JP2003296887A - Taxi allocation method, taxi allocation system and web server for taxi allocation - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a taxi allocation system for quickly allocating a taxi near a user. <P>SOLUTION: The taxi allocation system 1 allocates the taxi to the user corresponding to an allocation request notice from a portable information terminal U owned by the user. The position of the user is specified on the basis of the allocation request notice from the user by a position specifying means 12, a taxi position information data base 18 constituted by being updated by receiving the position information of the respective taxis respectively owned by a plurality of taxi companies at all times is referred to, the taxi closest to the position of the user is retrieved by a taxi retrieval means 13 and the allocation request notice is transmitted to the allocation system of the taxi company owning the retrieved taxi by an allocation notifying means 15. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a taxi dispatch method, a taxi dispatch system, and a taxi dispatch web server, and more particularly, to reliably call the nearest taxi without explaining the user's position. The present invention relates to a taxi dispatch method, a taxi dispatch system, and a taxi dispatch web server.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a voice call / answer system, an AVM (Automatic Vehicle Monitoring) system, etc. are known as a vehicle dispatch system in which a taxi company dispatches a vehicle in response to a call from a customer. When the dispatch center receives a telephone call requesting a dispatch from a user, the dispatch system using the voice call / answer method informs all taxis of the customer's call location via a commercial radio, and the taxi driver near this call location A system that responds to the dispatch center using the commercial radio of the car, selects the taxi closest to the user based on the response content, and issues a dispatch command to the selected taxi using the commercial radio. is there.

Further, the vehicle allocation system based on the AVM system is
When the receiver installed in each taxi receives a signal containing the position information of the sign pole installed along the road, the commercial radio of the car automatically operates and the position information is sent to the dispatch center. The dispatch center registers the operating or standby position of each taxi for each dispatch area based on these position information, and when the user receives a dispatch request message, the dispatch vehicle will be dispatched based on the registered contents. It is determined.

In recent years, in addition to these technologies, GPS (G
Lobal Positioning System), by developing communication technology, etc., by specifying the position of the user using GPS, etc.,
Various taxi dispatch systems have been devised that allow users to call a taxi without telling their position.

For example, in Japanese Patent No. 2920614 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-321882), a telephone number common throughout the country is set, and the telephone from the orderer is transferred to a taxi company close to the orderer, and at the same time, the location of the orderer. A vehicle dispatching method is disclosed, which is provided with a function of transmitting personal information and further charging and dropping a taxi fee to a mobile phone call fee.

[0006] Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-307281, when the contents of a vehicle dispatch request are received from a user's information portable terminal device, a driver of a taxi company that matches the contents of the vehicle dispatch request is selected, and the driver gets on board. There is disclosed a technique of transferring the contents of a vehicle dispatch request to a vehicle service terminal device mounted in a taxi.

Further, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-331562, in response to a vehicle dispatch request from a PHS (Personal Handyphone System) terminal, a vehicle dispatch request is made to a reception terminal of a vehicle dispatch center closest to the user based on the location information of the PHS. A technique for sending an e-mail is disclosed.

In Japanese Patent No. 3011201 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-082199), a beacon station located near a customer receives vehicle allocation request information and manages beacon station position identification information and regional group information. A system is disclosed for a station to receive and dispatch a taxi in the same regional group or a nearby regional group, and
A system is disclosed for sending a customer's dispatch request directly to a taxi in the same regional group as the customer.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned vehicle allocation systems are not sufficient in consideration of the actual situation in the taxi industry. For example, if a request for a vehicle dispatch is sent to a taxi company A closest to the user or a vehicle dispatch center A ′ closest to the user to dispatch the vehicle, the taxi closest to the user at that time is sent. May be of a farther taxi company B. In other words, in general, there are multiple taxi companies operating in urban areas, so just because a taxi company or dispatch center is close to the user does not mean that the taxi closest to the user will be dispatched. However, there is a problem that the user is not sufficiently efficient and the waiting time becomes long.

On the other hand, if the dispatch request is directly sent to the taxi closest to the user, this problem seems to be solved at first glance, but it is not so. In general, a taxi cannot refuse to board, and therefore a taxi driver who has received a dispatch request may have to board another user he / she met before checking the request while driving. In this case, the user who has received the vehicle dispatch request must be picked up later, which causes the user to wait. Further, as another problem, some users may want to preferentially dispatch a taxi company from among multiple taxi companies. From such a problem, according to the present invention, a taxi dispatch method, a taxi dispatch system, and a taxi dispatch system that allow the nearest taxi to be dispatched according to the actual situation of the taxi industry even if the user does not know his / her position. The purpose is to provide a web server for.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a taxi dispatch method for dispatching a taxi to a user in response to a dispatch request notification from a portable information terminal of the user. , A step of receiving a vehicle dispatch request notification from the user, a step of identifying the user's position based on the vehicle dispatch request notification, the position information of each taxi respectively owned by a plurality of taxi companies is constantly received and updated. Referring to the taxi location information database, which consists of the following items, the step of searching for a taxi closest to the user's position, and sending the user's dispatch request notification to the dispatch system that manages the dispatch of the searched taxi It is characterized by performing the step of performing.

According to such a taxi dispatch method, the position of the user is specified based on the dispatch request notification from the user, and the taxi closest to the user is searched. Then, by transmitting a dispatch request notification to the dispatch system that manages the dispatch of the taxi, it becomes possible to dispatch the taxi, that is, the taxi closest to the user.
Of course, as a result of inquiring wirelessly to the taxi driver with the dispatch system, it may be after another user has been loaded due to poor timing, but the taxi company's dispatch system will ask the user. Since it is possible to take sub-optimal means such as notifying that the vehicle cannot be dispatched or requesting an arrangement for another taxi close to the user, the user is not kept waiting. The "vehicle allocation request notification" sent from the user and the "vehicle allocation request notification" sent from the taxi allocation system of the present invention to the vehicle allocation system that manages taxi allocation are not necessarily the same data. Further, in the present specification, the “vehicle allocation system for managing taxi allocation” includes a vehicle allocation system of a taxi company having the taxi, a joint wireless center operated by a plurality of taxi companies, and the like.

Further, the present invention is a taxi dispatch system for dispatching a taxi to a user in response to a dispatch request notification from a portable information terminal possessed by the user, and stores position information of each taxi owned by a plurality of taxi companies. Based on a taxi position information database that is constantly received and updated, receiving means for receiving a vehicle dispatch request notification from the user, and a vehicle dispatch request notification received from the user by the receiving means. When a vehicle dispatch request notification is received from the user by the position specifying unit that specifies the position of the user and the receiving unit, the taxi position information database is referred to search for a taxi closest to the position of the user. Send a dispatch request notification to the taxi search means and the dispatch system that manages the dispatch of taxis searched by the taxi search means. Characterized in that it is configured with a dispatch notification means for signal.

According to such a taxi dispatch system, the position of the user is specified by the position specifying means based on the notification of the dispatch request from the user received by the receiving means. Then, the taxi search means searches the taxi closest to the user. Further, by transmitting a vehicle allocation request notification to the vehicle allocation system that manages the allocation of the taxi by the allocation notification means, the taxi, that is, the taxi closest to the user can be allocated. Of course, there are times when the taxi driver inquires about the taxi driver wirelessly or using other communication devices for vehicle allocation in the vehicle dispatch system, and it is after the other passengers have been loaded due to poor timing. Since it is possible to take the second-best means such as notifying the taxi dispatching system of the present invention or the taxi dispatching system of the present invention, the user is not made to wait. The vehicle allocation request notification may include the user's position information. If you include the location information of the user,
Even if the taxi company cannot arrange the vehicle designated by the taxi dispatch system at the wrong time, it is possible to arrange a relatively close vehicle within the taxi company.

In the taxi dispatch system, the dispatch request notification includes priority dispatch information for preferentially dispatching taxis of one or more taxi companies from a plurality of taxi companies, and the taxi search means is It is desirable that a taxi closest to the user's position is searched from taxis owned by the taxi company designated by the priority vehicle allocation information.

With such a taxi dispatch system, a taxi closest to the user's position is searched from taxis owned by the taxi company designated by the priority dispatch information, and the taxi is dispatched to the user. As a result, it becomes possible for the user to specify one or more taxi companies to which he / she wants to dispatch, depending on the personal relationship of the user and the reliability of the taxi company.

Further, in the taxi dispatch system, there is a dispatch impossible receiving means for receiving a dispatch impossible notification from the dispatch system to which the dispatch notification means has sent the dispatch request notification, and the dispatch impossible receiving means is a dispatch destination. Upon receipt of the notification that the taxi is unavailable, the taxi search means searches for a taxi closest to the user's position from taxis owned by other taxi companies, and the dispatch notification means manages the dispatch of this taxi. The vehicle allocation system is preferably configured to transmit the user's vehicle allocation request notification.

[0018] According to such a taxi dispatch system, a taxi search means receives a dispatch impossible notification from the dispatch system by the dispatch impossible receiving means, and the taxi search means issues a taxi company (other than the taxi company which has notified the dispatch impossible). Of taxis owned by the taxi company) to find the taxi closest to the user's location. As a result, even if the taxi company that has the closest taxi cannot deliver that taxi, the next closest taxi will be dispatched to the user, so the taxi will not be put on hold and the taxi will be delivered efficiently. Can be dispatched.

Alternatively, in the above-mentioned taxi dispatch system, the dispatch disabling means for receiving the dispatch impossible notification from the destination dispatch system to which the dispatch notification means has sent the dispatch request notification, and the dispatch impossible receiver are unable to dispatch. And a redistributed presentation means for presenting to the user other options of one or more taxi companies, the taxi search means being selected by the user from the presented options. Or, a taxi closest to the user's position is searched from taxis owned by a plurality of taxi companies, and the dispatch notification means sends the dispatch request notification of the user to the dispatch system that manages the dispatch of this taxi. It can also be configured to do so.

According to such a taxi dispatch system, one or a plurality of taxi companies different from the taxi company that has received the dispatch impossible notification from the dispatch system by the dispatch impossible receiving unit and the relocation presenting unit has notified the dispatch impossible. Present the taxi company of as an option to the user. Then, the taxi search means searches for a taxi closest to the user's position from taxis of one or more taxi companies selected by the user from the options, and manages the dispatch of the searched taxi. When the vehicle dispatch request notification is transmitted to the vehicle dispatch system, the vehicle is dispatched to the user. That is, it is possible to hear the user's wishes about the taxi company and then dispatch from the desired taxi company after the vehicle allocation fails once. Further, when the user may be any taxi company, the user may be allowed to select at random, or the option “any (any) taxi company is acceptable” may be presented. The "any taxi company" option may be assigned to a certain taxi company within the taxi dispatch system, or may be randomly assigned from multiple taxi companies. In either case, the user randomly selects a taxi company, which corresponds to the selection of one or more taxi companies according to the present invention.

When each taxi company uses a taxi dispatching web server described later, the information presented by the re-dispatching presentation means is operated by a taxi company other than the taxi company that was unable to dispatch. It may be a link to a taxi dispatch web server (web page).

In the taxi dispatch system described above, the mobile information terminal is a mobile phone having a GPS-based position specifying function, and the position specifying means uses the position information transmitted from the user's mobile phone. It is also possible to specify the position of the user based on the above.

Further, in the above-mentioned taxi dispatch system, the portable information terminal has a function of transmitting an ID for identifying a user, and the position specifying means uses the ID sent from the portable information terminal as a key. Alternatively, the position of the user may be specified by inquiring the position of the user with respect to the system that manages the position information of the portable information terminal. For example, if the mobile information terminal is a mobile phone, the user's telephone number is used as an ID, and an inquiry is made using this ID as a key to a known system that manages the position information of the mobile phone to identify the user's position. can do.

The present invention also provides a taxi dispatching web server for transmitting a dispatch request to the taxi dispatching system. That is, it has a request web page that receives the input of a vehicle dispatch request notification from the user,
A taxi dispatch web server configured to transmit the dispatch request notification input on the request web page to the taxi dispatch system.

According to such a taxi dispatch web server, the request screen is laid out so that the user can easily use the taxi, and the information convenient for the user is posted on the same request web page. Thus, the degree of freedom of the request screen can be increased and the convenience of the user can be improved.

[0026]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. [First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a taxi dispatch system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the taxi dispatch system 1 of the present embodiment requests a vehicle dispatch from a user terminal (portable information terminal) U of a user through a network 90, either directly or through a requesting web page 50. When the taxi is received, the taxi closest to the user's current position is searched from among taxis owned by a plurality of taxi companies T, and then the taxi dispatch system 20, 31, 32, 33 managing the taxi dispatch.
It is a system that sends a vehicle dispatch request notification and the user's position to. That is, this taxi dispatch system 1
Is a system configured so that the taxi closest to the user is quickly dispatched to the user without the user having to explain his / her position in detail.

[User Terminal U] The user terminal U is an information terminal carried by the user. In other words, any device that can communicate information with the taxi dispatch system can be used. For example, as an information device that a user generally carries, a mobile phone, a PHS, a personal computer having a communication function, a pocket computer, a PDA (P
personal digital assistants), wristwatches, etc., but not limited to these. It is preferable that the user terminal U has a function of specifying the current position by itself, and as the function, for example, a function of specifying the current position by using a radio wave of a GPS satellite or a plurality of points, for example, three points is used. The function of specifying the position from the radio waves transmitted and received between the antenna and the PHS can be exemplified. It should be noted that the function of specifying the current position means that even if the user terminal U itself cannot specify its position, other devices can use it from the radio waves or the like that the user terminal U uses or emits. It goes without saying that it is sufficient if the position of the person terminal U can be specified. In addition,
If the user terminal U does not have the function of specifying the current position, when the user terminal U sends a vehicle dispatch request by e-mail, the address of the current position is entered in the text or the request web page 50. It may be configured such that the address of the current position is filled in and the dispatch request is transmitted. Or
It is also possible to register a list of places where the user calls a taxi in advance in the taxi dispatch system 1 (customer information DB 19 described later) and select from the list of registered positions on the request web page 50. .

[Taxi dispatch system 1] Next, the configuration of the taxi dispatch system 1 will be described. The taxi dispatch system 1 is a receiving means 1 as a means for processing data necessary for dispatching a taxi (hereinafter, also referred to as "vehicle").
1, a vehicle allocation impossible receiving means 11B, each means 12 to 16 executed by the CPU 10, and a taxi position information database necessary for data processing (the database is abbreviated as "DB" in the drawings and in the following description) 18 And a customer information DB.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10
Is a processing unit that reads, calculates, and stores information according to a given program, and performs data search, collation, and the like. In the present embodiment, the position specifying means 12, the taxi searching means 13, the user collating means 14, the vehicle allocation notifying means 15, and the vehicle allocation presenting means 16 are each executed by the CPU 10 according to a predetermined program.

The receiving means 11 is a part for receiving a vehicle dispatch request notification from the user terminal U. The receiving means 11 is configured to include, for example, an I / O port of a computer. The data input from the receiving means 11 to the taxi dispatch system is appropriately stored in a storage device (not shown), read out as needed, and used for each calculation / processing.

When the vehicle instructed to the taxi company cannot be dispatched, or when the taxi company cannot dispatch another vehicle, the vehicle unavailability receiving means 11B
It is a means of receiving a notification that the vehicle cannot be dispatched from the taxi company's dispatch system. The unallocatable reception means 11B may be common to the reception means 11.

The position specifying means 12 is means for specifying the current position of the user based on the vehicle allocation request notification received by the receiving means 11 from the user. Various methods are conceivable for specifying the position of the user. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the user terminal U has a function of specifying its own position using the radio waves of the GPS satellites 91 (position specifying function by GPS),
If the location information of the user is included in the dispatch request information,
The position specifying means 12 directly specifies the position of the user by extracting the position information of the user from the vehicle allocation request information.

The position of the user of the mobile phone is not freely transmitted or received at present for the sake of the safety of the user, but is managed by, for example, the carrier of the mobile phone. In this case, the position of the user can be specified by the position specifying means 12 making an inquiry to the user position management system 95 of the carrier. Since it is necessary to identify the user in order to make an inquiry to the user position management system 95, for example, when the user terminal U is a mobile phone, the user's telephone number is used as the user's ID, and this ID is used. An inquiry can be made by passing it as a key to the user position management system 95. As described above, when the user's position information is included in the vehicle allocation request information, it is not necessary to use the user position management system 95.

As described above, the user terminal U needs to be able to specify its position, but this method is not limited to the GPS method, and for example, one or a plurality of antennas used by a mobile phone or PHS may be used. It is also possible to calculate from the distance. In any case, it is preferable to use a method that can specify the position of the user as accurately as possible.

In the example of the user's vehicle allocation request information described above, in the case where the user writes the address in the body of the electronic mail or the requesting web page 50, the position specifying means 12 is not shown. The user's position is specified by referring to the database that stores the relationship between the address and the latitude / longitude. If the user has registered the position in advance, the position of the user is specified by referring to the customer information DB 19.

The taxi search means 13 is the position specifying means 1
It is a means for searching a taxi near the user's position specified in 2 by referring to the taxi position information DB 18. The taxi position information DB 18 stores position information of taxis owned by a plurality of taxi companies, for example, latitude and longitude. Therefore, by calculating the distance between the taxi position and the user's latitude and longitude, the taxi position information DB18 is closest to the user. You can easily search for a taxi.

The user collating means 14 is means for collating the user ID and password included in the vehicle dispatch request notification from the user by referring to the customer information DB 19. That is, it is a means for confirming whether or not the user himself / herself has requested a vehicle dispatch.

The dispatch notification means 15 is the taxi search means 1
In order to dispatch the taxi closest to the user searched in 3 to the user, a dispatch request notification is transmitted to the taxi company having the taxi, for example, the dispatch system 20 of company A. Further, the vehicle allocation notifying means 15 also transmits the position information of the user to the vehicle allocation system 20 of the company A at the same time. Note that the vehicle dispatch request notification sent by the user at this time does not have to be exactly the same as the vehicle dispatch request notification sent from the user to the taxi dispatch system 1, and may be partially omitted or have a different data format. It doesn't matter. That is, it is sufficient that the company A includes the minimum necessary information for allocating the vehicle by the vehicle allocating system 20 owned by the company A.

The redistributed vehicle presenting means 16 is a means for requesting the user to input the redistributed vehicle when the vehicle dispatching system of the taxi company receives a notification that the vehicle cannot be dispatched. This is because, for example, the taxi company was specified as the priority dispatch information when the user first notified the dispatch request,
If the taxi company cannot deliver the car,
The user terminal U may be provided with a link to another taxi company's dispatch web page, that is, a web page corresponding to the request web page 50. Alternatively, in this case, after extracting a plurality of vehicles close to the user's position in advance by the taxi dispatch system 1, the taxi company to which those vehicles belong may be presented as an option and the user may be allowed to select the taxi company. . In addition, as a presentation of redistributed vehicles, we have added the option of "any taxi company is acceptable",
When the user selects this option, the taxi search means 13 may search for a taxi close to the user from arbitrary taxi companies. The screen may be moved to the web page 50.

[Taxi Position Information DB 18] The taxi position information DB 18 is a database in which the positions of the respective vehicles owned by a plurality of taxi companies using the taxi dispatch system 1 are input and constantly updated. Each taxi company T grasps the position of each vehicle owned by each by a known system. In the present embodiment, although not shown, the taxi position information DB 18 is
The position of each vehicle is constantly received and updated from the system of each taxi company T.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the taxi position information DB. In the DB of FIG. 3, the taxi company field 18 is used with the vehicle ID 18a assigned to each vehicle as a key.
b, a capacity field 18c, a situation field 18d, a latitude field 18e, a longitude field 18f, an update time field 18g and the like are prepared.

The vehicle ID 18a is a number uniquely assigned to each vehicle. Taxi company field 18
In b, data of the taxi company to which the vehicle belongs is stored, and in FIG. 3, A company, B company, C company, etc. are stored.
The capacity field 18c indicates the passenger capacity of the vehicle.
That is, the number of passengers can be used as a search condition in order to allocate taxis according to the number of users and to improve the efficiency of vehicle use. The status field 18d indicates the usage status of the vehicle and is used for determining whether or not the vehicle can be dispatched. The situation field 18d stores the situation such as an empty vehicle, a vehicle to pick up, a rent, and a break.

Latitude field 18e, Longitude field 1
8f indicates the latitude and longitude indicating the current position of the vehicle. In FIG. 3, for example, a vehicle with a vehicle ID of TE00051 has a latitude of 35.40.54.2N. This means that N indicates north latitude, and 35.40.54.2 indicates 35 degrees 40 minutes 54.2 seconds. Similarly for longitude, 13
Of 9.45.20.8E, E means east longitude, 13
9.45.20.8 means 139 degrees 45 minutes 20.8 seconds.

The update time field 18g stores the time when the data of the vehicle was updated. If the update time is largely deviated from the current time, it indicates that the data such as the current position of the vehicle has not been transmitted from the vehicle or each taxi company for some reason. Therefore, in this case, the vehicle may be excluded from the objects of vehicle allocation.

[Customer Information DB 19] Customer Information DB 19
Is not shown, but the user ID and password of the user,
This is a database that stores names and other personal information, and is referred to when authenticating a user or contacting a user.

[Taxi Company] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a system of a taxi company. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a taxi company A has
Vehicle dispatch system management server 21, storage device 22, vehicle C
1, C2, C3, ..., And a center instruction display device / response device 23, a vehicle status transmission device 24, and a position information transmission device 25 that each vehicle has. The center instruction display device / response device 23 is a device for displaying an instruction such as an oncoming vehicle made from the vehicle allocation system management server 21 and responding to the instruction. In addition, the vehicle status transmission device 24,
The position information transmitting device 25 is a device that transmits a vehicle state such as whether the vehicle is empty or rented to the vehicle allocation system management server 21, and the position information transmission device 25 indicates the current position of the vehicle.
Is a device for transmitting to.

The vehicle allocation system management server 21 refers to the data in the storage device 22, and refers to each vehicle C1, C2, C3 ...
Is a device that displays the position of
2, C3 ... While constantly receiving data, the storage device 22
The data in is updated and the map and the position of the vehicle are displayed on a display device (not shown).

Further, the vehicle allocation system management server 21 constantly transmits the data of the vehicle position information DB in the storage device 22 to the taxi position information DB 18. This transmission is performed, for example, by transmitting the updated data to the taxi DB 18 every time the vehicle position information DB 22 of the company is updated, or by transmitting the updated data every predetermined time, for example, every one minute. The storage device 22 stores data necessary for knowing the position of the vehicle and other data necessary for business. For example, a vehicle position database (DB) that records the positions of the vehicles C1, C2, C3 ..., a customer information database (DB) that stores the position and business hours of the customer, and points according to the usage amount of the customer. When the point system for giving is used, usage points and the like are stored.

The vehicle allocation system 20 is not limited to the vehicle allocation system of a certain taxi company, but may be jointly operated by a plurality of taxi companies.

[Request Web Server] The request web page 50 shown in FIG. 1 is provided by a request web server (not shown). The requesting web server can be configured by using a known web server. For example, the requesting web server is a web page having a form for inputting a vehicle dispatch request, and a link is provided to a CGI program for transmitting vehicle dispatch request information to the taxi dispatch system 1. There is.

[Operation] Regarding the operation of the taxi dispatch system 1 having the above-described configuration, refer to FIGS. 4 to 6 showing the screen of the user terminal U and FIG. 7 showing the flowchart of the operation of the taxi dispatch system 1. While explaining.

First, the user performs user registration before requesting a taxi dispatch. Although details of user registration are omitted, the user performs a predetermined procedure online or offline to give the user a user ID and password for using the taxi dispatch system 1, and the customer information database 19 These user IDs,
Password and user's personal information are registered.

At the stage of dispatching a taxi, the user
Using the user terminal U, input taxi dispatch request information. In other words, this input is transmission of vehicle allocation request information to the taxi vehicle allocation system 1 (vehicle allocation request notification).
When the vehicle dispatch request is notified directly from the user terminal without using the requesting web page 50, for example, an email containing only the password in the text is sent to the taxi dispatch system 1 from the user's mobile phone. In addition, when notifying a vehicle dispatch request via the request web page 50, the user accesses the request web page 50 using the user terminal U and displays the screen (input form 55) as shown in FIG. Let This input form 55 is a screen provided by a website dedicated to vehicle allocation, which is responsible for vehicle allocation of a plurality of taxi companies.

In the input form 55 shown in FIG. 4, the user ID
(USER ID), password, number of dispatched vehicles, number of passengers, departure time are displayed as direct input fields, and two fields for inputting the taxi company of your choice to be prioritized are displayed as drop-down input fields. Further, a transmission button for transmitting the information entered in these input fields to the taxi dispatch system 1 is displayed at the bottom of the screen. In addition,
Of these input items, only the user ID and password are required input items, and the other input fields can be filled in arbitrarily.

On the other hand, when the taxi company provides its website as the requesting web page 50, a screen (input form 56) as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. This request web page 50 (input form 56)
However, there is no column for selecting a taxi company because it will allocate its own taxi. And as an option if you can not dispatch quickly with this taxi company,
Two items, "allocate another nearby vehicle" or "select a taxi company," can be selected with radio buttons. It should be noted that the request web page 50 may include information useful for using a taxi, for example, information on restaurants in the area and other information.

In any of the input forms, the user fills in at least the user ID and password and, if necessary, fills in another input field, for example, the number of users is three. When the user inputs the dispatch request information and then sends it to the taxi dispatch system 1 (notice of dispatch request, step S
1), the receiving means 11 of the taxi dispatch system 1 receives this dispatch request information (step S2).

Next, the user collating means 14 confirms whether or not the combination of the user ID and the password input by the user is correct by referring to the customer information DB 19 (step S3). In the case of the dispatch request notification by electronic mail, the mail address is regarded as the user ID, and the combination of the mail address and the password in the text is checked. Although not shown, if the combination of the user ID and the password is wrong, a message indicating that warning is transmitted to the user terminal U.

Next, the position specifying means 12 extracts the information of the position of the terminal specified by the GPS function of the user terminal U from the vehicle allocation request notification (vehicle allocation request information) transmitted by the user. , Specify the position of the user (step S
4). This is because if the location information is included in the dispatch request notification, it is sufficient to simply extract the location information, and in the case of the request by email, the location information is included in the email itself. Since it does not exist, an inquiry is made to the location information management system 95 using the user's mail address as a key to identify the location of the user.

Next, the taxi search means 13 selects the taxi vehicle closest to the user's current position as the taxi position information D.
Search from B18 (step S5). That is, if the position of the user is specified by latitude and longitude, for example,
The distance between the user and the vehicle is calculated from the latitude and longitude of the vehicle, and the vehicle with the smallest distance is searched. At this time, the condition field 18d is used as a condition for the taxi to be searched.
(Refer to FIG. 3) is searched only from the record of "empty car". Also, when the number of passengers and taxi company are specified by the user, those conditions are also added as search conditions.

Next, in order to allocate the taxi searched by the taxi search means 13, the dispatch notification means 15 is used by the taxi company to which the taxi belongs, for example, the dispatch system 2 of the company A.
A dispatch request notification is transmitted to 0 (step S6). In addition,
The taxi company to which the taxi belongs can be known by referring to the taxi position information DB 18, so taxi search means 1
3 may pass the taxi company ID and the taxi company information to the dispatch notification means 15.

Next, when the vehicle allocation system 20 of the taxi company A receives the vehicle allocation request notification, the vehicle allocation system management server 21 causes the vehicle having the vehicle ID included in the vehicle allocation request notification, for example, the vehicle C1. Inquires to confirm whether the vehicle can be dispatched (step S7). The center instruction display device / response device 23 of the vehicle C1 displays the inquiry transmitted by the vehicle dispatch system management server 21, and the driver uses the device 23 to respond whether or not the vehicle can be dispatched. It should be noted that this inquiry may be made by a person's voice, or if the center instruction display device / response device 23 emits a ringing sound in response to an inquiry from the vehicle dispatch system management server 21 and the driver can dispatch, the driver can The operation may be performed by operations other than voice, such as pressing a button indicating the intention of being able to dispatch vehicles. As a result of the inquiry, if the vehicle allocation is possible (step S8), the vehicle allocation system management server 21 sends a vehicle allocation notification to the user by e-mail.

If the vehicle cannot be dispatched (step S
8), several kinds of methods can be adopted. For example, when the vehicle allocation request notification includes information indicating the current position of the user, the vehicle allocation system management server 21 searches for a vehicle that is sufficiently close to the user among other vehicles of Company A. If there is such a vehicle, the vehicle is inquired whether or not it can be dispatched (step S9).

As a result of the inquiry, if the vehicle allocation is possible (step S10), the vehicle allocation system management server 21 sends a vehicle allocation notification to the user by e-mail, and if the vehicle allocation is not possible (step S10), taxi allocation System 1
Is notified that the vehicle cannot be dispatched (step S11). However, the vehicle allocation system management server 21 of the company A may be configured to immediately send the vehicle allocation disabling notification to the taxi vehicle allocation system 1 without searching for other vehicles of the company.

If the vehicle allocation failure receiving means 11B of the taxi vehicle allocation system 1 receives the vehicle allocation failure notification, there are several possible methods for the operation of the taxi vehicle allocation system 1. The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 shows a method of automatically allocating a vehicle to a user from vehicles of other taxi companies. That is, the taxi search means 13 of the taxi dispatch system 1 re-searches for a taxi vehicle closest to the user by adding a condition excluding the company A that has notified that the taxi cannot be dispatched (step S12), and finds the vehicle of the searched vehicle. The vehicle allocation request information including the ID is notified to the vehicle allocation system of the taxi company to which the vehicle belongs (vehicle allocation request notification, step S13).

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing another method. For example, in the method of FIG. 8, the taxi dispatch system 1 that has received the vehicle dispatch disabling notification (step S11) adds a condition other than the company A that has notified the taxi disabling by the taxi search means 13 to a taxi close to the user. The vehicle is searched again to extract a plurality of vehicles (step S20), and the taxi companies to which those taxis belong are presented to the user terminal as options (step S21). At this time, the extracted vehicle ID of the taxi is included in the information sent to the user.
For example, like the input form 57 of FIG. 6, an input screen for selecting a taxi company that can be dispatched from a dropdown is displayed. If the user selects a taxi company with his / her user terminal U (step S22) and presses the send button, the dispatch system is notified to the dispatch systems of other selected taxi companies together with the vehicle ID information. (Step S23). It should be noted that users may not be particularly particular about taxi companies, so it is good to include options such as "anywhere" in the drop-down menu. If the user selects the "anywhere" option, it is preferable that the taxi company with the taxi closest to the user is selected.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing another method. For example, in the method of FIG. 9, the vehicle allocation disapproval notification of the company A is transmitted to the user terminal U as an input screen for selecting another taxi company (step S30).
As shown in FIG. 6, the screen of this option may be a screen in which a taxi company other than company A is selected from the dropdown and the selected information is transmitted to the taxi dispatch system 1.
A screen with a link to the requesting web page 50 of a taxi company other than A company may be used. For example, in the latter case, when the user selects a taxi company (step S31), the screen moves to a requesting web page of a taxi company other than A company (for example, input form 56), and on that screen, The user inputs the requested items. Then, the inputted dispatch request information is transmitted to the taxi dispatch system 1, and the taxi search means 1 is used in the same manner as the dispatch process described above.
By 3, the taxi closest to the user is searched again on condition of the designated taxi company (step S3).
2). Further, the dispatch request information is notified to the dispatch system of the taxi company to which the retrieved taxi belongs (step S33).

According to the taxi dispatch system of one embodiment as described above, a vehicle closest to the user is searched from vehicles owned by a plurality of taxi companies, and dispatch request information is sent to the taxi company's dispatch system. Be notified. As a result, it is possible to quickly dispatch the vehicle to the user, and even if the vehicle cannot be dispatched, by sending a taxi dispatch notification to the taxi dispatch system 1 or the user,
You can take the following actions: In particular, when sending a notification indicating that the vehicle cannot be dispatched to the taxi dispatch system 1, a vehicle dispatch request notification is sent to the vehicle dispatch system owned by the taxi company of the relevant vehicle by re-searching from vehicles owned by other taxi companies. , It becomes possible to automatically allocate the vehicle closest to the user.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and can be implemented by appropriately changing them. For example, it goes without saying that one or more exchanges, devices such as computers, etc. may be interposed between transmission and reception of each information. It is also possible to separately configure the processing and data by providing a database or each means of the taxi dispatch system 1 in a distant terminal.

[0070]

As described in detail above, the present invention has the following remarkable effects. According to the invention of claim 1 or 2, it becomes possible to allocate a taxi closest to the user. In addition, even if the taxi to be dispatched cannot be dispatched, it is possible to take the next best measure.

According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to specify one or a plurality of taxi companies to which the vehicle is to be dispatched according to the personal relationship and preference of the user.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, even if the nearest taxi cannot be dispatched, the next taxi will be dispatched, so that the efficiency can be improved without making the user wait. You can dispatch a taxi.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, even if the nearest taxi cannot be dispatched, the taxi company will be dispatched after hearing the user's desire for the taxi company. It becomes possible.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6 or 7, it is possible to quickly arrange a taxi from a mobile phone without giving a detailed description of one's place.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the user is not confused when the taxi company is not particular about the user.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 9, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of the input form and to set the input items and the like freely for each taxi company, thereby making it possible for the convenience of the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a taxi dispatch system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a vehicle allocation system of a taxi company A.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a taxi position information database.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle allocation request information input screen of a user terminal.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the vehicle allocation request information input screen of the user terminal.

FIG. 6 is an example of a screen displayed on the user terminal when the vehicle cannot be allocated.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation of the taxi dispatch system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing another processing method when the vehicle cannot be allocated.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing still another processing method when the vehicle cannot be allocated.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Taxi dispatch system 11 Receiving means 12 Position specifying means 13 Taxi search means 15 Vehicle allocation notification means 16 redistributed vehicle presentation means 18 Taxi location information database 20 vehicle dispatch system 50 Request Web Page U user terminal

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A taxi dispatch method for allocating a taxi to a user in response to a dispatch request notification from a mobile information terminal owned by the user, the step of receiving a dispatch request notification from the user, The step of identifying the position of the user based on the request notification, referring to the taxi position information database configured by constantly receiving and updating the position information of each taxi respectively owned by a plurality of taxi companies, A taxi dispatch method characterized by performing a step of searching for a taxi closest to a user's position and a step of sending a dispatch request notification to a dispatch system that manages dispatch of the searched taxi. 2. A taxi dispatch system that dispatches a taxi to a user in response to a dispatch request notification from a mobile information terminal owned by the user, and constantly receives position information of each taxi owned by a plurality of taxi companies. The taxi position information database that is configured to be updated, receiving means for receiving a vehicle dispatch request notification from the user, and the user based on the vehicle dispatch request notification received from the user by the receiving means. And a taxi search for searching for a taxi closest to the position of the user by referring to the taxi position information database when a vehicle dispatch request notification is received from the user by the position specifying unit and the receiving unit. And a vehicle allocation system that transmits a vehicle allocation request notification to the vehicle allocation system that manages the allocation of taxis searched by the taxi search means. Taxi dispatch system, characterized in that it is configured with the knowledge unit. 3. The taxi dispatch system according to claim 2, wherein the dispatch request notification includes priority dispatch information for preferentially dispatching a taxi of one or more taxi companies from a plurality of taxi companies, The taxi dispatching system is configured to search for a taxi closest to the position of the user from taxis owned by the taxi company designated by the priority dispatch information. 4. The taxi dispatch system according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a dispatch impossible reception means for receiving a dispatch impossible notification from the dispatch system to which the dispatch notification has transmitted the dispatch request notification, When the vehicle unavailability receiving means receives a vehicle unavailability notification, the taxi search means searches for a taxi closest to the position of the user from taxis owned by other taxi companies, and the vehicle dispatch notification means A taxi dispatch system configured to send a dispatch request notification to a dispatch system that manages dispatch of retrieved taxis. 5. The taxi dispatch system according to claim 2 or claim 3, wherein the dispatch request means receives the dispatch failure notification from the dispatch system to which the dispatch request notification has been sent, and the dispatch request. When the disability reception means receives a notification that the vehicle cannot be allocated, the disabling reception means is provided with a redistributed vehicle presenting means for presenting the option of one or more other taxi companies to the user, and the taxi search means uses the presented option. The taxi dispatching means searches the taxi closest to the position of the user from taxis owned by one or more taxi companies selected by the taxi company, and the dispatch notification means notifies the dispatch system that manages the dispatch of this taxi to the dispatch system. A taxi dispatch system characterized in that it is configured to transmit. 6. The taxi dispatch system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the mobile information terminal is a mobile phone having a GPS position specifying function, and the position specifying means is A taxi dispatch system characterized in that the position of the user is specified based on the position information transmitted from the user's mobile phone. 7. The taxi dispatch system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the portable information terminal has a function of transmitting an ID for identifying a user, and the position identifying means is , Using the ID sent from the portable information terminal as a key, the position of the user is specified by inquiring the position of the user from a system that manages the positional information of the portable information terminal. A characteristic taxi dispatch system. 8. The taxi dispatch system according to claim 5, wherein the redistributed scheduled time means presents the user with one or a plurality of taxi companies, and the option is that any taxi company is acceptable. Taxi dispatch system. 9. A vehicle allocation request notification that receives an input of a vehicle allocation request notification from the user, and the vehicle allocation request notification input on the request web page is any one of claims 2 to 7. A taxi dispatching web server configured to transmit to the taxi dispatching system described in.