation unit 4 (step S9: YES), the display control unit 2 next refers to the map database MDB and switches the display on the display D to a map centered on the missed destination (step S10).

[0042] In step S10, if there are multiple unarrived locations, the display control unit 2 adjusts the scale of the map so that all unarrived locations are included in the map, while centering the map on one of the unarrived locations. Furthermore, when displaying the map, the display control unit 2 references the status information database DB1 and displays the map so that the current location of any delivery vehicle is included within its range. At this time, it is preferable that the map be displayed so that the current locations of multiple delivery vehicles are included within its range. In addition, the display control unit 2 references the delivery vehicle database DB2 and displays vehicle information of currently moving delivery vehicles (including the delivery vehicle's vehicle number and the driver's name for that day) on the display D together with the map. Furthermore, the display control unit 2 displays the current locations of delivery vehicles whose current locations are included within the range of the displayed map on the map. At this time, the display control unit 2 displays the current locations, for example, by displaying a mark indicating the status of each delivery vehicle whose current location is displayed at a position on the map corresponding to the current location. This mark is the same as the mark used for each delivery vehicle in the list displayed in step S4 or step S6, and details will be explained later using FIGS.

[0043] After displaying the map including the current positions and unarrived points of the delivery vehicles and the vehicle information on the display D in step S10, the processing unit 10 then determines whether or not any of the displayed delivery vehicles has been selected by an operation on the operation unit 4 (step S11). The selection operation in step S11 may be, for example, an operation of directly selecting any of the delivery vehicle marks displayed on the map with a mouse or the like constituting the operation unit 4 and moving it to an unarrived point (a so-called drag-and-drop operation), or an operation of selecting any of the delivery vehicles displayed as the vehicle information with the mouse or the like.

[0044] If any delivery vehicle is selected in step S11 (step S11: YES), the processing unit 10 transmits a non-arrival related message, for example, "Is it possible to move to the specified non-arrival location?" to the delivery vehicle selected in the selection operation of step S11 via the interface 3 and the network NW (step S12). The processing unit 10 then proceeds to the determination of step S14, which will be described later. In step S12, the delivery vehicle that received the non-arrival related message (in other words, the delivery vehicle selected in the selection operation of step S11) will move to the non-arrival location currently displayed in the center of the map if possible. On the other hand, if no delivery vehicle is selected in step S11 (step S11: NO), the processing unit 10 executes a pre-set process other than the transmission process of step S12 in relation to the non-arrival location displayed on the map (step S13). Here, the processing executed in step S13 includes, for example, a process of automatically calling the passengers of the delivery vehicle that has not stopped at the required destination selected in the selection operation of step S9 (i.e., a non-arrival has occurred), a process of sending information to the non-arrival destination, etc., to quickly resolve the non-arrival. Thereafter, the processing unit 10 proceeds to the determination of step S14, which will be described later.

[0045] After step S12 or step S13, the processing unit 10 determines whether or not to terminate the display control process according to the embodiment, for example, when the power of the server device SV is turned off (step S14). If the display control process should be terminated (step S14: YES), the processing unit 10 terminates the display control process. On the other hand, if the determination in step S14 is that the display control process according to the embodiment should be continued (step S14: NO), the processing unit 10 returns to step S1 and repeats the display control process according to the embodiment. By repeating the display control process according to the embodiment, the progress list display according to the embodiment and the list display based on the sort instruction are updated in real time based on the status information newly received from each terminal device T (see step S1).

[0046] Next, examples of displaying the progress of movement of each delivery vehicle according to the embodiment, which are displayed on the display D as a result of the display control process according to the embodiment described using Fig. 5, and examples of updating the list display based on the sort instruction will be described using Fig. 6 to Fig. 8. Furthermore, examples of displaying the map and selecting a delivery vehicle according to steps S9 to S13 will be described using Fig. 9.

[0047] First, the display control unit 2 displays the progress of movement along the scheduled route for that day for each delivery vehicle as shown in FIG. 6, as a display of the progress in the normal state described as step S6 above. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the movement progress of each delivery vehicle belonging to the first sales department and having vehicle IDs "Vehicle 1" through "Vehicle 11" is displayed in a list. In this list display, the display control unit 2 displays one horizontal line corresponding to one delivery vehicle. For each delivery vehicle, the vehicle information including the organization to which it belongs, the vehicle ID, vehicle number, and driver's name, the most recent time status information was received from the delivery vehicle, a status display indicating the status of the delivery vehicle, the name of the scheduled route assigned to the delivery vehicle, the current location of the delivery vehicle, and the progress of the delivery vehicle in order of its movement to its destination are displayed.

[0048] At this time, the display control unit 2 alternates filling in the background for each line in the list display to improve visibility, etc. Next, for each delivery vehicle in the list display, the display control unit 2 reads corresponding data from the delivery vehicle database DB2 regarding the organization to which it belongs, its vehicle information, and the name of the scheduled route assigned to it, and reflects this data in the list display. In addition, the latest reception time is the reception time indicated by the reception time data recorded for each delivery vehicle in the status information database DB1.

[0049] Furthermore, the display control unit 2 displays the status of each delivery vehicle, indicated by the status data recorded for each delivery vehicle in the status information database DB1, using arrows or marks as exemplified in FIG. 6 for easy recognition. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 1" is returning to the office, indicated by an "x" mark and a mark containing the characters "return to office." Furthermore, the delivery vehicles with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 2," "Vehicle No. 3," "Vehicle No. 6," "Vehicle No. 7," and "Vehicle No. 9" through "Vehicle No. 11" are currently traveling, indicated by arrow marks. At this time, the display control unit 2 displays the speed of each delivery vehicle, indicated by the speed data recorded for each delivery vehicle in the status information database DB1, at a position corresponding to each arrow mark (specifically, below the arrow mark). The marks are also used in the map display in step S10.

[0050] On the other hand, in the example shown in Figure 6, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 4" is stopped because its passenger is unloading, as indicated by the mark shown in Figure 6, and the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 8" is stopped because its passenger is taking a break, as indicated by the mark shown in Figure 6. Furthermore, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 5" is parked, as indicated by the mark shown in Figure 6.

[0051] As shown in Figure 6, the system may be configured to display text specifically indicating the status of the delivery vehicle indicated by each mark (i.e., "unloading," "taking a break," or "parked," etc.) together with each mark.

[0052] On the other hand, the display control unit 6 displays the position of each delivery vehicle indicated by the position data recorded for each delivery vehicle in the status information database DB1 as the "current location" for each delivery vehicle.

[0053] Furthermore, the display control unit 6 displays the progress of travel to each destination for that day for each delivery vehicle and for each destination, based on the list of destinations for the planned route recorded in the delivery vehicle database DB2. For example, in the case of a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 5" shown in FIG. 6, the planned route for May 11, 2016, is to travel in the following order: Head Office → MD Office → KF Office → K1 Office → K2 Office → K3 Office. The designated arrival time specified by the designated time information for each destination is displayed for each destination. In this case, the arrival time for each destination is input into the terminal device T of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 5," and the guidance processing unit 16 executes guidance processing so that the delivery vehicle arrives at each destination at the designated arrival time. This is the same for each delivery vehicle. The display control unit 2 then displays the current destination in a different manner from other destinations. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 6, the current destination (e.g., "Head Office" for the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 5") is displayed for each delivery vehicle by cross-hatching, along with the word "Destination" and a mark indicating it.

[0054] Furthermore, the display control unit 2 distinguishably displays, for each delivery vehicle, whether the destination has already been reached or not, based on the location data recorded for each delivery vehicle in the status information database DB1, for example. More specifically, the display control unit 2 displays the destinations that have not yet been reached, with the text "Not yet arrived" in the background color of the row in the list display, while the destinations that have already been reached are displayed with the text "Arrived" using a darker background color. Note that, in addition to using the location data described above, the distinction between whether the destination has already been reached or not may also use the arrived / not yet arrived data shown as the status data based on input operations by the passengers of the delivery vehicle.

[0055] Next, in the normal list display described above, the display control unit 2 displays a message indicating that a delivery vehicle experiencing a communication anomaly related to step S3 in FIG. 5 (see step S3 in FIG. 5: YES) is experiencing the anomaly, so that the vehicle can be distinguished from other delivery vehicles that are not experiencing the anomaly (see step S4 in FIG. 5). For example, in the case of a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 4" shown in FIG. 6, the delivery vehicle status is "unloading," and the threshold time corresponding to this status is two hours. However, status information has not been received for more than two hours since 1:00 PM, the update time for the entire list display (see step S3 in FIG. 5: YES). Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays the occurrence of the communication anomaly for this delivery vehicle, for example, by hatching as shown in FIG. 6 (see step S4 in FIG. 5). Furthermore, in the case of a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 5" shown in FIG. 6, the delivery vehicle status is "parked," and the threshold time corresponding to this status is 30 minutes. However, status information has not been received for more than 30 minutes since 1:00 PM (see step S3 in FIG. 5: YES). Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays, for example, the hatching shown in FIG. 6, that the communication abnormality has occurred for this delivery vehicle (see step S4 in FIG. 5). Furthermore, in the case of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 8" shown in FIG. 6, the delivery vehicle's status is "resting," and the threshold time corresponding to that status is one hour, but status information has not been received for more than one hour since 1:00 PM (see step S3 in FIG. 5: YES). Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays, for example, the hatching shown in FIG. 6, that the communication abnormality has occurred for this delivery vehicle (see step S4 in FIG. 5). Finally, in the case of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11" shown in FIG. 6, the delivery vehicle's status is "traveling," and the threshold time corresponding to that status is five minutes, but status information has not been received for more than five minutes since 1:00 PM (see step S3 in FIG. 5: YES). Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays, for example, the hatching shown in FIG. 6, that the communication abnormality has occurred for this delivery vehicle (see step S4 in FIG. 5).

[0056] Furthermore, in the normal list display described above, the display control unit 2 displays a progress abnormality related to step S5 of FIG. 5 (see step S5: YES in FIG. 5 ) in a manner that distinguishes it from delivery vehicles that are not experiencing the progress abnormality (see step S4 in FIG. 5 ). For example, in the case of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 10" shown in FIG. 6 , a progress abnormality has occurred in which the estimated arrival time in the guidance process is 30 minutes later than the specified arrival time for the current destination "K1 Office" (see step S5: YES in FIG. 5 ). Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays the communication abnormality for this delivery vehicle, for example, by displaying a dashed box F2 in FIG. 6 (see step S4 in FIG. 5 ). Furthermore, in the case of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9" shown in FIG. 6 , a progress abnormality has occurred in which the destination "MK Office" has not arrived and the next destination "KF Office" has arrived (see step S5: YES in FIG. 5 ). Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays the above-mentioned progress abnormality for the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9" by, for example, using a solid-line box F1 as shown in FIG. 6 in association with the name of the occupant of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9", "Tokyo Hanako" (see step S4 in FIG. 5). Furthermore, in the case of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11" shown in FIG. 6, a progress abnormality has occurred in which the destination "MD Office" has not arrived and the next destination "KF Office" has arrived (see step S5 in FIG. 5: YES). Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays the above-mentioned progress abnormality for the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11" by, for example, using a solid-line box F1 as shown in FIG. 6 in association with the name of the occupant of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11", "Tokyo Yoshiko" (see step S4 in FIG. 5).

[0057] In this case, the specific details of the progress abnormality differ between the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 10" and the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9" or vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11." From the perspective of delivery vehicle management, arriving at the next destination without arriving at the intended destination is considered a more serious progress abnormality than arriving late at the destination. Therefore, the display control unit 2 displays the progress abnormality indication (boxed indication F1) for the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9" or the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11" more prominently than the progress abnormality indication (boxed indication F2) for the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 10." The display control unit 2 may also display the boxed indications F1 and F2 in a color, for example, red, that more easily attracts the manager's attention.

[0058] On the other hand, when comparing the designated arrival time of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9" at the non-arrival destination "MK Office" with the designated arrival time of the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11" at the non-arrival destination "MD Office", it is found that the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9" has a longer elapsed time since the designated arrival time at the non-arrival destination. Therefore, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9" has a more serious progress abnormality than the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11", and this is displayed in correspondence with the passenger names (driver names) of each delivery vehicle.

[0059] In the list display exemplified in Fig. 6, the list display on display D may be changed to another display mode by using a selection button such as the one shown in the example aligned horizontally to the left of the "Back" button in the upper right corner. In the list display exemplified in Fig. 6, the progress of travel is sorted by vehicle ID, but in addition to vehicle ID, for example, "vehicle number (automobile registration number)," "passenger name (driver name)," "latest reception time of status information," or "planned course" may be preset as a "sort" pull-down menu, and the sorting order of the list display may be changed and displayed using these.

[0060] On the other hand, when a sorting operation according to step S7 in Fig. 5 is performed, for example, in the case of a sorting operation that prioritizes delivery vehicles experiencing a communication abnormality, the display control unit 2 changes the list display exemplified in Fig. 6 to, for example, a list display exemplified in Fig. 7 (see step S8 in Fig. 5). In the list display exemplified in Fig. 7, delivery vehicles experiencing a communication abnormality (delivery vehicles with vehicle IDs "Vehicle No. 4," "Vehicle No. 5," "Vehicle No. 8," and "Vehicle No. 11") are displayed at the top without changing other display modes.

[0061] Furthermore, in the case of a sorting operation that prioritizes delivery vehicles experiencing the above-mentioned progress abnormality, the display control unit 2 changes the list display illustrated in FIG. 6 to, for example, a list display illustrated in FIG. 8 (see step S8 in FIG. 5). In the list display illustrated in FIG. 8, delivery vehicles experiencing progress abnormalities (delivery vehicles with vehicle IDs "Vehicle No. 9," "Vehicle No. 11," and "Vehicle No. 10") are displayed at the top without changing other display modes. In this case, the display control unit 2 sorts and displays the delivery vehicle experiencing the most serious progress abnormality in terms of delivery vehicle management (in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 9") at the top, sorts and displays the delivery vehicle experiencing the next most serious progress abnormality (in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 11") at the next highest, and then sorts and displays the delivery vehicle with a relatively less serious progress abnormality (in the example illustrated in FIG. 8, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 10") at the next lowest.

[0062] 6 to 8, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 3" and the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 4" are scheduled to travel to only one destination on that day, so the name of the scheduled route including multiple destinations is not set, and other destinations are not displayed. Also, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 2" is not traveling to a preset route or destination on that day, so the only indication that it is traveling is the corresponding mark and speed.

[0063] Next, the display control unit 2 displays, as the display of the map including the unarrived points (see FIGS. 6 to 8) in step S10, a map including two unarrived points "MK Office" and "MD Office" and with the scale adjusted so that the unarrived point "MK Office" is at the center, as illustrated in FIG. 9, on the display D. At this time, the display control unit 2 displays a list of the vehicle information described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 in the left-hand area of ​​the map. At this time, the list of vehicle information may be displayed in the right-hand area of ​​the map, in the upper or lower area of ​​the map, or in an area within the map that does not obstruct the display of the unarrived points or the current position of the delivery vehicle, which will be described later. Furthermore, the display control unit 2 references the position data in the status information database DB1 to display the current position of delivery vehicles whose current position is within the range of the map including each unarrived point on the map. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the current locations of a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 2," a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 4," a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 8," and a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 10" are displayed as being within the map. In this case, the display control unit 2 may be configured to adjust the scale of the map so that the current locations of all delivery vehicles currently under management can be displayed on the map. The display control unit 2 also displays the current location of each delivery vehicle using marks M2, M4, M8, and M10 indicating the current status of the delivery vehicle (see FIGS. 6 to 8). Note that for delivery vehicles currently in motion (in the example shown in FIG. 9, the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 2" and the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 10"), the corresponding marks M2 and M10 are rotated to match the direction of movement. Furthermore, the display control unit 2 displays the locations on the map of the "MK Office" and "MD Office," which are currently unarrived, using unarrived marks R1 and R2, respectively. As shown in FIG. 9, it is preferable to configure the display control unit 2 to display the name of each unarrived destination and the vehicle ID of each delivery vehicle on the map using indicators in a so-called balloon format.

[0064] Then, with the map shown in FIG. 9 displayed, the manager selects a delivery vehicle to be moved to the non-arrival location using the operation unit 4 based on a message MG prompting the manager to select a delivery vehicle to be moved to the non-arrival location (see step S11 in FIG. 5). As described above, the selection operation in this case may be a drag-and-drop operation in which one of the marks M2, M4, M8, or M10 displayed on the map in FIG. 9 is selected and moved to the non-arrival location, or an operation in which a delivery vehicle to be moved to the non-arrival location among the delivery vehicles displayed as vehicle information is selected. For example, when a delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 8" that is stopped because the passenger is taking a break is to be moved to the non-arrival location "MK Office" shown in FIG. 9 by this selection operation (step S11 in FIG. 5: YES), the processing unit 10 transmits the non-arrival-related message to the delivery vehicle with vehicle ID "Vehicle No. 8" asking "Can you move to the non-arrival location "MK Office"?" (see step S12 in FIG. 5).

[0065] When the unarrived "MD office" is selected, the display control unit 2 switches to displaying a map centered on the location of the unarrived "MD office" (see step S10 in FIG. 5). This makes it possible to select a delivery vehicle to the unarrived "MD office" (see step S11 in FIG. 5) and to issue a travel instruction (see step S12 in FIG. 5).

[0066] As described above, according to the display control process of the embodiment, the progress of movement of each delivery vehicle along a predetermined planned route for each of multiple delivery vehicles, including destinations as stopovers, is detected along with any non-arrival points where the delivery vehicle has not yet arrived, and the detected non-arrival points are identifiably displayed along with the progress of the movement (see step S6 in FIG. 5). Then, based on an operation to specify the non-arrival point (see step S9 in FIG. 5), a map including the location of the non-arrival point is displayed, and the current location of any delivery vehicle within the map range is displayed together with the map (see step S10 in FIG. 5). Therefore, by being able to collectively recognize the progress of movement of each delivery vehicle and being able to quickly grasp the existence of delivery vehicles that may reach the non-arrival point, each delivery vehicle can be moved efficiently to deal with the occurrence of non-arrival points.

[0067] Furthermore, among the destinations within the scheduled route, destinations where the delivery vehicle has not arrived at the predetermined designated arrival time for each destination are detected as non-arrivals, so that the existence of delivery vehicles that can deal with the occurrence of non-arrivals can be quickly identified.

[0068] Furthermore, if multiple missed destinations are detected, a map including the locations of all of the missed destinations is displayed (see Figure 9), so that the existence of delivery vehicles that can travel to all of the missed destinations can be quickly identified, and even if multiple missed destinations occur, each delivery vehicle can be moved efficiently to deal with the occurrence.

[0069] Furthermore, the current location of the delivery vehicle is displayed along with the map using marks M2 and the like (see Figure 9) that indicate the status of the delivery vehicle within the map range, so that it is possible to intuitively and quickly recognize the condition of the delivery vehicle that can be moved to the undesired destination.

[0070] In addition, the delivery vehicle to be moved to the unarrived location can be selected from among the delivery vehicles within the range of the displayed map (see step S10 and step S11 in Figure 5), so that the delivery vehicle to be moved to the unarrived location can be quickly selected.

[0071] Furthermore, the delivery vehicle to be moved to the unarrived location is selected by directly specifying the location within the map range of the delivery vehicle to be moved to the unarrived location, so that the delivery vehicle to be moved to the unarrived location can be selected by an intuitive operation.

[0072] Furthermore, based on the delivery vehicle database DB2 that associates each delivery vehicle with its occupants (drivers) and the organizations that manage them, the movement progress corresponding to each delivery vehicle managed by the organization is displayed for each organization and along with the occupants, so that each delivery vehicle can be moved efficiently to deal with missed arrivals while displaying the movement progress for each organization.

[0073] In addition, the passengers (drivers) of the delivery vehicle that should have arrived at the missed destination are displayed in a manner that makes them identifiable from the passengers (drivers) of other delivery vehicles (see Figures 6 to 8), so that the passengers who caused the missed destination can be quickly identified.

[0074] Furthermore, if there are multiple destinations that have not yet arrived, the passengers (drivers) of the delivery vehicles that should have arrived at each destination are displayed in order according to the time that has elapsed since the designated arrival time that is set for each destination that has not yet arrived (see Figure 8), so that passengers (drivers) who have not yet arrived for the longest time can be quickly identified.

[0075] In the above-described embodiment, a delivery vehicle experiencing a progress abnormality is notified by displaying the enclosed display F1 or the enclosed display F2, and a delivery vehicle experiencing a communication abnormality is notified by displaying the hatched display. However, in addition to these, each notification may be made by, for example, emitting a warning sound from a speaker (not shown) of the server device SV. Furthermore, the display of the enclosed display F1 or the hatched display and the sounding of the warning sound may be performed in parallel.

[0076] In the above-described embodiment, a delivery vehicle database DB2 was used, which associates each delivery vehicle with the organization that manages it, but a passenger database that associates the passengers (drivers) of each delivery vehicle with the organization that manages them may also be used. In this case, the passenger database may be a database that associates the passengers (drivers) of delivery vehicles equipped with each terminal device T, the organization to which they belong, and the planned route planned for each passenger (driver) on a daily basis, similar to the delivery vehicle database DB2 in the embodiment.

[0077] Furthermore, in the above-described examples, the embodiment is applied to display control of the progress of movement of a vehicle as a moving body, but the embodiment may also be applied to display control of the progress of movement of a two-wheeled vehicle, bicycle, or person as a moving body.

[0078] In addition, a program corresponding to the flowchart shown in Figure 5 can be recorded on a recording medium such as an optical disk or a hard disk, or obtained via a network such as the Internet, and then read out and executed by a general-purpose microcomputer or the like, thereby causing the microcomputer or the like to function as the processing unit 10 according to the embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1. Detection means (detection unit) 2. Display control means (display control unit) 5 Recording section 10 Processing section T1, T2, Tn terminal equipment SV server device NW Network DB1 State Information Database DB2 Delivery Vehicle Database S Information processing device SS delivery management system D Display F1, F2 box display M2, M4, M8, M10 marks R1, R2 unlanded mark

Claims

[Claim 1] a detection means for detecting progress of movement of each of a plurality of moving bodies along a planned course for each of the moving bodies, each of the planned courses including a stop-off point, together with a stop-off point at which the moving body has not yet arrived; a display control means for displaying on a display means the detected progress and the detected unlanded points in a distinguishable manner; Equipped with The information processing device is characterized in that the display control means displays a map including the location of the unlanded point based on the operation of specifying the unlanded point, and displays the location of any of the moving bodies within the range of the map together with the map.

Images