Vehicle transport management device

Abstract

To provide a technique for improving efficiency in a work of an operator who drives a vehicle when the vehicle is transported.SOLUTION: In a vehicle transportation management device 10, a first acquisition section 40 acquires position information of a vehicle. A second acquisition section 42 acquires transportation plan information of the vehicle. A generation section 46 generates information related to a place to which an operator has to move the vehicle based on the position information of the vehicle and the transportation plan information of the vehicle. A notification section 48 notifies the vehicle of the information to which the vehicle has to be moved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for managing the transportation of vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles such as automobiles produced in a factory are loaded onto a carrier car or a ship and transported to a dealer, etc. Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle transport status management device that transmits transport information indicating the vehicle transport status to a management server when the vehicle transport status deviates from the transport plan. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-046725 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Vehicles to be transported are loaded onto or unloaded from a carrier car or a ship by an operator. In a vehicle loading and unloading site such as a factory or a port, a vehicle may be moved from one location to another by an operator. In such a situation, it is desirable to improve the work efficiency of the operator who drives the vehicle.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of improving the work efficiency of an operator who drives a vehicle during transportation of the vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle transportation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention is Multiple A first acquisition unit that acquires vehicle position information; Multiple A second acquisition unit that acquires transportation plan information of a vehicle; Multiple Vehicle location information and the Multiple Based on the vehicle transportation plan information, the worker Multiple Where to move the vehicle of A generating unit that generates information; A third acquisition unit that acquires an order of movement of the plurality of vehicles; If the vehicle should be moved Place Notify the vehicle and notifying the terminal device of the worker of the order in which the vehicles are to be moved. A notification unit. The location to which the plurality of vehicles are to be moved is a location within a car carrier. The order in which the plurality of vehicles are moved is determined so that the travel distance of a vehicle having a remaining battery charge or a remaining fuel charge below a predetermined value is shortened. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, the work efficiency of an operator who drives a vehicle during transportation of the vehicle can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle transportation management system according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of transportation of a plurality of vehicles managed by the vehicle transportation management system of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle transportation management device and an on-board device in FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing a position notification process for a vehicle to be moved in the vehicle transportation management device of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing a notification process of a location to which a vehicle should be moved in the vehicle transportation management device of FIG. 3. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing a vehicle information providing process in the vehicle transportation management device of FIG. 3. [Figure 7] 4 is a flowchart showing a process of the in-vehicle device of FIG. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a vehicle transportation management system 1 according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 also shows the flow of some data. The vehicle transportation management system 1 manages the transportation of multiple vehicles manufactured in a factory to dealerships and the like. During transportation, the multiple vehicles are driven by workers and loaded onto or unloaded from a car carrier or ship. In the embodiment, when the worker drives the vehicle, an in-vehicle display shows the vehicle's destination, allowing the worker to easily understand the vehicle's destination in a short amount of time and making it less likely that the worker will make a mistake in the destination.

[0011] The vehicle transportation management system 1 includes a vehicle transportation management device 10, a communication server 12, an in-vehicle device 14, a first terminal device 16, a second terminal device 18, a third terminal device 20, a fourth terminal device 22a, and a fourth terminal device 22b. The fourth terminal device 22a and the fourth terminal device 22b are collectively referred to as the fourth terminal device 22.

[0012] The vehicle transportation management device 10 is configured as a server and is provided, for example, in a data center of an automobile manufacturer. The communication server 12 may also be provided in the data center. The vehicle transportation management device 10 and the communication server 12 may be configured as an integrated unit.

[0013] The on-board device 14 is mounted on a vehicle that is an automobile to be transported. The first terminal device 16 is carried by a worker who drives the vehicle to load it onto or unload it from a car carrier or a ship.

[0014] The second terminal device 18 is mounted on a car carrier that transports multiple loaded vehicles by land. The third terminal device 20 is mounted on a car carrier that transports multiple loaded vehicles by sea. The fourth terminal device 22a is used by a transport company that transports vehicles by car carrier. The fourth terminal device 22b is used by a transport company that transports vehicles by car carrier.

[0015] The vehicle-mounted device 14 has a wireless communication function and connects to the communication server 12 via a wireless base station or wireless access point (not shown). The communication server 12, the first terminal device 16, the second terminal device 18, the third terminal device 20, and the fourth terminal device 22 are each connected to a network by wired communication or wireless communication. The vehicle transportation management device 10 is connected to the network, and the vehicle transportation management device 10 can communicate with the communication server 12, the vehicle-mounted device 14, the first terminal device 16, the second terminal device 18, the third terminal device 20, and the fourth terminal device 22 via the network.

[0016] Although not shown in the figure, there may be a plurality of vehicles, workers, transport companies, car carriers, and dedicated car carriers to be transported, and a plurality of each of the in-vehicle device 14, the first terminal device 16 to the fourth terminal device 22a, 22b may be provided.

[0017] While the ignition switch is on, the in-vehicle device 14 periodically acquires vehicle information of the vehicle itself and periodically transmits the vehicle information to the communication server 12. The vehicle information is accompanied by the date and time of acquisition. The vehicle information includes, for example, information such as the current location, the remaining charge of the driving battery, which is a lithium ion secondary battery, the vehicle size, and the vehicle weight. The vehicle information may include information on the remaining amount of fuel instead of the remaining charge of the driving battery. The current location includes latitude and longitude. The vehicle size and vehicle weight need only be transmitted once. Identification information for identifying the vehicle is attached to the transmitted vehicle information. The vehicle identification information is, for example, a vehicle identification number (hereinafter referred to as VIN). While the ignition switch is off, the in-vehicle device 14 does not acquire or transmit vehicle information. This can reduce the power consumption of the in-vehicle device 14. Note that, if any data is being transmitted or received when the ignition switch is switched off, the transmission or reception of the data is completed.

[0018] The communication server 12 periodically acquires vehicle information from the in-vehicle devices 14 of each of a plurality of vehicles, and accumulates the acquired vehicle information for each vehicle in association with the vehicle's identification information.

[0019] The second terminal device 18 periodically acquires position information of the car carrier and transmits it to the vehicle transportation management device 10. The third terminal device 20 periodically acquires position information of the car carrier and transmits it to the vehicle transportation management device 10.

[0020] The vehicle transportation management device 10 acquires vehicle information of a plurality of vehicles, location information of car carriers, and location information of dedicated car carriers stored in the communication server 12, and manages the transportation of a plurality of vehicles based on this information.

[0021] Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the transportation of multiple vehicles managed by the vehicle transportation management system 1 of Fig. 1. Multiple vehicles 80 manufactured in a factory are each driven to a vehicle loading and unloading area 100 of the factory and parked there. Each of the multiple vehicles 80 at the vehicle loading and unloading area 100 of the factory is transported to a predetermined destination such as a dealer 106 by car carriers 82, 86, etc. and a dedicated car carrier 90 according to an overall transportation plan created in advance. There may also be vehicles that are transported to a destination not shown in the figure without using the dedicated car carrier 90.

[0022] The transportation plan information includes, for example, a date, identification information of a plurality of vehicles to be moved on the date, a transportation means, a source of the plurality of vehicles, and a destination of the plurality of vehicles. The transportation plan information is created in advance by a transportation manager or the like, and is stored in the vehicle transportation management device 10.

[0023] In the example of Figure 2, the transportation plan includes, for example, information such as dates from May 10th to May 18th, the VINs of 1,000 vehicles as vehicle identification information, a car carrier as the transportation means, a first area 100a of a vehicle loading and unloading area 100 at a factory as the source, and a first area 102a of a vehicle loading and unloading area 102 at a first port as the destination.

[0024] The transportation plan also includes, for example, information such as dates from May 20th to June 30th, the VINs of 2,000 vehicles as vehicle identification information, a ship as the means of transportation, a first area 102a of a vehicle loading and unloading area 102 at a first port as the source, and a first area 104a of a vehicle loading and unloading area 104 at a second port as the destination.

[0025] The transport company that uses the car carrier to transport the goods creates a work plan for the transport by the car carrier based on the transport plan by the day that the transport is to start, using the fourth terminal device 22a. The work plan is created for each worker and includes the work content that the worker is to perform.

[0026] A worker drives the vehicle to be transported at the source vehicle loading / unloading site to load it onto a car carrier, drives the car carrier to the destination vehicle loading / unloading site, and drives the vehicle there to unload it from the car carrier.

[0027] The work plan includes, for example, for each worker's identification information, the work date, the identification information of the car carrier, the source from which the vehicle will be moved, the destination to which the vehicle will be moved, the identification information of the vehicle to be moved, the order in which the vehicles will be moved, and the identification information of the vehicle to be loaded onto the second floor of the car carrier.

[0028] In the example of FIG. 2, the source of the vehicle is a first area 100a of a vehicle loading / unloading dock 100 at a factory, and the destination of the vehicle is a first area 102a of a vehicle loading / unloading dock 102 at a first port.

[0029] The fourth terminal device 22a acquires transportation plan information from the vehicle transportation management device 10 and creates work plan information. The fourth terminal device 22a transmits identification information of a plurality of vehicles to be transported by the car carrier and a request for vehicle information to the vehicle transportation management device 10. When the vehicle transportation management device 10 receives the request for vehicle information, it transmits vehicle information associated with the received vehicle identification information to the fourth terminal device 22a. The fourth terminal device 22a assigns the loading destination of a vehicle whose overall height is higher than a predetermined value to the second floor of the car carrier based on the vehicle size included in the vehicle information. If there is a vehicle whose remaining battery level or remaining fuel level is lower than a predetermined value, the fourth terminal device 22a may determine the loading order so that the traveling distance of the vehicle whose remaining battery level is low is shortened within a range that does not contradict the transportation plan. The fourth terminal device 22a transmits the created work plan information to the vehicle transportation management device 10.

[0030] The transport company that transports the vehicles by the car carrier creates a work plan for the transportation by the car carrier based on the transportation plan using the fourth terminal device 22b by the day when the loading of the vehicles onto the car carrier is to start. For example, the work plan is created for each work group consisting of multiple workers, and includes the work content to be performed by the multiple workers.

[0031] A plurality of workers drive a plurality of vehicles to be transported to load them onto a ship at a port of departure, and a plurality of other workers drive the plurality of vehicles to unload them from the ship at a port of arrival.

[0032] The work plan includes, for example, for each work group, identification information of multiple workers, work dates, identification information of the ship, the origin of the vehicle, the destination of the vehicle, identification information of multiple vehicles to be moved, and information on the order in which the vehicles are to be moved. The order in which the vehicles are to be moved may be determined for each group of several tens of vehicles.

[0033] In the example of Figure 2, in a work plan for a work group, the source of the vehicle is the first area 102a of the vehicle loading and unloading area 102 at the first port, and the destination of the vehicle is a specified area of ​​the car carrier 90, for example, area B on the third floor.

[0034] The fourth terminal device 22b acquires transportation plan information from the vehicle transportation management device 10 and creates work plan information. The fourth terminal device 22b transmits identification information of a plurality of vehicles to be transported by a dedicated car carrier and a request for vehicle information to the vehicle transportation management device 10. The vehicle transportation management device 10 transmits vehicle information associated with the received vehicle identification information to the fourth terminal device 22b. The fourth terminal device 22b assigns a loading destination of the vehicle based on the vehicle size and vehicle weight included in the vehicle information. If there is a vehicle whose remaining battery level or remaining fuel level is less than a predetermined value, the fourth terminal device 22b may determine the loading order and loading destination so that the traveling distance of the vehicle whose remaining battery level is low is shortened within a range that does not contradict the transportation plan. The fourth terminal device 22b transmits the created work plan information to the vehicle transportation management device 10.

[0035] In this way, the fourth terminal device 22 of the transport company can obtain vehicle information, and therefore can create an efficient work plan based on the vehicle information. In addition, by loading vehicles with low battery levels so as to shorten their travel distance, it is possible to prevent the vehicles from becoming unable to travel during transportation.

[0036] The vehicle transportation management device 10 creates a transportation plan for each vehicle based on the work plan information received from the fourth terminal device 22. The transportation plan for each vehicle includes vehicle identification information and information on the origin and destination of the movement in chronological order. In the example of FIG. 2, for a certain vehicle, the transportation plan for each vehicle includes information such as from the first area 100a of the vehicle loading and unloading dock 100 of the factory to the second floor of the car carrier, from the vehicle loading and unloading dock 100 of the factory to the vehicle loading and unloading dock 102 of the first port, from the car carrier to the first area 102a at the vehicle loading and unloading dock 102 of the first port, from the first area 102a to the B area on the third floor of the car carrier 90, from the vehicle loading and unloading dock 102 of the first port to the vehicle loading and unloading dock 104 of the second port, and the like.

[0037] Fig. 3 shows the configuration of the vehicle transportation management device 10 and the on-board device 14 in Fig. 1. The vehicle transportation management device 10 includes a processing unit 30 and a memory unit 32. The processing unit 30 includes a first acquisition unit 40, a second acquisition unit 42, a third acquisition unit 44, a generation unit 46, and a notification unit 48. The memory unit 32 stores overall transportation plan information, transportation plan information for each vehicle, and work plan information.

[0038] The configuration of the processing unit 30 can be realized in hardware by the CPU, memory, and other LSI of any computer, and in software by a program loaded into memory, but here, functional blocks realized by the cooperation of these are depicted. Therefore, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that these functional blocks can be realized in various forms by only hardware, only software, or a combination of both.

[0039] The in-vehicle device 14 includes a communication unit 60, a position acquisition unit 62, and a display unit 64. The in-vehicle device 14 is supplied with a signal IG indicating whether the ignition switch of the vehicle is on or off.

[0040] An example of vehicle transportation management will be described below with reference to Figs.

[0041] (1) Transport from a vehicle loading dock 100 at a factory to a vehicle loading dock 102 at a first port The first terminal device 16 transmits a request for notification of the position of the vehicle to be moved to the vehicle transportation management device 10 in response to an operation by a worker at the vehicle loading and unloading site 100 of the factory. The notification request is accompanied by information specifying the loading or unloading work specified by the worker and the identification information of the worker.

[0042] In the vehicle transportation management device 10, in response to a notification request specifying loading work, the third acquisition unit 44 acquires identification information of one or more vehicles that the worker is to move at the vehicle loading and unloading area 100 of the factory, the order in which the multiple vehicles are to be moved, and the transportation status from the work plan information corresponding to the worker's identification information. The transportation status is "loading onto a car carrier."

[0043] The first acquisition unit 40 acquires position information of each of the one or more vehicles from the communication server 12 based on the vehicle identification information acquired by the third acquisition unit 44. The vehicle position information is the current parking position, and is the position when the ignition switch was last turned off.

[0044] The notification unit 48 notifies the worker's first terminal device 16 of the location information of each of the one or more vehicles to be moved, the order in which the multiple vehicles are moved, and information on the transportation status. The notification unit 48 may obtain and transmit the model, color, and VIN of the vehicle to be moved.

[0045] The first terminal device 16 displays information on the positions of the vehicles to be moved by the worker, the order in which they are to be moved, and the transportation status on the display. The positions of the vehicles to be moved are displayed, for example, as marks such as figures on a floor plan of the vehicle loading and unloading site 100 of the factory. The order in which they are to be moved may be represented by numbers displayed on the marks. The worker can easily grasp the position of the vehicle to be moved by checking the positions of the vehicles displayed on the first terminal device 16, and can find the vehicle in a short time. In addition, it becomes difficult to make a mistake in the vehicle to be moved. The order in which the multiple vehicles are to be moved can also be easily grasped, and the loading order is also difficult to make a mistake. In addition, for example, even if the transportation plan is changed on the day of transportation and the vehicles to be moved or the order in which they are to be moved are changed, the time required to find the vehicles to be moved in the vehicle loading and unloading site 100 of the large factory can be reduced. This improves work efficiency.

[0046] When a vehicle is moved, the vehicle transportation management device 10 may update the position of the vehicle displayed on the first terminal device 16 so that the position of the vehicle that has been moved to the car carrier is not displayed.

[0047] When a worker gets into a vehicle to be moved and the ignition switch is turned on, the position acquisition unit 62 of the in-vehicle device 14 receives a signal from a GPS satellite and derives the position of the vehicle. The communication unit 60 transmits the vehicle information to the communication server 12. The communication server 12 transmits the received vehicle information to the vehicle transportation management device 10.

[0048] In the vehicle transportation management device 10, the first acquisition unit 40 acquires the location information of the vehicle corresponding to the vehicle identification information attached to the received vehicle information, that is, the vehicle to be notified of the location to which the vehicle should be moved. That is, the first acquisition unit 40 acquires the location information of the vehicle transmitted from the vehicle when the ignition switch of the vehicle is on. The second acquisition unit 42 acquires the transportation plan information of the vehicle to be notified from the storage unit 32. The generation unit 46 generates information on the location to which the worker should move the vehicle and the transportation status based on the location information of the vehicle to be notified and the transportation plan information of the vehicle to be notified. The generation unit 46 also generates a movement route from the current location of the vehicle to the location to which the vehicle should be moved. The notification unit 48 notifies the target vehicle of the information on the location to which the vehicle should be moved, the transportation status, and the movement route.

[0049] In the example of Fig. 2, when the current location of the vehicle is the first area 100a of the vehicle loading and unloading area 100 of the factory, the location to which the vehicle should be moved is specified to be the location of the car carrier. The location to which the vehicle should be moved includes information specifying the first or second floor of the car carrier.

[0050] In the in-vehicle device 14, the communication unit 60 receives information regarding the place to which the vehicle should be moved, the transportation status, and the movement route from the vehicle transportation management device 10 via the communication server 12. The display unit 64 is, for example, a display of a navigation system, and displays the place to which the vehicle should be moved, the transportation status, and the movement route.

[0051] For example, the display unit 64 displays the location where the vehicle should be moved by superimposing a mark on the floor plan of the vehicle loading and unloading area 100 of the factory. This allows the worker to easily understand where to move the vehicle just by getting in the vehicle, thereby reducing work time. As shown in Fig. 2, even in a situation where a car carrier 84 is parked in addition to a car carrier 82, the position of the car carrier 82 is displayed as the location where the vehicle should be moved, making it less likely that the wrong vehicle will be loaded.

[0052] In the vehicle transportation management device 10, when the current position of the vehicle deviates from the transportation plan, the notification unit 48 issues a warning of the wrong destination and notifies the vehicle of the location to which the vehicle should be moved. For example, when the current position of the vehicle is a predetermined distance or more away from the travel route, or when the current position of the vehicle is at the position of another car carrier, it may be determined that the vehicle deviates from the transportation plan.

[0053] When a warning is issued, the display unit 64 of the in-vehicle device 14 displays the warning and a location to which the vehicle should be moved. The in-vehicle device 14 may output the warning by voice. This allows the worker to understand that the vehicle has been moved to the wrong destination.

[0054] When the vehicle arrives at the location where it is to be moved and the ignition switch is turned off, the in-vehicle device 14 stops acquiring and transmitting position information. In other words, the position is determined when loading, i.e., when the worker gets off the vehicle. Since the position information, etc. is transmitted only when the ignition switch is on, the power consumption of the in-vehicle device 14 can be reduced.

[0055] The worker repeats the above loading operation, and when all the vehicles to be moved are loaded onto the car carrier, the worker drives the car carrier.

[0056] During transportation by the car carrier, the in-vehicle device 14 does not transmit position information. The second terminal device 18 of the car carrier periodically acquires position information of the car carrier and transmits the position information to the vehicle transportation management device 10. If the current position of the car carrier deviates from the transportation plan, the vehicle transportation management device 10 warns the second terminal device 18 and the transportation manager. The warning enables the driver of the car carrier to transport the car to the correct destination.

[0057] When the car carrier 82 arrives at the vehicle loading and unloading site 102 of the first port, the worker, who is the driver, unloads the vehicles from the car carrier 82. For example, if it is known that only some of the vehicles will be unloaded, the worker may operate the first terminal device 16 as described above to send a notification request of the position of the vehicle to be moved. In this case, the worker specifies the unloading work in response to the notification request. The vehicle transportation management device 10 acquires the identification information of the vehicle that the worker should move from the car carrier and the transportation status from the work plan information corresponding to the identification information of the worker. The transportation status is "unload from the car carrier". The vehicle transportation management device 10 acquires the vehicle position information from the communication server 12 based on the acquired vehicle identification information. The vehicle position information is the position when the vehicle is loaded into the car carrier and the ignition switch is turned off. Therefore, the first terminal device 16 converts the position of the vehicle to be moved into a position within the car carrier and displays it on the floor plan of the car carrier. The location information may include an altitude and may indicate whether it is the first or second floor based on the altitude.

[0058] The processing of the on-vehicle device 14 is basically as described above, so differences will be mainly described. When a worker gets into a vehicle to be moved and the ignition switch is turned on, the on-vehicle device 14 transmits vehicle information to the vehicle transportation management device 10 and receives information on the location to which the vehicle should be moved from the vehicle transportation management device 10. In the example of Fig. 2, the location to which the vehicle should be moved is identified as the first area 102a of the loading and unloading area 102 of the first port.

[0059] In the on-board device 14, the location to which the vehicle should be moved is displayed, for example, as a mark superimposed on a floor plan of the vehicle loading and unloading area 102 of the first port. The worker drives the vehicle to unload it from the car carrier, drives it to the first area 102a, and parks it.

[0060] (2) Transportation from a vehicle loading dock 102 at a first port to a vehicle loading dock 104 at a second port The processing of the first terminal device 16 is basically as described above, so the following description will focus on the differences. The first terminal device 16 transmits a notification request of the position of the vehicle to be moved to the vehicle transport management device 10 in response to an operation by an operator at the vehicle loading and unloading site 102 of the first port. In this case, the operator may specify loading work in response to the notification request.

[0061] The vehicle transportation management device 10 acquires, from the work plan information corresponding to the identification information of the worker, the identification information of multiple vehicles that the worker should move at the vehicle loading and unloading site 102 of the first port, the order in which the vehicles are to be moved, and the transportation status. The transportation status is "loading onto ship."

[0062] The vehicle transportation management device 10 acquires the position information of the multiple vehicles from the communication server 12 based on the acquired identification information of the multiple vehicles, and transmits the position information of the multiple vehicles to be moved, the order in which the vehicles are moved, and information on the transportation status to the worker's first terminal device 16. The vehicle position information is the current parking position.

[0063] The first terminal device 16 displays on a display information on the positions of the multiple vehicles to be moved by the multiple workers, the order in which they will be moved, and the transportation status. Since it is assumed that multiple workers in the same work group will take turns moving vehicles to the same area of ​​the car carrier 90, the first terminal device 16 of each worker may display common information.

[0064] When the vehicle is moved, the vehicle transportation management device 10 updates the vehicle position displayed on the first terminal device 16 so that the position of the vehicle that has already been moved to the car carrier 90 is not displayed.

[0065] The processing of the on-board device 14 is basically the same as described above, so differences will be mainly described. When a worker gets into a vehicle to be moved and turns on the ignition switch, the on-board device 14 transmits vehicle information, receives information on the location to which the vehicle should be moved, and displays it. In the example of FIG. 2, when the current location of the vehicle is the first area 102a of the vehicle loading and unloading area 102 of the first port, the location to which the vehicle should be moved is identified as area B on the third floor of the car carrier. The vehicle transportation management device 10 generates a movement route from the current location of the vehicle to area B on the third floor of the car carrier 90, and transmits it to the on-board device 14. The worker checks the information displayed on the display in the vehicle, drives the vehicle to area B on the third floor of the car carrier 90, and parks it.

[0066] Here, it is assumed that the in-vehicle device 14 cannot receive signals from GPS satellites on the ship. To deal with this, multiple wireless access points are installed on each floor of the ship. The installation intervals of the wireless access points are appropriately determined according to the required position accuracy. When the ignition switch of the vehicle is on and the position acquisition unit 62 of the in-vehicle device 14 cannot receive signals from GPS satellites, the communication unit 60 connects to a nearby wireless access point by WiFi (registered trademark) communication and acquires information for identifying the connected wireless access point. The position acquisition unit 62 acquires the position information of the connected wireless access point as the position information of the vehicle based on the identification information of the wireless access point and a predetermined database. The predetermined database holds the identification information of the wireless access point in association with the position information. Note that when a vehicle is parked in a building at a vehicle loading and unloading site and cannot receive signals from GPS satellites, multiple wireless access points may be installed in the building in the same manner.

[0067] After all of the vehicles to be moved are loaded onto the PCMC 90, the PCMC 90 departs for the second port.

[0068] During transportation by the car carrier 90, the on-board device 14 does not transmit location information. The third terminal device 20 periodically acquires location information of the car carrier 90 and transmits the location information to the vehicle transportation management device 10. If the current location of the car carrier 90 deviates from the transportation plan, the vehicle transportation management device 10 warns the third terminal device 20 and the transportation manager. In response to the warning, the driver of the car carrier 90 can transport the car to the correct destination.

[0069] When the car carrier 90 arrives at the vehicle loading and unloading area 104 of the second port, a plurality of workers unload the vehicles from the car carrier 90. The workers operate the first terminal device 16 as described above to send a notification request of the location of the vehicle to be moved. In this case, the workers may specify the unloading work in response to the notification request. The vehicle transport management device 10 acquires the identification information of the vehicle that the worker should move from the car carrier 90 and the transport status from the work plan information corresponding to the identification information of the worker. The transport status is "unload from ship". The vehicle transport management device 10 acquires the vehicle's location information from the communication server 12 based on the acquired vehicle's identification information. The vehicle's location information is the location when the vehicle is loaded onto the ship and the ignition switch is turned off. Therefore, the first terminal device 16 converts the location of the vehicle to be moved into a location within the ship and displays it on the floor plan of the ship.

[0070] The processing of the in-vehicle device 14 is basically the same as described above, so differences will be mainly described. When a worker gets into a vehicle to be moved and turns on the ignition switch, the in-vehicle device 14 transmits vehicle information and receives information about the location to which the vehicle should be moved, etc. In the example of FIG. 2, the location to which the vehicle should be moved is identified as the first area 104a of the loading and unloading area 104. In the in-vehicle device 14, the location to which the vehicle should be moved is displayed, for example, superimposed on a floor plan of the loading and unloading area 104. The worker drives the vehicle to unload it from the ship, drives it to the first area 104a, and parks it.

[0071] Processing during transportation from the vehicle loading dock 104 at the second port to the dealership can also be carried out as previously described.

[0072] (3) Movement within the vehicle loading and unloading area 102 at the first port A delay in the arrival of a ship bound for a certain destination may create a need to move vehicles that were scheduled to be loaded onto that ship within the vehicle loading dock 102 at the first port to make room for vehicles that are to be loaded first onto another ship.

[0073] In this case, an additional transportation plan is created. The transportation plan further includes, for example, information such as May 25 as a date, the VINs of the 100 vehicles as vehicle identification information, the vehicle itself as a transportation means, the first area 102a of the vehicle loading and unloading area 102 at the first port as a movement origin, and the second area 102b of the vehicle loading and unloading area 102 at the first port as a movement destination.

[0074] The transport company that transports the goods by the car carrier creates a work plan for movement within the port based on the transportation plan using the fourth terminal device 22b. This work plan may be created by the transportation manager.

[0075] The worker drives the vehicle to be transported from the first area 102a to the second area 102b. The work plan includes, for example, for each worker's identification information, a work date, a source of the vehicle, a destination of the vehicle, identification information of the vehicle to be moved, and an order in which the vehicles are to be moved.

[0076] The processing of the first terminal device 16 is basically as described above, so differences will be mainly explained. The worker operates the first terminal device 16 to send a request for notification of the position of the vehicle to be moved. The vehicle transportation management device 10 obtains the identification information of the vehicle that the worker is to move, the order in which the vehicles are to be moved, and the transportation status from the work plan information corresponding to the worker's identification information, obtains the position information of the multiple vehicles to be moved, and sends these to the worker's first terminal device 16. The transportation status is "movement within the vehicle loading and unloading area." The first terminal device 16 displays the received information.

[0077] The processing of the in-vehicle device 14 is basically the same as described above, so differences will be mainly described. When the worker gets into the vehicle to be moved and turns on the ignition switch, the in-vehicle device 14 transmits vehicle information, receives information about the location to which the vehicle should be moved, and displays it. In the example of Fig. 2, the location to which the vehicle should be moved is identified as the second area 102b of the vehicle loading and unloading area 102 of the first port. The worker drives the vehicle to the second area 102b and parks it.

[0078] Next, the overall operation of the vehicle transport management system 1 configured as above will be described. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the location notification process of the vehicle to be moved in the vehicle transport management device 10 of FIG. 3. The process of FIG. 4 is performed periodically. When a notification request of the location of the vehicle to be moved is received from the first terminal device 16 of the worker (Y of S10), the third acquisition unit 44 acquires identification information of the vehicle to be moved by the worker (S12), and the first acquisition unit 40 acquires the vehicle location information based on the acquired identification information (S14). The notification unit 48 notifies the first terminal device 16 of the worker of the vehicle location information (S16), and ends the process. When a notification request of the location of the vehicle to be moved is not received (N of S10), the process ends.

[0079] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the notification process of the location to which the vehicle should be moved in the vehicle transportation management device 10 of FIG. 3. The process of FIG. 5 is performed periodically. When the first acquisition unit 40 acquires the vehicle's location information (Y of S20), if the vehicle's location does not deviate from the transportation plan (N of S22), the notification unit 48 notifies the vehicle of the location to which the vehicle should be moved and the transportation status (S24), and ends the process. When the vehicle's location deviates from the transportation plan (Y of S22), the notification unit 48 issues a warning and notifies the vehicle of the location to which the vehicle should be moved (S26), and ends the process. When the first acquisition unit 40 does not acquire the vehicle's location information (N of S20), the process ends.

[0080] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the vehicle information provision process in the vehicle transportation management device 10 of Fig. 3. The process in Fig. 6 is performed periodically. If the vehicle transportation management device 10 receives a request for vehicle information (Y in S30), it provides the vehicle information to the fourth terminal device 22 of the transport company (S32) and ends the process. If the vehicle information request is not received (N in S30), it ends the process.

[0081] Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing of the in-vehicle device 14 of Fig. 3. The processing of Fig. 7 is performed periodically while the ignition switch is on. The position acquisition unit 62 acquires position information of the vehicle (S40), and the communication unit 60 transmits the position information to the communication server 12 (S42). The communication unit 60 receives the location to which the vehicle should be moved and the transportation status from the communication server 12 (S44), and the display unit 64 displays the location to which the vehicle should be moved and the transportation status (S46), and the processing ends.

[0082] According to the embodiment, since the information on the location where the worker should move the vehicle is notified to the vehicle, the worker who is in the vehicle can easily understand the contents of the vehicle moving work. Therefore, it becomes difficult to make a mistake in the contents of the moving work, the worker's work time can be shortened, and the work efficiency can be improved. The worker is less likely to make a mistake in the destination of the vehicle.

[0083] In addition, since the transportation manager can obtain the location information of multiple vehicles collected by the vehicle transportation management device 10, workers are no longer required to input the vehicle locations into terminals at relay points, reducing the number of workers' man-hours. In addition, since the transportation manager can always grasp the current transportation status of vehicles, he can quickly notify dealers and the like of changes to the scheduled arrival date in the event of a transportation delay. In addition, the accuracy of orders to transportation companies can be improved, reducing waiting times at ports and the like.

[0084] The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. The embodiments are merely examples, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible in the combination of each component and each processing step, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

[0085] For example, among the functions of the vehicle transportation management device 10, the function of generating information regarding a location where a worker should move a vehicle and notifying the vehicle of the information may be possessed by the on-board device 14 of the vehicle. In this case, the second acquisition unit 42, the generation unit 46, and the notification unit 48 are provided in the on-board device 14. The second acquisition unit 42 acquires vehicle transportation plan information from the vehicle transportation management device 10. The notification unit 48 notifies the vehicle, specifically the worker who is the driver of the vehicle, of the information regarding the location where the vehicle should be moved. In this modified example, the flexibility of the configuration of the vehicle transportation management system 1 can be improved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0086] 1...vehicle transportation management system, 10...vehicle transportation management device, 12...communication server, 14...in-vehicle device, 16...first terminal device, 18...second terminal device, 20...third terminal device, 22, 22a, 22b...fourth terminal device, 40...first acquisition unit, 42...second acquisition unit, 44...third acquisition unit, 46...generation unit, 48...notification unit, 60...communication unit, 62...position acquisition unit, 64...display unit, 80...vehicle.

Claims

1. A first acquisition unit that acquires position information of a plurality of vehicles; A second acquisition unit that acquires transportation plan information of the plurality of vehicles; A generating unit that generates information on a location where a worker should move the plurality of vehicles based on position information of the plurality of vehicles and transportation plan information of the plurality of vehicles; A third acquisition unit that acquires an order of movement of the plurality of vehicles; a notification unit that notifies the vehicle of a location to which the vehicle should be moved and notifies a terminal device of the worker of an order in which the vehicles should be moved; Equipped with the location to which the plurality of vehicles are to be moved is a location within the car carrier; The order of moving the plurality of vehicles is determined so that the travel distance of a vehicle whose remaining battery charge or remaining fuel charge is less than a predetermined value is shortened. A vehicle transportation management device comprising:

2. The first acquisition unit acquires location information of the vehicle transmitted from the vehicle when an ignition switch of the vehicle is on.

2. The vehicle transportation management device according to claim 1.

3. The notification unit notifies the terminal device of the worker of the location information of each of the plurality of vehicles.

3. The vehicle transportation management device according to claim 1 or 2.

Images