Vehicle allocation management device, vehicle allocation management method, and information terminal

Abstract

Provided is a vehicle allocation management device (1) comprising: a request reception unit (11) that receives a vehicle allocation request from an information terminal (2); a status inference unit (14) that, when the vehicle allocation request has been received by the request reception unit (11), infers the status inside the vehicle which is assumed when the vehicle arrives at the vehicle allocation location; and a status information transmission unit (16) that transmits, to the information terminal (2), assumed status information which indicates an assumed status inferred by the status inference unit (14).

Description

Vehicle allocation management device, vehicle allocation management method, and information terminal

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle allocation management device, a vehicle allocation management method, and an information terminal.

[0002] A vehicle dispatch management device (hereinafter referred to as a "conventional vehicle dispatch management device") that receives a request for dispatching a vehicle is known. Meanwhile, Patent Document 1 discloses an abnormality notification system that detects an intrusion of a thief into a vehicle owned by a user and issues an alarm message to the user.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-027356

[0004] Although conventional vehicle dispatch management devices can accept vehicle dispatch requests, they have a problem in that they do not have technology for providing a user with information to help them decide whether or not to request a vehicle dispatch. Note that the abnormality notification system disclosed in Patent Document 1 notifies a user that a thief has entered a vehicle, but does not provide a user with information to help them decide whether or not to request a vehicle dispatch when a vehicle dispatch request is received.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a vehicle dispatch management device that can provide a user requesting vehicle dispatch with information to help them decide whether or not to request vehicle dispatch.

[0006] The vehicle dispatch management device of the present disclosure includes a request receiving unit that receives a vehicle dispatch request from an information terminal, a situation estimation unit that, when the dispatch request is received by the request receiving unit, estimates the expected situation inside the vehicle when the vehicle arrives at the dispatch location, and a situation information sending unit that sends to the information terminal expected situation information that indicates the expected situation, which is the situation estimated by the situation estimation unit.

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a user requesting vehicle dispatch with information to help them decide whether or not to request vehicle dispatch.

[0008] 1 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle dispatch management system including both a vehicle dispatch management device 1 and an information terminal 2 according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a hardware configuration diagram showing the hardware of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer in the case where the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by software, firmware, or the like. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram showing the hardware of the information terminal 2 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer in the case where the information terminal 2 excluding the display 24 is realized by software, firmware, or the like. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing procedures of the information terminal 2. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a vehicle dispatch management method which is the processing procedures of the vehicle dispatch management device 1. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an assumed situation inside a vehicle. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an assumed situation inside a vehicle and an example of a current situation inside a vehicle. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a current situation inside a vehicle. FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle dispatch management system including both a vehicle dispatch management device 1 and an information terminal 2 according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a hardware configuration diagram showing the hardware of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing procedures of the information terminal 2 excluding the display 24. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the distance L between the dispatch position and the position of the vehicle 3, etc. FIG.

[0009] In order to explain the present disclosure in more detail, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle dispatch management system including both a vehicle dispatch management device 1 and an information terminal 2 according to embodiment 1. The vehicle dispatch management system shown in FIG. 1 includes a vehicle dispatch management device 1, an information terminal 2, and a vehicle 3. The vehicle dispatch management device 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a request receiving unit 11, a vehicle dispatch accepting unit 12, a schedule storage unit 13, a situation estimating unit 14, a situation detecting unit 15, and a situation information transmitting unit 16. The information terminal 2 shown in FIG. 1 is implemented, for example, by a mobile phone, smartphone, or mobile PC. The information terminal 2 includes a request transmitting unit 21, a situation information receiving unit 22, a display processing unit 23, a display 24, and a selection accepting unit 25. The vehicle 3 shown in FIG. 1 includes a sensor 31. The sensor 31 is implemented, for example, by a millimeter-wave radar device, a camera, or a vital sign sensor. The sensor 31 senses the interior of the vehicle 3 and transmits the sensing data to the vehicle dispatch management device 1. FIG. 1 shows a vehicle dispatch management system including one vehicle 3. However, this is merely an example, and the vehicle dispatch management system may include multiple vehicles 3.

[0011] 2 is a hardware configuration diagram showing the hardware of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 according to the first embodiment. The request receiving unit 11 is realized, for example, by the request receiving circuit 41 shown in FIG. 2. The request receiving unit 11 receives a vehicle dispatch request from the information terminal 2. The vehicle dispatch request includes, for example, dispatch location information indicating the vehicle dispatch location, dispatch time information indicating the dispatch time, and passenger number information indicating the number of passengers. The request receiving unit 11 outputs the vehicle dispatch request to each of the vehicle dispatch receiving unit 12 and the situation estimation unit 14.

[0012] The vehicle allocation reception unit 12 is realized by, for example, the vehicle allocation reception circuit 42 shown in Fig. 2. The vehicle allocation reception unit 12 acquires a vehicle allocation request from the request receiving unit 11. The vehicle allocation reception unit 12 forwards the vehicle allocation request to the vehicle 3, thereby requesting the vehicle 3 to allocate a vehicle.

[0013] The schedule storage unit 13 is realized by, for example, the schedule storage circuit 43 shown in Fig. 2. The schedule storage unit 13 stores the schedule of the vehicle 3. The schedule of the vehicle 3 includes information indicating the dispatch position of the vehicle 3, information indicating the scheduled dispatch time, and information indicating the passengers who are on board at the time of the dispatch request.

[0014] The situation estimation unit 14 is realized by, for example, the situation estimation circuit 44 shown in FIG. 2 . The situation estimation unit 14 acquires a vehicle dispatch request from the request receiving unit 11. When the request receiving unit 11 receives the dispatch request, the situation estimation unit 14 estimates the situation inside the vehicle that is expected when the vehicle 3 arrives at the dispatch position. Specifically, the situation estimation unit 14 refers to the schedule of the vehicle 3 stored in the schedule storage unit 13, and estimates the situation inside the vehicle that is expected when the vehicle 3 arrives at the dispatch position. The situation estimation unit 14 outputs assumed situation information indicating the assumed situation, which is the estimated situation, to the situation information transmission unit 16.

[0015] The situation detection unit 15 is realized by, for example, a situation detection circuit 45 shown in Fig. 2. The situation detection unit 15 acquires sensing data from sensors of the vehicle 3. The situation detection unit 15 detects the current situation inside the vehicle 3 based on the sensing data. The situation detection unit 15 outputs current situation information indicating the current situation to the situation information transmission unit 16.

[0016] The situation information transmission unit 16 is realized by, for example, the situation information transmission circuit 46 shown in Fig. 2. When the situation information transmission unit 16 acquires assumed situation information from the situation estimation unit 14, it transmits the assumed situation information to the information terminal 2. When the situation information transmission unit 16 acquires current situation information from the situation detection unit 15, it transmits the current situation information to the information terminal 2.

[0017] 1, it is assumed that each of the components of the vehicle dispatch control device 1, namely, the request receiving unit 11, the vehicle dispatch accepting unit 12, the schedule storage unit 13, the situation estimating unit 14, the situation detecting unit 15, and the situation information transmitting unit 16, is realized by dedicated hardware as shown in Fig. 3. That is, it is assumed that the vehicle dispatch control device 1 is realized by a request receiving circuit 41, a vehicle dispatch accepting circuit 42, a schedule storage circuit 43, a situation estimating circuit 44, a situation detecting circuit 45, and a situation information transmitting circuit 46.

[0018] Here, the schedule storage circuit 43 may be, for example, a volatile semiconductor memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), a flash memory, a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, or a mini disk.The request receiving circuit 41, the dispatch receiving circuit 42, the situation estimating circuit 44, the situation detecting circuit 45, and the situation information transmitting circuit 46 may be, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

[0019] The components of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 are not limited to those realized by dedicated hardware, and the vehicle dispatch management device 1 may be realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Software or firmware is stored as a program in the memory of a computer. A computer refers to hardware that executes a program, and includes, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a central processing unit, a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a processor, or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

[0020] 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer when the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by software, firmware, or the like. When the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by software, firmware, or the like, the schedule storage unit 13 is configured on the computer's memory 51. Programs for causing the computer to execute the respective processing procedures of the request receiving unit 11, the dispatch accepting unit 12, the situation estimating unit 14, the situation detecting unit 15, and the situation information transmitting unit 16 are stored in the memory 51. The computer's processor 52 then executes the programs stored in the memory 51.

[0021] 2 shows an example in which each of the components of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by dedicated hardware, and Fig. 3 shows an example in which the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by software, firmware, etc. However, this is merely an example, and some of the components in the vehicle dispatch management device 1 may be realized by dedicated hardware, and the remaining components may be realized by software, firmware, etc.

[0022] 4 is a hardware configuration diagram showing the hardware of the information terminal 2 according to the first embodiment. The request sending unit 21 is realized, for example, by the request sending circuit 61 shown in FIG. 4. The request sending unit 21 sends a vehicle dispatch request to the vehicle dispatch management device 1. The vehicle dispatch request includes, for example, dispatch location information indicating the vehicle dispatch location, dispatch time information indicating the dispatch time, and passenger number information indicating the number of passengers.

[0023] The situation information receiving unit 22 is realized by, for example, the situation information receiving circuit 62 shown in Fig. 4. The situation information receiving unit 22 receives current situation information in addition to expected situation information from the vehicle dispatch management device 1. When the situation information receiving unit 22 receives expected situation information, it outputs the expected situation information to the display processing unit 23, and when it receives current situation information, it outputs the current situation information to the display processing unit 23.

[0024] The display processing unit 23 is realized, for example, by the display processing circuit 63 shown in Figure 4. The display processing unit 23 displays on the display 24 the assumed situation indicated by the assumed situation information received by the situation information receiving unit 22. The display processing unit 23 displays on the display 24 the current situation indicated by the current situation information received by the situation information receiving unit 22. The display 24 displays not only the assumed situation indicated by the assumed situation information, but also the current situation indicated by the current situation information. In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in Figure 1, the information terminal 2 is equipped with the display 24. However, this is merely an example, and the display 24 may be provided outside the information terminal 2.

[0025] The selection receiving unit 25 is realized by, for example, the selection receiving circuit 65 shown in Fig. 4. The selection receiving unit 25 receives a selection of a vehicle 3 for which a request for dispatch is made from one or more vehicles 3 that can be dispatched. The selection receiving unit 25 outputs vehicle information indicating the vehicle 3 for which a request for dispatch is made to the request sending unit 21.

[0026] 1, it is assumed that each of the components of the information terminal 2, excluding the display 24, namely the request sending unit 21, the status information receiving unit 22, the display processing unit 23, and the selection receiving unit 25, is realized by dedicated hardware such as that shown in Fig. 4. That is, it is assumed that the information terminal 2 is realized by a request sending circuit 61, a status information receiving circuit 62, a display processing circuit 63, and a selection receiving circuit 65. Each of the request sending circuit 61, the status information receiving circuit 62, the display processing circuit 63, and the selection receiving circuit 65 corresponds to, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0027] The components of the information terminal 2 excluding the display 24 are not limited to those realized by dedicated hardware, and the information terminal 2 may be realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. Fig. 5 is a hardware configuration diagram of a computer when the information terminal 2 excluding the display 24 is realized by software, firmware, or the like. When the information terminal 2 excluding the display 24 is realized by software, firmware, or the like, a program for causing a computer to execute the respective processing procedures of the request sending unit 21, the status information receiving unit 22, the display processing unit 23, and the selection accepting unit 25 is stored in the memory 71. Then, the processor 72 of the computer executes the program stored in the memory 71.

[0028] 4 shows an example in which each of the components of the information terminal 2, excluding the display 24, is realized by dedicated hardware, and Fig. 5 shows an example in which the information terminal 2 is realized by software, firmware, etc. However, this is merely an example, and some of the components of the information terminal 2, excluding the display 24, may be realized by dedicated hardware, and the remaining components may be realized by software, firmware, etc.

[0029] Next, the operation of the vehicle dispatch management system shown in FIG. 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the information terminal 2. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a vehicle dispatch management method, which is the processing procedure of the vehicle dispatch management device 1. A user requesting a vehicle dispatch operates the selection receiving unit 25 of the information terminal 2 to specify a vehicle dispatch location, a vehicle dispatch time, and the number of passengers. The vehicle dispatch location is the location where the user wants to board, and the vehicle dispatch time is the time when the user wants to board. The number of passengers is the total number of the user requesting a vehicle dispatch and their accompanying passengers. The selection receiving unit 25 outputs vehicle dispatch location information indicating the vehicle dispatch location, vehicle dispatch time information indicating the vehicle dispatch time, and passenger number information indicating the number of passengers to the request sending unit 21. The request sending unit 21 acquires the vehicle dispatch location information, vehicle dispatch time information, and passenger number information from the selection receiving unit 25. The request sending unit 21 sends a vehicle dispatch request including the vehicle dispatch location information, vehicle dispatch time information, and passenger number information to the vehicle dispatch management device 1 (step ST1 in FIG. 6).

[0030] The request receiving unit 11 of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 receives a vehicle dispatch request from the information terminal 2. If the request receiving unit 11 receives a vehicle dispatch request (step ST11 in FIG. 7 : YES), it outputs the vehicle dispatch request to each of the dispatch reception unit 12 and the situation estimation unit 14. If the request receiving unit 11 does not receive a vehicle dispatch request (step ST11 in FIG. 7 : NO), it waits until a vehicle dispatch request is transmitted from the information terminal 2.

[0031] The vehicle allocation reception unit 12 acquires a vehicle allocation request from the request receiving unit 11. The vehicle allocation reception unit 12 refers to one or more vehicle schedules stored in the schedule storage unit 13 and searches for vehicles 3 that can reach the allocation position indicated by the allocation position information by the allocation time indicated by the allocation time information included in the vehicle allocation request. However, vehicles 3 that can reach the allocation position are vehicles that can accommodate the number of passengers indicated by the passenger count information. The vehicle allocation reception unit 12 determines the searched vehicles 3 as allocation candidate vehicles and outputs allocation candidate information indicating the allocation candidate vehicles 3 to the situation estimation unit 14. If the current positions of each vehicle are stored in the schedule storage unit 13, the vehicle allocation reception unit 12 calculates the distance between the current position of each vehicle and the allocation position and calculates the travel time required for each vehicle to reach the allocation position by, for example, dividing the distance by the vehicle's expected average speed. The vehicle dispatch receiving unit 12 calculates the arrival time of each vehicle at the dispatch position by adding the travel time to the current time, and if the arrival time is earlier than the dispatch time, it determines that each vehicle is a vehicle 3 that can reach the dispatch position.

[0032] Here, it is assumed that each vehicle can travel directly from its current location to the dispatch location, and whether or not it can reach the dispatch location is determined. If each vehicle is scheduled to travel to another dispatch location before traveling to the dispatch location (hereinafter referred to as the "latest dispatch location"), the dispatch reception unit 12 calculates the distance between each vehicle's current location and the other dispatch location (hereinafter referred to as the "first distance") and the distance between the other dispatch location and the latest dispatch location (hereinafter referred to as the "second distance"). The dispatch reception unit 12 then calculates the travel time required for each vehicle to reach the dispatch location by, for example, dividing the sum of the first and second distances by the vehicle's assumed average speed. The dispatch reception unit 12 calculates the arrival time of each vehicle at the latest dispatch location by adding the travel time to the dispatch time of the other dispatch location. If the arrival time is earlier than the dispatch time of the latest dispatch location, the dispatch reception unit 12 determines that each vehicle is a vehicle 3 that can reach the latest dispatch location.

[0033] The situation estimation unit 14 acquires a vehicle allocation request for the vehicle 3 from the request receiving unit 11, and acquires vehicle allocation candidate information from the vehicle allocation receiving unit 12. The situation estimation unit 14 estimates the situation inside the vehicle that is expected when the vehicle 3 arrives at the allocation location (step ST12 in FIG. 7). The situation estimation unit 14 outputs estimated situation information indicating the estimated situation to the situation information transmitting unit 16. The situation estimation process by the situation estimation unit 14 will be described in detail below.

[0034] An example of an assumed situation inside the vehicle is the number of passengers who are customers riding in the vehicle 3. The situation estimation unit 14 refers to the schedule storage unit 13 to confirm the current number of passengers in the vehicle 3 that is a candidate for allocation. The schedule storage unit 13 may store the current number of passengers in the vehicle 3. If the current number of passengers in the vehicle 3 is not stored in the schedule storage unit 13, the situation estimation unit 14 acquires sensing data from the sensor 31 of the vehicle 3 and detects the current number of passengers in the vehicle 3 based on the sensing data. The process of detecting the number of passengers based on the sensing data is a known technique, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0035] The situation estimation unit 14 refers to the schedule storage unit 13 to check whether there is a plan to head to another vehicle allocation location before heading from the current location to the vehicle allocation location. The situation estimation unit 14 also refers to the schedule storage unit 13 to check whether any fellow passengers plan to disembark before heading from the current location to the vehicle allocation location. If there is no plan to head to another vehicle allocation location and no plan to disembark, the situation estimation unit 14 outputs to the situation information transmission unit 16 estimated situation information indicating the current number of fellow passengers as the estimated situation inside the vehicle. If there is a plan to head to another vehicle allocation location and no plan to disembark, the situation estimation unit 14 outputs to the situation information transmission unit 16 estimated situation information indicating the number of fellow passengers who will board at the other vehicle allocation location plus the current number of fellow passengers as the estimated situation inside the vehicle. If the passenger does not have plans to head to another vehicle allocation location and plans to disembark, the situation estimation unit 14 outputs assumed situation information indicating the number of passengers obtained by subtracting the number of passengers who will disembark from the current number of passengers, as the assumed situation inside the vehicle, to the situation information transmission unit 16. If the passenger has plans to head to another vehicle allocation location and plans to disembark, the situation estimation unit 14 adds the number of passengers who will board at the other vehicle allocation location to the current number of passengers, as the assumed situation inside the vehicle, and further outputs assumed situation information indicating the number of passengers obtained by subtracting the number of passengers who will disembark from the added number of passengers, to the situation information transmission unit 16. In addition to detecting the number of passengers, the situation estimation unit 14 may also detect the seat positions of the passengers and output assumed situation information indicating the number of passengers and their seat positions to the situation information transmission unit 16, as the assumed situation inside the vehicle 3.

[0036] The situation information transmitting unit 16 acquires the assumed situation information from the situation estimating unit 14. The situation information transmitting unit 16 transmits the assumed situation information to the information terminal 2 (step ST13 in FIG. 7).

[0037] The situation information receiving unit 22 of the information terminal 2 receives the assumed situation information from the vehicle dispatch control device 1 (step ST2 in FIG. 6 ). The situation information receiving unit 22 outputs the assumed situation information to the display processing unit 23.

[0038] The display processing unit 23 acquires the assumed situation information from the situation information receiving unit 22. As shown in FIG. 8 , the display processing unit 23 displays the assumed situation indicated by the assumed situation information on the display 24 (step ST3 in FIG. 6 ). FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an assumed situation inside a vehicle. In FIG. 8 , the number of passengers in two vehicle allocation candidate vehicles 3 is displayed as the assumed situation inside the vehicle. In the example of FIG. 8 , of the two vehicle allocation candidate vehicles 3, the number of passengers in vehicle allocation candidate (1) is 0, and the number of passengers in vehicle allocation candidate (2) is 1. In the example of FIG. 8 , information regarding the fare is displayed as additional information. Since vehicle allocation candidate (1) has 0 passengers, there is no discount and the fare is 100%. Since vehicle allocation candidate (2) has 1 passenger, there is a discount and the fare is 75%. FIG. 8 displays the assumed situations of two vehicle allocation candidates. When three or more vehicle allocation candidates are searched, the user can flick the screen of the display 24 to display the expected situations of the other vehicle allocation candidates.

[0039] A user requesting vehicle allocation operates the selection receiving unit 25 of the information terminal 2 to select a vehicle 3 for which allocation is requested. In the example of FIG. 8 , the user can select vehicle allocation candidate (1) by touching the selection icon for vehicle allocation candidate (1), and can select vehicle allocation candidate (2) by touching the selection icon for vehicle allocation candidate (2). The selection receiving unit 25 receives the selection of the vehicle 3 for which allocation is requested (step ST4 in FIG. 6 ), and outputs vehicle information indicating the vehicle 3 for which allocation is requested to the request sending unit 21. The request sending unit 21 sends the vehicle information to the vehicle allocation management device 1.

[0040] The request receiving unit 11 of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 receives vehicle information from the information terminal 2. The request receiving unit 11 outputs the vehicle information to the dispatch receiving unit 12. When the dispatch receiving unit 12 acquires the vehicle information from the request receiving unit 11, it determines that the selection of a vehicle has been accepted (step ST14 in FIG. 7 : YES), and requests the vehicle 3 to dispatch a vehicle by transferring a dispatch request to the vehicle 3 indicated by the vehicle information. The dispatch receiving unit 12 also notifies the situation detection unit 15 that a dispatch request has been made to the vehicle 3. The dispatch receiving unit 12 also updates the schedule of the vehicle 3 indicated by the vehicle information among the schedules stored in the schedule storage unit 13. That is, the dispatch receiving unit 12 adds the dispatch location, dispatch time, and number of passengers to the schedule of the vehicle 3 indicated by the vehicle information. If the dispatch reception unit 12 does not acquire vehicle information from the request reception unit 11, it determines that the vehicle selection has not been accepted (step ST14 in Figure 7: NO), and waits until it acquires vehicle information from the request reception unit 11.

[0041] If the user requesting a ride is already in the vehicle 3 (step ST15 in FIG. 7 : YES), the series of processes of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 ends. If the user requesting a ride is not yet in the vehicle 3 (step ST15 in FIG. 7 : NO), and if a request for presentation of the current situation shown in step ST7 in FIG. 6 has been transmitted from the information terminal 2 (step ST16 in FIG. 7 : YES), the request receiving unit 11 receives the request for presentation of the current situation and outputs the request for presentation of the current situation to the situation information transmitting unit 16. When the situation detecting unit 15 receives a notification from the dispatch receiving unit 12 that a request for dispatch has been made to the vehicle 3, it acquires sensing data from the sensor of the vehicle 3. The situation detecting unit 15 detects the current situation inside the vehicle 3 based on the sensing data (step ST17 in FIG. 7 ). Examples of the current situation inside the vehicle include the number of passengers who are customers riding in the vehicle. The process of detecting the number of passengers as the current situation inside the vehicle is similar to the process of detecting the number of passengers as the expected situation. The situation detection unit 15 outputs current situation information indicating the current number of passengers to the situation information transmission unit 16. In addition to detecting the number of passengers as the current situation inside the vehicle 3, the situation detection unit 15 may also detect the seat positions of the passengers and output current situation information indicating the number and seat positions of the passengers to the situation information transmission unit 16.

[0042] The situation information transmitting unit 16 acquires a request for presentation of the current situation from the request receiving unit 11, and acquires current situation information from the situation detecting unit 15. The situation information transmitting unit 16 transmits the current situation information to the information terminal 2 (step ST18 in FIG. 7 ). The processes of steps ST17 and ST18 are performed every time the request receiving unit 11 receives a request for presentation of the current situation from the information terminal 2. That is, until the user gets into the vehicle 3, the process of the situation information transmitting unit 16 transmitting the current situation information to the information terminal 2 is repeated every time the request receiving unit 11 receives a request for presentation of the current situation from the information terminal 2.

[0043] If the user requesting a ride is already in the vehicle 3 (step ST5 in FIG. 6 : YES), the series of processes in the information terminal 2 ends. If the user requesting a ride is not yet in the vehicle 3 (step ST5 in FIG. 6 : NO), and the user requests presentation of the current status (step ST6 in FIG. 6 : YES), the request sending unit 21 sends a request for presentation of the current status to the vehicle dispatch management device 1 (step ST7 in FIG. 6 ). The status information receiving unit 22 receives current status information from the vehicle dispatch management device 1 (step ST8 in FIG. 6 ). The status information receiving unit 22 outputs the current status information to the display processing unit 23. If the user has not requested presentation of the current status (step ST6 in FIG. 6 : NO), the processing in the information terminal 2 returns to the processing in step ST5.

[0044] The display processing unit 23 acquires current situation information from the situation information receiving unit 22. As shown in FIG. 9 , the display processing unit 23 displays the assumed situation indicated by the assumed situation information on the display 24, and also displays the current situation indicated by the current situation information on the display 24 (step ST9 in FIG. 6 ). FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the assumed situation inside the vehicle and the current situation inside the vehicle. The example in FIG. 9 indicates that there is a difference between the assumed situation and the current situation, and that the number of passengers has increased from 0 to 1. If the user recognizes that the number of passengers has increased from 0 to 1 and no longer wishes to board, the user can cancel the dispatch of vehicle 3 by touching the cancel icon. The example in FIG. 9 also indicates the seat position of the passenger indicated by the current situation information.

[0045] In the first embodiment described above, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is configured to include a request receiving unit 11 that receives a vehicle dispatch request from the information terminal 2, a situation estimation unit 14 that, when the request receiving unit 11 receives the vehicle dispatch request, estimates the situation inside the vehicle that is expected when the vehicle arrives at the dispatch location, and a situation information sending unit 16 that sends to the information terminal 2 assumed situation information that indicates the assumed situation that is the situation estimated by the situation estimation unit 14. Therefore, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 can provide a user who requests a vehicle dispatch with information to decide whether or not to request a vehicle dispatch.

[0046] In the first embodiment, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is configured to include a situation detection unit 15 that detects the current situation inside the vehicle 3, and the situation information transmission unit 16 transmits, in addition to the assumed situation information, current situation information indicating the current situation, which is the situation detected by the situation detection unit 15, to the information terminal 2. Therefore, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 can notify the user of the difference between the assumed situation when requesting vehicle dispatch and the current situation.

[0047] In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in FIG. 1 , when the request receiving unit 11 receives a presentation request, the situation detection unit 15 detects the current situation inside the vehicle, and the situation information transmitting unit 16 transmits the current situation information to the information terminal 2. However, this is merely an example, and the situation information transmitting unit 16 may transmit the current situation information to the information terminal 2 when the current situation, which is the situation detected by the situation detection unit 15, changes from the expected situation. In this case, the situation information receiving unit 22 receives the current situation information from the vehicle dispatch management device 1 and outputs the current situation information to the display processing unit 23, regardless of whether the user has requested presentation of the current situation. This allows the user to check the current situation without requesting presentation of the current situation. Furthermore, the situation information transmitting unit 16 may transmit the current situation information to the information terminal 2 when it receives a notification of the current situation from the driver of the vehicle 3.

[0048] In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in FIG. 1 , the situation information transmission unit 16 transmits expected situation information and current situation information to the information terminal 2. The situation information transmission unit 16 may further transmit change information indicating a change in the situation inside the vehicle to the information terminal 2 when the current situation, which is the situation detected by the situation detection unit 15, changes from the expected situation. In this case, the situation information reception unit 22 receives the change information from the vehicle dispatch management device 1 and outputs the change information to the display processing unit 23. As a result, the display processing unit 23 can display a message such as "Difference" indicating a difference between the expected situation and the current situation on the display 24, as shown in FIG. 9 . In FIG. 9 , an arrow indicates a situation with a difference between the expected situation and the current situation to make it easy to confirm that there is a difference between the expected situation and the current situation. However, this is merely an example, and the difference may be indicated using, for example, animation or a three-dimensional GUI (Graphical User Interface) component. In addition, when the vehicle 3 arrives at the dispatch location, if it is predicted that the current situation will return to the expected situation, the display 24 may be configured to display that the current situation is temporary.

[0049] In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in Fig. 1, the display processing unit 23 displays the expected situation and the current situation on the display 24, as shown in Fig. 9. However, this is merely an example, and the display processing unit 23 may also display the current situation on the display 24, as shown in Fig. 10, and may, for example, display a message indicating that the expected situation and the current situation are the same, or a message indicating that the expected situation and the current situation are different. Fig. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the current situation inside the vehicle. In the example of Fig. 10, the estimated arrival time of the vehicle to the dispatch location is also displayed.

[0050] In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in FIG. 1 , the expected situation and the current situation, which are the situation inside the vehicle, each represent the number of passengers. However, this is merely an example, and the situation inside the vehicle may also represent the attributes of the people present in the vehicle. Examples of the attributes of the people present in the vehicle include the gender of the passengers, their physiques, their approximate ages, the age of the driver, the gender of the driver, the physique of the driver, or the clothing of the driver. If the sensor 31 is a camera or the like, the situation estimation unit 14 and the situation detection unit 15 can each detect the attributes of the people by analyzing the video data, which is the sensing data. The video data analysis process itself is a known technique, so a detailed description will be omitted.

[0051] Furthermore, the situation inside the vehicle may be an object present inside the vehicle, a dangerous object present inside the vehicle, or an animal present inside the vehicle. If the sensor 31 is a camera or the like, the situation estimation unit 14 and the situation detection unit 15 can each detect an object present inside the vehicle, a dangerous object present inside the vehicle, or an animal present inside the vehicle by analyzing the video data, which is sensing data. The video data analysis process itself is a well-known technique, so a detailed description will be omitted. Examples of objects include bags or shopping bags. Examples of dangerous objects include medicines, guns, and knives. Whether a medicine is a dangerous object can be determined by analyzing the label or shape of the medicine.

[0052] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the current situation inside the vehicle. In the example of FIG. 11, the current situation indicates that a dog, which is an animal, and a dangerous person are aboard. The estimated arrival time of the vehicle at the dispatch location is also displayed. If the sensor 31 is a camera, the situation information transmission unit 16 may transmit video data from the camera to the information terminal 2, the situation information reception unit 22 of the information terminal 2 may receive the video data from the camera, and the display processing unit 23 may display the video data on the display 24. In this case, the face of the passenger or the driver may be replaced with the face of an avatar or the like. The display processing unit 23 may, for example, display a selection screen on the display 24 for selecting which of multiple types of attributes, items, dangerous objects, and animals to display as the situation inside the vehicle, and the user may select the one to display as the situation inside the vehicle.

[0053] In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in Fig. 1, if there is a difference between the expected situation and the current situation, the display processing unit 23 displays a message such as "Difference exists" on the display 24 to indicate that there is a difference. However, this is merely one example, and if there is a difference between the expected situation and the current situation, the information terminal 2 may be vibrated, or a voice may be generated to indicate that there is a difference. Furthermore, when a dangerous object or an animal is detected in the vehicle, the information terminal 2 may be vibrated, or a voice may be generated to indicate that there is a difference.

[0054] Second Embodiment In a second embodiment, a vehicle dispatch management device 1 will be described in which the status information transmitting unit 18 transmits current status information to the information terminal 2 when the distance between the dispatch position and the position of the vehicle 3 becomes equal to or less than a threshold value.

[0055] Figure 12 is a configuration diagram showing a vehicle dispatch management system including both a vehicle dispatch management device 1 and an information terminal 2 according to embodiment 2. In Figure 12, the same reference numerals as in Figure 1 indicate the same or corresponding parts, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The vehicle dispatch management device 1 shown in Figure 12 includes a request receiving unit 11, a vehicle dispatch accepting unit 12, a schedule storage unit 13, a situation estimating unit 14, a situation detecting unit 15, a location information acquiring unit 17, and a situation information transmitting unit 18. The information terminal 2 shown in Figure 12 includes a request transmitting unit 21, a situation information receiving unit 22, a display processing unit 23, a display 24, and a selection accepting unit 25.

[0056] Fig. 13 is a hardware configuration diagram showing the hardware of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 according to the second embodiment. In Fig. 13, the same reference numerals as those in Fig. 2 indicate the same or equivalent parts, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. The position information acquisition unit 17 is realized by, for example, the position information acquisition circuit 47 shown in Fig. 13. The position information acquisition unit 17 acquires vehicle position information indicating the position of the vehicle 3. The position information acquisition unit 17 outputs the vehicle position information to the situation information transmission unit 18.

[0057] The situation information transmission unit 18 is realized by, for example, a situation information transmission circuit 48 shown in Fig. 13. When the situation information transmission unit 18 acquires assumed situation information from the situation estimation unit 14, it transmits the assumed situation information to the information terminal 2. The situation information transmission unit 18 acquires vehicle position information from the position information acquisition unit 17. When the distance between the vehicle dispatch position, which is the meeting place with the user, and the vehicle position indicated by the vehicle position information becomes equal to or less than a threshold, the situation information transmission unit 18 transmits current situation information indicating the current situation detected by the situation detection unit 15 to the information terminal 2.

[0058] 12, it is assumed that each of the components of the vehicle dispatch management device 1, namely, the request receiving unit 11, the vehicle dispatch accepting unit 12, the schedule storage unit 13, the situation estimation unit 14, the situation detection unit 15, the position information acquisition unit 17, and the situation information transmission unit 18, is realized by dedicated hardware as shown in FIG. 13. That is, it is assumed that the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by a request receiving circuit 41, a vehicle dispatch accepting circuit 42, a schedule storage circuit 43, a situation estimation circuit 44, a situation detection circuit 45, a position information acquisition circuit 47, and a situation information transmission circuit 48. Each of the request receiving circuit 41, the vehicle dispatch accepting circuit 42, the situation estimation circuit 44, the situation detection circuit 45, the position information acquisition circuit 47, and the situation information transmission circuit 48 corresponds to, for example, a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC, an FPGA, or a combination thereof.

[0059] The components of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 are not limited to those realized by dedicated hardware, and the vehicle dispatch management device 1 may be realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. When the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by software, firmware, or the like, the schedule storage unit 13 is configured on the memory 51 of the computer shown in Figure 3. Programs for causing a computer to execute the processing procedures of the request receiving unit 11, the dispatch accepting unit 12, the situation estimating unit 14, the situation detecting unit 15, the position information acquiring unit 17, and the situation information transmitting unit 18 are stored in the memory 51. Then, the processor 52 shown in Figure 3 executes the programs stored in the memory 51.

[0060] 13 shows an example in which each of the components of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by dedicated hardware, while Fig. 3 shows an example in which the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is realized by software, firmware, etc. However, this is merely an example, and some of the components in the vehicle dispatch management device 1 may be realized by dedicated hardware, and the remaining components may be realized by software, firmware, etc.

[0061] The hardware of the information terminal 2 according to the second embodiment is the same as the hardware of the information terminal 2 according to the first embodiment, and a hardware configuration diagram showing the hardware of the information terminal 2 according to the second embodiment is shown in FIG.

[0062] Next, the operation of the vehicle dispatch management system shown in Figure 12 will be described. In embodiment 1, when the vehicle dispatch management device 2 receives a request to present the current status from the information terminal 2, it transmits current status information to the information terminal 2. In embodiment 2, when the distance L between the position of the vehicle 3 and the dispatch position becomes equal to or less than a threshold, the status information transmission unit 18 transmits the current status information to the information terminal 2. Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the information terminal 2 excluding the display 24. In Figure 14, steps that are the same as those in Figure 6 indicate the same or equivalent parts. In embodiment 2, the current status information is automatically transmitted from the vehicle dispatch management device 1 to the information terminal 2, so the processing of step ST7 in Figure 6 is unnecessary.

[0063] Figure 15 is a flowchart showing a vehicle dispatch management method, which is a processing procedure of the vehicle dispatch management device 1. In Figure 15, steps that are the same as those in Figure 7 indicate the same or corresponding parts. The position information acquisition unit 17 of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 receives vehicle position information indicating the position of the vehicle 3 from the vehicle 3. The position of the vehicle 3 is detected, for example, based on a GPS (Global Positioning System) signal received by a GPS receiver mounted on the vehicle 3. The position information acquisition unit 17 outputs the vehicle position information to the situation information transmission unit 18.

[0064] When the situation information transmission unit 18 acquires the assumed situation information from the situation estimation unit 14, it transmits the assumed situation information to the information terminal 2, similar to the situation information transmission unit 16 shown in FIG. 1 . The situation information transmission unit 18 acquires vehicle position information from the position information acquisition unit 17. The situation information transmission unit 18 calculates the distance L between the position of the vehicle 3 indicated by the vehicle position information and the dispatch location. The process of calculating the distance L is a well-known technique, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted. When the distance L becomes equal to or less than a threshold value (step ST19 in FIG. 15 : YES), the situation information transmission unit 18 transmits current situation information indicating the current situation detected by the situation detection unit 15, distance information indicating the distance L, and vehicle position information to the information terminal 2 (steps ST17 and ST18 in FIG. 15 ). Note that when the distance L becomes equal to or less than the threshold value, the current situation information may be transmitted to the information terminal 2 only once, or when the distance L becomes equal to or less than a predetermined distance, for example, 500 m, 100 m, or 0 m. Furthermore, after the distance L becomes equal to or less than the threshold value, the current situation information and the like may be transmitted to the information terminal 2 at predetermined time intervals.

[0065] If the distance L is equal to or less than the threshold value and current status information is automatically transmitted from the vehicle dispatch management device 1 (step ST10 in FIG. 14: YES), the status information receiving unit 22 of the information terminal 2 receives the current status information (step ST8 in FIG. 14). The status information receiving unit 22 waits until the information is transmitted from the vehicle dispatch management device 1 (step ST10 in FIG. 14: NO). The status information receiving unit 22 also receives distance information and vehicle position information from the vehicle dispatch management device 1. The status information receiving unit 22 outputs each of the current status information, distance information, and vehicle position information to the display processing unit 23.

[0066] The display processing unit 23 acquires the current situation information, distance information, and vehicle position information from the situation information receiving unit 22. As shown in FIG. 9 , the display processing unit 23 displays the assumed situation indicated by the assumed situation information and the current situation indicated by the current situation information on the display 24. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16 , the display processing unit 23 displays the position of the vehicle 3 on the display 24 based on the vehicle position information, and displays the distance L between the dispatch position and the position of the vehicle 3 on the display 24 based on the distance information. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram showing the distance L between the dispatch position and the position of the vehicle 3, etc. In addition to the distance L, FIG. 16 also displays the position of the information terminal 2, the dispatch position, a notification indicating a change in the situation inside the vehicle, and the like. The display processing unit 23 may acquire the position information of the information terminal 2 from a GPS receiver (not shown) installed in the information terminal 2 and display the position of the information terminal 2.

[0067] In the above-described second embodiment, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 is configured to include a position information acquisition unit 17 that acquires vehicle position information indicating the position of the vehicle 3, and the status information transmission unit 18 is configured to transmit current status information to the information terminal 2 when the distance between the position of the vehicle 3 indicated by the vehicle position information acquired by the position information acquisition unit 17 and the vehicle dispatch position becomes equal to or less than a threshold. Therefore, the vehicle dispatch management device 1 can provide a user who requests a vehicle dispatch with information to decide whether to cancel the vehicle dispatch or continue the request when the vehicle to be dispatched approaches the vehicle dispatch position.

[0068] In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in FIG. 12 , when the distance L becomes equal to or less than a threshold value, the status information transmitting unit 18 transmits current status information indicating the current status, distance information indicating the distance L, and vehicle position information to the information terminal 2. However, this is merely an example, and when the arrival time of the dispatched vehicle reaches a set time, such as five minutes before arrival, the status information transmitting unit 18 may transmit current status information indicating the current status, distance information indicating the distance L, and vehicle position information to the information terminal 2. In this case, when the set time, such as five minutes before arrival, arrives, the display processing unit 23 displays the expected status and the current status on the display 24. In the vehicle dispatch management system shown in FIG. 12 , when the distance L between the dispatch position and the position of the vehicle 3 becomes equal to or less than a threshold value, the status information transmitting unit 18 transmits current status information to the information terminal 2. However, this is merely an example, and the position information acquisition unit 17 of the vehicle dispatch management device 1 may acquire the position information of the information terminal 2, and the status transmission unit 18 may transmit current status information to the information terminal 2 when the distance between the position of the information terminal 2 and the vehicle 3 becomes a predetermined distance. Alternatively, the information terminal 2 may acquire the position information of the vehicle 3, detect that the distance L between the position of the vehicle 3 and the dispatch position becomes equal to or less than a threshold, and the request transmission unit 21 of the information terminal 2 may transmit a request to present the current status to the vehicle dispatch management device 1. Alternatively, the information terminal 2 may acquire the position information of the vehicle 3, detect that the distance L between the vehicle 3 and the information terminal 2 becomes equal to or less than a threshold, and the request transmission unit 21 of the information terminal 2 may transmit a request to present the current status to the vehicle dispatch management device 1. Alternatively, the information terminal 2 may receive the position information of the vehicle 3 directly from the vehicle 3, not via the vehicle dispatch management device 1. In addition, the information terminal 3 may be configured to be set at any time when requesting dispatch or after requesting dispatch so that the request can be made as to how far the vehicle 3 is from the dispatch location at which time current status information should be transmitted.

[0069] 1 , the information terminal 2 includes a request sending unit 21, a status information receiving unit 22, a display processing unit 23, and a selection accepting unit 25. However, this is merely an example, and the information terminal 2 may be equipped with software capable of communicating with a website or the like provided by the vehicle dispatch management device 1, so that, in addition to a vehicle dispatch request, the information terminal 2 may also select a vehicle to be dispatched or request the presentation of its current status on the website. Furthermore, the processing on the information terminal 2 may be executed as a dedicated vehicle dispatch application that operates in cooperation with the vehicle dispatch management device 1 on the information terminal 2, such as a PC (Personal Computer) or a smartphone.

[0070] In addition, the present disclosure allows for free combination of the respective embodiments, modification of any of the components of the respective embodiments, or omission of any of the components of the respective embodiments.

[0071] The present disclosure is suitable for a vehicle dispatch management device, a vehicle dispatch management method, and an information terminal.

[0072] 1 Vehicle dispatch management device, 2 Information terminal, 3 Vehicle, 11 Request receiving unit, 12 Vehicle dispatch acceptance unit, 13 Schedule storage unit, 14 Situation estimation unit, 15 Situation detection unit, 16 Situation information transmission unit, 17 Position information acquisition unit, 18 Situation information transmission unit, 21 Request transmission unit, 22 Situation information reception unit, 23 Display processing unit, 24 Display, 25 Selection acceptance unit, 31 Sensor, 41 Request receiving circuit, 42 Vehicle dispatch acceptance circuit, 43 Schedule storage circuit, 44 Situation estimation circuit, 45 Situation detection circuit, 46 Situation information transmission circuit, 47 Position information acquisition circuit, 48 Situation information transmission circuit, 51 Memory, 52 Processor, 61 Request transmission circuit, 62 Situation information reception circuit, 63 Display processing circuit, 65 Selection acceptance circuit, 71 Memory, 72 Processor.

Claims

1. A vehicle dispatch management device comprising: a request receiving unit that receives a vehicle dispatch request from an information terminal; a situation estimation unit that, when the request receiving unit receives the vehicle dispatch request, estimates the situation inside the vehicle that is expected when the vehicle arrives at the dispatch location; and a situation information transmission unit that transmits to the information terminal assumed situation information that indicates the assumed situation that is the situation estimated by the situation estimation unit.

2. A vehicle dispatch management device as described in claim 1, characterized in that it is provided with a situation detection unit that detects the current situation inside the vehicle, and the situation information transmission unit transmits to the information terminal, in addition to the expected situation information, current situation information indicating the current situation, which is the situation detected by the situation detection unit.

3. A vehicle dispatch management device as described in claim 2, characterized in that the situation information transmission unit transmits the current situation information to the information terminal when the current situation changes from the expected situation.

4. The vehicle dispatch management device of claim 3, characterized in that when the current situation changes from the expected situation, the situation information transmission unit transmits to the information terminal, in addition to the current situation information, change information indicating that the situation inside the vehicle has changed.

5. The vehicle dispatch management device described in claim 2, characterized in that the request receiving unit receives a request to present the current situation after receiving a vehicle dispatch request from the information terminal, and the situation detection unit detects the current situation inside the vehicle when the presentation request is received by the request receiving unit.

6. A vehicle dispatch management device as described in claim 2, characterized in that it is provided with a location information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle location information indicating the location of the vehicle, and the status information transmission unit transmits the current status information to the information terminal when the distance between the vehicle location indicated by the vehicle location information acquired by the location information acquisition unit and the dispatch location becomes less than a threshold value.

7. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 2, characterized in that the situation detection unit acquires sensing data from a sensor that senses the inside of the vehicle and detects the current situation inside the vehicle based on the sensing data.

8. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 7, characterized in that the situation detection unit detects the seat positions of people present in the vehicle as the current situation inside the vehicle based on the sensing data.

9. The vehicle dispatch management device according to claim 8, characterized in that the situation detection unit detects attributes of people present in the vehicle as the current situation inside the vehicle based on the sensing data.

10. The vehicle dispatch management device described in claim 7, characterized in that the situation detection unit detects, based on the sensing data, the current situation inside the vehicle, such as an item present in the vehicle, a dangerous object present in the vehicle, or an animal present in the vehicle.

11. The vehicle dispatch management device described in claim 1, characterized in that when the request receiving unit receives a vehicle dispatch request, the situation estimation unit detects one or more vehicles that can be dispatched and estimates the situation inside each vehicle that is expected when each vehicle arrives at the dispatch location, and the situation information transmission unit transmits to the information terminal expected situation information that indicates the expected situation, which is the situation inside each vehicle estimated by the situation estimation unit.

12. A vehicle dispatch management method in which a request receiving unit receives a vehicle dispatch request from an information terminal, a situation estimation unit, upon receiving the dispatch request by the request receiving unit, estimates the situation inside the vehicle that is expected when the vehicle arrives at the dispatch location, and a situation information sending unit sends to the information terminal expected situation information that indicates the expected situation that is the situation estimated by the situation estimation unit.

13. An information terminal comprising: a request sending unit that sends a vehicle dispatch request to a vehicle dispatch management device; a situation information receiving unit that receives from the vehicle dispatch management device expected situation information indicating the expected situation that is the situation inside the vehicle when the vehicle arrives at the dispatch location; and a display processing unit that displays on a display the expected situation indicated by the expected situation information received by the situation information receiving unit.

14. The information terminal described in claim 13, characterized in that the situation information receiving unit receives the expected situation information from the vehicle dispatch management device, as well as current situation information indicating the current situation, which is the current situation inside the vehicle, and the display processing unit displays on the display the expected situation indicated by the expected situation information received by the situation information receiving unit and the current situation indicated by the current situation information received by the situation information receiving unit.

15. The information terminal described in claim 14, characterized in that the situation information receiving unit receives, in addition to the expected situation information, change information indicating that the current situation has changed from the expected situation from the vehicle dispatch management device, and the display processing unit displays the expected situation and the current situation on the display, as well as the change information on the display.

16. The information terminal according to claim 14, characterized in that the request sending unit sends a request to send the vehicle to the vehicle dispatch management device, and then sends a request to present the current status to the vehicle dispatch management device.

17. The information terminal described in claim 13 is characterized in that it is provided with: the situation information receiving unit receives from the vehicle dispatch management device expected situation information indicating the expected situation inside each of the one or more vehicles available for dispatch when each of the one or more vehicles arrives at the dispatch location; the display processing unit displays on a display the expected situation indicated by each of the expected situation information received by the situation information receiving unit; and a selection receiving unit that receives a selection of a vehicle to request dispatch from among the one or more vehicles available for dispatch.

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