Vehicle dispatch management device and vehicle dispatch management method

Abstract

To efficiently allocate a vehicle suitable for a demand in each area.SOLUTION: A vehicle allocation management device manages allocation of a plurality of vehicles relative to each of a plurality of areas. The device acquires vehicle information including information on a position and travelable distance from each of the vehicles, creates item conditions demand information indicating the number of demanded vehicles for each item condition in each of the areas based on predicted demand information indicating a future demand of the vehicle in a predetermined time zone, creates, based on the item conditions demand information and the vehicle information, supply and demand evaluation information indicating a relation between the number of demanded vehicles and the number of suppliable vehicles for each of the item conditions of each area; and based on the supply and demand evaluation information, determines the vehicle to be moved from the other area to the one area having the item conditions that the number of suppliable vehicles is insufficient with respect to the number of demanded vehicles as a moving target vehicle to instruct moving.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to vehicle allocation management technology, and more particularly to a vehicle allocation management device and a vehicle allocation management method for managing an optimal placement location of electric vehicles provided for user use.

Background Art

[0002] Mobility services are positioned as services that smoothly provide user movement and luggage transportation by vehicles. Ride-sharing services such as car-sharing services that enable multiple users to jointly use empty vehicles parked in nearby parking lots in a predetermined unit of use time and so-called ridesharing of multiple passengers are examples of mobility services. In recent years, due to the increasing awareness of environmental protection, electric vehicles have become extremely popular, and mobility services using electric vehicles are increasingly penetrating into society. In mobility services, in order to increase the operating rate of vehicles while improving the convenience of users (passengers), an efficient vehicle placement plan is required.

[0003] For example, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for predicting the demand for vehicles required when a predetermined event is held at a destination for each specific area and moving the vehicles according to the predicted demand.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] While electric vehicles (EVs) offer superior environmental performance during operation, they currently face challenges such as the time required to charge their batteries and their insufficient driving range on a single charge. Furthermore, vehicle usage patterns may necessitate operating vehicles with low battery capacity and limited range to meet demand. Therefore, efficient vehicle deployment planning that takes these issues into account is crucial when providing mobility services using electric vehicles.

[0006] However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 above does not take into account the distance to the destination of the vehicle moved to match the predicted demand (planned mileage), and therefore could not address the problem of insufficient number of vehicles to meet user needs compared to the number of operational vehicles. For example, if a vehicle deployed in an area with high demand and long planned mileage has insufficient remaining battery capacity and therefore has a short driving range, then although a vehicle exists in that area, it is not considered a vehicle that can reach the user's destination. Therefore, in order to meet the demand in such an area, it is necessary to "relocate" the vehicle to a distant area where a vehicle with a long driving range is available. As a result, users suffer from reduced convenience due to increased waiting times for vehicle preparation, while service providers risk losing service opportunities because they cannot operate vehicles efficiently.

[0007] Furthermore, depending on the passenger capacity and equipment of the vehicle, some vehicles may not meet the needs of users, and similar inconveniences can arise if the vehicle is not placed in an appropriate location.

[0008] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a technology for efficiently arranging vehicles to suit the demands of each area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention, which solves the above problems, is comprised of the following inventive features or technical characteristics. In other words, the present invention, from a certain perspective, is a vehicle dispatch management device that manages the placement of multiple vehicles in each of multiple areas. The vehicle dispatch management device includes: a vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information from each vehicle, including at least information regarding its location and driving range; an item condition demand creation unit that creates item condition demand information indicating the number of vehicles in demand for each item condition in each area based on predicted demand information indicating the future demand for the vehicles during a predetermined time period; a supply and demand evaluation unit that creates supply and demand evaluation information indicating the relationship between the number of vehicles in demand and the number of vehicles that can be supplied for each item condition in each area based on the item condition demand information and the vehicle information; a vehicle movement determination unit that determines, based on the supply and demand evaluation information, which vehicles to be moved from one of the areas to one of the areas having an item condition in which the number of vehicles that can be supplied is insufficient to meet the demand; and a vehicle placement determination unit that instructs the vehicle to move in order to place the vehicle to be moved in the area. The item condition demand generation unit calculates the number of units in demand for each item condition defined by the distance classification. Furthermore, the supply and demand evaluation unit calculates the number of vehicles that can be supplied for each of the item conditions defined by the distance category, based on the cruising range of the vehicle.

[0010] Furthermore, according to a certain perspective, the present invention may be a vehicle dispatch management method for managing the placement of multiple vehicles in each of multiple areas. Moreover, the present invention may be understood as a computer program for implementing the vehicle dispatch management method on a computing device, or as a computer-readable medium capable of non-temporarily carrying such program.

[0011] In this specification, "means" does not merely mean physical means, but also includes cases where the functions of those means are realized by software. Furthermore, the functions of one means may be realized by two or more physical means, or the functions of two or more means may be realized by one physical means. In addition, "system" refers to a logical collection of multiple devices (or functional modules that realize specific functions), and it is not particularly relevant whether each device or functional module is located in a single enclosure or not. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to efficiently allocate vehicles to suit the demand in each area based on the planned mileage.

[0013] Other technical features, objectives, and effects or advantages of the present invention will be illustrated by the following embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The effects described herein are illustrative and not limiting, and other effects may also occur. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0014] [Figure 1] This diagram illustrates an example of a vehicle dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration model of a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of forecast demand information in a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of item condition demand information in a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of supply and demand evaluation information in a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This flowchart shows an example of a dispatch management method using a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7]It is a flowchart showing an example of the creation process of predicted demand information by a vehicle allocation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] It is a flowchart showing an example of the creation process of item condition demand information by a vehicle allocation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] It is a flowchart showing an example of the creation process of supply and demand evaluation information by a vehicle allocation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] It is a flowchart showing an example of the determination process of a vehicle to be moved by a vehicle allocation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] It is a flowchart showing an example of the determination process of a vehicle to be moved by a vehicle allocation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] It is a flowchart showing an example of the determination process of a vehicle to be moved by a vehicle allocation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] It is a flowchart showing an example of the vehicle placement determination process by a vehicle allocation management device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments described below are merely examples, and there is no intention to exclude various modifications and applications of technologies not explicitly described below. The present invention can be implemented with various modifications (for example, combining each embodiment) without departing from its gist. Also, in the description of the following drawings, the same or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. The drawings are schematic and do not necessarily match actual dimensions, ratios, etc. There may be parts where the dimensional relationships and ratios are different between the drawings.

[0016] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a dispatch management system according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the dispatch management system 1 includes a dispatch management device 10, a service terminal device 20, and a vehicle V, which are interconnected via a communication network N so as to be able to communicate with each other. Each of areas A1 to A3 is a geographical area that includes one or more waiting locations where vehicles V available for user use are located and waiting. For example, each of areas A1 to A3 may be recognized as having a facility such as an airport, a railway station, or a large-scale public gathering place as its core. Hereinafter, unless there is a need to specifically distinguish each of areas A1 to A3, they will be collectively referred to as Area A, etc. This disclosure describes an example in which the dispatch management system 1 is adapted to mobility services for transporting passengers and luggage by vehicle V, but is not limited thereto.

[0017] The dispatch management device 10 is a computing device that manages the allocation of multiple vehicles V to each area A. The dispatch management device 10 implements, for example, a dispatch management program. The dispatch management device 10 also includes an operational performance database 12 that stores data (operational performance data) regarding the past operational performance of vehicles V in each area A. In this example, the operational performance database 12 is configured as part of the dispatch management device 10, but is not limited to this, and may be configured separately from the dispatch management device 10.

[0018] In general terms, the dispatch management device 10 predicts the future demand for vehicles V in each area A based on operational performance data stored in the operational performance database 12, evaluates the surplus or shortage (supply and demand) of vehicles V in each area A based on the predicted demand and vehicle information obtained from the vehicles V, and instructs the vehicles V to move to rearrange their positions between areas A according to the results of the evaluation.

[0019] Vehicle V is a vehicle registered with the dispatch management device 10 for use by users as passengers. The type of vehicle V (e.g., sedan, minivan, SUV, etc.) is not specified, but here, Vehicle V is assumed to be an electric vehicle (EV) powered by an onboard battery. Vehicle V may also be a fully autonomous vehicle, regardless of the level of so-called autonomous driving. Vehicle V is equipped with a control device (not shown) that controls Vehicle V itself or its onboard equipment according to instructions from the dispatch management device 10. The control device includes, for example, a navigation function that indicates the area A where Vehicle V is to be stationed, and, in the case of a fully autonomous vehicle, an autonomous driving control function to the station where Vehicle V is to be stationed.

[0020] The service terminal device 20 is, for example, a computing device carried and operated by the driver of vehicle V. Alternatively, the service terminal device 20 may be located at a base (waiting area) or the service provider's office, and operated by a service provider's staff member. The service terminal device 20 displays information regarding the current vehicle V's deployment status and deployment destination instructions on a user interface, for example, under the control of the dispatch management device 10.

[0021] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration model of a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the dispatch management device 10 is configured as a functional configuration model that includes, for example, a demand forecasting unit 110, an item condition demand creation unit 120, a vehicle information acquisition unit 130, a supply and demand evaluation unit 140, a vehicle movement determination unit 150, and a vehicle placement determination unit 160. This functional configuration model is realized by the processor of the dispatch management device 10 executing a dispatch management program in cooperation with various hardware resources. The functional configuration model shown here is just one example, and all or part of the functions of one functional configuration unit may be realized by other functional configuration units.

[0022] The demand forecasting unit 110 predicts the future demand for vehicles V in each area A at predetermined timings, based on operational performance data, etc. More specifically, the demand forecasting unit 110 creates and outputs predicted demand information, for example, as shown in Figure 3, based on operational performance data stored in the operational performance database 12. In addition to operational performance data, the demand forecasting unit 110 may also create predicted demand information by considering, for example, traffic conditions and environmental information (hereinafter referred to as "traffic conditions, etc.") in each area A. Environmental information may include, for example, information on the holding of events. The predicted demand information includes the predicted occurrence time, departure point, destination, waiting area around the departure point, initial travel time, planned mileage, end time, and waiting area around the destination, etc., for predetermined units of time (for example, every 10 minutes from the reference time up to 30 minutes ahead). The demand forecasting unit 110 may include, for example, a demand forecasting model that has been machine-trained according to a predetermined machine learning algorithm, with operational performance data as the explanatory variable and predicted demand information as the dependent variable.

[0023] The item condition demand creation unit 120 creates item condition demand information that shows the demand for each predetermined item and its conditions, based on the predicted demand information. More specifically, the demand forecasting unit 110 calculates the number of vehicles in demand for each item condition (item condition), such as distance for each area A as shown in Figure 4, based on the predicted demand information output from the demand forecasting unit 110, and creates and outputs item condition demand information that shows the number of vehicles in demand for each item condition. The item conditions are defined considering the needs of the user and include, for example, the number of vehicles in demand for each "distance" category, the number of vehicles in demand for each "number of passengers" category, and the number of vehicles in demand for each vehicle equipment.

[0024] For example, distance D is, D1: Short distance (less than 50km) D2: Medium distance (50km to less than 100km) D3: Long distance (100km~) It is defined as follows. Also, the number of passengers P is, P1: 1~2 people P2: 3~5 people P3: 6 people~ It is defined as follows. Furthermore, vehicle equipment F is, F1: Wheelchair F2: Luggage space F3: Child car seat It is defined as follows. Note that vehicle equipment is not mutually exclusive; multiple options may be selected.

[0025] The vehicle information acquisition unit 130 acquires vehicle information from each registered vehicle V via the communication network N. The vehicle information includes, for example, the vehicle ID of vehicle V, current location information, onboard battery capacity (SOC: State of Charge) information, and remaining driving range information. The vehicle information acquisition unit 130 outputs the acquired vehicle information to the supply and demand evaluation unit 140.

[0026] The supply and demand evaluation unit 140 evaluates the supply and demand relationship (surplus or shortage) of vehicles V for each item condition framework based on item condition demand information and vehicle information. More specifically, the supply and demand evaluation unit 140 creates and outputs supply and demand evaluation information that shows the amount that can be supplied relative to the demanded amount (number of units demanded) of vehicles V assigned to each item condition, for example as shown in Figure 5, based on the item condition demand information output from the item condition demand creation unit 120 and the vehicle information output from the vehicle information acquisition unit 130.

[0027] In other words, as shown in the figure, in area A1, the number of vehicles V exceeding demand for distances D1 to D3 is shown as "2", "2", and "0" as evaluation values. That is, in area A1, it is evaluated that there are 0 vehicles V that satisfy distance D3. Similarly, in area A2, the number of vehicles V exceeding demand for distances D1 to D3 is shown as "2", "2", and "1", and in area A3, the number of vehicles V exceeding demand for distances D1 to D3 is shown as "2", "2", and "3". As will be described later, in area A, which has an item condition with a low evaluation value (the number of vehicles that can be supplied is small compared to the number of vehicles that are in demand), the balance of supply and demand is adjusted by moving vehicles V from other areas A that have an item condition with a high evaluation value (there is a surplus of vehicles that can be supplied compared to the number of vehicles that are in demand) with respect to that item condition.

[0028] Furthermore, the supply and demand assessment information may include the number of demands where the initial travel time exceeds a predetermined threshold. The initial travel time is the travel cost from the waiting area within Area A to the predicted origin of the demand.

[0029] Returning to Figure 2, the vehicle relocation unit 150 determines which vehicles V should be relocated between areas A based on the supply and demand evaluation information and vehicle information. More specifically, the vehicle relocation unit 150 determines which vehicles V are best suited for relocation between areas A from among the group of vehicles V that meet the demand, based on the supply and demand evaluation information output from the supply and demand evaluation unit 140 and the vehicle information output from the vehicle information acquisition unit 130. For example, as shown in Figure 5, if the number of operational vehicles V (supply) is insufficient to meet the demand for the number of vehicles V required for distance D3 (long distance) in area A1, while there is a surplus of operational vehicles V in area A3 to meet the demand for the number of vehicles V required for distance D3, the vehicle relocation unit 150 determines which vehicles V (vehicles to be relocated) and how many of them to move from area A3 to area A1. The vehicle relocation unit 150 also determines which vehicles V that cannot travel a sufficient range to meet the demand should be relocated to a charging facility.

[0030] The vehicle placement determination unit 160 determines the placement location of the vehicle V whose movement has been determined by the vehicle movement determination unit 150 and outputs a movement instruction. For example, the vehicle placement determination unit 160 transmits an instruction to the service terminal device 20 and / or the corresponding vehicle V installed at the waiting location in each area A. In response, the service terminal device 20 displays relocation information based on the control instruction on the user interface to prompt the person in charge to relocate the corresponding vehicle V. The corresponding vehicle V also searches for a travel route to the waiting location to be placed using its navigation function and navigates the driver. Alternatively, in the case of a fully autonomous vehicle, the vehicle placement determination unit 160 issues an instruction to the corresponding vehicle V, and the vehicle V, upon receiving the instruction, moves between areas A by autonomous driving. The vehicle placement determination unit 160 also instructs vehicles V that require charging to move to a nearby waiting location equipped with charging facilities.

[0031] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a dispatch management method using a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. This method is realized by the dispatch management device 10 executing a dispatch management program under the control of a processor, and by its cooperation with hardware resources.

[0032] As shown in the figure, the dispatch management device 10 refers to the operational performance database 12 and creates predicted demand information as shown in Figure 3 based on past operational performance data (S601). Next, the dispatch management device 10 creates item condition demand information as shown in Figure 4, indicating the demand for each predetermined item and its conditions, based on the created predicted demand information (S602). Subsequently, the dispatch management device 10 creates supply and demand evaluation information as shown in Figure 5, based on the created item condition demand information and vehicle information obtained from the vehicle V (S603).

[0033] Next, the dispatch management device 10 determines the vehicles to be moved based on the created supply and demand evaluation information (S604). That is, the dispatch management device 10 determines the vehicles V to be moved and the number of such vehicles for each item condition between different areas A. Depending on the status of the item conditions, the movement of the vehicles V may not only be between two areas A, but may also be a sequential movement between three or more areas A (for example, moving vehicle V from area A3 to A2, and another vehicle from A2 to A1).

[0034] The dispatch management device 10 then determines the location of the vehicle V to be moved and instructs the vehicle V to move (S605). For example, the dispatch management device 10 specifies a waiting location within area A. Alternatively, the dispatch management device 10 instructs the vehicle to wait within the waiting location within area A or at a nearby charging location. Alternatively, the dispatch management device 10 specifies waiting during road patrol within area A.

[0035] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for creating forecast demand information by a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows the details of the process S601 shown in Figure 6.

[0036] As shown in the figure, the demand forecasting unit 110 first refers to the operational performance database 12 and obtains operational performance data (S701). The demand forecasting unit 110 may also obtain traffic conditions, etc., for each area A. Next, based on the obtained operational performance data and traffic conditions, etc., for each area A, the demand forecasting unit 110 predicts the time of demand occurrence and the departure point, and associates waiting locations with short travel times around the departure point for each predicted time of demand occurrence (S702).

[0037] Next, the demand forecasting unit 110 identifies demands from the forecasted demands whose initial travel time exceeds a predetermined time (S703). Then, the demand forecasting unit 110 calculates the end time and the planned travel distance based on the acquired operational performance data (S704). The end time is calculated based on the time of occurrence and according to the time required for the route that passes through the departure waiting area, departure point, destination, and destination waiting area in order, and the distance of this route becomes the planned travel distance. In this way, forecasted demand information as shown in Figure 2 is created.

[0038] Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for creating item condition demand information by a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The same figure shows the details of the process S602 shown in Figure 6.

[0039] As shown in the figure, the item condition demand creation unit 120 aggregates the demand for each area A in a predetermined time period Tn based on the created forecast demand information (S801). The predetermined time period Tn is defined, for example, as a period of 10 minutes up to 30 minutes in advance. For the time period Tn, the demand used is the net number of vehicles V that can satisfy the demand, taking into account the preceding and succeeding time periods (net number of vehicles). For example, suppose that in the time period Tn from 12:00 to 12:30, the predicted occurrence times for each demand in area A are "12:02", "12:05", and "12:20", and their end times are "12:15", "12:22", and "12:30". In this case, there are three predicted demands, but since the vehicle V for the first demand can be allocated to the third demand, the net number of vehicles is "2". In this way, the number of vehicles for each item condition depends on the net number of vehicles, making efficient vehicle allocation possible.

[0040] Next, the item condition demand creation unit 120 calculates the demand ratio for areas A other than the current area A (referred to as "Area A'") (S802). In other words, the item condition demand creation unit 120 calculates the demand ratio for areas A' that are close to the destination, other than the departure area A.

[0041] Next, the item condition demand creation unit 120 acquires additional parameters (S803). These additional parameters are a type of correction coefficient used to calculate the required number of vehicles V, and include, for example, a predicted accuracy rate based on past performance and environmental information.

[0042] Next, the item condition demand creation unit 120 calculates the number of vehicles V required to satisfy the demand for each item condition (demand quantity) (S804). The demand quantity is calculated considering the required net number of vehicles and additional parameters, as shown by the following formula. Demand = Net number of vehicles × Additional parameters (correct response rate, demand ratio, environmental information, ...) The item condition demand creation unit 120 calculates the number of vehicles in demand by correcting the net number of vehicles for each item condition with additional parameters. In this way, item condition demand information as shown in Figure 4 is created.

[0043] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing an example of the process for creating supply and demand evaluation information by a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows the details of the process S603 shown in Figure 6.

[0044] As shown in the figure, the supply and demand evaluation unit 140 calculates the number of vehicles V that can be supplied in each area during time period Tn (number of available vehicles) (S901). The number of available vehicles is, for example, the sum of the number of vehicles V scheduled to be on standby at time t1 and the number of vehicles V that can be dispatched by time t2.

[0045] Next, the supply and demand evaluation unit 140 allocates available vehicles V for each item condition (S902). Then, for each item condition, the supply and demand evaluation unit 140 evaluates the supply and demand relationship based on the number of units in demand and the number of units that can be supplied (S903). That is, the supply and demand evaluation unit 140 calculates the surplus or deficit of the number of units that can be supplied relative to the number of units in demand as an evaluation value. In this way, supply and demand evaluation information as shown in Figure 5 is created.

[0046] Figures 10 to 12 are flowcharts illustrating an example of the process for determining a vehicle to be moved by a dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. These figures show the details of the process S604 shown in Figure 6.

[0047] As shown in the figure, the vehicle movement determination unit 150 first acquires the created supply and demand evaluation information (S1001). Next, the vehicle movement determination unit 150 determines whether or not there are any vehicles V whose transportation service has ended in area A (S1002). In other words, a vehicle V that has just dropped off passengers has not yet had its destination (placement such as a waiting area or road patrol) determined, and may be a candidate to be moved to a waiting area in area A where the number of waiting vehicles V (number of vehicles that can be supplied) is insufficient to meet the predicted demand. On the other hand, if there are no vehicles V that have just dropped off passengers, the unit determines which vehicles V to move to a waiting area where there is a shortage of vehicles V, taking into account the current waiting status of vehicles V in each area A and considering the balance of supply and demand (processing in S1010, which will be described later).

[0048] If the vehicle determination unit 150 determines that there is a vehicle V whose service has ended (Yes in S1002), the vehicle determination unit 150 then determines whether the vehicle V's remaining range exceeds a predetermined value (S1003). Here, the predetermined value is set based on the minimum remaining range sufficient to meet the demand in area A. The vehicle determination unit 150 may also make the determination based on onboard battery capacity information (e.g., remaining charge percentage) instead of the remaining range. If the vehicle determination unit 150 determines that the vehicle V's remaining range does not exceed the predetermined value (No in S1003), the vehicle V is deemed insufficient for service provision, and is therefore determined to be a vehicle V that requires charging (S1004). The vehicle V that requires charging is instructed to move to a nearby waiting area with charging facilities.

[0049] On the other hand, if the vehicle determination unit 150 determines that the cruising range of the vehicle V exceeds a predetermined value (Yes in S1003), the vehicle determination unit 150 selects the item condition with the lowest evaluation value in the supply and demand evaluation information as the first candidate slot for the area where a vehicle needs to be dispatched (S1005). If there are multiple first candidate slots, the vehicle determination unit 150 selects one using, for example, the following criteria (i) to (iii). (i) The number of vehicles V on standby is the greatest shortage (the number of vehicles that can be supplied is the least relative to the number of vehicles in demand). (ii) Vehicle V has the lowest travel cost (e.g., short travel time or short travel distance). (iii) The highest number of units in demand The mobile vehicle determination unit 150 may select a vehicle that meets any of these criteria (i) to (iii) as the first candidate, or it may select a vehicle that meets more of the criteria as the first candidate.

[0050] Next, the vehicle movement determination unit 150 determines whether the cruising range of vehicle V if it were to move to the waiting location (hereinafter referred to as "cruising range after movement") exceeds a predetermined value (S1006). In this way, the cruising range of vehicle V after movement is taken into consideration, so vehicles that would not meet the user's needs even if vehicle V were to move can be excluded in advance. If the vehicle movement determination unit 150 determines that the cruising range of vehicle V after movement exceeds a predetermined value (Yes in S1006), it determines that vehicle V is the vehicle to be moved (S1007).

[0051] On the other hand, if the vehicle movement determination unit 150 determines that the remaining driving range after movement does not exceed a predetermined value (No. in S1006), it adjusts whether or not it is possible to move the vehicle to another area A' (S1008).

[0052] Specifically, referring to Figure 11, the vehicle determination unit 150 extracts corresponding item conditions in other areas A' that are geographically further away than area A where the first candidate frame is located, as the second candidate frame (S1101). For example, in the supply and demand evaluation information shown in Figure 5, for item condition D3 of area A1, which is the first candidate frame, item conditions D3 of areas A2 and A3 are extracted as the second candidate frame. Next, the vehicle determination unit 150 extracts vehicles V from the extracted second candidate frame whose cruising range after moving to area A exceeds a predetermined value (S1102).

[0053] Next, the vehicle movement determination unit 150 performs processing according to the number of extracted vehicles V (S1103). That is, if only one vehicle V is extracted, the vehicle movement determination unit 150 determines that the extracted vehicle V should be moved to area A (S1104). Alternatively, if two or more vehicles V are extracted, the vehicle movement determination unit 150 selects the vehicle V with the longest cruising range from among the extracted vehicles V (S1105), and determines that the vehicle V in the first candidate slot in area A and the vehicle V in the second candidate slot in area A' are vehicles to be moved for relocation. If no vehicles V are extracted, the vehicle movement determination unit 150 determines that there are no vehicles to be moved in area A'.

[0054] On the other hand, if the vehicle selection unit 150 determines that there are no vehicles V whose service has ended (No. in S1002), the vehicle selection unit 150 then determines whether the evaluation value in the supply and demand evaluation information is below a predetermined threshold (S1009). As described above, if there are no vehicles V that have just dropped off passengers, the vehicle to be moved is determined considering the balance of supply and demand based on the current waiting status of vehicles V in each area A (S1010).

[0055] Specifically, referring to Figure 12, the vehicle dispatch unit 150 selects the item condition with the lowest evaluation value in the supply and demand evaluation information as the candidate slot for which a vehicle needs to be dispatched (S1201). If there are multiple candidate slots, the vehicle dispatch unit 150 may select one using, for example, the following criteria (i) and (ii). (i) The highest number of units in demand (ii) There are a predetermined number of Area A areas in the vicinity that have items with high evaluation values. The mobile vehicle determination unit 150 may select a candidate that meets either criterion (i) or (ii), or it may select a candidate that meets all of the criteria.

[0056] Next, the mobile vehicle determination unit 150 additionally extracts as a candidate frame the item condition in area A' with the highest evaluation value from among at least one other item condition in area A' corresponding to the item condition with the lowest evaluation value (S1202). If there are multiple candidate frames, the mobile vehicle determination unit 150 may select one using, for example, the following criteria (i) and (ii). (i) The lowest number of units in demand (ii) There are a predetermined number or more of Area A' in the surrounding area that have item conditions with low evaluation values. The mobile vehicle determination unit 150 may select a candidate that meets either criterion (i) or (ii), or it may select a candidate that meets all of the criteria.

[0057] Next, the vehicle selection unit 150 determines whether or not there are any candidate frames that have been extracted (S1203). If the vehicle selection unit 150 determines that there are no candidate frames that have been extracted (No. in S1203), it excludes the candidate frame (S1204) and repeats the above process until all candidate frames are gone (S1205).

[0058] On the other hand, if the vehicle selection unit 150 determines that there are extracted candidate slots (Yes in S1203), it selects the vehicle V assigned to the candidate slot as the vehicle to be moved (S1206). If multiple vehicles V are assigned to the candidate slot, the vehicle selection unit 150 selects one using the following criteria (i) and (ii). (i) Long waiting time at the waiting area (ii) Longest cruising range

[0059] Once the vehicle determination unit 150 has determined the vehicle V to be moved as described above, it proceeds to the process S1006 shown in Figure 10.

[0060] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the vehicle allocation determination process by a vehicle dispatch management device according to one embodiment of the present invention. The figure shows the details of the process S605 shown in Figure 6.

[0061] As shown in the figure, the vehicle allocation determination unit 160 determines, based on supply and demand evaluation information, whether the number of vehicles with a large initial travel time exceeds a predetermined number (S1301). The initial travel time is the travel time from a waiting area near the departure point in area A to the predicted departure point of the demand. If the vehicle allocation determination unit 160 determines that the number of vehicles with a large initial travel time does not exceed a predetermined number (No. in S1301), it instructs the vehicle V to be moved to a waiting area in area A and to wait in the parking lot of the waiting area (S1306).

[0062] On the other hand, if the vehicle allocation determination unit 160 determines that the number of vehicles with a large initial travel time exceeds a predetermined number (Yes in S1301), the vehicle allocation determination unit 160 determines whether the cruising range of the vehicle V exceeds a predetermined value (S1302). If the vehicle allocation determination unit 160 determines that the cruising range of the vehicle V exceeds a predetermined value (Yes in S1302), the vehicle allocation determination unit 160 instructs the vehicle to patrol the roads within area A (S1303). In other words, since the vehicle V has sufficient cruising range, instead of waiting at the waiting area, it is instructed to "cruise around town". The cruising range of the vehicle V instructed to patrol the roads is checked at predetermined intervals.

[0063] On the other hand, if the vehicle placement determination unit 160 determines that the cruising range of the vehicle V does not exceed a predetermined value (No in S1302), the vehicle placement determination unit 160 determines whether the charging equipment at the waiting location is available when determining a waiting location within area A (S1304). If the vehicle placement determination unit 160 determines that the charging equipment at the waiting location is available (Yes in S1304), the vehicle placement determination unit 160 instructs the vehicle V to charge at the charging equipment at the waiting location (S1305).

[0064] On the other hand, if the vehicle placement determination unit 160 determines that the charging equipment at the waiting area is not available (No. in S1304), the vehicle placement determination unit 160 instructs the vehicle V to wait in the parking lot at the waiting area (S1306). When the need for charging increases for such a vehicle V and the charging equipment becomes available, it will be instructed to charge.

[0065] Although not shown in the diagram, the vehicle placement determination unit 160 may instruct the vehicle V that the vehicle movement determination unit 150 has determined to require charging to move to a nearby waiting area equipped with charging facilities.

[0066] As described above, this embodiment makes it possible to efficiently allocate vehicles to suit the demand in each area based on the planned mileage. In particular, this embodiment evaluates the supply quantity for each item condition against the predicted demand and moves vehicles V from other areas A' to area A where sufficient supply cannot be secured, thereby improving the utilization rate of vehicles V while meeting user needs.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the vehicle dispatch management device 10 arranged vehicles based on "distance" as a condition item, but it is not limited to this, and alternatively or additionally, it may also arrange vehicles based on other condition items such as "number of passengers" or "vehicle equipment".

[0068] The embodiments described above are illustrative examples for illustrating the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments only. The present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from its spirit. Furthermore, although various embodiments are disclosed herein, specific features (technical matters) in one embodiment can be added to or replaced in other embodiments, with appropriate improvements, and such forms are also included in the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0069] 1… Dispatch management system 10... Dispatch management device 12…Operational Performance Database 110...Demand forecasting unit, 120...Item condition demand creation unit, 130...Vehicle information acquisition unit, 140...Supply and demand evaluation unit, 150...Vehicle movement determination unit, 160...Vehicle allocation determination unit 20... Service terminal device N...communication network V...vehicle

Claims

1. A vehicle dispatch management device that manages the placement of multiple vehicles in each of multiple areas, A vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle information from each of the aforementioned vehicles, including at least information regarding position and driving range, A conditional demand creation unit creates conditional demand information showing the number of units in demand for each conditional item in each area, based on predicted demand information showing the future demand for the vehicle during a predetermined time period. A supply and demand evaluation unit creates supply and demand evaluation information showing the relationship between the number of units in demand and the number of units that can be supplied for each of the item conditions in each area, based on the item condition demand information and the vehicle information. A vehicle relocation unit determines, based on the supply and demand evaluation information, that a vehicle to be moved from another area to one of the areas having the item condition in which the number of available vehicles is insufficient to meet the demand, The system includes a vehicle placement determination unit that instructs the vehicle to move to move in order to position the vehicle to be moved in the aforementioned area, The aforementioned forecast demand information includes planned travel distance, The item condition demand creation unit calculates the number of units in demand for each item condition defined by the distance category based on the planned mileage, The supply and demand evaluation unit calculates the number of vehicles that can be supplied for each item condition defined by the distance category, based on the cruising range of the vehicle. Vehicle dispatch management system.

2. The aforementioned vehicle information includes onboard battery capacity information, The supply and demand evaluation unit calculates the number of vehicles that can be supplied for each item condition defined by the distance category, based on the vehicle's onboard battery capacity information. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

3. The system further includes a demand forecasting unit that creates the predicted demand information based on operational performance data showing the past operational performance of the aforementioned multiple vehicles. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

4. The item condition demand creation unit calculates the number of vehicles in demand based on the net number of vehicles that can meet the demand for the number of vehicles predicted to be in demand during a predetermined time period. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

5. The vehicle determination unit determines whether the vehicle's remaining range exceeds a predetermined value when there is a vehicle whose service has ended and whose placement has not yet been determined, and if it determines that the vehicle's remaining range does not exceed the predetermined value, it determines that the vehicle is the vehicle to be moved that requires charging. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

6. The vehicle movement determination unit determines the vehicle to be moved if its cruising range exceeds a predetermined value when it is temporarily moved to the waiting area in the first area. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

7. The mobile vehicle determination unit selects, from among the plurality of areas, the area having the item condition where the number of available vehicles is the smallest relative to the number of vehicles in demand, as the one area. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

8. The vehicle determination unit selects the area having the item condition of having a short initial travel time for the vehicle as the first area. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 7.

9. The vehicle selection unit selects the area having the item condition with the largest number of vehicles in demand as the first area. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 7.

10. The aforementioned vehicle determination unit, Among the item conditions in multiple areas corresponding to the item conditions in which the number of available units is insufficient to meet the demand in the aforementioned one area, the vehicle assigned to the item condition in the other area where the number of available units is highest to meet the demand is determined to be the vehicle to be moved. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

11. The vehicle placement determination unit instructs the vehicle determined to be the vehicle to be moved to the waiting area in the area. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 6.

12. The item condition demand generation unit calculates the number of units in demand for each item condition defined by the passenger capacity category and / or vehicle equipment category of the vehicle. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 1.

13. A vehicle dispatch management method for managing the placement of multiple vehicles in each of multiple areas, Obtain vehicle information from each of the aforementioned vehicles, including at least information regarding its location and driving range. Based on predicted demand information showing the future demand for the vehicle during a predetermined time period, item condition demand information showing the number of units in demand for each item condition in each area is created. Based on the aforementioned item condition demand information and the vehicle information, supply and demand evaluation information is created that shows the relationship between the number of units in demand and the number of units that can be supplied for each of the aforementioned item conditions in each area. Based on the supply and demand evaluation information, the vehicles to be moved from one area to another are determined as vehicles to be moved to one area having the item condition in which the number of available vehicles is insufficient to meet the demand. This includes instructing the vehicle to be moved to move in order to position the vehicle to be moved in the aforementioned area, The aforementioned forecast demand information includes planned travel distance, Creating the aforementioned item condition demand information includes calculating the number of units in demand for each item condition defined by the distance category based on the planned mileage, Creating the supply and demand evaluation information includes calculating the number of vehicles that can be supplied for each item condition defined by the distance category, based on the driving range of the vehicle. Vehicle dispatch management method.

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