Automatic Driving Vehicle Operation Management System

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing automatic driving vehicle systems face challenges in efficiently managing the service and charging of electric vehicles on travel routes, particularly in coordinating the operation of multiple vehicles and ensuring timely battery charging without disrupting scheduled operations.

Innovation Solution

An automatic driving vehicle system where vehicles transmit an automatic mode request to an operation management center, enter a permission waiting state, and only start traveling when permission is granted, allowing for dynamic scheduling and battery charging management based on vehicle information and operator input, enabling vehicles to start automatically without prior permission for charging purposes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the operation management center strictly controls and coordinates every vehicle start and charging operation, then the reliability of scheduled operations is improved, but the device complexity and operational burden increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvescheduled operation reliabilityVSAvoidoperation management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The operation management center pre-calculates and determines the optimal timing for vehicle starts and charging operations based on schedules and battery states. This preliminary planning allows the system to maintain reliable scheduled operations while reducing real-time control complexity, as decisions are made in advance rather than requiring complex real-time coordination.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Duration of action of moving object

If electric vehicles are periodically removed from service for battery charging, then the duration of vehicle operation is limited, but the loss of service time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevehicle operation durationVSAvoidservice time loss
Core Design Contradiction:
Duration of action of moving objectVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system integrates charging operations into the vehicle's scheduled service timeline by pre-calculating charging timing that minimizes service disruption. Vehicles are charged during naturally occurring downtime or between service intervals, ensuring continuous useful action without significant loss of service time. The operation management center coordinates charging schedules to maintain operational continuity.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Productivity

If multiple automatic driving vehicles are operated on the same travel route, then the productivity of the transportation system is improved, but the difficulty of coordinating operations and managing charging increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetransportation system productivityVSAvoidoperation coordination complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The operation management center continuously monitors the states of multiple vehicles (position, battery charge level, service status) and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust charging schedules and operational assignments. This feedback mechanism enables efficient coordination of multiple vehicles on the same route, optimizing productivity while managing complexity through real-time information processing and adaptive scheduling.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3756979A1Automatic driving vehicle, operation management center and vehicle operation system
Publication Date: 2020.12.30 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK
  • EP3756979A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3756979A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3756979A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

An automatic driving vehicle (10) has an automatic mode to automatically travel in accordance with an instruction from an operation management center (12). The vehicle (10) transmits, to the operation management center (12), an automatic mode request to shift to the automatic mode, and enters a permission waiting state of being shiftable to the automatic mode by receiving a permission from the operation management center (12). In a case where the driving start permission from the operation management center (12) is received in the permission waiting state, the state changes to a manipulation waiting state of waiting for a start manipulation of an operator, and in a case where there is the start manipulation of the operator in the manipulation waiting state, travel in the automatic mode starts.