JP2000076598A - Terminal equipment for vehicle operation management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the loads of a center device. SOLUTION: This terminal equipment 1 for a vehicle operation management system constituted of the terminal equipment 1 mounted on a vehicle and the center device 2 is provided with a GPS antenna 11 for receiving radio waves from a GPS satellite, a GPS engine unit 12 for utilizing the radio waves from the GPS satellite received by the GPS antenna 11 and obtaining present position information, a portable telephone 13, a modem 14 and a microcomputer 17 for fetching the present position information from the GPS engine unit 12, transmitting it through the modem 14 and the portable telephone 13 to the center device 2 and stopping the activation of spontaneous communication with the center device 2 at the time of receiving the command of a sleep mode as the instruction of operation stoppage from the center device 2 through the portable telephone 13 and the modem 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is to be mounted on a vehicle, and constitutes a vehicle operation management system together with a center device which fetches current position information from the vehicle via communication means and manages the operation of the vehicle. The present invention relates to a terminal device for a vehicle operation management system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a terminal device used in such a vehicle operation management system is a so-called GPS (Global Positi) for determining the position of a moving body such as a ship, an aircraft or an automobile.
oningSystem) A GPS antenna for receiving radio waves from satellites, a GPS engine unit that obtains current position information using radio waves from GPS satellites received by this GPS antenna, various sensors, and information obtained from these GPS engine units and various sensors. A storage device for storing various information and the like, a mobile phone, a modem connected to the mobile phone, and various processes such as transmitting information according to a request from the center device via the modem and the mobile phone. It is composed of a microcomputer and the like.

On the other hand, the center device fetches various information by communicating with a telephone, a modem connected to the telephone, and a terminal device registered in a predetermined call list via the telephone and the modem. It is composed of a personal computer or the like that manages the operation of the vehicle on which the terminal device is mounted using the information.

[0004] In the conventional vehicle operation management system constituted by such a terminal device and the center device, when the operation of the vehicle is stopped, the registration of the terminal device of the vehicle is excluded from the call list on the center device side. Alternatively, it is necessary to remove the vehicle from the operation management of the center device by performing a communication stop operation on the terminal device side. When the operation of the vehicle is restarted, it is necessary to re-register the terminal device in the call list on the center device side or restart the communication function on the terminal device side.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-62996 discloses that
A portable operation management device for a vehicle, which is provided with a position detection device using a GPS, a timer, a memory, and a power storage means and is configured to be transportable, is disclosed.

[0006]

However, vehicles engaged in logistics and the like sometimes temporarily stop operating.
If the above-mentioned conventional vehicle operation management system is adopted for such a vehicle, the operation management is performed by the center device even for the vehicle for which the operation is temporarily suspended. A large number of vehicles including those that do not require operation management are monitored by the center device, which causes a problem that the load such as communication traffic of the center device unnecessarily increases.

[0007] This problem can be solved by performing the above-described processing so as to exclude vehicles that temporarily stop operating from the operation management. However, if the driver forgets to restart the communication function on the terminal device when restarting the operation after the temporary suspension of the operation, the operation function cannot be recovered and the operation record cannot be obtained. In addition, even when a temporary operation that is not at the scheduled operation time is performed, the operation record cannot be obtained.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a terminal device for a vehicle operation management system capable of reducing the load on a center device.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is directed to a center-side communication unit, and a system for managing the operation of the vehicle by taking in current position information from a vehicle via the center-side communication unit. When the vehicle is excluded from operation management, a vehicle operation management system is configured with a center device including a center device including: a center-side control unit that instructs the vehicle to suspend operation via the center-side communication unit. A terminal device for wireless transmission / reception for communicating with the center-side communication device;
A position detecting means for detecting the current position information using a PS; and fetching the current position information from the position detecting means and transmitting the current position information to the center device via the terminal side communication means. Terminal control means for stopping communication with the center device when receiving the operation suspension instruction from the center device.

In this configuration, for example, when an instruction to suspend operation is issued from the center device to the terminal device of the vehicle that temporarily suspends operation, the vehicle is excluded from operation management by the center device and the vehicle is stopped. Since the terminal device stops communication with the center device, the load such as communication traffic of the center device is reduced.

When the center device receives an operation management request from a vehicle excluded from the operation management, the center device performs operation management for the vehicle, and the terminal-side control means stops communication with the center device. If it is determined whether or not the vehicle has started moving according to the current position information obtained from the position detection means, if the determination result that movement has been obtained, the terminal-side communication means The operation management request may be sent to the center device via the center device. With this configuration, when the driver resumes operation, the terminal device does not need to restart the communication function by the driver, so that the operation record cannot be obtained due to forgetting to restart the communication function. No longer occurs.

[0012] The center device is provided with a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a moving speed of the vehicle, and when receiving an operation management request from a vehicle excluded from the operation management, the center device performs an operation management on the vehicle, and When communication with the center device is stopped, the control unit issues the operation management request to the center device via the terminal-side communication unit if the moving speed obtained from the vehicle speed sensor becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined speed. A configuration may be used. With this configuration, when the driver resumes operation, the terminal device does not need to restart the communication function by the driver, so that the operation record cannot be obtained due to forgetting to restart the communication function. No longer occurs.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle operation management system to which a terminal device for a vehicle operation management system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. I do.

The vehicle operation management system shown in FIG. 1 has a plurality of terminal devices 1 (FIG. 1) each mounted on a vehicle (not shown).
In FIG. 1, only one device is shown), and a center device 2 that communicates with the plurality of terminal devices 1 to manage the operation of each vehicle.

The terminal device 1 includes a GPS antenna 11 for receiving radio waves from GPS satellites, a GPS engine unit 12 for obtaining current position information using radio waves from GPS satellites received by the GPS antenna 11, and a mobile phone 13. A modem 14 connected to the mobile phone 13, a vehicle speed sensor 15 for detecting a moving speed of the vehicle, the GPS engine unit 1
2 and a non-volatile storage device 16 for storing various information obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 15 and a microcomputer 17 as a terminal-side control means for performing overall control of the terminal device 1.

For example, the microcomputer 17 fetches the current position information from the GPS antenna 11 and the GPS engine unit 12 as position detecting means and stores it in the storage device 16, and fetches the detection result of the vehicle speed sensor 15 and stores it in the storage device 16. Remember.

Further, the microcomputer 17 receives a sleep mode command together with a call number of a general telephone 21 to be described later from the center device 2 via the portable telephone 13 and the modem 14 as terminal-side communication means as an instruction to suspend operation. Then, after the call number is stored in the storage device 16, the system shifts to the sleep mode in which the activation of the spontaneous communication with the center device 2 is stopped.

When communication with the center device 2 is stopped, that is, when the microcomputer 17 is in the sleep mode, the microcomputer 17 starts moving according to the current position information obtained from the GPS engine unit 12. A determination is made as to whether or not movement has been started, and if a determination result is obtained, a call request command is transmitted as an operation management request to the center apparatus 2 via the modem 14 and the mobile phone 13. For example, the vehicle may be determined to have started moving if the current position information of this time has moved a predetermined distance or more with respect to the previous (current) position information.

When the microcomputer 17 is in the sleep mode, the microcomputer 17 determines whether or not the detection result obtained from the vehicle speed sensor 15 is higher than a predetermined speed. A call request command is transmitted to the center device 2 via the communication terminal 13.

Further, when the microcomputer 17 receives a wake-up mode command from the center device 2 via the mobile phone 13 and the modem 14, the microcomputer 17 transmits predetermined types of information such as current position information at predetermined time intervals. 2 via the modem 14 and the mobile phone 13.

On the other hand, the center device 2 includes a general telephone 21, a modem 22 connected to the general telephone 21, and a center personal computer (center personal computer) 23 as a center-side control means for performing overall control of the center device 2.
It consists of.

For example, the center personal computer 23 manages the operation of the vehicle by fetching current position information and the like from the terminal device 1 of the vehicle via the ordinary telephone 21 and the modem 22 as the center side communication means.

When the vehicle is to be excluded from the operation management, the center personal computer 23 sends a sleep mode command to the vehicle to be excluded from the operation management via the modem 22 and the general telephone 21 as an operation suspension instruction. It is issued and transmitted together with the call number of the general telephone 21, and the registration of the terminal device 1 of the vehicle excluded from the operation management is excluded from the call list.

Further, when the center personal computer 23 receives a call request command from a vehicle excluded from the operation management, the center personal computer 23 registers the terminal device 1 of the vehicle in a call list and performs wake-up in order to manage the operation of the vehicle. A mode command is issued and transmitted to the vehicle via the modem 22 and the general telephone 21.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the sleep mode.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the wake-up mode. The operation of the microcomputer 17 will be described below with reference to these figures.

For example, when a sleep mode command is received from the center apparatus 2, the processing of the sleep mode flowchart shown in FIG. 2 is executed, and the activation of spontaneous communication with the center apparatus 2 is stopped.

Next, current position information (GPS data) is fetched from the GPS engine unit 12 (S5),
In accordance with the current position information, it is determined whether or not the vehicle has moved by a set distance or more, that is, whether or not the vehicle has started moving (S10).

If the user has moved beyond the set distance (YE in S10)
S), using the call number stored in the storage device 16, the modem 14, the mobile phone 13, the general telephone 21, and the modem 22
The communication with the center personal computer 23 is performed via the above-described method, and a call request command is sent to the center personal computer 23. When a wake-up mode command is received from the center personal computer 23, the process proceeds to the wake-up mode flowchart shown in FIG.

On the other hand, if the vehicle has not moved more than the set distance (NO in S10), a detection result is taken in from the vehicle speed sensor 15 (S15), and it is determined whether or not the detection result has become equal to or higher than the set speed (S15). S20). If the speed is not higher than the set speed (NO in S20), the process returns to step S5, and if the speed is higher than the set speed (YES in S20),
By communicating with the center personal computer 23 using the call number,
When a call request command is sent to the center personal computer 23 and a wake-up mode command is received, the process proceeds to the wake-up mode flowchart shown in FIG. As described above, by using the vehicle speed sensor 15, it is possible to determine whether or not the vehicle has started moving even when the radio wave from the GPS satellite cannot be received. Will be executed.

Next, when a wake-up mode command is received from the center personal computer 23, the process of the wake-up mode flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is executed to determine whether a predetermined time has elapsed (time-up). Is determined (S50).

If the time is up (YES in S50),
A data collection request is issued, and current position information and the like are transmitted to the center device 2 via the modem 14 and the mobile phone 13 (S55). Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S60. On the other hand, if the time is not up (NO in S50),
Proceed to step S60.

In step S60, it is determined whether a sleep mode command has been received from the center device 2 together with the call number of the general telephone 21 (S60). If a sleep mode command is not received (N in S60)
O), and return to step S50. As a result, the current position information and the like are transmitted to the center device 2 at predetermined time intervals. Further, even if a command in the sleep mode is transmitted from the center device 2 during the measurement of the predetermined time, the command can be promptly received.

On the other hand, when a sleep mode command is received from the center device 2 (YES in S60), the call number of the ordinary telephone 21 received together with this command is stored in the storage device 16 (S65). Thereafter, the process proceeds to the sleep mode flowchart shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, for example, when a sleep mode command is sent to the terminal device 1 of a vehicle that temporarily suspends operation, the vehicle is moved to the center device 2.
, And the terminal device 1 of the vehicle stops the spontaneous communication with the center device 2, so that the load such as communication traffic of the center device can be reduced.

Further, when the driver resumes the operation, the terminal device 1 does not need to restart the communication function by the driver, so that the operation record cannot be obtained due to forgetting to restart the communication function. It is possible to completely prevent such a problem.

Further, when a call request command is sent from the terminal device 1 to the center device 2, the operation management is automatically performed by the center device 2, so that a temporary operation that is not at the scheduled operation time is performed. It becomes possible.

In the present embodiment, the start of the movement of the vehicle is determined using both the GPS and the vehicle speed sensor 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Configuration may be used. However, GPS
In the case of a single vehicle, the determination result cannot be obtained if no radio wave is received. Therefore, it is desirable to use the vehicle speed sensor 15 alone or both.

In this embodiment, the general telephone 21 and the modem 22 are used as the communication means on the center side. However, a configuration using a portable telephone and a modem may be used, or a radio transceiver may be used. Configuration may be used. Similarly, a configuration in which a wireless transceiver is used as the terminal side communication means may be used.

In the present embodiment, the center device uses a personal computer as the center-side control means, but may be a device using a microcomputer.

Further, in the present embodiment, the terminal device uses a microcomputer as the terminal-side control means, but for example, a mobile personal computer may be used.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the load on the center device can be reduced.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, it is possible to completely prevent the problem that the operation record cannot be obtained due to forgetting to restart the communication function.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle operation management system to which a terminal device for a vehicle operation management system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a sleep mode.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a wake-up mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Terminal device 2 Center device 11 GPS antenna 12 GPS engine unit 13 Mobile telephone 14 Modem 15 Vehicle speed sensor 16 Storage device 17 Microcomputer (microcomputer) 21 General telephone 22 Modem 23 Center personal computer

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A center-side communication means; and a current position information is taken from a vehicle via the center-side communication means to manage the operation of the vehicle, and when the vehicle is excluded from the operation management, the center-side communication means. A terminal device mounted on the vehicle by configuring a vehicle operation management system together with a center device including a center-side control unit that instructs the vehicle to suspend operation via communication means, wherein the center-side communication unit and Wireless communication terminal side communication means for performing communication; position detection means for detecting current position information using GPS; fetching current position information from the position detection means, and transmitting the terminal side communication means to the center device. While sending through
A terminal device for a vehicle operation management system, comprising: a terminal-side control unit that stops communication with the center device when receiving the operation suspension instruction from the center device via the terminal-side communication unit. 2. When the center device receives an operation management request from a vehicle excluded from the operation management, the center device performs operation management on the vehicle, and the terminal-side control unit stops communication with the center device. If it is determined whether or not the vehicle has started moving according to the current position information obtained from the position detection means, if the determination result that movement has been obtained, the terminal-side communication means The terminal device for a vehicle operation management system according to claim 1, wherein the operation management request is made to the center device via the terminal device. A vehicle speed sensor for detecting a moving speed of the vehicle, wherein the center device performs an operation management on the vehicle when receiving an operation management request from a vehicle excluded from the operation management; When communication with the center device is stopped, the control unit issues the operation management request to the center device via the terminal-side communication unit if the moving speed obtained from the vehicle speed sensor becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined speed. A terminal device for the vehicle operation management system according to claim 1.