Vehicle management system

Abstract

This system provides a vehicle management system that enables efficient vehicle diagnosis and appropriate management of vehicle rentals based on the vehicle fault diagnosis results. [Solution] The vehicle management system 10 comprises a fault diagnosis device mounted on a vehicle 20 and a vehicle management device 100 that receives diagnosis results from the fault diagnosis device, and is a vehicle management system 10 that manages the lending of the vehicle 20. The fault diagnosis device has a driving information acquisition unit, a diagnosis processing unit, a motor control unit, a sensor information acquisition unit, a vibration level determination unit, and a notification processing unit. The vehicle management device 100 has a diagnosis information acquisition unit 111 that acquires determination results from the fault diagnosis device, a vehicle information acquisition unit 112 that acquires the operating status of multiple vehicles, a vehicle management adjustment unit 113 that adjusts the vehicles available for lending based on the operating status and determination results, and a notification unit 114 that notifies the user terminal of the adjustment results in the vehicle management adjustment unit 113.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This invention relates to a vehicle management system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in the car-sharing business, technologies have been proposed to enable users to use vehicles with peace of mind by automating daily inspections of vehicles. Patent Document 1 discloses an automated daily inspection system using an automated daily inspection device installed in a vehicle. The automated daily inspection system disclosed in Patent Document 1 performs daily inspections of the vehicle at predetermined times and transmits the diagnostic results of the daily inspection to a transceiver owned by the administrator who manages the vehicle.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a system for determining the remaining lifespan of a motor. The system for determining the remaining lifespan of a motor disclosed in Patent Document 2 determines the remaining lifespan due to thermal degradation of the material covering the motor windings and the material bonding the windings to the core. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-30075 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2024-20736 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0005] The automated daily inspection system disclosed in Patent Document 1 transmits the diagnostic results of the daily inspection performed by the automated daily inspection device to a central management center, which is the manager of the autonomous vehicle, as well as to business owners such as car-sharing businesses and users, via the internet or other means. In other words, with the automated daily inspection system disclosed in Patent Document 1, each party must make a judgment based on the received diagnostic results and take appropriate action, such as switching vehicles.

[0006] Furthermore, in the remaining life determination system disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to prepare a database in advance and calculate parameters from information acquired by sensors in order to calculate the impedance used for determining the remaining life of the motor. Therefore, in systems such as car sharing, there is a need to efficiently perform vehicle diagnostics and to provide appropriate vehicle management and services based on the diagnostic results for multiple vehicles.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art described above. The object of this invention is to provide a vehicle management system that can efficiently perform vehicle diagnostics and appropriately manage vehicle rentals based on the vehicle fault diagnosis results. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A vehicle management system according to an aspect of the present invention comprises a fault diagnosis device mounted on a vehicle and a vehicle management device that receives diagnostic results from the fault diagnosis device, and is a vehicle management system for managing the rental of vehicles. The fault diagnosis device includes a driving information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating whether or not the vehicle is running, a diagnostic processing unit that, when the vehicle is stopped, puts the vehicle's motor into a neutral state and starts the motor at a constant rotational speed when the vehicle has entered diagnostic mode, a sensor information acquisition unit that acquires motor vibration information from a sensor installed on the motor, a vibration level determination unit that determines the motor's vibration level by comparing the vibration information with a predetermined threshold, and a notification processing unit that transmits the vibration level determination result from the vibration level determination unit to the vehicle management device. The vehicle management device includes a diagnostic information acquisition unit that acquires the determination result from the fault diagnosis device, a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires the operating status of multiple vehicles, a vehicle management adjustment unit that adjusts the vehicles available for rental based on the operating status and the determination result, and a notification unit that notifies the user terminal of the adjustment result from the vehicle management adjustment unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle management system that can efficiently perform vehicle diagnostics and appropriately manage vehicle rentals based on the vehicle fault diagnosis results. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows the configuration of the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram illustrates a vehicle to which the vehicle management system according to this embodiment is applied. [Figure 3] This diagram illustrates the motor that is subject to diagnosis by the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows the configuration of the in-vehicle device applied to the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows the functional configuration of the fault diagnosis device used in the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 6A] This figure shows an example of failure result information applied to the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 6B] This figure shows an example of failure result information applied to the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows an example of the processing of a fault diagnosis device used in the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows the configuration of the vehicle management device according to this embodiment. [Figure 9] This figure shows the functional configuration of the vehicle management device according to this embodiment. [Figure 10] This flowchart shows an example of processing by the vehicle management system according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Hereinafter, the vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation and may differ from the actual ratios. Also, in the following description of the drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals.

[0012] (Configuration of Vehicle Management System 10) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the vehicle management system 10 is, for example, a system for managing a plurality of vehicles in car-sharing. Also, the vehicle management system 10 may be applied to a system for managing vehicles in a service of driverless taxis using autonomous vehicles.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle management system 10 includes a vehicle management device 100, a vehicle 20, a user terminal 30, and a network 50. Also, the vehicle management system 10 enables the vehicle management device 100, the failure diagnosis device 200 of the vehicle 20, and the user terminal 30 to communicate with each other via the network 50.

[0014] In the vehicle management system 10, the user 31 reserves a vehicle 20 for car-sharing or driverless taxis via the user terminal 30 held by the user 31. The vehicle management device 100 acquires the reservation information of the vehicle 20 set via the user terminal 30 and notifies the user terminal 30 of the available vehicles 20. The user 31 rides on the vehicle 20 notified by the vehicle management device 100 and drives to the destination.

[0015] The vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment includes a failure diagnosis device 200 mounted on the vehicle 20 and a vehicle management device 100 that receives a diagnosis result from the failure diagnosis device 200, and manages the lending of the vehicle 20 in the use of car-sharing or driverless taxis.

[0016] <00001{03>(Configuration of Vehicle 20) Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing a vehicle 20 to which the vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment is applied. The vehicle 20 to which this embodiment is applied is, for example, an electric vehicle that runs on electricity. As shown in Figure 2, the vehicle 20 is composed of batteries 21 and 22 and a fault diagnosis device 200.

[0017] Figure 3 shows the fault diagnosis device 200 and the electric motor 250 used in the vehicle 20 according to this embodiment. The motor 250 is equipped with a plurality of vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263. The fault diagnosis device 200 according to this embodiment is composed of an on-board unit (ECU).

[0018] As shown in Figure 3, by installing vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263 on the motor 250, it becomes possible to detect vibrations in three directions (horizontal (front-back), horizontal (left-right), and vertical (up-down) directions), enabling more accurate detection of vibrations in the motor 250. Note that the configuration of installing three sensors, 261, 262, and 263, on the motor 250 is not limited to the configuration of this embodiment. For example, the motor 250 may be configured with only one sensor in the vertical direction.

[0019] (Configuration of the fault diagnosis device 200) Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the fault diagnosis device 200 mounted on the vehicle 20. As shown in Figure 4, the fault diagnosis device 200 includes a CPU 210 as a processing unit. The fault diagnosis device 200 also includes a speed signal IF231, an engine signal IF232, an external input IF233, and a sensor signal IF234. Furthermore, the fault diagnosis device 200 includes a wide-area communication module 241, a non-volatile memory 242, a volatile memory 243, an SD card 244, and a SW input unit 245.

[0020] The CPU 210 implements various functions required by the fault diagnosis device 200 by executing pre-installed programs. The main operations of the CPU 210 will be described later.

[0021] The speed signal IF231 converts a predetermined vehicle speed signal output from the vehicle into a signal suitable for input processing by the CPU210. The CPU210 can determine the vehicle's speed and distance traveled by monitoring the number of pulses and the period of the vehicle speed signal.

[0022] The engine signal IF232 converts a predetermined engine rotation signal output from the vehicle into a signal suitable for input processing by the CPU210. The CPU210 can determine the engine speed (rpm) by monitoring the number of pulses and the period of the engine rotation signal.

[0023] External input IF233 converts a predetermined external signal into a signal suitable for input processing by the CPU 210. The predetermined external signal may be, for example, a signal indicating the gear position. Additionally, a signal representing the magnitude of acceleration applied to the vehicle 20 can be input to external input IF233 as an external signal.

[0024] The sensor signal IF234 is used to input information acquired by sensors installed on the vehicle 20, such as an angular velocity sensor, a weight sensor, and a temperature sensor, to the CPU 210. In this embodiment, the sensor signal IF234 inputs information acquired by vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263 shown in Figure 3 to the CPU 210.

[0025] The wide-area communication module 241 has the function of securing a wireless communication line with, for example, a wireless base station (not shown) provided by a mobile communication carrier, and enabling wide-area wireless communication. The wide-area communication module 241 can communicate with the vehicle management device 100 via an antenna (not shown) and a network 50.

[0026] The non-volatile memory 242 is an electronic device similar to flash memory, which allows data to be read and stored data to be rewritten by the CPU 210. The non-volatile memory 242 is used to store various parameters, constant data, programs, and other data used by the fault diagnosis device 200.

[0027] The volatile memory 243 is a semiconductor memory device that allows data to be freely read and written by the CPU 210. The volatile memory 243 is used to temporarily hold various types of data handled by the CPU 210.

[0028] The SD card 244 is connected to the fault diagnosis device 200 in a removable manner using a predetermined card interface (not shown). The SD card 244 is used to store various data that the fault diagnosis device 200 should record, such as vehicle operation data 20. The non-volatile memory 242, volatile memory 243, and SD card 244 correspond to the storage unit 220 of the fault diagnosis device 200.

[0029] The SW input unit 245 is equipped with a switch that generates signals representing the operating status of multiple buttons for receiving input operations from a user, such as the driver of the vehicle 20. For example, the switch signals acquired by the SW input unit 245 include ON / OFF signals for the ignition switch (not shown), ON / OFF signals for the brake switch (not shown), and ON / OFF signals for the turn signal switch (not shown). The signals representing the operating status of each button (SW) are input from the SW input unit 245 to the CPU 210.

[0030] (Functional configuration of the fault diagnosis device 200) Figure 5 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the fault diagnosis device 200 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the CPU 210 (processing unit) of the fault diagnosis device 200 includes the functions of a driving information acquisition unit 211, a diagnostic processing unit 212, a motor control unit 213, a sensor information acquisition unit 214, a vibration level determination unit 215, and a notification processing unit 216.

[0031] The driving information acquisition unit 211 acquires information indicating whether or not the vehicle 20 is in motion. This information is acquired, for example, via the speed signal IF231 or the engine signal IF232. The driving information acquisition unit 211 also stores the acquired information in the vehicle information DB 221.

[0032] The diagnostic processing unit 212 switches the vehicle 20 to diagnostic mode when the vehicle 20 is stopped. Specifically, the diagnostic processing unit 212 switches the vehicle 20 to a diagnostic mode (diagnostic mode) for diagnosing the motor 250 based on the state of the vehicle 20. In this embodiment, "vehicle 20 stopped" means that the vehicle 20 is in a stationary state and not moving. For example, "vehicle 20 stopped" includes the state in which the vehicle 20 is stopped, such as waiting at a traffic light.

[0033] When the vehicle 20 enters diagnostic mode, the motor control unit 213 puts the vehicle 20's motor 250 into a neutral position and starts the motor 250 at a constant rotational speed.

[0034] The sensor information acquisition unit 214 acquires vibration information of the motor 250 from sensors installed on the motor 250. Specifically, the sensor information acquisition unit 214 acquires vibration information obtained by vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263 via the sensor signal IF234. The sensor information acquisition unit 214 also stores the acquired vibration information in the vehicle information DB221. The vibration information includes the vibration level of the motor 250, the amount of vibration displacement, and / or vibration acceleration.

[0035] The vibration level determination unit 215 determines the vibration level of the motor 250 by comparing the vibration information with a predetermined threshold value. The vibration level determination unit 215 also stores the determination result in the diagnostic result information DB 222. Figures 6A and 6B show examples of determination results (diagnosis results) stored in the diagnostic result information DB 222. The first sensor, second sensor, and third sensor correspond to vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263, respectively.

[0036] For example, in the example shown in Figure 6A, the vibrations of the motor 250 detected by vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263 were all normal. In contrast, the example shown in Figure 6B shows an example where an abnormality occurred in vibration sensor 262.

[0037] The vibration level determination unit 215 determines, for example, whether the vibration of the motor 250 detected by vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263 corresponds to the displacement amount (μm). P-P ) Compared to normal conditions, 200 μm P-P In summary, an abnormality is determined when the displacement increases or decreases. Thus, the displacement is 200 μm, which is the normal value. P-P In summary, by determining that an abnormality has occurred when the value increases or decreases, it becomes possible to incorporate a margin in the determination process, eliminate the detection of error levels near the reference value, and prevent false detections of abnormalities.

[0038] It should be noted that the vibration level determination of the motor 250 by the vibration level determination unit 215 in this embodiment is not limited to the determination means described above. For example, the vibration level determination unit 215 may use the initial values ​​measured by the vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263 as reference values, and determine that an abnormality has occurred when the vibration level becomes three times or more the reference value during diagnostic mode. By determining that an abnormality has occurred when the vibration level becomes three times or more the reference value during diagnostic mode, it is possible to provide a margin in the determination, eliminate the detection of error levels near the reference value, and prevent false detection of abnormalities.

[0039] Furthermore, the vibration level determination unit 215 may determine that an abnormality has occurred if, during the process of gradually increasing the rotational speed of the motor 250 from 10 Hz to 1000 Hz, the vibration acceleration (dB) rises by 15 dB or more compared to the normal state. In this way, by determining that an abnormality has occurred when the vibration acceleration rises by 15 dB or more, it becomes possible to provide a margin in the determination, eliminate the detection of error levels near the reference value, and prevent false detection of abnormalities.

[0040] Furthermore, the vibration level determination unit 215 may determine that an abnormality has occurred if the measured vibration level exceeds the vibration level at which the abnormality occurred, using the vibration level at which the abnormality occurred as a reference (level information) that has been previously learned by machine learning. Since the amount of vibration displacement varies depending on the size of the motor 250, determining the vibration level based on the vibration level learned by machine learning makes it possible to determine the vibration level flexibly and appropriately without having to set a reference value in advance.

[0041] Furthermore, the vibration level determination unit 215 can not only determine the vibration of the motor 250 using vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263, but also detect abnormalities in drive system components located around the motor 250, such as the transmission.

[0042] The notification processing unit 216 transmits the vibration level determination result from the vibration level determination unit 215 to the vehicle management device 100.

[0043] (Outline of the processing flow of the fault diagnosis device 200) Next, the processing flow in the fault diagnosis device 200 is shown using the flowchart in Figure 7. The series of operations of the fault diagnosis device 200 shown in the flowchart in Figure 7 begin when the fault diagnosis device 200 is started and end when the work is completed. In addition, the flowchart in Figure 7 also ends when the power is turned off or when an interrupt occurs indicating the end of processing. Furthermore, in the following explanation of the flowchart, the same content as described in the above-mentioned explanation of the vehicle management system 10 and the fault diagnosis device 200 will be omitted or simplified.

[0044] In step S701, the CPU 210 of the fault diagnosis device 200 determines whether the vehicle 20 is stopped or not based on the vehicle information acquired by the driving information acquisition unit 211. If the CPU 210 determines in step S701 that the vehicle 20 is stopped (step S701: YES), the process proceeds to step S702. On the other hand, if the CPU 210 determines in step S701 that the vehicle 20 is not stopped (step S702: NO), the process repeats the process from step S701.

[0045] In step S702, if the vehicle 20 is stopped, the diagnostic processing unit 212 puts the vehicle into diagnostic mode. Specifically, the diagnostic processing unit 212 puts the vehicle 20 into a diagnostic mode to diagnose the motor 250 based on its state. The process then proceeds to step S703.

[0046] In step S703, the motor control unit 213 puts the motor 250 of the vehicle 20 into a neutral state when the vehicle 20 enters diagnostic mode. The process then proceeds to step S704.

[0047] In step S704, the motor control unit 213 starts the motor 250 at a constant rotational speed. The process then proceeds to step S705.

[0048] In step S705, the sensor information acquisition unit 214 acquires vibration information of the motor 250 from the sensors installed on the motor 250. Specifically, the sensor information acquisition unit 214 acquires vibration information obtained from vibration sensors 261, 262, and 263 via the sensor signal IF234. The sensor information acquisition unit 214 also stores the acquired vibration information in the vehicle information DB221. After that, the process proceeds to step S706.

[0049] In step S706, the vibration level determination unit 215 determines the vibration level of the motor 250 based on the vibration information. If the vibration level determination unit 215 determines in step S706 that the vibration level is above a predetermined threshold (step S706: YES), the process proceeds to step S707. On the other hand, if the vibration level determination unit 215 determines in step S706 that the vibration level is not above a predetermined threshold (step S706: NO), the process proceeds to step S708.

[0050] In this embodiment, the predetermined threshold determined by the vibration level determination unit 215 is the displacement amount (μm P-P When determining the vibration level, compare it to the normal state by 200 μm. P-P This corresponds to the amount of displacement increased or decreased.

[0051] Furthermore, the predetermined threshold value determined by the vibration level determination unit 215 is three times the vibration level in diagnostic mode when the determination is made by vibration level.

[0052] Furthermore, when determining the threshold value by the vibration level determination unit 215, the threshold value will be 15 dB higher than the normal value when determined by vibration acceleration.

[0053] Furthermore, when the vibration level determination unit 215 determines the predetermined threshold value based on the vibration level (level information) learned by machine learning at the time of an abnormality, the vibration level learned by machine learning becomes the predetermined threshold value.

[0054] In step S707, the vibration level determination unit 215 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the motor 250 and stores the determination result in the diagnostic result information DB 222. For example, the determination result corresponds to the diagnostic result information shown in Figure 6B. The process then proceeds to step S709.

[0055] In step S708, the vibration level determination unit 215 determines that no abnormality has occurred in the motor 250 and stores the determination result in the diagnostic result information DB 222. For example, the determination result corresponds to the diagnostic result information shown in Figure 6A. The process then proceeds to step S709.

[0056] In step S709, the diagnostic processing unit 212 terminates the diagnostic mode. The process then proceeds to step S710.

[0057] In step S710, the notification processing unit 216 transmits the vibration level determination result from the vibration level determination unit 215 to the vehicle management device 100.

[0058] Next, we will describe the details of the vehicle management device 100 applied to the vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment.

[0059] (Configuration of the vehicle management device 100) Figure 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle management device 100. In this embodiment, the vehicle management device 100 is composed of a general-purpose computer comprising a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, an input / output interface 130, and a communication interface 140. Details of the control unit 110 and the storage unit 120 will be described later.

[0060] Furthermore, when the user terminal 30 is implemented as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, etc., the configuration may be the same as that shown in the block diagram in Figure 8.

[0061] The input / output IF130 is, for example, a component (interface) for the provider or administrator of the vehicle management system 10 to exchange data with the vehicle management device 100. The input / output IF130 comprises, for example, an input IF and an output IF (not shown).

[0062] The input interface in the input / output IF130 has an interface function for inputting various information by the user, and information is input from outside the vehicle management device 100. Information is input to the input interface by the user through devices connected to the vehicle management device 100, such as a keyboard, mouse, touch panel, trackball, and voice recognition device. The input interface can also be used as a data input terminal to input data from an external storage device (not shown), etc.

[0063] The output IF of the input / output IF130 can display diagnostic information and vehicle management information, as described later, on a display device (not shown) connected to the vehicle management device 100. The display device may be, for example, a display device or a projector device.

[0064] The communication interface 140 is an interface that enables communication between the vehicle management device 100, the vehicle 20's fault diagnosis device 200, and the user terminal 30 via the network 50.

[0065] (Functions of the vehicle management device 100) Figure 9 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the vehicle management device 100 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 9, the control unit 110 of the vehicle management device 100 includes a diagnostic information acquisition unit 111, a vehicle information acquisition unit 112, a managed vehicle adjustment unit 113, and a notification unit 114 as its functions. Each of these functions of the control unit 110 will be described later.

[0066] Furthermore, the control unit 110 controls the entire vehicle management device 100 by, for example, running an operating system. In addition, the control unit 110 operates based on a program stored in the storage unit 120 and executes the functions described above. Note that the program is not limited to being stored in the storage unit 120, but may also be stored in, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) or the like (not shown) within the vehicle management device 100.

[0067] As shown in Figure 9, the storage unit 120 stores the information contained in the diagnostic information DB121 (DB: Database) and the managed vehicle information DB122 as data. Note that there may be one or more storage units 120 that store this data. For example, a single storage unit 120 may be configured to store data in separate areas. Alternatively, the data may be distributed and stored in multiple storage devices located in physically separate locations.

[0068] The diagnostic information acquisition unit 111 acquires the judgment result from the fault diagnosis device 200. The diagnostic information acquisition unit 111 also stores the acquired diagnostic information in the diagnostic information DB 121.

[0069] The vehicle information acquisition unit 112 acquires the operating status of multiple vehicles 20. The operating status of the vehicles 20 includes, for example, the rental status, which indicates whether the managed vehicle 20 is currently on loan or not. The operating status of the vehicles 20 may also include, for example, information regarding the scheduled end time of the rental period if the vehicle 20 is on loan. Furthermore, the operating status of the vehicles 20 may include information regarding the rental schedule and scheduled rental time of the managed vehicle 20. In addition, the operating status of the vehicles 20 may also include information regarding availability, such as whether the vehicle 20 is unavailable due to maintenance. In this embodiment, the rental of the vehicles 20 corresponds to the provision of vehicles 20 in car sharing or unmanned taxis.

[0070] The managed vehicle adjustment unit 113 adjusts the vehicles 20 available for rental based on the operating status and the judgment result. In this embodiment, adjusting the vehicles 20 available for rental corresponds to determining whether or not the managed vehicles 20 are available for rental.

[0071] The notification unit 114 notifies the user terminal 30 of the adjustment results from the managed vehicle adjustment unit 113. Based on the adjustment results obtained via the user terminal 30, the user 31 recognizes the available vehicles 20, and if there are available vehicles 20, starts using the vehicle 20 in car sharing or an unmanned taxi.

[0072] (Outline of the processing flow of the vehicle management device 100) Next, the processing flow in the vehicle management device 100 is shown using the flowchart in Figure 10. The series of operations of the vehicle management device 100 shown in the flowchart in Figure 10 begin when the vehicle management device 100 is started and end when the work is completed. In addition, the flowchart in Figure 10 also ends when the power is turned off or when an interrupt occurs indicating the end of processing. Furthermore, in the following explanation of the flowchart, the same content as described in the above-mentioned explanation of the vehicle management system 10 and vehicle management device 100 will be omitted or simplified.

[0073] In step S1001, the diagnostic information acquisition unit 111 acquires the judgment result from the fault diagnosis device 200. The diagnostic information acquisition unit 111 also stores the acquired diagnostic information in the diagnostic information DB 121. After that, the process proceeds to step S1002.

[0074] In step S1002, the vehicle information acquisition unit 112 acquires the operating status of multiple vehicles 20. The operating status of the vehicles 20 includes, for example, the loan status, which indicates whether the vehicle 20 under management is currently on loan or not. The operating status of the vehicles 20 may also include, for example, information regarding the scheduled end time of the loan if the vehicle 20 is on loan. The operating status of the vehicles 20 may also include information regarding the loan schedule and scheduled loan time of the vehicle 20 under management. Furthermore, the operating status of the vehicles 20 may also include information regarding availability, such as whether the vehicle 20 is unavailable due to maintenance. The process then proceeds to step S1003.

[0075] In step S1003, the managed vehicle adjustment unit 113 adjusts the vehicles 20 available for rental based on the operating status and the determination result. In this embodiment, adjusting the vehicles 20 available for rental corresponds to determining whether or not the managed vehicles 20 are available for rental. In step S1003, if the managed vehicle adjustment unit 113 determines that there are vehicles 20 available for rental (step S1003: YES), the process proceeds to step S1004. On the other hand, in step S1003, if the managed vehicle adjustment unit 113 determines that there are no vehicles 20 available for rental (step S1003: NO), the process proceeds to step S1005.

[0076] In step S1004, the notification unit 114 notifies the user terminal 30 of the adjustment results from the managed vehicle adjustment unit 113. Specifically, the notification unit 114 notifies the user terminal 30 of the details of the vehicles available for loan. Based on the adjustment results obtained via the user terminal 30, the user 31 recognizes the available vehicles 20 and begins using the vehicles 20 in car sharing or driverless taxis.

[0077] In step S1005, the notification unit 114 notifies the user terminal 30 of the adjustment results from the managed vehicle adjustment unit 113. Specifically, in step S1005, the notification unit 114 notifies the user terminal 30 that there are no vehicles available for loan. This notification that there are no vehicles available for loan is equivalent to a notification that the recruitment of vehicles will be suspended until a vehicle becomes available, as there are no vehicles 20 available at the time of notification. The user 31 recognizes that there are no vehicles 20 available based on the adjustment results (recruitment suspension notification) obtained via the user terminal 30.

[0078] As described above, the vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment comprises a fault diagnosis device 200 mounted on the vehicle 20 and a vehicle management device 100 that receives diagnostic results from the fault diagnosis device 200, and is a vehicle management system 10 that manages the lending of the vehicle 20. The fault diagnosis device 200 has a driving information acquisition unit 211 that acquires information indicating whether the vehicle 20 is in motion or not. The fault diagnosis device 200 also has a diagnostic processing unit 212 that switches the vehicle 20 to diagnostic mode when the vehicle 20 is stopped. The fault diagnosis device 200 also has a motor control unit 213 that puts the motor 250 of the vehicle 20 into a neutral state and starts the motor 250 at a constant rotation speed when the vehicle 20 has switched to diagnostic mode. The fault diagnosis device 200 also has a sensor information acquisition unit 214 that acquires vibration information of the motor 250 from a sensor installed on the motor 250. Furthermore, the fault diagnosis device 200 has a vibration level determination unit 215 that compares vibration information with a predetermined threshold to determine the vibration level of the motor 250. In addition, the fault diagnosis device 200 has a notification processing unit 216 that transmits the vibration level determination result from the vibration level determination unit 215 to the vehicle management device 100.

[0079] Furthermore, the vehicle management device 100 according to this embodiment has a diagnostic information acquisition unit 111 that acquires judgment results from the fault diagnosis device 200. The vehicle management device 100 also has a vehicle information acquisition unit 112 that acquires the operating status of multiple vehicles 20. The vehicle management device 100 also has a vehicle management adjustment unit 113 that adjusts the vehicles 20 available for loan based on the operating status and judgment results. Furthermore, the vehicle management device 100 has a notification unit 114 that notifies the user terminal 30 of the adjustment results from the vehicle management adjustment unit 113.

[0080] As a result, the fault diagnosis device 200 of the vehicle management system 10 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred based on the vibration level of the motor 250 while the vehicle 20 is stopped. The vehicle management device 100 also adjusts the available vehicles 20 based on the diagnosis results of the vehicle 20 and notifies the user 31 via the user terminal 30. Therefore, the vehicle management system 10 does not need to move the vehicle 20 to an inspection garage or the like for diagnosis, and can appropriately manage the lending of the vehicle 20 based on the fault diagnosis results of the vehicle 20.

[0081] For example, the vehicle inspection described in Patent Document 1 above is performed while the vehicle is in motion, and not only while the vehicle is stopped, so there is a possibility of road noise interfering. On the other hand, the fault diagnosis device 200 of the vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment acquires driving information, determines that the vehicle is stopped, and switches to diagnostic mode while stopped. As a result, the fault diagnosis device 200 of the vehicle management system 10 according to this embodiment can reliably reduce road noise and perform more accurate diagnoses.

[0082] Furthermore, the vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 may include information regarding the displacement amount of the motor 250's vibration. In addition, the vibration level determination unit 215 determines when the displacement amount is 200 μm from the normal state of the motor 250's vibration. P-P The vibration level of the motor 250 may be determined by setting the increased or decreased value as a predetermined threshold. In this way, the vehicle management system 10 determines the vibration level of the motor 250 when the displacement is 200 μm when normal. P-P As described above, by determining that an abnormality has occurred when the value increases or decreases, it becomes possible to provide a margin in the determination. This allows the vehicle management system 10 to eliminate the detection of error levels near the standard value and prevent false detection of abnormalities.

[0083] Furthermore, the vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 may include information regarding the vibration level of the motor 250. The vibration level determination unit 215 may also determine the vibration level of the motor 250 using a predetermined threshold value of three times the normal value in diagnostic mode. In this way, the vehicle management system 10 can provide a margin in its determination by determining that an abnormality has occurred when the vibration level in diagnostic mode becomes three times or more the reference value. As a result, the vehicle management system 10 can eliminate the detection of error levels near the reference value and prevent false detection of abnormalities.

[0084] Furthermore, the vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 may include information regarding the vibration acceleration of the motor 250. The vibration level determination unit 215 may also determine the vibration level of the motor 250 using a predetermined threshold value where the vibration acceleration is 15 dB higher than normal. In this way, the vehicle management system 10 can provide a margin in its determination by determining that an abnormality has occurred when the vibration acceleration is 15 dB or more higher than normal. As a result, the vehicle management system 10 can eliminate the detection of error levels near the reference value and prevent false detection of abnormalities.

[0085] Furthermore, the vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 may include information regarding the vibration level of the motor 250. The vibration level determination unit 215 may also determine the vibration level of the motor 250 using level information that has been previously learned as the vibration level when an abnormality occurs through machine learning as a predetermined threshold. The amount of displacement due to the vibration of the motor 250 varies depending on the size of the motor 250. Therefore, by making a determination based on the vibration level learned through machine learning, the vehicle management system 10 can flexibly and appropriately determine the vibration level without setting a reference value in advance.

[0086] Furthermore, the notification unit 114 of the vehicle management system 10 may notify the user terminal 30 of information regarding available vehicles 20 if there are available vehicles 20. The notification unit 114 may also notify the user terminal 30 of information regarding the suspension of vehicle 20 rentals if there are no available vehicles 20. This enables the vehicle management system 10 to provide efficient vehicle rental services in car sharing and unmanned taxis by notifying the user 31 of the availability of vehicle 20 rentals based on the vehicle's status.

[0087] (Other embodiments) While embodiments have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, these embodiments are not limited to those described above. Furthermore, the components described above include those easily conceivable by those skilled in the art, and those that are substantially the same. Moreover, the configurations described above can be combined as appropriate. In addition, various omissions, substitutions, or modifications of the configurations can be made without departing from the spirit of the embodiments.

[0088] Furthermore, a computer program (vehicle management program) that causes a computer to execute the processing (vehicle management method) in the vehicle management system 10 described above, and a computer-readable recording medium on which the program is stored, are included within the scope of this embodiment. Here, the type of computer-readable recording medium is arbitrary. Moreover, the computer program is not limited to one stored on the recording medium, but may also be transmitted via telecommunication lines, wireless or wired communication lines, networks such as the Internet, etc.

[0089] The following describes the features of the vehicle management system 10.

[0090] The vehicle management system 10 according to the first embodiment comprises a fault diagnosis device 200 mounted on a vehicle 20 and a vehicle management device 100 that receives diagnostic results from the fault diagnosis device 200, and is a vehicle management system 10 that manages the lending of the vehicle 20. The fault diagnosis device 200 has a driving information acquisition unit 211 that acquires information indicating whether or not the vehicle 20 is in motion. The fault diagnosis device 200 also has a diagnostic processing unit 212 that puts the vehicle 20 into diagnostic mode when the vehicle 20 is stopped. The fault diagnosis device 200 also has a motor control unit 213 that puts the motor 250 of the vehicle 20 into a neutral state and starts the motor 250 at a constant rotation speed when the vehicle 20 has entered diagnostic mode. The fault diagnosis device 200 also has a sensor information acquisition unit 214 that acquires vibration information of the motor 250 from a sensor installed on the motor 250. Furthermore, the fault diagnosis device 200 has a vibration level determination unit 215 that determines the vibration level of the motor 250 by comparing vibration information with a predetermined threshold. Furthermore, the fault diagnosis device 200 has a notification processing unit 216 that transmits the vibration level determination result from the vibration level determination unit 215 to the vehicle management device 100. Furthermore, the vehicle management device 100 according to this embodiment has a diagnostic information acquisition unit 111 that acquires the determination result from the fault diagnosis device 200. Furthermore, the vehicle management device 100 has a vehicle information acquisition unit 112 that acquires the operating status of multiple vehicles 20. Furthermore, the vehicle management device 100 has a managed vehicle adjustment unit 113 that adjusts the vehicles 20 that can be rented based on the operating status and determination result. Furthermore, the vehicle management device 100 has a notification unit 114 that notifies the user terminal 30 of the adjustment result from the managed vehicle adjustment unit 113.

[0091] According to the above configuration, the fault diagnosis device 200 of the vehicle management system 10 determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred based on the vibration level of the motor 250 while the vehicle 20 is stopped. The vehicle management device 100 also adjusts the available vehicles 20 based on the diagnosis results of the vehicle 20 and notifies the user 31 via the user terminal 30. Therefore, the vehicle management system 10 does not need to move the vehicle 20 to an inspection garage or the like for diagnosis, and can appropriately manage the lending of the vehicle 20 based on the fault diagnosis results of the vehicle 20.

[0092] The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 according to the second aspect may include information regarding the displacement amount of the vibration of the motor 250. Further, the vibration level determination unit 215 may determine the vibration level of the motor 250 by using, as a predetermined threshold value, a value obtained by increasing or decreasing the displacement amount by 200 μm from the normal time of the vibration of the motor 250. P-P from the normal time of the vibration of the motor 250.

[0093] According to the above configuration, when the vehicle management system 10 determines that an abnormality has occurred when the displacement amount has increased or decreased by 200 μm or more from the normal time, it is possible to provide a margin in the determination. Thereby, the vehicle management system 10 can eliminate the detection of the error level near the reference value and prevent the false detection of the occurrence of an abnormality. P-P from the normal time of the vibration of the motor 250.

[0094] The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 according to the third aspect may include information regarding the vibration level of the motor 250. Further, the vibration level determination unit 215 may determine the vibration level of the motor 250 by using, as a predetermined threshold value, a value three times the normal value in the diagnosis mode.

[0095] According to the above configuration, when the vehicle management system 10 determines that an abnormality has occurred when the vibration level in the diagnosis mode is three times or more the reference value, it is possible to provide a margin in the determination. Thereby, the vehicle management system 10 can eliminate the detection of the error level near the reference value and prevent the false detection of the occurrence of an abnormality.

[0096] The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 according to the fourth aspect may include information regarding the vibration acceleration of the motor 250. Further, the vibration level determination unit 215 may determine the vibration level of the motor 250 by using, as a predetermined threshold value, a value 15 dB higher than the normal time of the vibration acceleration.

[0097] With the above configuration, the vehicle management system 10 can establish a margin in its determination by determining that an abnormality has occurred when the vibration acceleration is 15 dB or more higher than normal. As a result, the vehicle management system 10 can eliminate the detection of error levels near the standard value and prevent false detection of abnormalities.

[0098] The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 214 of the vehicle management system 10 according to the fifth embodiment may include information regarding the vibration level of the motor 250. In addition, the vibration level determination unit 215 may determine the vibration level of the motor 250 using level information that has been previously learned as the vibration level when an abnormality occurs through machine learning as a predetermined threshold.

[0099] The amount of vibration displacement of the motor 250 varies depending on the size of the motor 250. Therefore, the vehicle management system 10 can determine the appropriate vibration level flexibly and appropriately without setting a reference value in advance by making a determination based on the vibration level that has been trained using machine learning.

[0100] The notification unit 114 of the vehicle management system 10 according to the sixth embodiment may notify the user terminal 30 of information regarding vehicles 20 available for loan if there are vehicles 20 available for loan. In addition, the notification unit 114 may notify the user terminal 30 of information regarding the suspension of vehicle 20 loans if there are no vehicles 20 available for loan.

[0101] With the above configuration, the vehicle management system 10 can provide efficient vehicle rental services for car sharing and driverless taxis by notifying the user 31 whether or not the vehicle 20 is available for rental, depending on the status of the vehicle 20. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0102] 10. Vehicle Management System 20 vehicles 21, 22 Batteries 30 User terminals 50 Networks 100 Vehicle Management System 110 Control Unit 111 Diagnostic Information Acquisition Department 112 Vehicle Information Acquisition Unit 113 Vehicle Management Coordination Department 114 Notification Department 120, 220 storage section 121 Diagnostic Information Database 122 Managed Vehicle Information Database 130 Input / Output Interfaces 140 Communication IF 200 Fault diagnosis device 210 Processing Unit 211 Driving Information Acquisition Unit 212 Diagnostic Processing Unit 213 Motor Control Unit 214 Sensor Information Acquisition Unit 215 Vibration level determination unit 216 Notification Processing Unit 250 motor 261, 262, 263 Vibration Sensors

Claims

1. A vehicle management system comprising a fault diagnosis device mounted on a vehicle and a vehicle management device that receives diagnostic results from the fault diagnosis device, for managing the rental of the vehicle, The fault diagnosis device, A driving information acquisition unit that acquires information indicating whether the vehicle is in motion or not, A diagnostic processing unit that, when the vehicle is stopped, puts the vehicle into diagnostic mode, When the vehicle enters the diagnostic mode, a motor control unit sets the vehicle's motor to a neutral state and starts the motor at a constant rotational speed. A sensor information acquisition unit that acquires vibration information of the motor from a sensor installed on the motor, A vibration level determination unit compares the vibration information with a predetermined threshold to determine the vibration level of the motor. The system includes a notification processing unit that transmits the vibration level determination result from the vibration level determination unit to the vehicle management device, The aforementioned vehicle management device is A diagnostic information acquisition unit that acquires the judgment result from the fault diagnosis device, A vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires the operating status of multiple vehicles, A vehicle management adjustment unit adjusts the vehicles available for loan based on the aforementioned operating status and the aforementioned determination results, A notification unit that notifies the user terminal of the adjustment results in the vehicle management adjustment unit, A vehicle management system that has the following features.

2. The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit includes information regarding the displacement amount of the motor's vibration. The vibration level determination unit determines when the displacement is 200 μm from the normal vibration of the motor. Ｐ－Ｐ The vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration level of the motor is determined using the increased or decreased value as the predetermined threshold.

3. The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit includes information regarding the vibration level of the motor. The vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration level determination unit determines the vibration level of the motor using a predetermined threshold value that is three times the normal value in the diagnostic mode.

4. The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit includes information regarding the vibration acceleration of the motor. The vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration level determination unit determines the vibration level of the motor using a predetermined threshold value where the vibration acceleration is 15 dB higher than normal.

5. The vibration information acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit includes information regarding the vibration level of the motor. The vehicle management system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration level determination unit determines the vibration level of the motor using level information that has been previously learned as the vibration level when an abnormality occurs by machine learning as a predetermined threshold.

6. If there are vehicles available for loan, the notification unit will notify the user terminal of information regarding the vehicles available for loan. The vehicle management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the notification unit notifies the user terminal of information regarding the suspension of vehicle rentals if there are no vehicles available for rental.

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