Operation management device, operation management system, and operation management method

Abstract

By establishing appropriate flight zones, the operation of aircraft can be safely managed. [Solution] The flight management device for managing the operation of an aircraft comprises a storage unit that stores a flyable area calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle, which is an area in which the aircraft can fly, and an output unit that outputs at least one of the flyable area and flight management information used for managing the operation of the aircraft calculated using the flyable area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an operation management device, an operation management system, and an operation management method for a flying object.

Background Art

[0002] Regarding the technology of using a flying object such as a drone for inspecting a driving path of a vehicle, for example, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. Patent Document 1 describes that "in the direction correction unit 11b, as a flight range above the line R, the limit positions in the width direction (lateral direction) of the line R in the normal flight range F1 (see FIG. 7) are set. In such a setting, the line R always enters the image range of the width direction detection unit 14, and the limit position in the width direction of the normal flight range F1 is determined so that the unmanned flying object 10 flying around the line R does not contact obstacles such as overhead line poles. The direction correction unit 11b determines whether it is flying inside or outside the normal flight range F1 based on the distance between the center position of the line R and the center position of the aircraft body." Further, Patent Document 1 describes that "in the height control unit 11c, considering safety and the like, a normal flight range F1 (see FIG. 7) is obtained in which a flight range with an upper limit value and a lower limit value that can be tolerated as a separation distance from the line R and a flight range with an upper limit value and a lower limit value that can be tolerated as a separation distance from the overhead line L overlap."

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, the flight area (flight range) is set based on structures surrounding the vehicle's travel path, such as railway tracks and overhead lines. However, when setting the flight area based on structures surrounding the travel path, as in the technology described in Patent Document 1, there is a risk of setting the flight area unnecessarily small or setting the flight area in a location where vegetation exists around the travel path. If the flight area is too small, the aircraft is more likely to deviate from the flight area due to environmental changes such as strong winds, making it difficult to manage the aircraft's operation. Also, if vegetation is present in the flight area, there is a risk of the aircraft coming into contact with the vegetation.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide an aircraft operation management device, an aircraft operation management system, and an aircraft operation management method that can safely manage the operation of an aircraft. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An operation management device for managing the operation of an aircraft according to one aspect of the present invention comprises: a storage unit that stores an airworthy area calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle, which is an area in which the aircraft can fly; and an output unit that outputs at least one of the airworthy area and operation management information used for managing the operation of the aircraft calculated using the airworthy area. An operation management system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises the operation management device and the aircraft whose operation is managed by the operation management device. An operation management method for managing the operation of an aircraft according to one aspect of the present invention includes the steps of: storing an airworthy area in which the aircraft can fly, calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle; and outputting at least one of the airworthy area and operation management information used for managing the operation of the aircraft calculated using the airworthy area. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the operation of an aircraft can be safely managed by setting an appropriate flight area. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows the configuration of the aircraft operation management system 2 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the operation management device 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of a method for generating a flyable area 180 using vehicle structure information. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the operation management device 200 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by the operation management device 200 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 6] Figure 6 shows an example of a method for calculating two-dimensional information 82 of the vehicle 80, taking into account the roll angle of the vehicle 80. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of a method for generating integrated two-dimensional information 83. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of a method for generating a flyable area 280 using multiple integrated 2D information 83. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an example of the flyable area 280 displayed on the display screen 50. [Figure 10] Figure 10 is a functional block diagram of the operation management device 300 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 11] Figure 11 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by the operation management device 300 according to the third embodiment. [Figure 12] Figure 12 shows an example of ground structure information. [Figure 13] Figure 13 shows an example of a correction method for integrated two-dimensional information 83. [Figure 14] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the attribute information setting process (step S245 in Figure 11) performed by the operation management device 300. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an output result of a flightable area 380 including an evacuation area output from the operation management device 300. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a functional block diagram of an operation management device 400 according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow executed by the operation management device 400 according to the fourth embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a method for calculating a falling range and a method for correcting two-dimensional information based on the falling range. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a functional block diagram of an operation management device 500 according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow executed by the operation management device 500 according to the fifth embodiment. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of a method for setting a vehicle occupancy area 85. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of a method for setting an aircraft occupancy area 65. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a contact determination process between an aircraft occupancy area 65 of an aircraft 60 flying within a flightable area 280 and a vehicle occupancy area 85 of a vehicle 80 traveling on a travel path 3, showing a case where the aircraft occupancy area 65 and the vehicle occupancy area 85 do not contact each other. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a contact determination process between an aircraft occupancy area 65 of an aircraft 60 flying within a flightable area 280 and a vehicle occupancy area 85 of a vehicle 80 traveling on a travel path 3, showing a case where the aircraft occupancy area 65 and the vehicle occupancy area 85 contact each other. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a contact determination process between an aircraft occupancy area 65 of an aircraft 60 flying within a flightable area 380 having an evacuation area 385 and a vehicle occupancy area 85 of a vehicle 80 traveling on a travel path 3, and a flight plan correction process based on the determination result. [Figure 26]FIG. 26 is a functional block diagram of an operation management device 500 according to Modification 2 of the fifth embodiment. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a method for setting the aircraft occupancy area 65 taking into account the wind speed. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a functional block diagram of an operation management device 600 according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the operation management device 600 according to the sixth embodiment. [Figure 30] FIG. 30 is a diagram showing an example of an approach alert and an evacuation instruction displayed on the display screen 50. [Figure 31] FIG. 31 is a diagram showing an example of a deviation alert and a deviation prevention instruction displayed on the display screen 50. [Figure 32] FIG. 32 is a functional block diagram of an operation management device 700 according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 33] FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the operation management device 700 according to the seventh embodiment. [Figure 34] FIG. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a flight instruction screen displayed on the display screen 50 when the flight plan is modified.

Embodiments of the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. All the drawings are illustrative. The following description describes the details of a specific embodiment for facilitating the understanding of the present invention. However, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the details of the following specific embodiments. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations or configurations having similar functions, and detailed descriptions of overlapping parts are omitted have been omitted. In addition, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawings for effective understanding. Also, the arrows indicating the transfer of information in the functional block diagram illustrate representative ones.

[0010] <First Embodiment> Figure 1 shows the configuration of the aircraft operation management system 2 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The aircraft 60 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is a drone that inspects the vehicle 80's travel path 3 and the surrounding facilities (infrastructure). In this embodiment, an example in which the aircraft 60 is a drone is described, but the aircraft 60 may be an unmanned small aircraft or the like.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the operation management system 2 includes at least an operation management device 100 and an aircraft 60 whose operation is managed by the operation management device 100. The operation management system 2 according to this embodiment further includes a remote control device 70, a vehicle management device 91, and a data server 92. The operation management device 100, the remote control device 70, the aircraft 60, the vehicle management device 91, and the data server 92 are capable of exchanging data via communication.

[0012] The flight management device 100 outputs flight management information used for managing the flight of the aircraft 60 to the remote control device 70, the aircraft 60, the vehicle management device 91, and the display device 32 via the network 4. The flight management information includes the flight plan necessary for the autonomous flight of the aircraft 60, proximity alerts that notify of the aircraft 60 approaching the vehicle 80, and deviation alerts that notify of the aircraft 60 deviating from the flightable area 180. By outputting this flight management information to the various devices, the flight management device 100 manages the operation of the aircraft 60 and supports inspection and other work performed by the aircraft 60.

[0013] Network 4 is a wide-area network such as a mobile phone communication network (mobile communication network) deployed by a mobile phone carrier, etc., or the Internet. The remote control device 70 has an operating terminal 71 operated by the pilot and a display device 72 such as an LCD monitor. The operating terminal 71 has levers and switches, etc. The remote control device 70 provides remote control signals to the aircraft 60 in response to remote control of the aircraft 60 by a pilot (not shown) via Network 4 and the wireless base station 5.

[0014] The operation management device 100 consists of a computer equipped with a processor 101, non-volatile memory 102, volatile memory 103, input interface 104, output interface 105, and other peripheral circuits. The processor 101 is a processing unit (arithmetic unit) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The non-volatile memory 102 is a memory (storage device) such as ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, or hard disk drive. The volatile memory 103 is a memory (storage device) known as RAM (Random Access Memory). These hardware components work together to operate the software and realize multiple functions. The operation management device 100 may consist of one computer or multiple computers. Furthermore, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), etc., can be used as the processor 101.

[0015] The non-volatile memory 102 stores programs capable of performing various calculations, thresholds used in those calculations, data tables, mathematical formulas, calculation models, and the like. In other words, the non-volatile memory 102 is a storage medium from which programs realizing the functions of this embodiment can be read. The volatile memory 103 temporarily stores the calculation results from the processor 101 and signals input from the input interface 104. The processor 101 is a device that expands the programs stored in the non-volatile memory 102 into the volatile memory 103 and performs calculations, and performs predetermined calculation processing on data taken in from the input interface 104, the non-volatile memory 102, and the volatile memory 103 according to the program.

[0016] The input interface 104 converts signals received from the communication device 30 and input device 31 into data that can be processed by the processor 101. The output interface 105 generates output signals according to the calculation results of the processor 101 and outputs these signals to the communication device 30 and display device 32.

[0017] The communication device 30 is connected to the network 4 and exchanges data with external devices (vehicle management device 91, data server 92, remote control device 70, and aircraft 60) via the network 4. The input device 31 includes operating devices such as a keyboard and mouse, and storage media such as a memory stick.

[0018] The operation management device 100 acquires various information from the communication device 30 and the input device 31. This various information includes, for example, aircraft structure information relating to the structure of the aircraft 60, vehicle path information relating to the travel path 3 that the aircraft 60 is to inspect, vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle 80 traveling on the travel path 3 to be inspected, travel state information relating to the travel state of the vehicle 80, ground structure information relating to the ground structure surrounding the travel path 3 to be inspected, and environmental information relating to the travel path 3 to be inspected.

[0019] The aircraft 60 according to this embodiment is an aircraft capable of autonomous flight according to a flight plan output from the flight management device 100. The flight plan includes information on a departure point, a destination point, and multiple waypoints on the flight path 66 from the departure point to the destination point. Time information is associated with each point in the flight plan. The aircraft 60 can also be operated by a remote control device 70. Based on instructions transmitted from the flight management device 100, the aircraft 60 takes off from the departure point and flies along the flight path 66 to the destination point. The aircraft 60 comprises, for example, a housing and a plurality of rotor blades 62 provided on the housing. The rotor blades 62 are driven by electric motors 61. The electric motors 61 are powered by a battery mounted on the housing. By controlling the rotational speed of each rotor blade 62, the aircraft 60 ascends, descends, and flies along the flight path 66.

[0020] The aircraft 60 is equipped with a control system that controls various parts of the aircraft 60. The control system includes a communication device that transmits position information of the aircraft 60 to the flight management device 100 and receives instructions from the flight management device 100 and the remote control device 70, a position sensor that detects the position of the aircraft 60, and a control device 63 that controls the electric motor 61 of the rotor blades 62 using instructions from the flight management device 100 and the remote control device 70 obtained through the communication device and the detection results of the position sensor. The aircraft 60 is also equipped with inspection equipment used for inspection. The inspection equipment includes, for example, a camera and a lighting device. The inspection equipment may also include a range-measuring sensor such as LiDAR. The control device 63 also controls the inspection equipment.

[0021] The position sensor of the aircraft 60 includes, for example, multiple GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) antennas (hereinafter referred to as GNSS antennas) and a positioning calculation device that calculates the position of the aircraft 60, which is represented by real coordinates in three-dimensional space, using satellite signals (GNSS radio waves) from multiple positioning satellites received by the GNSS antennas.

[0022] The control device 63 for the aircraft 60, like the flight management device 100, is composed of a computer equipped with a processor, non-volatile memory, volatile memory, input / output interfaces, and other peripheral circuits. The control device 63 transmits the position information of the aircraft 60 detected by the position sensor to the flight management device 100 via a communication device. The position information of the aircraft 60 is, for example, the coordinates of the aircraft 60 in a geographic coordinate system (latitude, longitude, ellipsoidal height). The control device 63 may also calculate the speed of the aircraft 60 using the time change in the position of the aircraft 60 and transmit the speed information of the aircraft 60 to the flight management device 100 via a communication device. The control device 63 obtains a flight plan from the flight management device 100 via a communication device. Based on the flight plan, the control device 63 flies the aircraft 60 along the flight path included in the flight plan.

[0023] Figure 2 is a functional block diagram of the operation management device 100. The operation management device 100 has an input unit 111, a calculation unit 112, an output unit 113, and a storage unit 114. The input unit 111 is mainly implemented by the input interface 104 of the operation management device 100, and the output unit 113 is mainly implemented by the output interface 105 of the operation management device 100. The calculation unit 112 is mainly implemented by the processor 101 of the operation management device 100. The storage unit 114 is mainly implemented by the non-volatile memory 102 of the operation management device 100.

[0024] The input unit 111 receives vehicle structure information relating to at least the structure of the vehicle 80. This vehicle structure information includes, for example, CAD information obtained from drawings of the vehicle 80 or 3D point cloud information obtained by directly scanning the vehicle 80 with a 3D scanner, and is stored in the data server 92. The input unit 111 obtains the vehicle structure information from the data input by the input device 31 or from the data stored in the data server 92. The vehicle structure information includes multiple positional information of the outer surface of the vehicle 80. This positional information is identified by coordinates in a vehicle reference coordinate system with a predetermined position on the vehicle 80 as the origin. The vehicle reference coordinate system is a Cartesian coordinate system composed of mutually orthogonal X, Y, and Z axes. The X axis is an axis parallel to the left-right direction of the vehicle 80, the Y axis is an axis parallel to the up-down direction of the vehicle 80, and the Z axis is an axis parallel to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 80. The vehicle 80 is, for example, a railway vehicle 80a.

[0025] The input unit 111 inputs vehicle path information relating to the vehicle 80's pathway. This vehicle path information includes, for example, CAD information obtained from a drawing of the travel path 3 or 3D point cloud information obtained by directly reading the travel path 3 with a 3D scanner, and is stored in the data server 92. The input unit 111 acquires vehicle path information from data input by the input device 31 or from data stored in the data server 92. The vehicle path information includes location information of multiple points on the travel path 3 to be inspected. This location information is identified by latitude and longitude or coordinates in a cardinal coordinate system (e.g., a geographic coordinate system).

[0026] The calculation unit 112 uses vehicle structure information to calculate the flightable area 180 of the aircraft 60. The flightable area 180 is the area in which the aircraft 60 can fly. The flightable area 180 has boundaries along the vertical direction (height direction from the road surface) and the left-right direction (direction parallel to the road surface) of the vehicle 80 traveling along the roadway 3 to be inspected.

[0027] Figure 3 shows an example of a method for generating a flyable area 180 using vehicle structure information. As shown in Figure 3, the calculation unit 112 calculates a projection plane 81 when the vehicle 80 is viewed from the front (direction of travel) based on the vehicle structure information. The calculation unit 112 places the projection plane 81 at points on the travel path 3. When the vehicle 80 is viewed from the front, the calculation unit 112 calculates shape data (for example, multiple coordinates indicating each part of the outer shape) by continuously connecting the outermost positions of the vehicle 80's outline as two-dimensional information 82. The calculation unit 112 sets the inner area enclosed by the outline of the projection plane 81 as the flyable area 180. In this embodiment, the two-dimensional information 82 is calculated as data defining the flyable area 180.

[0028] For example, the calculation unit 112 extracts the coordinates of the vehicle's outer shape located furthest above the vehicle's central axis O in each coordinate in the left-right direction, and connects the extracted points to generate the upper edge 180a of the flyable region 180 along the left-right direction. Similarly, the calculation unit 112 extracts the coordinates of the vehicle's outer shape located furthest below the vehicle's central axis O in each coordinate in the left-right direction, and connects the extracted points to generate the lower edge 180b of the flyable region 180 along the left-right direction. The calculation unit 112 extracts the coordinates of the vehicle's outer shape located furthest to the left of the vehicle's central axis O in each coordinate in the up-down direction, and connects the extracted points to generate the left edge 180c of the flyable region 180 along the up-down direction. Similarly, the calculation unit 112 extracts the coordinates of the vehicle's outer shape located furthest to the right of the vehicle's central axis O in each coordinate in the vertical direction, and connects the extracted points to generate the right-hand side 180d of the flyable region 180 along the vertical direction.

[0029] In this way, the calculation unit 112 calculates a flyable area 180 having boundaries (180a to 180d) that follow the shape (cross-sectional shape) of the area through which the vehicle 80 travels along the travel path 3. The storage unit 114 stores the flyable area 180 calculated by the calculation unit 112.

[0030] The output unit 113 shown in Figure 2 outputs the flightable area 180 calculated by the calculation unit 112 to the output device 90. The output device 90 includes, for example, a communication device 30 that transmits (outputs) predetermined information including information related to the flightable area 180, a display device 72 of the remote control device 70 that displays (outputs) predetermined information acquired through the communication device 30 as an image on a display screen, and a display device 32 of the flight management device 100 that displays (outputs) predetermined information as an image on a display screen.

[0031] According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects are achieved.

[0032] (1) The flight management device 100 implements a flight management method for managing the operation of the aircraft 60. The flight management method includes the steps of storing a flyable area 180 which is an area in which the aircraft 60 can fly and is calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle 80, and outputting the flyable area 180. With this configuration, the operation of the aircraft 60 can be safely managed by setting an appropriate flyable area 180.

[0033] The flyable area 180 calculated using vehicle structure information has a boundary that follows the shape of the area through which vehicle 80 travels on the travel path 3, for example. The area through which vehicle 80 travels is an area without obstacles. In other words, the flyable area 180 is free of objects (obstacles) other than vehicle 80 that could come into contact with the flying object 60. Therefore, the operation management device 100 acquires information such as the operation plan and driving status of vehicle 80 from the vehicle management device 91, and by considering only vehicle 80 using the acquired information, it is possible to fly the flying object 60 while appropriately preventing contact between the flying object 60 and other objects. Furthermore, since the flyable area 180 is formed to follow the shape of the area through which vehicle 80 travels, a sufficiently large flyable area 180 can be secured, and the operation of the flying object 60 can be appropriately managed. As described above, according to this embodiment, the operation of the flying object 60 can be appropriately managed using a flyable area that can appropriately prevent contact with obstacles.

[0034] (2) The operation management method implemented by the operation management device 100 includes the steps of: inputting vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle 80 into the input unit 111; calculating the flyable area 180 having boundaries along the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle 80 using the vehicle structure information into the calculation unit 112; and outputting the flyable area 180 calculated by the calculation unit 112 into the output unit 113. In this way, the operation management device 100 calculates the area through which the vehicle 80 passes as the flyable area 180 using at least the vehicle structure information. This makes it possible to appropriately calculate the area in which the vehicle 80 travels (the area through which the vehicle 80 passes) as the flyable area 180.

[0035] Furthermore, this first embodiment is preferably applied when the area through which the vehicle 80 passes is substantially constant. By using vehicle structure information of a vehicle 80 with a predetermined travel path, such as a railway vehicle 80a or an autonomous vehicle traveling on a dedicated road, an appropriate flyable area 180 can be calculated.

[0036] There may be obstacles such as ground structures and plants in the height and lateral directions from the road surface of the travel path 3. Therefore, if the aircraft 60 is flown using only map information, there is a possibility that the aircraft 60 will come into contact with an obstacle. It is conceivable to mount obstacle sensors on the aircraft 60 to detect obstacles and have the aircraft 60 perform avoidance maneuvers. However, this would require mounting obstacle sensors and sensor controllers on the aircraft 60. In this case, the cost due to the mounting of obstacle sensors and sensor controllers would increase, and the flight time would decrease due to the increased power consumption for propulsion. In this embodiment, the operation of the aircraft 60 can be managed using a flyable area 180 where there are no obstacles such as ground structures and plants, so there is no need to mount obstacle sensors and sensor controllers on the aircraft 60. As a result, the cost of the aircraft 60 can be reduced and the flight time of the aircraft 60 can be extended.

[0037] <Second Embodiment> Referring to Figures 4 to 9, the operation management system 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same or equivalent components as those described in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the differences will be primarily explained.

[0038] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram of the flight management device 200 according to the second embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the flight management device 200 has an input unit 111, a calculation unit 212, an output unit 113, and a storage unit 114, similar to the flight management device 100 of the first embodiment. The calculation unit 212 according to the second embodiment has a two-dimensional information generation unit 221 and a flightable area generation unit 222. The results calculated by the calculation unit 212 are stored in the storage unit 114 as needed and output to the output device 90.

[0039] Figure 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by the flight management device 200 according to the second embodiment. The processing shown in Figure 5 is started, for example, by the input device 31 performing an operation to calculate the flyable area, and is repeatedly executed at a predetermined control cycle.

[0040] As shown in Figure 5, in step S110, the input unit 111 receives vehicle structure information and vehicle lane information from the data server 92. In the next step S113, the input unit 111 receives driving status information. Driving status information is information about the driving status of the vehicle 80, and is raw data such as the position, speed, and left-right tilt angle (roll angle) of the vehicle 80. The input unit 111 receives driving status information for all vehicles 80 that have traveled on the driving lane 3 of the inspection target section within a predetermined period.

[0041] Vehicle 80 is equipped with a vehicle position sensor. The vehicle position sensor detects the position of vehicle 80. Similar to the position sensor of the aircraft 60, the vehicle position sensor has a GNSS antenna and a positioning calculation device. Vehicle 80 is equipped with a speed sensor (e.g., a wheel speed sensor). The speed sensor detects the speed of vehicle 80. The speed of vehicle 80 may also be calculated using the time change of position detected by the position sensor. Vehicle 80 is equipped with a tilt angle sensor. The tilt angle sensor detects the roll angle, which is the tilt angle of vehicle 80 around the Z axis. The tilt angle sensor is composed of, for example, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit). The tilt angle sensor may also be composed of left and right vehicle height sensors of vehicle 80. Vehicle 80 is equipped with a communication device, which transmits driving status information such as the position, speed, and roll angle of vehicle 80 to the vehicle management device 91 via the communication device.

[0042] The vehicle management device 91 stores the received driving status information linked to the vehicle identification information and transmits it to the operation management device 200. The input unit 111 of the operation management device 200 acquires the driving status information of vehicle 80 from the vehicle management device 91.

[0043] In step S116, the two-dimensional information generation unit 221 generates vehicle information using the vehicle structure information acquired in step S110 and the driving state information acquired in step S113. The vehicle information is, for example, a data table that links the identification information and classification information of vehicle 80, the driving state information of vehicle 80, and the vehicle structure information of vehicle 80. By generating the vehicle information in advance in this way, subsequent processing becomes easier.

[0044] In the next step S121, the 2D information generation unit 221 selects one point from among multiple points on the travel path 3 within the inspection target section, which is included in the vehicle path information acquired in step S110, to generate 2D information 82. The intervals between multiple points on the travel path 3 may be equal or unequal. For example, in a straight path, points may be set at a first interval, and in a curved path, points may be set at a second interval that is shorter than the first interval. Also, in a curved path, the greater the curvature, the narrower the interval between adjacent points may be.

[0045] In the next step S124, the 2D information generation unit 221 selects one vehicle 80 from the multiple vehicles 80 acquired in step S113, along with its vehicle information. In the next step S127, the 2D information generation unit 221 uses the vehicle information of the vehicle 80 selected in step S124 to extract the position of the vehicle 80 at the point selected in step S121.

[0046] In step S130, the two-dimensional information generation unit 221 calculates the projection plane 81 of the vehicle 80 using the position of the vehicle 80 at the selected point and the vehicle structure information of the vehicle 80 included in the vehicle information (see Figure 3).

[0047] Furthermore, the road surface of the travel path 3 may be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. Also, even if the road surface of the travel path 3 is horizontal, when the vehicle 80 turns, the rolling moment causes the suspension to flex and the tires to deform, causing the vehicle 80 to tilt in the left-right direction. For this reason, it is preferable for the 2D information generation unit 221 to calculate the projected plane 81 by taking into account the roll angle of the vehicle 80 if the travel vehicle information includes the roll angle of the vehicle 80.

[0048] Figure 6 shows an example of a method for calculating two-dimensional information 82 of vehicle 80, taking into account the roll angle of vehicle 80. The vehicle information includes information on the roll angle at each point on the travel path 3. As shown in Figure 6(a), the two-dimensional information generation unit 221 uses the vehicle structure information and the position of vehicle 80 at the selected point to calculate the projected plane 81 of vehicle 80 as viewed from the front (direction of travel) at the selected point.

[0049] As shown in Figure 6(b), the 2D information generation unit 221 tilts the projection plane 81 using the roll angle included in the driving state information. As shown in Figure 6(c), the 2D information generation unit 221 generates 2D information 82, which is a definition of shape data (for example, multiple coordinates indicating each part of the outline) of the outermost position of the vehicle 80 when viewed from the front of the vehicle 80, using 2D coordinates. For example, the 2D information generation unit 221 generates a 2D point cloud that defines the outline of the tilted projection plane 81 as 2D information 82.

[0050] As shown above, in step S130 of Figure 5, the 2D information generation unit 221 generates 2D information 82 for the vehicle 80 selected in step S124 at the point selected in step S121. In the next step S133, the 2D information generation unit 221 determines whether the generation of 2D information 82 for all vehicles 80 that traveled on the travel path 3 within the inspection target section within a predetermined period has been completed. If it is determined in step S133 that the generation of 2D information 82 for all vehicles 80 has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S124. In step S124, the 2D information generation unit 221 selects a vehicle 80 that has not been selected from among the multiple vehicles 80. If it is determined in step S133 that the generation of 2D information 82 for all vehicles 80 has been completed, the process proceeds to step S136.

[0051] In step S136, the 2D information generation unit 221 generates integrated 2D information 83 at the selected point using the 2D information 82 of multiple vehicles 80. Figure 7 shows an example of a method for generating integrated 2D information 83. As shown in Figure 7(a), multiple vehicles 80 of different types may travel along the travel path 3 of the inspection section. In this case, it is preferable to generate the flyable area 280 considering the 2D information 82 of multiple vehicles 80. Referring to Figure 7, the method for generating integrated 2D information 83 when a bus 80b and a truck 80c travel along the travel path 3 of the inspection section will be described in detail.

[0052] As shown in Figure 7(b), the 2D information generation unit 221 superimposes the 2D information 82 (82b, 82c) of all vehicles 80 (bus 80b and truck 80c in the illustrated example) at the selected location. As shown in Figure 7(c), the 2D information generation unit 221 extracts the coordinates of the outermost edges of each superimposed 2D information 82a, 82b and generates it as integrated 2D information 83. The integrated 2D information 83 is shape data (2D point cloud) composed of multiple coordinates indicating each part of the outermost edge.

[0053] As shown in Figure 5, in step S136, once the process of generating integrated 2D information 83 at the location selected in step S121 is completed, the process proceeds to step S140. In step S140, the 2D information generation unit 221 determines whether the generation of integrated 2D information 83 for all locations on the travel path 3 of the inspection target section has been completed. If it is determined in step S140 that the generation of integrated 2D information 83 for all locations has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S121. In step S121, the 2D information generation unit 221 selects a location that has not been selected from among multiple locations. If it is determined in step S140 that the generation of integrated 2D information 83 for all locations has been completed, the process proceeds to step S143.

[0054] In step S143, the flyable area generation unit 222 generates a flyable area 280 using integrated two-dimensional information 83 at all points on the travel path 3 of the inspection section. Figure 8 shows an example of a method for generating a flyable area 280 using multiple integrated two-dimensional information 83. In Figure 8, the integrated two-dimensional information 83 is schematically shown as rectangles.

[0055] As shown in Figure 8, the flyable area generation unit 222 arranges integrated two-dimensional information 83 at all points along the travel path 3 of the inspection section. The flyable area generation unit 222 calculates the three-dimensional shape obtained by continuously connecting the arranged multiple integrated two-dimensional information 83 along the travel path 3 as the flyable area 280.

[0056] The flyable area generation unit 222 generates a flyable area 280 by connecting the outer edges of adjacent integrated 2D information 83. However, when connecting adjacent integrated 2D information 83, the number of coordinate points may not match. For example, consider the case where the first integrated 2D information 83 and the second integrated 2D information 83 are adjacent. If the distance between adjacent point A1 and point B1 in the first integrated 2D information 83 is greater than the distance between point A2 and point B1 in the second integrated 2D information 83, the flyable area generation unit 222 interpolates one or more coordinate points to define the outer edge between point A2 and point B2. If the distance between adjacent coordinates is small, coordinate points to define the outer edge may be omitted as appropriate.

[0057] In step S143 shown in Figure 5, once the process of generating the flyable area 280 is completed, the process proceeds to step S146. In step S146, the storage unit 114 stores the flyable area 280 generated in step S143, and the output unit 113 outputs the flyable area 280 to the output device 90.

[0058] The display devices 32 and 72, acting as output devices 90, acquire information from the flight management device 100 to display the flyable area 280. The display devices 32 and 72 then display an image of the flyable area 280 on the display screen 50.

[0059] Figure 9 shows an example of the flyable area 280 displayed on the display screen 50. As shown in Figure 9, the display screen 50 displays an overview map 54, a designated frame 53, a flight path image 51, and a flight path cross-section image 52. The overview map 54 includes an image of the entire travel path 3 of the inspection section viewed from above. The overview map 54 may also include buildings, roads, addresses, etc., around the travel path 3. The designated frame 53 is an image of a rectangular frame used to specify the range of the flyable area 280 to be displayed in detail. The flight path image 51 is an image of the three-dimensional shape of the flyable area 280 within the designated frame 53. The flight path cross-section image 52 is an image of a cross-section of the flyable area 280 viewed from the front of the vehicle 80 at a point selected by the input device 31 or the operation terminal 71.

[0060] According to this second embodiment, in addition to the effects and advantages of the first embodiment, the following effects and advantages can be obtained.

[0061] (3) The operation management method implemented by the operation management device 200 includes a step in which the input unit 111 inputs driving state information relating to the driving state of the vehicle 80 (S113 in Figure 5). The operation management method includes a step in which the two-dimensional information generation unit 221 generates two-dimensional information of the vehicle 80 using the vehicle structure information and the driving state information (S121 to S136 in Figure 5). The operation management method includes a step in which the flyable area generation unit 222 calculates the flyable area 280 using the two-dimensional information 82 (S143 in Figure 5). The operation management method includes a step in which the output unit 113 outputs the flyable area 280 calculated by the flyable area generation unit 222 (S146 in Figure 5). In this configuration, the flyable area 280 is generated using the driving state information of the vehicle 80 (such as the actual position and inclination of the vehicle 80 as it traveled along the aisle).

[0062] In the above configuration, for example, the flyable area 280 is generated using the actual position of the vehicle 80 included in the driving state information. In this case, for example, even if the vehicle 80 is driving at a position that is shifted to the left or right from the expected position at a certain point, the flyable area 280 that takes that position into account will be set. Also, in the above configuration, for example, the flyable area 280 is generated using the actual roll angle of the vehicle 80 included in the driving state information. In this case, for example, even if the vehicle 80 is driving while tilted to the left or right when turning, the flyable area 280 that takes that tilt angle into account will be set. Therefore, according to the above configuration, it is possible to generate a flyable area 280 that is suitable for actual operation.

[0063] (4) The operation management method implemented by the operation management device 200 includes the step (S121 to S130 in Figure 5) in which the two-dimensional information generation unit 221 generates two-dimensional information 82 of the vehicle 80 at multiple points (locations) along the travel path 3 of the inspection target section (work section). The operation management method includes the step (S136 in Figure 5, Figure 7) in which the two-dimensional information generation unit 221 generates integrated two-dimensional information 83 at multiple points by integrating the two-dimensional information 82 of the multiple vehicles 80. The operation management method includes the step (S143 in Figure 5, Figure 8) in which the flightable area generation unit 222 calculates the three-dimensional shape obtained by continuously connecting the integrated two-dimensional information 83 of the multiple points (locations) along the travel path 3 as the flightable area 280.

[0064] In this configuration, a flightable area 280 suitable for actual operation can be generated in a travel path 3 where multiple types of vehicles 80 travel. In a travel path 3 where only one type of railway vehicle 80a travels, two-dimensional information 82 of one railway vehicle 80a is generated, and by continuously connecting the two-dimensional information 82 at each point along the travel path 3, an appropriate flightable area 280 can be generated. In other words, when the process shown in the flowchart of Figure 5 is executed using information of one railway vehicle 80a, the integrated two-dimensional information 83 generated in step S146 is the same as the two-dimensional information 82 of the railway vehicle 80a generated in step S130.

[0065] <Third Embodiment> Referring to Figures 10 to 15, the operation management system 2 according to the third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same or equivalent components as those described in the second embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the differences will be primarily explained.

[0066] The flight management device 300 according to the third embodiment generates integrated two-dimensional information 83 by the same process as in the second embodiment. The flight management device 300 corrects the generated integrated two-dimensional information 83 by adding the evacuation area 42 (see Figure 13) to the integrated two-dimensional information 83. The flight management device 300 calculates the flyable area 380 (see Figure 15) using the corrected two-dimensional information 83A (see Figure 13). The flight management device 300 also sets attribute information indicating the required flight state for the aircraft 60 that have evacuated to the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383 (see Figure 15). The functions and processing details of the flight management device 300 will be described in detail below.

[0067] Figure 10 is a functional block diagram of the flight management device 300 according to the third embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, the flight management device 300 has an input unit 111, a calculation unit 312, an output unit 113, and a storage unit 114, similar to the flight management device 100 of the first embodiment. The calculation unit 312 according to the third embodiment has a two-dimensional information generation unit 221, a flightable area generation unit 222, an evacuation area calculation unit 323, a correction unit 324, and an attribute information setting unit 325. The results calculated by the calculation unit 312 are stored in the storage unit 114 as needed and output to the output device 90.

[0068] Figure 11 is similar to Figure 5 and is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by the operation management device 300 according to the third embodiment. In the flowchart of Figure 11, steps S210, S240, S243, and S246 are executed instead of steps S110, S140, S143, and S146 in Figure 5. Also, in the flowchart of Figure 11, steps S238 and S239 are executed between steps S136 and S240, and step S245 is executed between steps S243 and S246.

[0069] As shown in Figure 11, in step S210, the input unit 111 receives vehicle structure information, vehicle aisle information, and aircraft structure information from the data server 92. In the third embodiment, the vehicle aisle information includes ground structure information relating to the ground structure around the vehicle 80's travel aisle 3.

[0070] Figure 12 shows an example of ground structure information. Ground structure information is information obtained from, for example, 3D point cloud information acquired by LiDAR or drawings of ground structures. As shown in Figure 12, the ground structure information includes data on the position and outer edge shape of ground structures 40 such as traffic lights 40a and utility poles 40b. The data on the position and outer edge shape of ground structures 40 is, for example, coordinate data in a geographic coordinate system. The aircraft structure information is information on the structure of the aircraft 60 obtained from drawings and specifications, and includes data such as the aircraft size, flight method, and battery capacity of the aircraft 60.

[0071] The processes in steps S113 to S136 shown in Figure 11 are the same as those in the first embodiment, so their explanation will be omitted. In step S136, once the generation of integrated two-dimensional information 83 at the selected point is complete, the process proceeds to step S238.

[0072] In step S238, the evacuation area calculation unit 323 uses the ground structure information included in the vehicle path information acquired in step S210 to calculate the evacuation area 42, which is the area where the aircraft 60 will evacuate. If the ground structure information already includes information about the location and shape of the evacuation area 42, the evacuation area calculation unit 323 extracts information about the evacuation area 42 from the vehicle path information. The information about the evacuation area 42 is, for example, coordinate data that defines the boundary of the evacuation area 42.

[0073] The evacuation area calculation unit 323 may also calculate the evacuation area 42 using the ground structure information included in the vehicle path information. The evacuation area calculation unit 323 calculates the evacuation area 42 using the integrated two-dimensional information 83, the aircraft structure information, and the ground structure information at the selected point. For example, as shown in Figure 12, the evacuation area calculation unit 323 calculates a rectangular first area 41 that has the maximum area between the ground structures 40 (utility poles 40b and traffic lights 40a) installed on both the left and right sides of the travel path 3, under the condition that it does not interfere with the ground structures 40.

[0074] The evacuation area calculation unit 323 calculates a second area by subtracting the area defined by the integrated two-dimensional information 83 from the first area 41. The evacuation area calculation unit 323 uses the size of the aircraft 60 included in the aircraft structure information to determine whether a space larger than the size of the aircraft 60 can be secured in the second area. The evacuation area calculation unit 323 calculates the area in the second area where a space larger than the size of the aircraft 60 can be secured as the evacuation area 42.

[0075] Once the retraction area calculation process shown in Figure 11 (step S238) is completed, the process proceeds to step S239. In step S239, the correction unit 324 corrects the integrated two-dimensional information 83 by adding the retraction area 42 calculated by the retraction area calculation unit 323 to the integrated two-dimensional information 83 generated by the two-dimensional information generation unit 221.

[0076] Figure 13 shows an example of a method for correcting integrated two-dimensional information 83. As shown in Figure 13, the correction unit 324 corrects the integrated two-dimensional information 83 using the height from the ground (hereinafter also referred to as the restriction height) that represents the altitude restriction 43. The restriction height used in this altitude restriction correction process is stored in advance in the non-volatile memory 102 of the flight management device 300. The restriction height is predetermined for the safe flight of the aircraft 60. In the altitude restriction correction process, the area below the restriction height among the area defined in the integrated two-dimensional information 83 is excluded from the integrated two-dimensional information 83. The correction unit 324 combines the evacuation area 42 with the integrated two-dimensional information 83 that has undergone altitude restriction correction processing, and calculates the combined area as corrected integrated two-dimensional information (hereinafter also referred to as corrected two-dimensional information 83A).

[0077] Once the correction process shown in Figure 11 (step S239) is completed, the process proceeds to step S240. In step S240, the 2D information generation unit 221 determines whether the generation of corrected 2D information 83A for all points on the inspection target passage has been completed. If it is determined in step S240 that the generation of corrected 2D information 83A for all points has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S121. In step S121, the 2D information generation unit 221 selects a point that has not been selected from among the multiple points. If it is determined in step S140 that the generation of corrected 2D information 83A for all points has been completed, the process proceeds to step S243.

[0078] In step S243, the flyable area generation unit 222 generates a flyable area 380 using corrected two-dimensional information 83A at all points on the travel path 3 of the inspection section. The flyable area generation unit 222 arranges the corrected two-dimensional information 83A at all points on the travel path 3 of the inspection section and calculates a three-dimensional flyable area 380 by continuously connecting multiple corrected two-dimensional information 83A along the travel path 3. In addition, the evacuation area 42 is continuously connected to the travel path 3 to generate three-dimensional evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383 (see Figure 15).

[0079] In the next step S245, the attribute information setting unit 325 sets the attribute information for the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383 (see Figure 15) using the vehicle structure information and the driving state information. The attribute information is information indicating the flight state required for the aircraft 60 that has evacuated to the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383. The details of the attribute information setting process will be explained with reference to Figures 14 and 15.

[0080] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the attribute information setting process (step S245 in Figure 11) performed by the flight management device 300. Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of the output result of the flightable area 380, including the evacuation area, output from the flight management device 300. In step S301 shown in Figure 14, the attribute information setting unit 325 selects one of the three-dimensional evacuation areas from the flightable area 380. The attribute information setting unit 325 sets attribute information for all evacuation areas included in the flightable area 380 by attribute information setting processing.

[0081] In the example shown in Figure 15, the flyable area 380 includes a first evacuation area 381, a second evacuation area 382, ​​and a third evacuation area 383 as three-dimensional evacuation areas. In the flyable area 380, the area excluding evacuation areas 381 to 383 is the flight path 389 that the aircraft 60 normally flies when no evacuation is performed, and corresponds to the flyable area 280 described in the second embodiment.

[0082] The first evacuation area 381 is a rectangular prism-shaped evacuation area connected to the flight path 389. The first evacuation area 381 is an evacuation area calculated by the evacuation area calculation unit 323 using ground structure information and aircraft structure information. The second evacuation area 382 is a trapezoidal column-shaped evacuation area connected to the flight path 389. The third evacuation area 383 is a cylindrical evacuation area connected to the second evacuation area 382. The second evacuation area 382 and the third evacuation area 383 are evacuation areas extracted by the evacuation area calculation unit 323 from ground structure information. The information regarding the third evacuation area 383 includes information on the location of the charging equipment 384 installed inside the third evacuation area 383.

[0083] As shown in Figure 14, once the evacuation area selection process (step S301) is completed, the process proceeds to step S304. In step S304, the attribute information setting unit 325 calculates the position and size of the evacuation area selected in step S301.

[0084] In the next step S307, the attribute information setting unit 325 uses the vehicle structure information and the driving state information to calculate the airflow influence range 388 (see Figure 15) caused by the vehicle 80 traveling along the driving path 3. For example, the attribute information setting unit 325 uses the vehicle structure information to calculate the air pressure receiving surface as the projected surface 81 of the vehicle 80 viewed from the front. The attribute information setting unit 325 uses the projected surface 81 and the speed of the vehicle 80 included in the driving state information to calculate the wind speed around the vehicle 80. The attribute information setting unit 325 sets the region where airflow with a wind speed exceeding the wind resistance performance of the aircraft 60 occurs as the airflow influence range 388. Information regarding the wind resistance performance of the aircraft 60 (e.g., wind speed threshold) is stored in the non-volatile memory 102 in advance. The attribute information setting unit 325 sets the region where the calculated wind speed is equal to or greater than the wind speed threshold as the airflow influence range 388.

[0085] In the next step S310, the attribute information setting unit 325 determines whether the evacuation area selected in step S301 is affected by the airflow. If the entire evacuation area is outside the airflow influence range 388, the attribute information setting unit 325 determines that the evacuation area is not affected by the airflow and proceeds to step S313. If at least a part of the evacuation area is inside the airflow influence range 388, the attribute information setting unit 325 determines that the evacuation area is affected by the airflow and proceeds to step S316.

[0086] In step S313, the attribute information setting unit 325 sets the attribute information "Flight permitted" for the selected evacuation area and proceeds to step S320. In step S316, the attribute information setting unit 325 sets the attribute information "Landing required (Flight prohibited)" for the selected evacuation area and proceeds to step S320.

[0087] In step S320, the attribute information setting unit 325 determines whether or not a charging device 384 exists in the selected retraction area. If it is determined that a charging device 382 exists in the retraction area, the process proceeds to step S323; if it is determined that a charging device 382 does not exist in the retraction area, the process proceeds to step S326.

[0088] In step S323, the attribute information setting unit 325 sets the attribute information "Charging possible" for the selected evacuation area. In step S326, the attribute information setting unit 325 sets the attribute information "Charging impossible" for the selected evacuation area. Once the processing in step S323 or step S326 is completed, the process returns to step S301, and an unselected evacuation area is selected. Once the attribute information setting for all evacuation areas is complete, the attribute information setting process in Figure 11 (step S245) is completed, and the process proceeds to step S246. In the example shown in Figure 15, the attribute information "Landing required" and "Charging impossible" is set for the first evacuation area 381, the attribute information "Landing required" and "Charging impossible" is set for the second evacuation area 382, ​​and the attribute information "Flight possible" and "Charging possible" is set for the third evacuation area 383. The attribute information setting unit 325 may also set further attribute information that is not shown.

[0089] In the next step S246, the memory unit 114 stores the flyable area 380 generated in step S243, and the output unit 113 outputs the flyable area 380 to the output device 90. The display devices 32 and 72, acting as the output device 90, acquire information for displaying the flyable area 380 from the flight management device 300. The display devices 32 and 72 display an image of the flyable area 380 on the display screen 50, as shown in Figure 15. It is also preferable that the display devices 32 and 72 display characters or icons representing attribute information such as "flyable," "landing required," and "charging available" for each evacuation area on the display screen 50. This allows the pilot to be presented with the flight status required for the aircraft 60 that has evacuated to the evacuation area. As a result, the pilot can perform appropriate evacuation operations.

[0090] According to this third embodiment, in addition to the effects and advantages of the second embodiment, the following effects and advantages can be obtained.

[0091] (5) The operation management method implemented by the operation management device 300 includes the step of inputting ground structure information relating to the ground structure around the travel path 3 of the vehicle 80 into the input unit 111 (S210 in Figure 11). The operation management method includes the step of generating 2D information 82 of the vehicle 80 and integrated 2D information 83 by integrating them using the vehicle structure information and the travel state information of the 2D information generation unit 221 (S121 to S136 in Figure 11). The operation management method includes the step of calculating the evacuation area 42, which is the area where the aircraft 60 will evacuate, using the evacuation area calculation unit 323 (S238 in Figure 11, Figures 12 and 13). The operation management method includes the step of correcting the integrated 2D information 83 by adding the evacuation area 42 to the integrated 2D information 83 using the correction unit 324 (S239 in Figure 11). The flight management method includes a step in which the flightable area generation unit 222 calculates the flightable area 380 using corrected integrated two-dimensional information (corrected two-dimensional information 83A) (S243 in Figure 11). The flight management method includes a step in which the attribute information setting unit 325 sets attribute information for the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383 using vehicle structure information and driving state information (S245 in Figure 11, Figure 14). The flight management method includes a step in which the output unit 113 outputs the attribute information set for the flightable area 380 and the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383 (S246 in Figure 11, Figure 15). The attribute information includes information indicating the required flight state for the aircraft 60 that has evacuated to the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383.

[0092] This configuration allows the pilot or flight manager to be provided with a flyable area 380 that includes evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383 with attribute information set. As a result, when a vehicle 80 approaches an aircraft 60, the aircraft 60 can be moved to the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383, thereby appropriately preventing contact between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60.

[0093] In this third embodiment, an example of correcting integrated two-dimensional information 83 has been described, but the flyable area 380 may also be generated from a single vehicle 80. In this case, the operation management device 300 corrects the two-dimensional information 82 generated using vehicle structure information, etc., of a single vehicle 80, and generates the flyable area 380 using the corrected two-dimensional information.

[0094] Furthermore, the flight management device 300 may generate the flyable area 280 described in the second embodiment and generate a three-dimensional flyable area 380 by combining the three-dimensional evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​and 383 with the flyable area 280.

[0095] <Fourth Embodiment> Referring to Figures 16 to 18, the operation management system 2 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same or equivalent components as those described in the second embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the differences will be primarily explained.

[0096] The flight management device 400 according to the fourth embodiment generates integrated two-dimensional information 83 by the same process as in the second embodiment. The flight management device 400 corrects the generated integrated two-dimensional information 83 using the fall range 8 of the aircraft 60 (see Figure 18(b)). The flight management device 400 calculates the flyable area 480 using the corrected two-dimensional information 83B (see Figure 18(c)). The functions and processing details of the flight management device 400 will be described in detail below.

[0097] Figure 16 is a functional block diagram of the flight management device 400 according to the fourth embodiment. As shown in Figure 16, the flight management device 400 has an input unit 111, a calculation unit 412, an output unit 113, and a storage unit 114, similar to the flight management device 100 of the first embodiment. The calculation unit 412 according to the fourth embodiment has a two-dimensional information generation unit 221, a flightable area generation unit 222, a correction unit 424, and a fall range calculation unit 426.

[0098] Figure 17 is similar to Figure 5 and is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow executed by the operation management device 400 according to the fourth embodiment. In the flowchart of Figure 17, steps S310, S340, S343, and S346 are executed instead of steps S110, S140, S143, and S146 in Figure 5. Also, in the flowchart of Figure 17, steps S338 and S339 are executed between steps S136 and S340.

[0099] As shown in Figure 17, in step S310, the input unit 111 receives vehicle structure information, vehicle lane information, aircraft structure information, and environmental information from the data server 92. In this embodiment, the environmental information is weather information around the travel lane 3 on which the vehicle 80 travels. The weather information includes information on wind direction and wind speed around the travel lane 3.

[0100] The processes in steps S113 to S136 shown in Figure 17 are the same as those in the first embodiment, so their explanation will be omitted. In step S136, once the generation of integrated 2D information 83 at the selected point is complete, the process proceeds to step S338. In step S338, the fall range calculation unit 326 performs the fall range calculation process, and in the next step S339, the correction unit 424 performs the 2D information correction process based on the fall range 8 (see Figure 18). The fall range calculation process and the 2D information correction process will be explained with reference to Figure 18.

[0101] Figure 18 shows an example of a method for calculating the fall range and a method for correcting 2D information based on the fall range. As shown in Figure 18(a), the fall range calculation unit 426 uses information about the site included in the vehicle passage information to calculate the left and right boundaries 9 of the site. The area inside the left and right boundaries 9 is the site including the travel passage 3.

[0102] The fall range calculation unit 426 calculates the fall range 8 when the aircraft 60 is positioned at the highest altitude within the region defined by the integrated two-dimensional information 83. The fall range 8 is represented by a cone with the aircraft 60 as its apex and the flight altitude as its height. The fall range calculation unit 426 calculates the fall range 8 using the wind speed included in the environmental information and the aircraft structure information. For example, the evacuation area calculation unit 323 calculates the apex angle of the cone that defines the fall range 8 by multiplying the reference apex angle of the cone included in the aircraft structure information by a correction coefficient corresponding to the wind speed. The correction coefficient is a value greater than 1 and increases as the wind speed increases. The aircraft structure information includes a correction coefficient table that defines the relationship between wind speed and the correction coefficient. The evacuation area calculation unit 323 refers to the correction coefficient table and calculates the correction coefficient using the wind speed.

[0103] As shown in Figure 18(b), the fall range calculation unit 426 calculates the range R1 of the lateral position of the aircraft 60 such that the fall range 8 falls inside the left and right boundaries 9 (inside the site) when the aircraft 60 is flying at its highest altitude within the area defined by the integrated two-dimensional information 83. The position range R1 is shorter than the maximum position range R0 (see Figure 18(a)) when the aircraft 60 is flying at its highest altitude within the area defined by the integrated two-dimensional information 83.

[0104] In this way, the fall range calculation unit 426 sets the fall range 8 of the flying object 60 to be inside the site so that the flying object 60 does not fall outside the site where the travel path 3 is installed (S338 in Figure 17).

[0105] As shown in Figure 18(c), the correction unit 424 corrects the integrated two-dimensional information 83 using the fall range 8 calculated by the fall range calculation unit 426 (S339 in Figure 17). As a result, corrected integrated two-dimensional information (hereinafter also referred to as corrected two-dimensional information 83B) is obtained, as shown by the thick line in Figure 18(c).

[0106] For example, the following correction method can be employed. First, the aircraft 60 is placed at the left and right ends of the position range R1. Next, the upper edge of the integrated 2D information 83 is shortened using the aircraft size from the aircraft structure information. The left endpoint P1a of the corrected upper edge is connected to the intersection point P2a between the generatrix of the cone representing the fall range 8 and the boundary line of the region defined by the integrated 2D information 83 with a straight line La. Similarly, the right endpoint P1b of the corrected upper edge is connected to the intersection point P2b between the generatrix of the cone representing the fall range 8 and the boundary line of the region defined by the integrated 2D information 83 with a straight line Lb. Corrected 2D information 83B is generated by excluding the information to the left of the straight line La (e.g., 3D point cloud information) and the information to the right of the straight line Lb (e.g., 3D point cloud information) from the integrated 2D information 83, and adding the information of the straight lines La and Lb.

[0107] As shown in Figure 17, in step S339, once the 2D information correction process is completed, the process proceeds to step S340. In step S340, the 2D information generation unit 221 determines whether the generation of corrected 2D information 83B for all points on the travel path 3 of the inspection target section has been completed. In step S340, if it is determined that the generation of corrected 2D information 83B for all points has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S121. In step S121, the 2D information generation unit 221 selects a point that has not been selected from among multiple points. In step S140, if it is determined that the generation of corrected 2D information 83B for all points has been completed, the process proceeds to step S343.

[0108] In step S343, the flyable area generation unit 222 generates a flyable area 480 (see Figure 18(c)) using corrected two-dimensional information 83B at all points on the travel path 3 of the section to be inspected. The flyable area generation unit 222 arranges the corrected two-dimensional information 83B at all points on the travel path 3 of the section to be inspected and calculates a three-dimensional flyable area 480 by continuously connecting multiple corrected two-dimensional information 83B along the travel path 3.

[0109] In the next step, S346, the output unit 113 outputs the flyable area 480 generated in step S343 to the output device 90. The display devices 32 and 72, acting as the output device 90, acquire information from the flight management device 400 to display the flyable area 480. The display devices 32 and 72 display an image of the flyable area 480 on the display screen 50. This allows the pilot to be presented with the flyable area 480, which has been modified based on the fall zone 8 set within the site. As a result, the pilot can operate the aircraft 60 without being aware of the fall zone.

[0110] According to this fourth embodiment, in addition to the effects and advantages of the second embodiment, the following effects and advantages can be obtained.

[0111] (6) The operation management method implemented by the operation management device 200 includes the step of inputting environmental information, including wind speed, around the travel path 3 on which the vehicle 80 travels (S310 in Figure 17). The operation management method includes the step of generating two-dimensional information 82 of the vehicle 80 and integrated two-dimensional information 83 by integrating them, using vehicle structure information and travel state information, using two-dimensional information 221 (S121 to S136 in Figure 11). The operation management method includes the step of setting the fall range 8 of the flying object 60 to the inside of the site so that the flying object 60 does not fall outside the site on which the travel path 3 is installed (S338 in Figure 17, Figure 18(b)). The operation management method includes the step of correcting the integrated two-dimensional information 83 using the fall range 8, using the correction unit 424 (S339 in Figure 17, Figure 18(c)). The flight management method includes a step in which the flightable area generation unit 222 calculates the flightable area 480 using corrected integrated two-dimensional information (corrected two-dimensional information 83B) (S343 in Figure 17, Figure 18(c)). The flight management method also includes a step in which the output unit 113 outputs the flightable area 480 (S346 in Figure 17).

[0112] In this configuration, the flightable area 480, calculated using the predicted fall area 8 that is expected to remain within the area of ​​the travel path 3, can be presented to the pilot or operations manager. As a result, even if the aircraft 60 malfunctions, it is prevented from falling outside the area. Furthermore, the pilot only needs to operate the aircraft 60 to fly within the flightable area 480, eliminating the need for the pilot to operate the aircraft 60 while being aware of a pre-determined fall area. This improves operability.

[0113] In this fourth embodiment, an example of correcting integrated two-dimensional information 83 has been described, but the flyable area 480 may also be generated using the vehicle structure information of a single vehicle 80. In this case, the operation management device 400 corrects the two-dimensional information 82 generated using the vehicle structure information of a single vehicle 80, and generates the flyable area 480 using the corrected two-dimensional information.

[0114] <Fifth Embodiment> Referring to Figures 19 to 24, the operation management system 2 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same or equivalent components as those described in the first to fourth embodiments will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the differences will be primarily explained.

[0115] Figure 19 is a functional block diagram of the operation management device 500 according to the fifth embodiment. As shown in Figure 19, the operation management device 500 has an input unit 111, a calculation unit 512, a storage unit 114, a plan determination unit 525, and an output unit 113. The calculation unit 512 according to the fifth embodiment has a vehicle occupancy area setting unit 521, an aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522, a flight plan creation unit 523, and a plan determination unit 525.

[0116] The memory unit 114 stores the flyable regions 180, 280, 380, and 480 calculated in any of the first to fourth embodiments. In this fifth embodiment, an example in which the flyable region 280 calculated in the second embodiment is stored in the memory unit 114 will be described.

[0117] The flight management device 500 may have a function to calculate the flyable area, as in the above embodiment, or it may not have a function to calculate the flyable area, but may have a function to input and store the flyable area calculated by another flight management device (external device) not shown.

[0118] The input unit 111 receives the vehicle operation plan of vehicle 80. The flight plan creation unit 523 uses the flyable area 280 stored in the memory unit 114 and the vehicle operation plan of vehicle 80 to create a flight plan for the aircraft 60. The output unit 113 outputs the flight plan created by the flight plan creation unit 523 to the output device 90. As described above, the flight plan is operation management information used for the operation management of the aircraft 60 and includes information on the flight path 66. This will be explained in detail below.

[0119] Figure 20 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by the flight management device 500 according to the fifth embodiment. The processing shown in Figure 20 is started when the input device 31 performs an output operation of the flight plan and is repeatedly executed at a predetermined control cycle.

[0120] As shown in Figure 20, in step S510, the input unit 111 receives vehicle structure information, a proposed flight plan, and aircraft structure information from the input device 31 or the data server 92, and receives the vehicle operation plan from the vehicle management device 91. The proposed flight plan includes location information of multiple points (waypoints) that define the flight path 66 of the aircraft 60, and time information associated with the multiple points (waypoints). The multiple points include the departure point and destination point of the flight path 66 of the aircraft 60, as well as multiple waypoints on the flight path 66 connecting the departure point and the destination point. The departure point is associated with the planned departure time information of the aircraft 60. The waypoints are associated with the planned passage time information of the aircraft 60. The destination point is associated with the planned arrival time information of the aircraft 60. The vehicle operation plan includes, for example, location information of multiple waypoints on the travel path of the vehicle 80, and the planned passage time of the vehicle 80 associated with each of the multiple waypoints.

[0121] In the next step S515, the vehicle occupied area setting unit 521 uses the vehicle structure information and vehicle operation plan of the vehicle 80 to set a vehicle occupied area 85 as the vehicle 80's unique area around the vehicle 80. Figure 21 is a diagram showing an example of how to set the vehicle occupied area 85. As shown in Figure 21, the vehicle occupied area 85 is set for each vehicle. The vehicle occupied area setting unit 521 uses the vehicle operation plan to identify the location and time of multiple points on the travel route and sets the vehicle occupied area 85 for each of the multiple points. Figure 21 shows the vehicle occupied area 85 at a certain point. The vehicle occupied area 85 is, for example, a rectangular column-shaped area extending in the direction of travel of the vehicle 80. The length Lv of the vehicle occupied area 85 corresponds to the sum of the total length L0 of the vehicle 80 included in the vehicle structure information, the forward length L1 from the front end of the vehicle 80 to the front end of the vehicle occupied area 85, and the rear length L2 from the rear end of the vehicle 80 to the rear end of the vehicle occupied area 85. The rear length L2 is predetermined and stored in the non-volatile memory 102.

[0122] The forward length L1 corresponds to the distance that the vehicle 80 may travel during a predetermined time t. The predetermined time t is set in advance and stored in the non-volatile memory 102. The vehicle occupancy area setting unit 521 calculates the speed of the vehicle 80 using the vehicle operation plan and calculates the forward length L1 by multiplying the speed of the vehicle 80 by the predetermined time t.

[0123] The predetermined time t is preferably set such that the forward length L1 is greater than or equal to the sum of the vehicle 80's air travel distance (reaction distance) and braking distance. The vehicle 80's reaction distance is the distance the vehicle 80 travels from the time it detects the approach of the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 until braking (deceleration) by the vehicle 80's braking device begins. The vehicle 80's braking distance is the distance the vehicle 80 travels from the time braking by the braking device begins until the vehicle 80 comes to a stop.

[0124] The vehicle occupancy area setting unit 521 calculates the width W of the vehicle occupancy area 85 by adding a margin value to the total width of the vehicle 80 included in the vehicle structure information. The vehicle occupancy area setting unit 521 calculates the height H of the vehicle occupancy area 85 by adding a margin value to the total height of the vehicle 80 included in the vehicle structure information. The margin values ​​used to calculate the width and height of the vehicle occupancy area 85 are predetermined and stored in the non-volatile memory 102. Figure 21 shows an example where the vehicle occupancy area 85 is a simple rectangular column shape. However, more specifically, at a certain point, a shape is set as the vehicle occupancy area 85 by connecting minute rectangular column shapes having width W and height H along the travel path.

[0125] Furthermore, if vehicle 80 is a railway vehicle 80a and the vehicle operation plan includes information on block sections, the vehicle occupancy area setting unit 521 may calculate the length of the block section as the forward length L1. A block section is a section in which only one railway vehicle 80a can travel at a time, and in which multiple railway vehicles 80a cannot exist. In this case, the predetermined time t is set as the time it takes for the railway vehicle 80a to travel from the start point to the end point of the block section.

[0126] As shown in Figure 20, once the vehicle occupancy area 85 setting process is completed in step S515, the process proceeds to step S520. In step S520, the flight plan creation unit 523 uses the proposed flight plan, aircraft structure information (aircraft size), and flyable area 280 to create a flight plan in which the aircraft 60 flies along the flight path 66 with the entire aircraft 60 contained within the flyable area 280. For example, if the location information of each point (waypoint) included in the proposed flight plan is planar position coordinate information of latitude and longitude, the flight plan creation unit 523 calculates the height position coordinate of each point, adds the height position coordinate to the planar position coordinate information, and generates flight path information consisting of three-dimensional position coordinates. The created flight plan is stored in the storage unit 114.

[0127] In the next step S525, the aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 uses the aircraft structure information and flight plan of the aircraft 60 to set an aircraft occupancy area 65 as the aircraft 60's intrinsic area around the aircraft 60. Figure 22 is a diagram showing an example of how to set the aircraft occupancy area 65. As shown in Figure 22, the aircraft occupancy area 65 is set for each aircraft. The aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 uses the aircraft operation plan to identify the positions and times of multiple points on the flight path and sets an aircraft occupancy area 65 for each of the multiple points. Figure 22 shows the aircraft occupancy area 65 at a certain point. The aircraft occupancy area 65 is, for example, a cylindrical area extending in the direction of travel of the aircraft 60. The length Lc of the aircraft-occupied area 65 corresponds to the sum of the total length L3 of the aircraft 60 included in the aircraft structure information, the forward length L4 from the front end of the aircraft 60 to the front end of the aircraft-occupied area 65, and the rearward length L5 from the rear end of the aircraft 60 to the rear end of the aircraft-occupied area 65. The rearward length L5 is predetermined and stored in the non-volatile memory 102.

[0128] The forward length L4 corresponds to the distance that the aircraft 60 may travel in a predetermined time t. The predetermined time t used to calculate the forward length L4 of the aircraft 60 is the same as the predetermined time t used to calculate the forward length L1 of the vehicle 80. The aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 calculates the speed of the aircraft 60 using the flight plan and calculates the forward length L4 by multiplying the speed of the aircraft 60 by the predetermined time t.

[0129] The aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 calculates the diameter D of the aircraft occupancy area 65 by adding a margin value to the larger of the total width and total height of the aircraft 60 included in the aircraft structure information. The margin value used in calculating the diameter D of the aircraft occupancy area 65 is predetermined and stored in the non-volatile memory 102. Figure 22 shows an example where the aircraft occupancy area 65 is a simple cylindrical shape. However, more specifically, the aircraft occupancy area 65 is set as a shape formed by connecting small cylindrical shapes with a diameter D along the flight path 66 at a certain point.

[0130] As shown in Figure 20, once the process of setting the aircraft occupied area 65 is completed in step S525, the process proceeds to step S530. In step S530, the planning determination unit 525 determines whether the aircraft occupied area 65 is in contact with another occupied area. The other occupied area is at least one of the vehicle occupied area 85 of the vehicle 80 and the aircraft occupied area 65 of the other aircraft 60. In this embodiment, an example in which the other occupied area is the vehicle occupied area 85 will be described.

[0131] Figures 23 and 24 illustrate an example of contact detection processing between the aircraft-occupied area 65 of an aircraft 60 flying within the flightable area 280 and the vehicle-occupied area 85 of a vehicle 80 traveling on the travel path 3. Figures 23 and 24 show examples where the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are traveling in the same direction. Figure 23 shows the case where the aircraft-occupied area 65 and the vehicle-occupied area 85 are not in contact, while Figure 24 shows the case where the aircraft-occupied area 65 and the vehicle-occupied area 85 are in contact.

[0132] The planning determination unit 525 determines whether the area occupied by the aircraft at a predetermined point WP(n) on the flight path 66 is in contact with the area occupied by the vehicle at the position of the vehicle 80 at the time associated with the predetermined point WP(n). This contact determination process corresponds to the process of determining whether an approach between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 within the flyable area 280 is predicted. n is a natural number used to identify points from 1 to k. Point WP(1) where n=1 represents the starting point, and point WP(k) where n=k represents the destination point. The flight path includes the starting point WP(1), multiple waypoints WP(2), WP(3), ..., WP(k-1), and the destination point WP(k).

[0133] In step S530 of Figure 20, the planning determination unit 525 performs the above contact determination process at all points WP(n) on the flight path 66. If the planning determination unit 525 determines that the aircraft-occupied area 65 and the vehicle-occupied area 85 are not in contact at all points WP(n) on the flight path 66 (see Figure 23), the process proceeds to step S535. In other words, if approach between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 within the flyable area 280 is not predicted, the process proceeds to step S535. If the planning determination unit 525 determines that the aircraft-occupied area 65 and the vehicle-occupied area 85 are in contact at any of the points WP(n) on the flight path 66 (see Figure 24), the process proceeds to step S540. In other words, if approach between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 within the flyable area 280 is predicted, the process proceeds to step S540.

[0134] In step S535, the planning determination unit 525 determines whether at least a portion of the aircraft's occupied area 65 deviates from the flyable area 280 at each point along the flight path 66. If the planning determination unit 525 determines that at least a portion of the aircraft's occupied area 65 deviates from the flyable area 280 at any point along the flight path 66, it proceeds to step S540. If the planning determination unit 525 determines that the entirety of the aircraft's occupied area 65 is within the flyable area 280 at all points along the flight path 66, it proceeds to step S545.

[0135] In the contact detection process (S530), if a positive determination (contact detection) is made, the contact flag is set to ON; if a negative determination (non-contact detection) is made, the contact flag is set to OFF. In the deviation detection process (S535), if a positive determination (deviation detection) is made, the deviation flag is set to ON; if a negative determination (non-deviation detection) is made, the deviation flag is set to OFF.

[0136] In step S540, the flight plan creation unit 523 modifies the flight plan stored in the memory unit 114. If the contact flag is set to ON, the flight plan creation unit 523 modifies the flight plan, for example, by changing the time associated with each waypoint in the flight plan. If the deviation flag is set to ON, the flight plan creation unit 523 modifies the flight plan, for example, by changing the position of points in the flight path of the flight plan within the longitudinal section of the flyable area 280. The longitudinal section is a section perpendicular to the direction of travel of the aircraft 60. Once the flight plan modification process is complete, the process returns to step S525.

[0137] In step S545, the output unit 113 outputs the flight plan to the output device 90. The display devices 32 and 72, acting as the output device 90, acquire information for displaying the flight plan from the flight management device 500. The display devices 32 and 72 display an image of the flight plan on the display screen 50. This makes it possible to present the pilot with a flight plan that can prevent contact with the vehicle 80 according to the vehicle operation plan.

[0138] According to this fifth embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0139] (7) The operation management method performed by the operation management device 500 includes the step of storing the flyable area 280, which is the area in which the aircraft 60 can fly and is calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle 80. As described above, the operation management device 500 may calculate the flyable area 280 and store it in the storage unit 114, or the operation management device 500 may input the flyable area 280 calculated by another operation management device (external device) and store it in the storage unit 114. The operation management method includes the step (S545 in Figure 20) of outputting operation management information (in this embodiment, a flight plan) used for operation management of the aircraft 60 calculated using the flyable area 280. According to this embodiment, as in the above embodiment, the operation of the aircraft 60 can be safely managed by setting an appropriate flyable area 280.

[0140] (8) The operation management method implemented by the operation management device 500 includes the step of inputting the operation plan of the vehicle 80 to the input unit 111 (S510 in Figure 20). The operation management method includes the step of flight plan creation unit 523 creating a flight plan for the aircraft 60 using the flyable area 280 having boundaries along the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle 80 and the vehicle operation plan of the vehicle 80 (S520 to S540 in Figure 20). The operation management method includes the step of outputting the flight plan created by the flight plan creation unit 523 as operation management information to the output unit 113 (S545 in Figure 20). With this configuration, a flight plan that appropriately prevents contact with the vehicle 80 can be presented to the operation manager or pilot.

[0141] (9) The operation management method performed by the operation management device 500 includes the step of inputting vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle 80 and aircraft structure information relating to the structure of the aircraft 60 into the input unit 111 (S510 in Figure 20). The operation management method includes the step of setting a vehicle occupied area 85 as the vehicle 80's unique area around the vehicle 80 using the vehicle structure information of the vehicle 80 and the vehicle operation plan (S515 in Figure 20). The operation management method includes the step of setting an aircraft occupied area 65 as the aircraft 60's unique area around the aircraft 60 using the aircraft structure information and the flight plan (S525 in Figure 20). The operation management method includes the step of modifying the flight plan using the vehicle occupied area 85 and the aircraft occupied area 65 (S525 to S540 in Figure 20) into the flight plan creation unit 523. This configuration allows for accurate prediction of the approach between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60, and this information can be incorporated into the creation of the flight plan.

[0142] <Modification 1 of the 5th embodiment> In the fifth embodiment described above, an example of creating a flight plan for an aircraft 60 flying within the flyable area 280 described in the second embodiment was explained. However, a flight plan for an aircraft 60 flying within the flyable areas 380 and 480 described in the third and fourth embodiments may also be created. Referring to Figure 25, a method for creating a flight plan for an aircraft 60 flying within the flyable area 380 which has an evacuation area 385 will be explained. Note that the evacuation area 385 is the same area as the evacuation areas 381, 382, ​​383 etc. described in the third embodiment, so its explanation will be omitted.

[0143] Figure 25 shows an example of a collision detection process between the aircraft-occupied area 65 of an aircraft 60 flying within a flyable area 380 having an evacuation area 385 and the vehicle-occupied area 85 of a vehicle 80 traveling on a travel path 3, and a flight plan modification process based on the result of that detection. Figure 25 shows an example where the direction of travel of the aircraft 60 and the direction of travel of the vehicle 80 are opposite.

[0144] In step S530 of Figure 20, the planning determination unit 525 determines whether or not an approach between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 in the flight path 389 is predicted. As described above, the flight path 389 is the normal flight area where the aircraft 60 flies under normal circumstances when no evacuation is performed, and corresponds to the flyable area 280 described in the second embodiment. If the planning determination unit 525 determines that the aircraft occupied area 65 and the vehicle occupied area 85 are not in contact at all points WP(n) on the flight path 66, the process proceeds to step S535. In other words, if an approach between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 in the flight path 389 is not predicted, the process proceeds to step S535. If the planning determination unit 525 determines that the aircraft occupied area 65 and the vehicle occupied area 85 are in contact at any of the points WP(n) on the flight path 66 (see Figure 25(a)), the process proceeds to step S540. In other words, if an approach between vehicle 80 and aircraft 60 within the flight path 389 is predicted, the process proceeds to step S540.

[0145] In step S540, the flight plan creation unit 523 creates a flight plan that includes an evacuation plan, a waiting plan, and a return plan. As shown in Figure 25(b), the evacuation plan includes an evacuation route 66a that moves the aircraft 60 to the evacuation area 385. The evacuation route 66a is, for example, a route connecting a point (WP(n+2) in the figure) on the flight path 66 within the airway 389 that is before the evacuation area 385, and a point WPe set within the evacuation area 385. The aircraft occupied area 65 at point WP(n) has an area 65e set within the evacuation area 385. If the attribute information of the evacuation area 385 is "landing required (flight prohibited)", the aircraft occupied area setting unit 522 sets the aircraft occupied area 65 taking landing time into consideration.

[0146] As shown in Figure 25(c), the standby plan is a plan to keep the aircraft 60 waiting in the evacuation area 385 in a flight state based on the attribute information of the evacuation area 385 until the time when the vehicle 80 passes through the evacuation area 385. For example, if the attribute information of the evacuation area 385 is "flyable", the standby plan includes an instruction to keep the aircraft 60 hovering in the evacuation area 385. Although not shown, if the attribute information of the evacuation area 385 is "landing required (flying not permitted)", the standby plan includes an instruction to land the aircraft 60 in the landing space of the evacuation area 385.

[0147] The recovery plan is to have the vehicle 80 pass through the evacuation area 385, and then have the aircraft 60 return from the evacuation area 385 to the flight path 389. The flight plan creation unit 523 creates a recovery path that will allow the vehicle 80 to return from the evacuation area 385 to the flight path 389 after it has passed through the evacuation area 385.

[0148] As shown in Figure 20, once the flight plan modification process (S540) is completed, the process proceeds to step S525. In step S525, the aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 sets the aircraft occupancy area 65 of the aircraft 60 using the flight plan which includes the evacuation plan, standby plan, and return plan. By adding the evacuation plan, standby plan, and return plan, the flight plan creation unit 523 can create a flight plan in which the aircraft occupancy area 65 and the vehicle occupancy area 85 do not come into contact, as shown in Figures 25(b) and 25(c).

[0149] As described above, in this modified example, the flyable area 380 includes the flight path (normal flight area) 389 and the evacuation area 385. The vehicle occupancy area setting unit 521 uses the vehicle operation plan to determine the position and time of the vehicle 80 (S515 in Figure 20). When the flight plan creation unit 523 predicts that the vehicle 80 will approach the aircraft 60 in the flight path 389 (Figure 25(a)), it creates a flight plan that includes an evacuation plan and a waiting plan (S540 in Figure 20). The evacuation plan is a plan to move the aircraft 60 to the evacuation area 385 (Figure 25(b)). The waiting plan is a plan to keep the aircraft 60 waiting in the evacuation area 385 in a flight state based on the attribute information of the evacuation area 385 until the time when the vehicle 80 passes through the evacuation area 385 (Figure 25(c)).

[0150] According to this modified example, a flight plan including an evacuation plan and a waiting plan is created, so that a flight plan is provided in which contact with vehicle 80 is appropriately prevented.

[0151] <Modification 2 of the 5th embodiment> In the fifth embodiment, the flight management device 500 may create a flight plan taking into account environmental information around the travel lane 3. Figure 26 is a functional block diagram of the flight management device 500 according to modification 2 of the fifth embodiment. As shown in Figure 26, the input unit 111 inputs vehicle structure information, aircraft structure information, a proposed flight plan, and environmental information around the travel lane 3 on which the vehicle 80 travels. In this modification, the environmental information is weather information around the travel lane 3 on which the vehicle 80 travels. The weather information includes information on wind direction and wind speed around the travel lane 3.

[0152] When the wind speed is high along the flight path 66, the uncertainty in controlling the position of the aircraft 60 increases. Therefore, in this modified example, the aircraft's occupied area 65 is set to be larger at points where the wind speed is high. The functions and processing of the flight control device 500 related to this modified example will be described in detail below.

[0153] The aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 in this modified example calculates the aircraft occupancy area 65 by taking into account the wind speed around the travel path 3. Figure 27 is a diagram showing an example of a method for setting the aircraft occupancy area 65 by taking into account the wind speed. As shown in Figure 27, the aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 modifies the aircraft occupancy area 65 by multiplying the diameter of the cylindrical aircraft occupancy area 65 by a correction coefficient corresponding to the wind speed included in the environmental information of each point. The correction coefficient is a value greater than 1, and increases as the wind speed increases. In the example shown in Figure 27, the correction coefficient at points WP(n), WP(n+1), and WP(n+2) is 1, and the correction coefficient at points WP(n+3), WP(n+4), and WP(n+5) is a value greater than 1. The aircraft structure information includes a correction coefficient table that defines the relationship between wind speed and the correction coefficient. The aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 refers to the correction coefficient table and calculates the correction coefficient using the wind speed. Furthermore, the aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 may set the aircraft occupancy area 65 by considering not only the wind speed but also the wind direction.

[0154] In step S540, the flight plan creation unit 523 and the plan determination unit 525 determine that it is impossible to create a flight plan if they determine that no matter how the positions of the points on the flight path 66 of the flight plan are changed within the longitudinal section of the flyable area 280, at least a portion of the aircraft's occupied area 65 will deviate from the flyable area 280. In this case, the output unit 113 outputs information indicating a change in takeoff time and cancellation of the flight to the output device 90.

[0155] Furthermore, even if part or all of the aircraft's occupied area 65 is significantly altered due to strong winds, if the flight plan can be modified so that the aircraft's occupied area 65 remains within the flyable area 280, the modified flight plan will be output to the output device 90.

[0156] As described above, the flight management device 500 according to this modified example includes an input unit 111 for inputting aircraft structure information relating to the structure of the aircraft 60 and environmental information (for example, weather information including wind speed) surrounding the travel path 3 on which the vehicle 80 travels. The aircraft occupancy area setting unit 522 uses the aircraft structure information, flight plan, and the environmental information to set an aircraft occupancy area 65 as the aircraft 60's own area around the aircraft 60 (S525 in Figure 20, Figure 27). The flight plan creation unit 523 uses the flyable area 280, environmental information, and the vehicle operation plan of the vehicle 80 to create a flight plan such that the aircraft occupancy area 65 is contained within the flyable area 280 and does not come into contact with the vehicle 80 (S525 to S540 in Figure 20). With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately prevent the aircraft 60 from deviating from the flyable area 280 due to environmental information.

[0157] In this modified example, an example was described in which the aircraft-occupied area 65 is greatly corrected according to the wind speed as environmental information. However, the environmental information can be anything from wind speed to various other information that increases the uncertainty of controlling the position of the aircraft 60. For example, precipitation may be used as environmental information. In this case, the aircraft-occupied area setting unit 522 increases the diameter of the aircraft-occupied area 65 as the amount of precipitation increases.

[0158] <Sixth Embodiment> Referring to Figures 28 to 30, the operation management system 2 according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same or equivalent components as those described in the fifth embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the differences will be primarily explained.

[0159] Figure 28 is a functional block diagram of the operation management device 600 according to the sixth embodiment. As shown in Figure 28, the operation management device 600 has an input unit 111, a calculation unit 612, a storage unit 114, and an output unit 113. The calculation unit 612 has a vehicle occupancy area setting unit 621, an aircraft occupancy area setting unit 622, a flight determination unit 625, and an operation management information generation unit 626.

[0160] The memory unit 114 stores the flyable regions 180, 280, 380, and 480 calculated in any of the first to fourth embodiments. In this sixth embodiment, an example will be described in which the flyable region 380 calculated in the third embodiment is stored in the memory unit 114.

[0161] The flight management device 600 may have a function to calculate the flyable area, as in the first to fourth embodiments, or it may not have a function to calculate the flyable area, but may have a function to input and store the flyable area calculated by another flight management device (external device) not shown.

[0162] Figure 29 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by the flight management device 600 according to the sixth embodiment. The processing shown in Figure 29 is started when flight monitoring is performed by the input device 31 and is repeatedly executed at a predetermined control cycle.

[0163] As shown in Figure 29, in step S610, the input unit 111 receives flight status information from the aircraft 60 regarding the flight status of the aircraft 60. The flight status information includes information on the speed and position of the aircraft 60 in flight. The input unit 111 receives driving status information from the vehicle management device 91 regarding the driving status of the vehicle 80. The driving status information includes information on the speed and position of the vehicle 80 in motion. The input unit 111 receives vehicle structure information regarding the structure of the vehicle 80, aircraft structure information regarding the structure of the aircraft 60, and environmental information about the area around the driving path 3 on which the vehicle 80 is traveling, from the input device 31 or the data server 92.

[0164] In the next step S615, the vehicle occupancy area setting unit 621 sets a vehicle occupancy area 85 around the vehicle 80 as the vehicle 80's unique area, using the vehicle 80's current position, speed, and vehicle structure information. The method for setting the vehicle occupancy area 85 is the same as in the fifth embodiment, so the explanation is omitted. In the fifth embodiment, the vehicle occupancy area 85 is set at a point on the travel route of the vehicle operation plan based on the speed (planned value) at that point. In contrast, in the sixth embodiment, the vehicle occupancy area 85 is set at the current position of the vehicle 80 based on the current speed of the vehicle 80 (measured value).

[0165] In the next step S625, the aircraft occupancy area setting unit 622 sets an aircraft occupancy area 65 around the aircraft 60 as the aircraft 60's intrinsic area, using the aircraft 60's current position, speed, and structural information. The method for setting the aircraft occupancy area 65 is the same as in the fifth embodiment, so a description is omitted. In the fifth embodiment, the aircraft occupancy area 65 is set at points on the flight path 66 of the flight plan based on the speed (planned value) at those points. In contrast, in the sixth embodiment, the aircraft occupancy area 65 is set at the current position of the aircraft 60 based on the current speed (measured value) of the aircraft 60.

[0166] Furthermore, the aircraft occupancy area setting unit 622 may set the aircraft occupancy area 65 by taking environmental information (for example, wind speed) into consideration, similar to the modification 2 of the fifth embodiment (see Figure 27).

[0167] In step S630, the flight determination unit 625 determines whether the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other. Specifically, the flight determination unit 625 determines whether the aircraft's occupied area 65, which is set using flight state information, is in contact with another occupied area. The other occupied area is at least one of the vehicle's occupied area 85 of the vehicle 80 and the aircraft's occupied area 65 of the other aircraft 60. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the other occupied area is the vehicle's occupied area 85, which is set using driving state information.

[0168] The flight determination unit 625 determines that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other if the aircraft occupying area 65 and the vehicle occupying area 85 come into contact, and proceeds to step S640. The flight determination unit 625 determines that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are not approaching each other if the aircraft occupying area 65 and the vehicle occupying area 85 do not come into contact, and proceeds to step S635.

[0169] In step S635, the flight determination unit 625 determines whether there is a possibility that the aircraft 60 will deviate from the flyable area 380. Specifically, the flight determination unit 625 determines whether at least a portion of the aircraft occupied area 65, which is set using flight status information and environmental information, deviates from the flyable area 380. If at least a portion of the aircraft occupied area 65 deviates from the flyable area 380, the flight determination unit 625 determines that there is a possibility that the aircraft 60 will deviate from the flyable area 380 and proceeds to step S640. If the entire aircraft occupied area 65 is within the flyable area 380, the flight determination unit 625 determines that there is no possibility that the aircraft 60 will deviate from the flyable area 380 and terminates processing in this control cycle. In other words, no alert is output.

[0170] In the contact detection process (S630), if a positive determination (contact detection) is made, the contact flag is set to ON; if a negative determination (non-contact detection) is made, the contact flag is set to OFF. In the deviation detection process (S635), if a positive determination (deviation detection) is made, the deviation flag is set to ON; if a negative determination (non-deviation detection) is made, the deviation flag is set to OFF.

[0171] In step S640, the flight management information generation unit 626 generates at least one of an alert and a flight instruction as flight management information. The output unit 113 also outputs the flight management information generated by the flight management information generation unit 626 to the output device 90. If the contact flag is set to ON, the output unit 113 outputs at least one of the following to the output device 90: a proximity alert indicating that the aircraft 60 is approaching the vehicle 80, and a flight instruction (evacuation instruction) to move the aircraft 60 to safety. If the deviation flag is set to ON, the output unit 113 outputs at least one of the following to the output device 90: a deviation alert indicating that the aircraft 60 may deviate from the flyable area 380, and a flight instruction (deviation prevention instruction) to keep the aircraft 60 within the flyable area 380.

[0172] Figure 30 shows an example of an approach alert and evacuation instruction displayed on the display screen 50. Display devices 32 and 72, acting as output devices 90, acquire information from the operation management device 600 for displaying the approach alert and evacuation instruction. As shown in Figure 30, the display devices 32 and 72 display the approach alert screen on the display screen 50. The approach alert screen displays, for example, illustration 57A, notification message 55A, and instruction message 56A. Illustration 57A is an illustration image including an aircraft 60 flying within the flyable area 380, an evacuation area 385 for the aircraft 60 to evacuate, an arrow guiding the aircraft 60 to the evacuation area 385, and a vehicle 80 approaching the aircraft 60. Notification message 55A is a text image corresponding to an approach alert informing that the aircraft 60 is approaching the vehicle 80. Instruction message 56A is a text image corresponding to an evacuation instruction for the aircraft 60 to evacuate to the evacuation area 385. As shown in the diagram, an illustration of an arrow indicating the direction of rotation may be displayed.

[0173] Figure 31 shows an example of a deviation alert and deviation prevention instruction displayed on the display screen 50. Display devices 32 and 72, acting as output devices 90, acquire information from the flight management device 600 for displaying deviation alerts and deviation prevention instructions. As shown in Figure 31, the display devices 32 and 72 display the deviation alert screen on the display screen 50. The deviation alert screen displays, for example, illustration 57B, notification message 55B, and instruction message 56B. Illustration 57B is an illustration image that indicates that if the aircraft 60 continues to fly in its current direction of travel, the aircraft 60 will deviate from the flight path 389 in the flyable area 380. Notification message 55B is a text image corresponding to a deviation alert that indicates that the aircraft 60 may deviate from the flight path 389 in the flyable area 380. Instruction message 56B is a text image corresponding to a deviation prevention instruction to keep the aircraft 60 within the flyable area 380. As shown in the figure, an illustration image of an arrow representing the direction of travel to be corrected may also be displayed.

[0174] Furthermore, in step S640 of Figure 29, the output unit 113 may output information indicating that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching to the vehicle management device 91 which manages the operation of the vehicle 80.

[0175] According to this sixth embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0176] (10) The operation management method performed by the operation management device 600 includes the step of storing an airworthy area 380 which is an area in which the aircraft 60 can fly and is calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle 80. The operation management method includes the step of outputting operation management information (in this embodiment, alerts and flight instructions) used for managing the operation of the aircraft 60 calculated using the airworthy area 380 (S640 in Figure 29). According to this embodiment, as in the above embodiment, the operation of the aircraft 60 can be safely managed by setting an appropriate airworthy area 380.

[0177] (11) The operation management method implemented by the operation management device 600 includes the step of inputting flight status information relating to the flight status of the aircraft 60 into the input unit 111 (S610 in Figure 29). The operation management method includes the step of flight determination unit 625 determining, using the flight status information, whether or not the aircraft 60 may deviate from the flyable area 380 which has boundaries along the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle 80 (S635 in Figure 29). The operation management method includes the step of outputting, if the output unit 113 determines that the aircraft 60 may deviate from the flyable area 380, at least one of the following as operation management information: a deviation alert indicating that the aircraft 60 may deviate from the flyable area 380, and a flight instruction to keep the aircraft 60 within the flyable area 380 (S640 in Figure 29). With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately prevent the aircraft 60 from deviating from the flyable area 380.

[0178] (12) The operation management method includes a step in which the input unit 111 inputs environmental information about the area surrounding the travel path 3 on which the vehicle 80 travels (S610 in Figure 29). The operation management method also includes a step in which the calculation unit 612 uses the environmental information (wind speed, precipitation, etc.) to determine whether or not there is a possibility that the aircraft 60 will deviate from the flightable area 380 (S625, S635 in Figure 29). With this configuration, the accuracy of the determination can be improved by determining whether or not there is a possibility that the aircraft 60 will deviate from the flightable area 380 according to the environmental information.

[0179] (13) The flight management method includes a step in which the input unit 111 inputs aircraft structure information relating to the structure of the aircraft 60 (S610 in Figure 29). The flight status information includes the position and speed of the aircraft 60. The flight management method includes a step in which the aircraft occupied area setting unit 622 sets an aircraft occupied area 65 as the aircraft 60's own area around the aircraft 60 using the aircraft 60's position, speed and aircraft structure information (S625 in Figure 29). The flight management method includes a step in which the flight determination unit 625 determines that if at least a part of the aircraft occupied area 65 deviates from the flyable area 380, there is a possibility that the aircraft 60 will deviate from the flyable area 380 (S635 in Figure 29). With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately determine whether there is a possibility that the aircraft will deviate from the flyable area 380.

[0180] (14) The operation management method includes the step of inputting flight status information regarding the flight status of the aircraft 60 and driving status information regarding the driving status of the vehicle 80 into the input unit 111 (S610 in Figure 29). The operation management method includes the step of flight determination unit 625 determining whether the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other using the flight status information and driving status information (S630 in Figure 29). The operation management method includes the step of outputting at least one of the following as operation management information when the flight determination unit 625 determines that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other: an approach alert indicating that the aircraft 60 is approaching the vehicle 80, and a flight instruction to cause the aircraft 60 to move away (S640 in Figure 29). With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately prevent the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 from coming into contact.

[0181] (15) Flight status information includes the position and speed of the aircraft 60. Driving status information includes the position and speed of the vehicle 80. The operation management method includes the step of inputting aircraft structure information relating to the structure of the aircraft 60 into the input unit 111 (S610 in Figure 29). The operation management method includes the step of setting an aircraft occupied area 65 as the aircraft's own area around the aircraft 60 using the aircraft's position, speed and aircraft structure information into the aircraft 60 (S625 in Figure 29, Figure 22). The operation management method includes the step of setting a vehicle occupied area 85 as the vehicle's own area around the vehicle 80 using the vehicle's position, speed and vehicle structure information into the vehicle 80 (S615 in Figure 29, Figure 21). The flight management method includes a step (S630 in Figure 29) in which the flight determination unit 625 determines that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other when the aircraft occupying area 65 and the vehicle occupying area 85 come into contact. With this configuration, it is possible to appropriately determine that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other.

[0182] (16) The operation management method includes the step (S640 in Figure 29) in which, when the flight determination unit 625 determines that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching, the output unit 113 outputs information indicating that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching to the vehicle management device 91 which manages the operation of the vehicle 80. With this configuration, it is possible to manage the vehicle 80 in accordance with the approach of the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80. For example, the vehicle management device 91 provides information to an information output device installed in the driver's cab of the railway vehicle 80a indicating that the aircraft 60 is waiting in a hovering state in the evacuation area 385. This allows the driver of the railway vehicle 80a to take appropriate actions when the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching, such as slowing down the railway vehicle 80a to reduce the effect of airflow on the aircraft 60.

[0183] <Seventh Embodiment> Referring to Figures 32 to 34, the operation management system 2 according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention will be described. Note that the same or equivalent reference numerals are used for components identical to those described in the fifth and sixth embodiments, and the differences will be explained primarily.

[0184] In the fifth embodiment, an example was described in which the flight plan is modified using the results of proximity determination processing between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 at multiple points on the flight path 66 of the flight plan, and the results of deviation determination processing of the aircraft 60 from the flyable area 280 at multiple points on the flight path 66. In contrast, in the seventh embodiment, similar to the sixth embodiment, proximity determination processing between the vehicle 80 and the aircraft 60 is performed using the position and speed of the aircraft 60 in flight and the position and speed of the vehicle 80 in motion. Also in the seventh embodiment, similar to the sixth embodiment, deviation determination processing of the aircraft 60 from the flyable area 380 is performed using the position and speed of the aircraft 60 in flight and the flyable area 380. Furthermore, in the seventh embodiment, the flight plan is modified using the results of these determination processes, and the results of the determination processes and the modified flight plan are output to the output device 90. The functions and processes of the operation management device 700 according to the seventh embodiment will be described in detail below.

[0185] Figure 32 is a functional block diagram of the flight management device 700 according to the seventh embodiment. As shown in Figure 32, the flight management device 700 has an input unit 111, a calculation unit 712, a storage unit 114, and an output unit 113. The calculation unit 712 has a vehicle occupancy area setting unit 621, an aircraft occupancy area setting unit 622, a flight determination unit 725, a flight plan modification unit 723, and a flight instruction unit 726.

[0186] The memory unit 114 stores the flyable regions 180, 280, 380, and 480 calculated in any of the first to fourth embodiments. In this seventh embodiment, an example in which the flyable region 380 calculated in the third embodiment is stored in the memory unit 114 will be described.

[0187] The flight management device 700 may have a function to calculate the flyable area, as in the first to fourth embodiments, or it may not have a function to calculate the flyable area, but may have a function to input and store the flyable area calculated by another flight management device (external device) not shown.

[0188] The memory unit 114 stores the flight plan calculated in the fifth embodiment. The flight management device 700 may have a function to calculate a flight plan, as in the fifth embodiment, or it may not have a function to calculate a flight plan, but may have a function to input a flight plan calculated by another flight management device (external device) (not shown) and modify the flight plan.

[0189] Figure 33 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing flow performed by the flight management device 700 according to the seventh embodiment. The processing shown in Figure 33 is started when flight monitoring is performed by the input device 31 and is repeatedly executed at a predetermined control cycle.

[0190] In the flowchart of Figure 33, instead of step S640 in Figure 29, the flight plan modification process by the flight plan modification unit 723 (corresponding to step S540 in Figure 20) is executed. Once the flight plan modification process (S540) is completed, the process proceeds to step S745. In the flowchart of Figure 33, instead of steps S630 and S635 in Figure 29, steps S730 and S735 are executed. If a negative determination is made in step S735, the processes in steps S750 and S755 are executed.

[0191] In step S730, if the flight plan modification process (step S540) has not been performed, the flight determination unit 725 will perform the same process as in step S630 in Figure 29. On the other hand, if the flight plan modification process (step S540) has been performed, in step S730, the flight determination unit 725 will perform the same process as in step S530 in Figure 20.

[0192] In step S735, if the flight plan modification process (step S540) has not been performed, the flight determination unit 725 performs the same process as in step S635 in Figure 29. On the other hand, if the flight plan modification process (step S540) has been performed, in step S735, the flight determination unit 725 performs the same process as in step S535 in Figure 20.

[0193] If a negative result is obtained in either step S730 or step S735, the flight plan modification process is executed in step S540. In the next step, S745, the aircraft occupancy area setting unit 622 performs the aircraft occupancy area setting process based on the modified flight plan, similar to step S525 in Figure 20. Once the aircraft occupancy area setting process 65 is completed, the process proceeds to step S730.

[0194] In step S750, the flight instruction unit 726 generates flight instructions according to the flight plan and stores them in the memory unit 114. In step S750, the output unit 113 outputs the flight instructions stored in the memory unit 114 to the output device 90.

[0195] Figure 34 shows an example of a flight instruction screen displayed on the display screen 50 when the flight plan is modified. The display devices 32 and 72, acting as output devices 90, acquire information for displaying flight instructions from the flight control device 700. As shown in Figure 34, the display devices 32 and 72 display the flight instruction screen on the display screen 50.

[0196] The flight instruction screen displays, for example, illustration 57C, notification message 55C, and instruction message 56C. Illustration 57C is an illustration image representing the revised flight plan and includes an aircraft 60 flying within the flyable area 380, an evacuation area 385 for the aircraft 60 to move out of the way, an arrow guiding the aircraft 60 to the evacuation area 385, and a vehicle 80 approaching the aircraft 60. Notification message 55C is a text image corresponding to a proximity alert indicating that the aircraft 60 is approaching the vehicle 80. Instruction message 56C is a text image corresponding to an evacuation instruction for the aircraft 60 to move out of the way to the evacuation area 385. Instruction message 56C includes the distance from the aircraft 60's current position to the evacuation area 385, calculated using the revised flight plan, and the waiting time in the evacuation area 385.

[0197] Once the flight instruction output processing (S750) shown in Figure 33 is completed, the process proceeds to step S755. When the flight plan modification process is executed, in step S755, the output unit 113 outputs the modified flight plan to the display devices 32 and 72. The output unit 113 may also output the modified flight plan to the vehicle management device 91. Furthermore, if the flight plan is modified because it is determined that the aircraft 60 and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other, the output unit 113 may output information to the vehicle management device 91 indicating that the aircraft 60, which has moved into the evacuation area 385, and the vehicle 80 are approaching each other.

[0198] According to this seventh embodiment, the same effects and advantages as those described in (10), (14) to (16) of the sixth embodiment can be obtained.

[0199] The following modifications are also within the scope of the present invention, and it is possible to combine the configurations shown in the modifications with the configurations described in the embodiments described above, or to combine the configurations described in the different embodiments described above, or to combine the configurations described in the following different modifications.

[0200] <Example 1> For example, a single flight management device may include a function for calculating the flyable area as described in the first to fourth embodiments, a function for calculating the flight plan as described in the fifth embodiment, and a function for outputting alerts and flight instructions as described in the sixth and seventh embodiments. The calculation units 112, 212, 312, and 412 of the flight management devices 100, 200, 300, and 400 according to the first to fourth embodiments may set an aircraft-occupied area 65 as the aircraft-occupied area of ​​the aircraft 60, and generate flight management information (flight plan, alerts, flight instructions, etc.) for managing the operation of the aircraft 60 within the flyable area using the flyable areas 280, 380, and 480 and the aircraft-occupied area 65. With this configuration, similar to the above embodiments, the operation of the aircraft 60 can be appropriately managed using a flyable area and an aircraft-occupied area 65 that can appropriately prevent contact with obstacles.

[0201] <Modification 2> In the second embodiment, an example was described in which the rolling angle is included in the driving state information. However, the rolling angle may be calculated by the operation management device 200. For example, the operation management device 200 calculates the rolling angle using the lateral acceleration of the vehicle body and vehicle body structure information (center of gravity height, vehicle weight, vehicle body rigidity, etc.) included in the driving state information.

[0202] <Variation 3> In the second to fourth embodiments, an example was described in which 2D information 82 of multiple types of vehicles 80 (buses 80b and trucks 80c) is integrated to generate integrated 2D information 83. However, integrated 2D information 83 may also be generated even if only one type of vehicle 80 (for example, a bus 80b) is traveling on the travel path 3. Even at the same point on the travel path, the left-right position and inclination of multiple buses 80b may differ from bus to bus. For this reason, it is preferable to generate 2D information 82b for each of the multiple buses 80b and then integrate the generated 2D information 82b to generate integrated 2D information 83.

[0203] <Modification 4> In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the deviation alert and proximity alert are output as images from the display devices 32 and 72, which are output devices 90. However, the deviation alert and proximity alert may also be output from an audio output device such as a speaker.

[0204] <Modification 5> In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the flight instructions are output as images from the display devices 32 and 72, which are output devices 90. However, the flight instructions may also be output from the communication device 30, which is output device 90, to the autonomously flying aircraft 60 as control signals to control the aircraft 60. This makes it possible to prevent contact with the vehicle 80 by automatically moving the aircraft 60 to the evacuation area 385, or to prevent the autonomously flying aircraft 60 from deviating from the flightable area.

[0205] <Variation 6> In the above embodiment, when the operation management device links vehicle structure information to the position of vehicle 80 included in the vehicle 80's driving state information, it may take into account the positioning error (margin) of vehicle 80 to calculate the area in which vehicle 80 may be located. The operation management device may use the area in which vehicle 80 may be located to set 2D information 82 and vehicle occupied area 85. In this case, the flyable area will be smaller than when positioning error is not considered. Also, the vehicle occupied area 85 will be larger than when positioning error is not considered.

[0206] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments only represent a part of the application examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific configurations of the above embodiments. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0207] 2...Operation management system, 3...Travel path, 8...Fall area, 30...Communication device (output device), 31...Input device, 32...Display device (output device), 40...Ground structure, 42...Evacuation area, 50...Display screen, 60...Aircraft, 65...Aircraft occupied area, 66...Flight path, 66a...Evacuation path, 70...Remote control device, 71...Operation terminal, 72...Display device (output device), 80...Vehicle, 81...Projection surface, 82...2D information, 83...Integrated 2D information, 83A, 83B...Corrected 2D information, 85...Vehicle Both occupied areas, 90...Output device, 91...Vehicle management device, 92...Data server, 100...Operation management device, 101...Processor, 102...Non-volatile memory, 103...Volatile memory, 104...Input interface, 105...Output interface, 111...Input unit, 112...Calculation unit, 113...Output unit, 114...Storage unit, 180...Flightable area, 180a...Upper edge (boundary), 180b...Lower edge (boundary), 180c...Left edge (boundary), 180d...Right edge (boundary), 200...Operation management device ,212...Calculation unit, 221...2D information generation unit, 222...Flightable area generation unit, 280...Flightable area, 300...Operation management device, 312...Calculation unit, 323...Evacuation area calculation unit, 324...Correction unit, 325...Attribute information setting unit, 326...Fall range calculation unit, 380...Flightable area, 381~383,385...Evacuation area, 388...Airflow influence range, 389...Route (normal flight area), 400...Operation management device, 412...Calculation unit, 424...Correction unit, 426...Fall range calculation unit, 480 ...Flyable area, 500...Operation management device, 512...Calculation unit, 521...Vehicle occupied area setting unit, 522...Aircraft occupied area setting unit, 523...Flight plan creation unit, 525...Plan determination unit, 600...Operation management device, 612...Calculation unit, 621...Vehicle occupied area setting unit, 622...Aircraft occupied area setting unit, 625...Flight determination unit, 626...Operation management information generation unit, 700...Operation management device, 712...Calculation unit, 723...Flight plan modification unit, 725...Flight determination unit, 726...Flight instruction unit, WP...Point.

Claims

1. An aircraft operation control device for managing the operation of an aircraft, A storage unit that stores the area in which the aforementioned flying object can fly, calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle, The system includes an output unit that outputs the aforementioned flightable area and at least one of the flight management information used for managing the operation of the aircraft calculated using the aforementioned flightable area. Operation control device.

2. The operation management device according to claim 1, An input unit for inputting the aforementioned vehicle structure information, The system includes a calculation unit that uses the vehicle structure information to calculate the flyable area having boundaries along the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle, The output unit outputs the flightable area calculated by the calculation unit. Operation control device.

3. In the operation management device according to claim 2, The input unit receives driving status information relating to the driving state of the vehicle, The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Using the vehicle structure information and the driving state information, two-dimensional information of the vehicle is generated. Using the aforementioned two-dimensional information, the flyable area is calculated. Operation control device.

4. In the operation management device according to claim 3, The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Two-dimensional information of the vehicle is generated at multiple locations along the vehicle's travel path. The three-dimensional shape obtained by continuously connecting the two-dimensional information of the plurality of positions along the travel path is calculated as the flyable area. Operation control device.

5. In the operation management device according to claim 3, The input unit receives ground structure information relating to the ground structure around the vehicle's travel path. The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Using the aforementioned ground structure information, the evacuation area, which is the area where the aircraft will retreat, is calculated. By adding the aforementioned retraction area to the two-dimensional information, the two-dimensional information is corrected. Using the corrected two-dimensional information, the flyable area is calculated. Using the vehicle structure information and the driving state information, set the attribute information of the retraction area. The attribute information includes information indicating the required flight state for the aircraft that has taken refuge in the refuge area. Operation control device.

6. In the operation management device according to claim 3, The input unit receives environmental information about the area surrounding the road on which the vehicle travels. The aforementioned arithmetic unit, In order to prevent the aircraft from falling outside the site where the aforementioned travel path is installed, the aircraft's fall zone is set to be inside the site. Using the aforementioned fall range, the two-dimensional information is corrected, Using the corrected two-dimensional information, the flyable area is calculated. Operation control device.

7. In the operation management device according to claim 2, The aforementioned arithmetic unit, A region occupied by the aircraft is established around the aircraft as the aircraft's own region. Using the flyable area and the area occupied by the aircraft, the operation management information for managing the operation of the aircraft within the flyable area is generated. Operation control device.

8. In the operation management device according to claim 1, An input unit for inputting the operation plan of the aforementioned vehicle, The system comprises a calculation unit that creates a flight plan for the aircraft using the flyable area having boundaries along the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle and the vehicle's operation plan, The output unit outputs the flight plan created by the calculation unit as the operation management information. Operation control device.

9. In the operation management device according to claim 8, The input unit receives information relating to the structure of the aircraft and information relating to the surrounding environment of the road on which the vehicle travels. The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Using the aforementioned aircraft structure information, the flight plan, and the environmental information, an aircraft-occupied area is set around the aircraft as the aircraft's inherent region. Using the flyable area, the environmental information, and the vehicle's operation plan, the flight plan is created such that the area occupied by the aircraft is contained within the flyable area and that the area occupied by the aircraft does not come into contact with the vehicle. Operation control device.

10. In the operation management device according to claim 8, The aforementioned flyable area includes the normal flight area and the evacuation area. The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Using the vehicle's operating plan, the vehicle's location and time are determined. When an approach between the vehicle and the aircraft within the normal flight area is predicted, the flight plan is created including an evacuation plan to move the aircraft into the evacuation area, and a waiting plan to keep the aircraft waiting in the evacuation area in a flight state based on the attribute information of the evacuation area until the time the vehicle passes through the evacuation area. Operation control device.

11. In the operation management device according to claim 8, The input unit receives the vehicle structure information and the aircraft structure information relating to the structure of the aircraft, The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Using the vehicle structure information and the vehicle operation plan, a vehicle-occupied area is set around the vehicle as the vehicle's unique area. Using the aforementioned aircraft structure information and the aforementioned flight plan, an aircraft-occupied area is set around the aircraft as the aircraft's inherent region. The flight plan is modified using the vehicle-occupied area and the aircraft-occupied area. Operation control device.

12. In the operation management device according to claim 1, An input unit for inputting flight state information relating to the flight state of the aforementioned aircraft, The system includes a calculation unit that uses the aforementioned flight status information to determine whether or not the aircraft may deviate from the flyable area having boundaries along the vertical and horizontal directions of the vehicle. When the output unit determines that there is a possibility that the aircraft may deviate from the flyable area, it outputs at least one of the following as flight management information: a deviation alert indicating that there is a possibility that the aircraft may deviate from the flyable area, and a flight instruction to keep the aircraft within the flyable area. Operation control device.

13. In the operation management device according to claim 12, The input unit receives environmental information about the area surrounding the road on which the vehicle travels. The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Furthermore, using the environmental information, it is determined whether or not there is a possibility that the aircraft may deviate from the flyable area. Operation control device.

14. In the operation management device according to claim 12, The aforementioned flight status information includes the position and speed of the aircraft, The input unit receives information about the structure of the aircraft, The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Using the position, speed, and structural information of the aforementioned aircraft, a region occupied by the aircraft is set around the aircraft as the aircraft's inherent region. If at least a portion of the area occupied by the aircraft deviates from the flyable area, it is determined that there is a possibility that the aircraft may deviate from the flyable area. Operation control device.

15. In the operation management device according to claim 1, An input unit for inputting flight status information relating to the flight state of the aircraft and driving status information relating to the driving state of the vehicle, The system includes a calculation unit that determines whether the aircraft and the vehicle are approaching each other using the flight status information and the driving status information, When the calculation unit determines that the aircraft and the vehicle are approaching, the output unit outputs at least one of the following as operational management information: an approach alert indicating that the aircraft is approaching the vehicle, and a flight instruction to cause the aircraft to move away. Operation control device.

16. In the operation management device according to claim 15, The aforementioned flight status information includes the position and speed of the aircraft, The aforementioned driving status information includes the position and speed of the vehicle, The input unit receives information about the structure of the aircraft, The aforementioned arithmetic unit, Using the position, speed, and structural information of the aforementioned aircraft, a region occupied by the aircraft is set around the aircraft as the aircraft's inherent region. Using the vehicle's position, speed, and vehicle structure information, a vehicle-occupied area is set around the vehicle as the vehicle's unique domain. When the area occupied by the aircraft and the area occupied by the vehicle come into contact, it is determined that the aircraft and the vehicle are approaching each other. Operation control device.

17. In the operation management device according to claim 15, When the calculation unit determines that the aircraft and the vehicle are approaching, the output unit outputs information indicating that the aircraft and the vehicle are approaching to a vehicle management device that manages the operation of the vehicle. Operation control device.

18. In the operation management device according to claim 1, The flyable area has a boundary that follows the shape of the area through which the vehicle travels on the travel path. Operation control device.

19. The operation management device according to claim 1, The aircraft comprises the aircraft whose operation is managed by the aforementioned flight management device, Operation management system.

20. A flight management method for managing the operation of an aircraft, The steps include storing the flyable area of ​​the aforementioned flying object, which is calculated using vehicle structure information relating to the structure of the vehicle, The step includes outputting the flightable area and at least one of the flight management information used for flight management of the aircraft calculated using the flightable area, Operation management method.

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