Traffic management system and traffic management method

Abstract

To enable real-time monitoring on a reckless driving operation etc. of a driver, reduce a burden on a manager in a transportation company and improve transportation quality.SOLUTION: An on-vehicle unit 21 mounted on each vehicle, a portable terminal 22 that a driver can carry and a server 40 are connected in a communicable state to manage an operation situation of the vehicle transporting luggage. The on-vehicle unit includes a position information detection function, and the server includes a function for deputizing management jobs of vehicles and drivers of a physical distribution company. The on-vehicle unit iteratively acquires operation information such as a position, a vehicle velocity and acceleration and transmits the operation information to both the portable terminal and the server in S56A and S53B. The portable terminal processes the operation information received from the on-vehicle unit almost in real time, identifies the presence / absence of abnormality, etc., and, when abnormality is detected, gives a warning to the driver. The server manages a situation such as operation delay by processing the operation information received from the on-vehicle unit in a long cycle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a traffic management system and a traffic management method. [Background technology]

[0002] Transportation companies that use trucks and other vehicles to transport cargo requested by various customers (shippers) are required to provide high-quality, safe transportation that meets customer demands.

[0003] High transport quality means, for example, loading a customer's cargo onto a truck at a predetermined departure point at a specific time, and transporting the cargo so that the truck arrives at the destination within the predetermined estimated arrival time while preventing any major impacts on the cargo. Safe driving techniques to prevent traffic accidents and reduce impacts on the cargo, as well as economical driving techniques to reduce the vehicle's fuel consumption, are also important. Whether these requirements can actually be met is thought to depend primarily on the experience, driving ability, motivation, and level of fatigue of the individual driver.

[0004] In addition, transportation companies have traditionally automatically recorded the location and driving status of each vehicle transporting cargo on board the vehicle, or monitored the location of each vehicle in near real time from the company's office, etc. For example, if an existing driving recorder such as a digital tachograph is installed on a vehicle as an on-board device, various information indicating the driving status can be automatically collected and recorded on board the vehicle.

[0005] Furthermore, for example, the rating system of Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for rating vehicle driving using a digital driving recorder, the driving content evaluation device of Patent Document 2 discloses a technology for obtaining driver driving content information for each vehicle from a driving history database, evaluating it, and displaying it in a list on a ranking screen, and the vehicle driving data analysis system of Patent Document 3 discloses a technology for effectively utilizing recorded vehicle driving data. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-288704 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-221307 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-22332 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Meanwhile, transportation companies (logistics companies) that own or use a large number of vehicles may have managers who monitor the operation status of each vehicle, detect problems such as delays in operation, and continue busy work on a daily basis to minimize such problems.

[0008] For example, if a transportation company employs many experienced and skilled drivers, problems such as delays are unlikely to occur, and the manager's work to prevent delays is likely to be relatively easy. However, in actual transportation companies, it is difficult to secure drivers with a wealth of experience and excellent driving skills, so managers at many transportation companies are forced to continue working hard.

[0009] Furthermore, in other countries, such as India, it is becoming common for transport companies to hire drivers who are not employees as needed and entrust them with driving each vehicle. As a result, particularly small transport companies do not have a system in place to manage each driver, and in many cases they are unable to grasp the individual characteristics of each driver, such as their driving ability or tendency to slack off.

[0010] Therefore, transportation companies cannot foresee situations such as drivers slacking off and wasting longer breaks than necessary during transportation, or reckless driving involving speeding, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration, resulting in unusually large impacts on cargo such as precision equipment. Therefore, transportation company managers must constantly monitor the operation of each vehicle, closely monitoring whether any abnormalities are occurring. Furthermore, when a problem does occur, it is often difficult for managers to grasp the situation or to contact the driver. This places a heavy burden on managers, making it difficult for transportation companies to secure and employ highly skilled personnel for dedicated management work who are capable of handling such monitoring tasks.

[0011] On the other hand, in order to reduce the burden on managers within the transportation company, it is conceivable to use wireless data communication between the on-board devices installed in each vehicle and a server installed in a designated data center, and have the operating status of each vehicle automatically monitored on the server side. However, in this case, a large amount of data communication is required between the on-board devices of many vehicles and the server, and the processing load on the server increases, making it difficult to shorten the monitoring time period.

[0012] Therefore, if the driver of each vehicle performs reckless driving operations such as speeding, sudden acceleration, or sudden deceleration, there is a possibility that processing on the server will be delayed, making it impossible to detect reckless driving operations in real time while the vehicle is in operation and to issue a warning to the driver at the time the driving operation is performed.

[0013] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an operation management system and operation management method that makes it possible to detect and warn drivers of reckless driving behavior, etc., almost in real time, while also reducing the burden on managers at transportation companies and improving transportation quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0014] The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following configuration.

[0015] A traffic management system that manages one or more vehicles that can be used to transport cargo and that can be used by a logistics company that transports cargo from a shipper using the vehicles to manage the operation of the vehicles, an on-board device mounted on the vehicle and having a function of grasping operation information including at least position information of the vehicle; a portable terminal that can be carried by a driver of the vehicle; a server including a function of performing at least a part of the management work of the vehicle and the driver on behalf of the logistics company; Equipped with the in-vehicle device includes a data transmission function for transmitting the detected operation information to both the mobile terminal and the server, the mobile terminal processes the driving information received from the in-vehicle device in almost real time to identify whether or not there is an abnormality in the driving operation by the driver of the vehicle, and includes an alarm output function that outputs an alarm to the driver when an abnormality is detected; The server processes the operation information received from the in-vehicle device every time a predetermined checkpoint is passed on a planned operation route, and generates management information regarding actual vehicle operation delays relative to a previously created operation plan. and processing the operation information received from the in-vehicle device at a longer cycle than the mobile terminal, detecting an abnormality in the driving operation by the driver based on a history of the operation information, and recording the number of detected abnormalities in a database. Includes management functions, Operation management system.

[0016] When a logistics company that manages one or more vehicles available for transporting cargo and transports cargo for a shipper using the vehicles controls a system for managing the operation of the vehicles, The system utilizes an on-board device that is mounted on the vehicle and has a function of grasping operation information including at least the position information of the vehicle itself, a mobile terminal that can be carried by the driver of the vehicle, and a server that has a function of acting as an agent for at least a part of the management work of the vehicle and the driver at the logistics company, The operation information detected on the in-vehicle device is repeatedly transmitted from the in-vehicle device to both the mobile terminal and the server, The mobile terminal processes the driving information received from the in-vehicle device in almost real time to identify whether or not there is an abnormality in the driving operation by the driver of the vehicle, and outputs an alarm to the driver if an abnormality is detected; The server processes the operation information received from the in-vehicle device every time a predetermined checkpoint is passed on a planned operation route, and generates management information regarding actual vehicle operation delays relative to a previously created operation plan. and processing the operation information received from the in-vehicle device at a longer cycle than the mobile terminal, detecting an abnormality in the driving operation by the driver based on a history of the operation information, and recording the number of detected abnormalities in a database. Operation management method. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] The traffic management system and traffic management method of the present invention make it possible to detect and warn drivers of reckless driving behavior in almost real time, reducing the burden on managers at transportation companies and improving transportation quality.

[0018] The present invention has been briefly described above. The details of the present invention will become clearer by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an operation control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2(a) is a block diagram showing the main components of the in-vehicle control unit, and FIG. 2(b) is a block diagram showing the main components of the driver's smartphone. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a part of the characteristic operation of the traffic management system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of the overall operation of the traffic management system. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operational status of a plurality of vehicles and the display on the management screen. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of management data. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0021] <System configuration> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a traffic control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] The transportation company 10 generally owns or manages a large number (e.g., several tens) of vehicles 20, i.e., trucks, that can be used to transport customer cargo. There are also shippers 30 and consignees 31 who request cargo transportation from the transportation company 10. The shippers 30 and consignees 31 are assumed to be companies, but they may also be individuals.

[0023] On the other hand, the transportation company 10 may use various external people who are not employed in-house as drivers required to operate each vehicle 20 as needed, so operation management of the vehicles 20 and management of drivers is essential to improving the quality of cargo transportation.

[0024] For example, if a driver slacks off and takes an unnecessarily long break during vehicle operation, it is expected that a significant delay will occur in the arrival time of the cargo at the consignee 31. Furthermore, if a driver has little awareness of safe driving, they may repeatedly engage in reckless driving operations such as exceeding the speed limit, sudden acceleration, and sudden deceleration, which may cause a large impact on the cargo and increase the risk of a traffic accident. Furthermore, economically disadvantageous driving operations may increase the fuel consumption of the vehicle 20, resulting in increased transportation costs.

[0025] Therefore, if a manager of the transportation company 10 is to simultaneously monitor the operation status of a large number of vehicles 20 and give instructions to each driver, the manager's burden will be heavy. Also, it is often difficult for the transportation company 10 to secure and employ a dedicated manager who can properly perform such work.

[0026] In the operation management system 100 shown in Fig. 1, the server 40 can provide a communication service that handles at least a portion of the management work that should be performed by the manager of the transportation company 10. Therefore, by using the server 40, the transportation company 10 can significantly reduce the burden on the manager.

[0027] In addition, real-time processing that cannot be completed in time by the processing of the server 40, such as warnings to the driver while the vehicle 20 is actually in operation, can be realized by a function described below that is separate from the server 40.

[0028] The server 40 is managed by a predetermined agency service provider that provides this communication service. The server 40 can provide agency services via communication to various shipping companies 10. The agency service provider that operates the server 40 provides agency services to shipping companies 10 that have signed a contract with the server 40, and collects a usage fee from the shipping companies 10 in return.

[0029] In the example shown in FIG. 1, the server 40 has the functions of an order management agency unit 41, a transportation management agency unit 42, a driver management agency unit 43, and an operation management DB (database) 44. Note that the system configuration may be changed so that some of these agency functions are performed by the in-house system of the transportation company 10. In this case, the server 40 acquires data obtained by performing the functions of the transportation company 10's system from the transportation company 10. As an example, the server 40 may acquire data from the transportation company 10 instead of creating a transportation plan, which will be described later.

[0030] The order management agent unit 41 has a function of accepting orders for transportation services requested by various shippers 30 to various transportation companies 10 on behalf of the transportation companies 10. The transportation management agency 42 creates an appropriate transportation plan in accordance with the requests of the shippers 30 for each transportation service ordered by each transportation company 10 from various shippers 30, and assigns a specific vehicle 20 and a specific driver to drive it to this transportation plan.

[0031] Furthermore, when transporting cargo of the consignor 30 in a specific vehicle 20 according to each transportation plan, the transportation management agent 42 monitors the actual operation status of the vehicle 20 based on information acquired from the on-board device of the corresponding vehicle 20. In addition, the transportation management agent 42 performs processing to issue a precaution to alert the driver when a delay occurs, for example, or a warning to prevent trouble during transportation, depending on the actual operation status. The transportation management agent 42 also provides functions that enable the transportation company 10, the consignor 30, and the consignee 31 to monitor the operation status of the actual vehicle 20.

[0032] The driver management agent unit 43 has a function to automatically evaluate the driving ability and other factors required to achieve high-quality transportation for each of the many drivers used by each transportation company 10. The driver management agent unit 43 also has a function to reflect the evaluation results of each driver in incentives for the transportation company 10 and each driver.

[0033] For example, the server 40 or the transportation company 10 can provide incentives such as monetary rewards to drivers who have improved their driving ability to transport cargo with high transport quality, thereby increasing the motivation of the drivers and contributing to the realization of more favorable cargo transportation conditions.

[0034] The operation management DB 44 stores and manages the cargo transportation plans of each of the various transportation companies 10 that use the services of the server 40, the actual transportation status that is regularly monitored, historical data on past transportation, evaluation values ​​for each driver under management and information that affects them and their history, etc.

[0035] In the example shown in Fig. 1, the transportation company 10 has a transportation manager terminal 11 and a smartphone 12. The transportation manager terminal 11 is configured, for example, by a personal computer (PC) with a communication function, and can connect to a server 40 via the Internet 51. The transportation company 10 can make a contract in advance with an agency service provider that operates the server 40, so that the transportation manager terminal 11 can receive the communication services of the server 40.

[0036] The smartphone 12 can connect to the server 40 via a wireless communication network 52 that provides public wireless communication services and the Internet 51 by using its own wireless communication function such as LTE (Long Term Evolution). In addition, by installing dedicated application software required for using the server 40 as an administrator in the smartphone 12 and signing a predetermined contract, the smartphone 12 can use the communication services of the server 40. This allows the smartphone 12 to manage the vehicle 20.

[0037] The transportation company 10 may use only one of the transportation manager terminal 11 and the smartphone 12. 1 is equipped with an on-board device 21. The on-board device 21 includes an on-board GPS device 21a, an on-board control unit 21b, and a wireless communication unit 21c.

[0038] The in-vehicle GPS device 21a is a commercially available general GPS device that can obtain information such as the latitude and longitude of the current position, the current time, the moving speed, the moving direction, etc., by performing predetermined calculation processing based on radio waves received from multiple GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites. The in-vehicle GPS device 21a can also detect acceleration from changes in the moving speed.

[0039] Meanwhile, each driver of the vehicle 20 has a dedicated smartphone 22. This smartphone 22 is a device in which special application software (app) for using the operation management system 100 as a driver is installed in a commonly available smartphone, and in this embodiment, it is assumed that the smartphone 22 is placed near the in-vehicle device 21 and used.

[0040] The wireless communication unit 21c of the vehicle-mounted device 21 has both a function for performing wide-area wireless communication with a wireless base station of the wireless communication network 52 that provides public wireless communication services in accordance with a standard such as LTE, and a function for performing short-range wireless communication in accordance with a standard such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). Note that if the vehicle 20 already has a function equivalent to the wireless communication unit 21c, there is no need to add the wireless communication unit 21c.

[0041] The vehicle-mounted device 21 can communicate wirelessly with the driver's smartphone 22 located nearby by using the short-range wireless communication function of the wireless communication unit 21c. In addition, the vehicle-mounted device 21 can connect to the server 40 via the wireless communication network 52 and the Internet 51 by using the wide-area wireless communication function of the wireless communication unit 21c.

[0042] The on-board control unit 21b can repeatedly acquire information about the operation of the vehicle 20 from the on-board GPS device 21a or the like at relatively short intervals, and periodically transmit the information to both the smartphone 22 and the server 40 via wireless communication.

[0043] The driver-dedicated app installed in the smartphone 22 can monitor the driver's driving operation in almost real time based on information on the driving status of the vehicle 20 periodically transmitted from the in-vehicle device 21. If reckless driving or the like is detected, the app can provide assistance to the driver to drive safely by outputting an alarm from the smartphone 22.

[0044] 1, it is assumed that the on-board control unit 21b monitors only the information output by the on-board GPS device 21a, but if the on-board control unit 21b is equipped with a communication interface such as a CAN (Controller Area Network), the on-board control unit 21b can acquire and monitor various information generated on the vehicle 20 side. For example, information such as vehicle speed, engine rotation speed, acceleration, and transmission state can be provided from the vehicle 20 side to the on-board device 21.

[0045] The consignor 30 and the consignee 31 can access the server 40 using the consignor terminal 30a and the consignee terminal 31a, respectively, to find out the delivery status of the requested package, specifically the current location of the package, etc. A general personal computer or smartphone can be used as the consignor terminal 30a and the consignee terminal 31a.

[0046] <Major functions of in-vehicle device 21 and smartphone 22> FIG. 2(a) is a block diagram showing the main components of the in-vehicle control unit 21b, and FIG. 2(b) is a block diagram showing the main components of the smartphone 22 for the driver.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 2(a), the in-vehicle control unit 21b includes a current position acquisition unit 25, a traveling speed acquisition unit 26, an acceleration acquisition unit 27, and an acquired information transmission unit . The current position acquisition unit 25 periodically acquires latitude and longitude information representing the current position of the vehicle, for example, every second. The current position information can be acquired from the output of the in-vehicle GPS device 21a.

[0048] The traveling speed acquisition unit 26 periodically acquires information indicating the traveling speed (km / h) of the host vehicle, for example, every second. The traveling speed information can be obtained from the output of the in-vehicle GPS device 21a, or can be obtained from the vehicle 20 side.

[0049] The acceleration acquisition unit 27 periodically acquires information indicating the acceleration of at least the vehicle in the traveling direction, for example, every second. This acceleration information can be calculated as the change per unit time in the traveling speed acquired by the traveling speed acquisition unit 26. If the vehicle 20 is equipped with an acceleration sensor, the acceleration information can be acquired from the vehicle 20, or a dedicated acceleration sensor can be installed on the in-vehicle device 21.

[0050] The acquired information transmitting unit 28 periodically and repeatedly transmits information on the current position acquired by the current position acquiring unit 25, the traveling speed acquired by the traveling speed acquiring unit 26, and the acceleration acquired by the acceleration acquiring unit 27. The destinations of this information are the smartphone 22 and the server 40.

[0051] The current position acquisition unit 25, the traveling speed acquisition unit 26, the acceleration acquisition unit 27, and the acquired information transmission unit 28 can be prepared as part of a program executed by a microcomputer that controls the vehicle-mounted device 21, or can be prepared as dedicated hardware.

[0052] 2(b), the smartphone 22 includes an in-vehicle device information receiving unit 22a, a threshold value table 22b, an alarm condition comparing unit 22c, an alarm output unit 22d, a speaker 22e, and a display unit 22f. The in-vehicle device information receiving unit 22a, the threshold value table 22b, the alarm condition comparing unit 22c, and the alarm output unit 22d can be prepared as components of an app dedicated to the driver.

[0053] The vehicle-mounted device information receiving unit 22a has the function of acquiring, storing, and managing multiple pieces of information repeatedly transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 21 using short-range wireless communication while the vehicle 20 is transporting luggage.

[0054] The threshold table 22b holds a plurality of predetermined threshold data (constants) necessary for identifying whether or not a driving operation is abnormal. For example, the threshold table 22b holds a threshold for identifying whether or not the detected driving speed or its average value exceeds a reference value such as a legal speed, a threshold for identifying whether or not the magnitude of the detected acceleration is in a predetermined sudden acceleration state, a threshold for identifying whether or not the magnitude of the detected acceleration is in a predetermined sudden deceleration state, etc.

[0055] The warning condition comparison unit 22c has a function of comparing the value of the information received from the vehicle-mounted device 21 by the vehicle-mounted device information reception unit 22a with each threshold value data held in the threshold value table 22b. The warning output unit 22d has a function of outputting a warning to the driver by audio output from the speaker 22e or by displaying on the display unit 22f when a warning is necessary based on the comparison result of the warning condition comparison unit 22c.

[0056] FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing a part of the characteristic operation of the traffic control system 100. As shown in FIG.

[0057] When the ignition of the vehicle 20 after loading is turned on and the start of operation is detected in S51, the on-board control unit 21b of the on-board device 21 starts collecting operation information using the current position acquisition unit 25, the traveling speed acquisition unit 26, and the acceleration acquisition unit 27 (S52). That is, the operation information including the detected current position, traveling speed, and acceleration is periodically acquired at short intervals.

[0058] The on-board control unit 21b of the on-board device 21 transmits the acquired operation information to the smartphone 22 using the short-range wireless communication function (S53A). In addition, the on-board control unit 21b transmits the acquired operation information to the server 40 using the wide-area wireless communication function (S53B).

[0059] The vehicle-mounted device 21 repeatedly executes the above process until it detects in S63 that the vehicle 20 has arrived at the destination such as the consignee 31. On the other hand, the smartphone 22 carried by the driver of the vehicle 20 is located within a range where the vehicle-mounted device 21 can perform short-distance communication, and therefore can constantly receive the operation information repeatedly transmitted by the vehicle-mounted device 21.

[0060] When the driver's application on the smartphone 22 receives the operation information transmitted from the in-vehicle device 21 in S54, it executes real-time monitoring of the operation status in S55. That is, the warning condition comparison unit 22c compares the operation information received by the in-vehicle device information receiving unit 22a with each threshold data in the threshold table 22b.

[0061] Furthermore, when an abnormality is detected in S56 based on the comparison result of the warning condition comparison unit 22c, the warning output unit 22d of the driver's application outputs a preliminary warning or a warning in S57. For example, if the traveling speed slightly exceeds the legal speed, a voice message such as "Legal speed exceeded" is output as a preliminary warning, and if the number of occurrences of the preliminary warning increases or if the traveling speed greatly exceeds the legal speed, a voice message such as "It is dangerous, please reduce your speed" is output as a warning. Note that thresholds for the preliminary warning and the warning may be set separately.

[0062] On the other hand, the server 40 can receive the operation information repeatedly transmitted by the vehicle-mounted device 21 at S58. The server 40 accumulates the received operation information in a database, manages it for each vehicle, and transmits it to the transportation manager terminal 11 as necessary.

[0063] The server 40 executes predetermined data processing each time a vehicle satisfies a predetermined condition. For example, the server 40 executes processing in S59 to confirm whether the vehicle 20 is operating according to the schedule of the operation plan created in advance, each time the vehicle 20 passes a predetermined checkpoint on the planned operation route or each time a certain period of time elapses.

[0064] Then, when the server 40 detects an abnormality in S60, the server 40 instructs the transportation manager terminal 11 to output a preliminary warning or an alarm in S61. For example, when the server 40 detects a vehicle that is operating at a significant delay compared to the operation plan at a certain point in time, the server 40 instructs the transportation manager terminal 11 to output an alarm with priority over information on other vehicles so that the manager of the transportation company 10 can immediately grasp the situation.

[0065] The transportation manager terminal 11 displays the information about each vehicle sent from the server 40 on the screen (S62). In addition, for example, when information about a vehicle is detected to be significantly delayed compared to the operation plan, the manager at the transportation company 10 needs to respond quickly, so the information is preferentially displayed on the screen of the transportation manager terminal 11 as an alarm.

[0066] <Overview of the overall system operation> 4 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of the overall operation of the traffic control system 100. The operation of FIG. 4 will be described below.

[0067] A shipper 30 who wishes to transport a package uses the shipper terminal 30a to place a request for transportation with the transportation company 10 (S11). At this time, if the transportation company 10 has contracted with the agency service of the server 40, the order management agency unit 41 of the server 40 acts on behalf of the shipper 30 to place an order with the transportation company 10 and receives the order (S12). Information on the transportation request received on behalf of the server 40 is registered in the operation management DB 44, and is further notified to the transportation manager terminal 11 of the transportation company 10.

[0068] The transportation management agency 42 of the server 40 creates a transportation plan for the cargo transportation ordered by the order management agency 41 in accordance with the request of the shipper 30 (S13). This transportation plan includes information such as the location of the loading point, the scheduled loading time, the location of the unloading point, the scheduled time of arrival at the unloading point, the travel route, and rest points. The information on the transportation plan created by the server 40 is registered in the operation management DB 44 and further transmitted to the transportation manager terminal 11 of the transportation company 10.

[0069] The transportation management agent 42 of the server 40 appropriately allocates the vehicles 20 required for actual cargo transportation and the drivers who will drive them from a group of candidates secured in advance to the created transportation plan (S14).

[0070] The transportation company 10 performs actual cargo transportation operations using the specific vehicles 20 and specific drivers assigned to the transportation plan based on the transportation plan determined by the server 40. Then, when the vehicle 20 completes loading of cargo at the loading point designated in advance by the shipper 30 and starts traveling, the in-vehicle device 21 detects this and notifies the server 40 (S15).

[0071] The on-board device 21 mounted on the vehicle 20 transporting the cargo transmits information such as the latest current position, current time, traveling speed, and speed change detected by the on-board GPS device 21a to the server 40 every time a certain period of time has elapsed, for example, every 10 minutes (S16).

[0072] The server 40 collects information transmitted from each vehicle 20 transporting cargo and stores it in the operation management DB 44 (S17). Furthermore, the server 40 periodically monitors, based on the information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 21, whether the driver of each vehicle 20 is performing rough driving operations that may affect the transport quality (S19). Specifically, based on the history of the received data, the server 40 detects driving operations that exceed the specified speed, sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, etc., and records the number of such operations for each driver in the operation management DB 44.

[0073] The server 40 also monitors the actual operation delays of each vehicle 20 relative to the operation plan (S19). Specifically, the server 40 determines whether there is a delay and the extent of the delay at the time when each vehicle 20 passes through a predefined geofence at multiple checkpoints set on the travel route of the operation plan.

[0074] The server 40 identifies whether or not there is an abnormality, such as a delay in operation, for each vehicle 20 to be monitored (S20). If the server 40 detects an abnormal situation, the server 40 transmits a preliminary warning or an instruction to issue a warning to the driver to the vehicle-mounted device 21 (S21).

[0075] When the vehicle-mounted device 21 is instructed by the server 40 to output a preliminary warning or an alarm, it issues the preliminary warning or an alarm to the driver using an alarm device built into the vehicle or the driver's smartphone 22 (S22).

[0076] The server 40 transmits the vehicle status indicating the latest status of each vehicle 20 for which it is monitoring the transportation status of the luggage to the transportation manager terminal 11 or smartphone 12 of the transportation company 10, and notifies the manager (S23). Here, the server 40 considers the priority of the vehicle status to be transmitted to the transportation manager terminal 11 or smartphone 12. For example, when the server 40 is simultaneously monitoring multiple vehicles 20, it performs information processing such as rearranging multiple items, highlighting by different colors, and indicating the priority of each item so that the specific vehicle 20 that the manager should deal with is clearly identified among these multiple vehicles 20.

[0077] The transportation manager terminal 11 or smartphone 12 of the transportation company 10 displays the vehicle status transmitted from the server 40 together with the priority on the screen (S24). Therefore, the manager of the transportation company 10 can easily grasp the current situation from the screen display of the transportation manager terminal 11. For example, among multiple vehicles 20 operating simultaneously, the manager can easily find on the screen of the transportation manager terminal 11 the specific vehicle 20 that has the greatest delay time compared to the transportation plan.

[0078] For example, if the manager needs to take action to prevent a current transportation delay in a specific vehicle 20 from significantly affecting the scheduled arrival time, the manager will use, for example, smartphone 12 to contact the smartphone 22 of the driver of the vehicle 20 by telephone or the like (S25). This allows the manager to grasp the current situation more accurately, and it becomes possible to take measures to reduce the delay in the scheduled arrival time or to notify the shipper 30 or the consignee 31 of the delay in advance before the arrival.

[0079] When the vehicle-mounted device 21 of each vehicle 20 arrives at the destination, it notifies the server 40 (S26). After detecting that each vehicle 20 has arrived at the destination in S27, the server 40 updates the driver's evaluation value to reflect the results of this cargo transportation (S28). The driver's evaluation can reflect the shipper's evaluation input by the shipper 30 from the shipper terminal 30a or the consignee's evaluation input by the consignee 31 from the consignee terminal 31a.

[0080] <Example of operation status and management screen display> FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the operational status of a plurality of vehicles 20 (trucks A, B, and C) and the display on the management screen.

[0081] In the example shown in Figure 5, it is assumed that three trucks A, B, and C transport cargo requested by a shipper 30 at different time periods along the same travel route from the loading point PL to the unloading point PU. In this example, the distance from the loading point PL to the unloading point PU is 1500 km, and three checkpoints P1, P2, and P3 are defined along the distance.

[0082] The locations of checkpoints P1, P2, and P3 are 1 hour (H), 2 hours, and 3 hours away from the loading point PL in the operation plan. The distances from the loading point PL to checkpoints P1, P2, and P3 are 375 km, 750 km, and 1125 km, respectively. Geofences corresponding to the areas of checkpoints P1, P2, and P3 have been determined in advance.

[0083] Therefore, by comparing the latitude and longitude of the current location obtained from each truck A, B, and C with the geofences of each checkpoint P1, P2, and P3, the server 40 can determine the time when each truck A, B, and C actually passed through each checkpoint P1, P2, and P3.

[0084] The server 40 can calculate, by a predetermined calculation, the estimated arrival time tea at which each of trucks A, B, and C will arrive at the unloading point PU, which is its destination, based on the time when each of trucks A, B, and C actually passed through each of checkpoints P1, P2, and P3, its average traveling speed, its past operating history, etc. In addition, the server 40 can easily calculate the remaining traveling distance DR to the unloading point PU based on the latest current position.

[0085] 5, the statuses of trucks A, B, and C that have passed through checkpoints P1, P2, and P3 are displayed on management screens 12a, 12b, and 12c, respectively, of the smartphone 12. That is, on the management screen 12a, truck A that has passed checkpoint P1 has an estimated arrival time tea of ​​23:20 and a remaining driving distance DR of 1125 [km].

[0086] In addition, truck B, which passed through checkpoint P2, has an estimated arrival time of 21:45 and a remaining distance DR of 750 km on the management screen 12b. Truck C, which passed through checkpoint P3, has an estimated arrival time of 0:30 and a remaining distance DR of 375 km on the management screen 12c.

[0087] The processing on the server 40 side to realize the operation shown in FIG. 5 does not need to be performed in real time, but can be performed, for example, every time a certain period of time has elapsed, and can be performed without placing a heavy load on the server 40.

[0088] <Example of management data configuration> FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of the management data D10. 6 includes management data items iA, iB, and iC corresponding to trucks A, B, and C, respectively, and includes items such as vehicle identification information for trucks A, B, and C, travel time TR, estimated arrival time tea, remaining time tR, remaining travel distance DR, repair time value Trec, and response priority PRI. The contents of each of these items can be easily calculated based on information such as the current location transmitted from each vehicle.

[0089] The restoration time value Trec represents the time required [h] per [km] required to make up for the current vehicle delay relative to the operation plan. Therefore, if the restoration time value Trec is small, it is easy to return to operation according to the operation plan.

[0090] The response priority PRI indicates the priority of each of the management data items iA, iB, and iC to be monitored. In other words, the response priority PRI is set higher when it is difficult to restore the operation state according to the operation plan and requires the intervention of a manager. In practice, the server 40 can determine the response priority PRI by comparing the magnitude relationship of the recovery time values ​​Trec for the multiple management data items iA, iB, and iC.

[0091] 6, the recovery time value Trec of management data item iC is the largest among management data items iA, iB, and iC. Therefore, the response priority PRI of management data item iC is number 1 (NO. 1), and the response priority PRI of management data item iA is number 2 (NO. 2).

[0092] In practice, the server 40 transmits the management data D10 as a vehicle status to the transportation manager terminal 11 with an instruction to highlight the management data item iC with the corresponding priority PRI of 1 in red or the like (S23). Alternatively, the server 40 rearranges the data arrangement of the management data items iA, iB, and iC so that the management data item iC with the corresponding priority PRI of 1 is at the top, and transmits the management data D10 as a vehicle status to the transportation manager terminal 11.

[0093] Therefore, the manager can easily recognize the vehicle status of truck C, which is experiencing a transportation delay, from the information displayed on the screen of the transportation manager terminal 11, and can quickly perform tasks such as contacting the driver of truck C.

[0094] As described above, in the operation control system 100 according to this embodiment, the agency service provider operating the server 40 can easily generate profits through a business model that provides agency services to various users such as companies.

[0095] Furthermore, even when each transport company 10 hires a person who is not employed as an employee as needed to drive the vehicle 20, it is possible to improve the quality of cargo transportation without increasing the burden on the manager by installing an in-vehicle device 21 in each vehicle 20, installing a dedicated app in each driver's smartphone 22, and further utilizing the proxy service of the server 40. Therefore, the transport company 10 does not need to secure a dedicated manager.

[0096] Furthermore, even when a large number of vehicles 20 are managed by only one server 40, functions that require real-time processing, such as warnings regarding the driver's driving operations, can be realized by simply combining the vehicle-mounted device 21 and the smartphone 22, so that warnings can be given to the driver at the appropriate time while avoiding an increase in the load on the server 40.

[0097] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified, improved, etc. Furthermore, the material, shape, size, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary and not limited as long as they can achieve the present invention.

[0098] For example, in FIG. 5, a geofence corresponding to the area of ​​each checkpoint P1, P2, and P3 is set, and the server 40 calculates the estimated arrival time t aa of the trucks A, B, and C at the unloading location PU by comparing the latitude and longitude of the current location acquired from each truck A, B, and C with these geofences. However, instead of setting a geofence, the server 40 may calculate the mileage based on the output of the onboard GPS device 21a from the time when each truck A, B, and C enters the geofence at the starting point, such as the loading location PL, and calculate the remaining mileage and the time required to arrive at the unloading location PU each time each truck A, B, and C travels a certain distance. Alternatively, the server 40 may calculate the remaining mileage and the time required to arrive at the unloading location PU every certain time (e.g., every hour) from the time when each truck A, B, and C enters the geofence at the starting point, such as the loading location PL. Of course, the server 40 may implement a combination of these logics. According to the logic of calculating the remaining distance traveled and the like every time a certain distance is traveled, the server 40 can easily grasp a situation in which each of the trucks A, B, and C has not traveled at all for some reason. Also, according to the logic of calculating the remaining distance traveled and the like every certain time, the server 40 can reduce the frequency of communication with the vehicle-mounted device 21.

[0099] Here, the features of the traffic management system and the traffic management method according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [5]. [1] A traffic management system that manages one or more vehicles that can be used to transport cargo and that can be used by a logistics company that transports cargo from a shipper using the vehicles to manage the operation of the vehicles, an on-board device (21) mounted on the vehicle and having a function of grasping operation information including at least the position information of the vehicle itself (on-board GPS device 21a); a mobile terminal (smartphone 22) that can be carried by the driver of the vehicle; a server (40) including a function for performing at least a part of the management work of the vehicle (20) and the driver in the logistics company (transportation company 10); Equipped with The vehicle-mounted device includes a data transmission function (vehicle-mounted control unit 21b, S53A, S53B) for transmitting the detected operation information to both the mobile terminal and the server, The mobile terminal processes the driving information received from the in-vehicle device in almost real time to identify at least the presence or absence of an abnormality (alarm condition comparison unit 22c), and includes an alarm output function (alarm output unit 22d) that outputs an alarm to the driver when an abnormality is detected, The server includes a management function (S58 to S61) for processing the operation information received from the in-vehicle device at a longer cycle than that of the mobile terminal and generating management information necessary for managing the status of at least one of the vehicle and the driver who is driving the vehicle. Operation management system (100).

[0100] According to the traffic management system configured as described above in [1], processing that requires near-real-time monitoring, such as reckless driving by the driver, is performed on the mobile device, so that the server is not overloaded, and an inexpensive in-vehicle device can be used to support the driver's safe driving by issuing an alarm. Furthermore, functions that do not require real-time processing but require relatively complex calculations and data processing, such as managing actual vehicle delays relative to transportation plans, can be performed on the server side, thereby reducing the load on the functions and processing required of the mobile device and in-vehicle device. Therefore, it becomes easy to perform at least a portion of the management tasks that should be performed by the administrator within the logistics company, significantly reducing the administrator's workload.

[0101] [2] The vehicle-mounted device has a function of detecting at least the running speed and acceleration of the vehicle (running speed acquisition unit 26, acceleration acquisition unit 27), as the operation information, The mobile terminal has a function (an alarm condition comparison unit 22c, an alarm output unit 22d) of comparing the information on the traveling speed and the acceleration received from the in-vehicle device with one or more thresholds to identify the presence or absence of an abnormality and the type of the abnormality. The traffic management system described in [1] above.

[0102] According to the operation management system configured as described above in [2], it becomes easy to detect in real time driving operations that are likely to have a negative impact on the quality of cargo transportation, such as driving a vehicle at a speed exceeding the legal speed limit, or sudden acceleration or deceleration, and to assist the driver in suppressing such operations.

[0103] [3] A business operator terminal (transportation manager terminal 11 or smartphone 12) that can be used by the manager of the logistics business operator is provided, The server (40) automatically transmits at least a part of the generated management information to the carrier terminal (S59, S61). The traffic management system described in [1] or [2] above.

[0104] According to the operation management system configured as in [3] above, if it is predicted that the arrival time of a package will be significantly delayed compared to the scheduled time, this information can be sent from the server to the operator's terminal as management information. Therefore, the logistics operator's manager can correctly grasp the delay situation from the information output to the operator's terminal and easily carry out necessary tasks such as notifying the recipient of the delay.

[0105] [4] The server detects a situation requiring an alert for each vehicle based on the information transmitted from the on-board device of each vehicle and a pre-created operation plan (S19, S20), and issues an alert directly to the driver of the vehicle without the intervention of the business operator terminal (S21), and notifies the business operator terminal of information indicating the status of the vehicle or the driver (S23). The traffic management system described in [3] above.

[0106] According to the operation management system configured as described above in [4], even if a vehicle delay occurs, the server will issue an alert directly to the driver of the vehicle in question, eliminating the need for the administrator to contact the driver directly.

[0107] [5] When a logistics company that manages one or more vehicles available for transporting cargo and transports cargo for a shipper using the vehicles controls a system for managing the operation of the vehicles, The system uses an on-board device (21) mounted on the vehicle and having a function of grasping operation information including at least the position information of the vehicle itself, a mobile terminal (smartphone 22) that can be carried by the driver of the vehicle, and a server (40) having a function of acting as an agent for at least a part of the management work of the vehicle and the driver at the logistics company, The operation information detected on the in-vehicle device is repeatedly transmitted from the in-vehicle device to both the mobile terminal and the server (S53A, S53B); The mobile terminal processes the operation information received from the in-vehicle device in almost real time to identify at least the presence or absence of an abnormality (S55, S56), and outputs an alarm to the driver if an abnormality is detected (S57). The server processes the operation information received from the vehicle-mounted device at a longer cycle than the mobile terminal, and generates management information required to manage the status of at least one of the vehicle and the driver who is driving the vehicle (S59 to S61). Operation management method.

[0108] According to the operation management method of the procedure [5] above, processing that requires near-real-time monitoring, such as reckless driving by the driver, is performed on the mobile device, so that safe driving by the driver can be supported by warnings without placing a heavy load on the server, and by simply using an inexpensive in-vehicle device. Furthermore, functions that do not require real-time processing but require relatively complex calculations and data processing, such as managing actual vehicle operation delays relative to transportation plans, can be performed on the server side, thereby reducing the load on the functions and processing required of the mobile device and the in-vehicle device. Therefore, it becomes easy to perform at least a portion of the management work that should be performed by the administrator of the logistics company, significantly reducing the administrator's workload. [Explanation of symbols]

[0109] 10. Shipping companies 11 Transportation manager terminal 12 Smartphone 12a,12b,12c Management screen 20 vehicles 21 Onboard equipment 21a In-vehicle GPS devices 21b In-vehicle control unit 21c Wireless Communication Department 22 Smartphone 22a On-board unit information receiver 22b Threshold Table 22c Alarm condition comparison section 22d Alarm output section 22e speaker 22f Display section 25 Current position acquisition part 26 Traveling speed acquisition unit 27 Acceleration acquisition section 28 Acquired information transmission unit 30 Shippers 30a Shipper terminal 31 Recipient 31a Receiving terminal 40 servers 41 Order Management Agency Department 42 Transportation Management Agency Department 43 Driver Management Agency Department 44 Operation management DB 51 Internet 52 Wireless communication network 100 Traffic Management System DR remaining distance iA, iB, iC management data items PL loading point PU Unloading point P1, P2, P3 checkpoints PRI Priority tea estimated arrival time tR Remaining time TR Running Time Trec Time to Repair Value

Claims

1. A traffic management system that manages one or more vehicles that can be used to transport cargo and that can be used by a logistics company that transports cargo from a shipper using the vehicles to manage the operation of the vehicles, an on-board device mounted on the vehicle and having a function of grasping operation information including at least position information of the vehicle; a portable terminal that can be carried by a driver of the vehicle; a server including a function of performing at least a part of the management work of the vehicle and the driver on behalf of the logistics company; Equipped with the in-vehicle device includes a data transmission function for transmitting the detected operation information to both the mobile terminal and the server, the mobile terminal processes the driving information received from the in-vehicle device in almost real time to identify whether or not there is an abnormality in the driving operation by the driver of the vehicle, and includes an alarm output function that outputs an alarm to the driver when an abnormality is detected; The server includes a management function of processing the operation information received from the on-board device every time a predetermined checkpoint on a planned operation route is passed, to generate management information regarding actual vehicle operation delays relative to a previously created operation plan, and processing the operation information received from the on-board device at a longer cycle than the mobile terminal, to detect abnormalities in the driving operation by the driver based on a history of the operation information, and to record the number of detected abnormalities in a database. Operation management system.

2. the in-vehicle device has a function of detecting at least a traveling speed and an acceleration of the vehicle as the operation information, the mobile terminal has a function of comparing the information on the traveling speed and the acceleration received from the in-vehicle device with one or more thresholds to identify the presence or absence of an abnormality and the type of the abnormality; The traffic management system according to claim 1 .

3. a business operator terminal that can be used by an administrator of the logistics business operator; When the server detects an abnormality in the management information, the server instructs the business operator terminal to output an alarm. The traffic management system according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The server detects a situation requiring an alert for each vehicle based on information transmitted from the on-board device of each vehicle and a pre-created operation plan, and issues an alert directly to the driver of the vehicle without the intervention of the business operator terminal, and notifies the business operator terminal of information indicating the status of the vehicle or the driver. The traffic control system according to claim 3 .

5. When a logistics company that manages one or more vehicles available for transporting cargo and transports cargo for a shipper using the vehicles controls a system for managing the operation of the vehicles, The system utilizes an on-board device that is mounted on the vehicle and has a function of grasping operation information including at least the position information of the vehicle itself, a mobile terminal that can be carried by the driver of the vehicle, and a server that has a function of acting as an agent for at least a part of the management work of the vehicle and the driver at the logistics company, The operation information detected on the in-vehicle device is repeatedly transmitted from the in-vehicle device to both the mobile terminal and the server, The mobile terminal processes the driving information received from the in-vehicle device in almost real time to identify whether or not there is an abnormality in the driving operation by the driver of the vehicle, and outputs an alarm to the driver if an abnormality is detected; The server processes the operation information received from the on-board device every time a predetermined checkpoint is passed on a planned operation route to generate management information regarding actual vehicle operation delays relative to a previously created operation plan, and processes the operation information received from the on-board device at a longer cycle than that of the mobile terminal to detect abnormalities in the driving operation of the driver based on a history of the operation information, and records the number of detected abnormalities in a database. Operation management method.

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