JP7432414B2 - Carpool management device, carpool management method, and carpool management program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a carpool management device, a carpool management method, and a carpool management program.

Patent Document 1 describes "a method for supporting car ride sharing that predicts the time when a driver will arrive at a meeting place and transmits this predicted arrival time to a passenger terminal."
[Prior art documents]
[Patent document]
[Patent Document 1] JP 2002-140399

In a first aspect of the present invention, a shared vehicle management device is provided that manages shared vehicles. The carpool management device may include a travel plan management unit that manages a travel plan including an estimated time of arrival in which a vehicle in which the first user rides will arrive at a destination. The carpooling management device calculates a second scheduled arrival time scheduled at a second predetermined time point after the first time point with respect to a first scheduled arrival time scheduled at a first predetermined time point. The device may include a time calculation unit that calculates the time by which the time advances. The travel plan management unit manages the travel plan by easing the conditions for accepting ride requests from the terminals of the second users who wish to share in the vehicle, when the time to advance is equal to or greater than a first predetermined time. You can.

The travel plan management unit may raise the upper limit of the number of ride requests accepted from the second user's terminal when the time to advance is equal to or longer than a predetermined second time that is greater than the first time. The travel plan management unit may expand the range of areas where the second user can ride the vehicle when the accelerated time is equal to or longer than a predetermined third time that is greater than the first time. The trip plan management unit prevents boarding from the second user's terminal until the third scheduled arrival time that is scheduled when receiving the boarding request from the second user's terminal is later than the first scheduled arrival time. You may also accept requests.

The carpool management device may further include a fare information output unit that calculates a rate at which the first user's fare is discounted due to the second user's ride and outputs the calculated rate to the first user's terminal. The carpool management device further includes a reception unit that receives ride requests from the first user and the second user, and the first time point is when the reception unit receives the ride request from the user terminal of the first user; The second point in time may be a point in time when half of the travel time in the first user's travel plan has passed.

The vehicle is an automatic vehicle that performs automatic driving, and the travel plan management unit manages a travel plan in which the speed of the automatic vehicle is reduced when the speed is increased at a predetermined fourth time that is greater than the first time. You can. The travel plan management unit may manage a travel plan in which the motor vehicle is temporarily stopped when the accelerated time is equal to or longer than a predetermined fifth time that is greater than the fourth time. The temporary stop location may be near a commercial facility or may be in the shade. The carpool management device may further include a vehicle maintenance unit that calibrates vehicle sensors or updates vehicle applications via wireless communication during a temporary stop.

The vehicle is an automatic vehicle that performs automatic driving, and the travel plan management unit determines that the route set in the travel plan is changed to a route set in the travel plan when the estimated arrival time is greater than or equal to a predetermined sixth time that is greater than the first time. You may change to a slower route. The travel plan management unit updates the travel plan when the time to advance is equal to or greater than a predetermined seventh time that is greater than the first time, and when a route including a toll road is selected as the route in the travel plan. The route may be changed to a route that does not include toll roads.

In a second aspect of the invention, a carpool management method is provided. The carpool management method may include a trip plan management step of managing a trip plan including an estimated time of arrival at a destination of a vehicle in which the first user rides. The carpooling management method includes a first scheduled arrival time scheduled at a first predetermined time point, and a second scheduled arrival time scheduled at a second predetermined time point after the first time point. It may also include a time calculation step of calculating the time by which the time advances. In the travel plan management stage, if the time to advance is equal to or greater than a predetermined first time, the travel plan is managed by easing the conditions for accepting ride requests from the terminals of the second users who wish to share in the vehicle. You can.

In a third aspect of the present invention, a carpool management program is provided. The carpool management program may cause the computer to execute a trip plan management step of managing a trip plan including an estimated time of arrival in which a vehicle in which the first user rides will arrive at a destination. The carpool management program causes the computer to perform a first scheduled arrival time scheduled at a first predetermined point in time, and a second scheduled arrival time scheduled at a second predetermined point after the first point in time. A time calculation step may be performed to calculate the time by which the expected arrival time of the vehicle will be advanced. In the travel plan management stage, if the time to advance is equal to or greater than a predetermined first time, the travel plan is managed by easing the conditions for accepting ride requests from the terminals of the second users who wish to share in the vehicle. You can.

Note that the above summary of the invention does not list all the necessary features of the invention. Furthermore, subcombinations of these features may also constitute inventions.

1 conceptually shows a vehicle management system 70 to which this embodiment is applied. An example of functional blocks of the user terminal 40 is shown. This is an example of a boarding request input screen 410 displayed on the display unit 406. An example of functional blocks of the motor vehicle 30 is shown. An example of travel plan information stored in the travel plan storage unit 306 is shown. An example of functional blocks of the vehicle management device 10 is shown. An example of user information stored in the user information storage unit 1043 is shown. An example of travel plan information stored in the travel plan storage unit 1042 is shown. (a) to (d) show the time S at which the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time. The first acceptance condition 200 set by the travel plan management unit 104 at the first time point is shown. An example of the second reception condition 201 set by the travel plan management unit 104 at the second time point is shown. Another example of the second acceptance condition 202 set by the travel plan management unit 104 at the second time point is shown. An example of the riding position of the second user 52 is shown. This is an example of a processing flow for processing boarding requests from a first user 50 and a second user 52 in the vehicle management device 10. This is an example of a processing flow in which the travel plan management unit 104 relaxes acceptance conditions. 22 illustrates an example computer 2200 in which aspects of the invention may be implemented, in whole or in part.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 conceptually shows a vehicle management system 70 to which this embodiment is applied. The vehicle management system 70 provides so-called MaaS (Mobility as a Service), which seamlessly connects transportation by means of transportation other than private cars as one service. In the example of the vehicle management system 70 in FIG. 1, a vehicle management device 10 as a shared management device, motor vehicles 30 and 32, and user terminals 40 and 42 can communicate with each other via a network 20 such as the Internet. The user terminal 40 is a communication terminal used by the first user 50, and is, for example, a smartphone. Similarly, user terminal 42 is a communication terminal used by second user 52. In addition, in the following description, the motor vehicle will be explained using only the motor vehicle 30.

The vehicle management device 10 is, for example, a server such as a personal computer. The motor vehicle 30 is, for example, a car, and its driving method does not matter. Furthermore, the motor vehicle 30 may be a passenger car with a capacity of several people, or a bus with a capacity of more people than a passenger car.

The motor vehicle 30 is a vehicle in which multiple groups of users can ride together. Carpooling, also referred to as ride sharing, is when a motor vehicle in which a user is riding is traveling from the user's starting point to the destination, and another user also rides in the motor vehicle and shares the motor vehicle. It is something to do. In carpooling, the other user may get off the vehicle earlier than the previous user's destination, may get off the vehicle at the same destination, or may get off the vehicle further away. Note that a user who gets on the motor vehicle 30 first is called a first user 50, and a user who wants to get on the motor vehicle 30 after the first user 50 gets on the motor vehicle 30 is called a second user 52. When three or more users ride together in the motor vehicle 30, all users other than the first user 50 who board the motor vehicle 30 first are referred to as second users 52. The first user 50 and the second user 52 may each be accompanied by a fellow passenger.

In the vehicle management device 10, when the motor vehicle 30 transports a plurality of users together, it is preferable to strictly control the arrival time of each user at the destination. Therefore, it is preferable to take measures if it is likely that the arrival at the destination will be accelerated. In this embodiment, when the motor vehicle 30 is likely to arrive at the destination earlier, the conditions for accepting the second user 52's boarding request for the motor vehicle 30 are relaxed to control the arrival time at the destination. be.

FIG. 2 shows an example of functional blocks of the user terminal 40. The user terminal 40 includes a communication section 402, an input section 404, and a display section 406. The communication unit 402 communicates with the vehicle management device 10 via the network 20 and transmits and receives information. The input unit 404 receives input of characters, numbers, etc. from the first user 50. The display unit 406 displays images including characters, numbers, and the like. The input unit 404 and the display unit 406 may be integrated like a touch panel. The user terminal 42 may have the same configuration as the user terminal 40, and a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is an example of a ride request input screen 410 displayed on the display unit 406. The ride request input screen 410 includes information such as the user ID, departure point, desired time, destination, desired time, number of fellow passengers, whether there are members of the opposite sex, whether there is smoking, and whether there will be food or drinks. It has an input field. Of these, inputting the desired time for the destination is optional. In the example shown in Figure 3, the user ID is "U002," the departure point is "Aoyama X-△, Minato-ku, Tokyo," the desired time is "12/4 10:30," and the destination is "Chuo△-X, Wako City, Saitama Prefecture." , the desired time has not been entered, there is only one passenger, there is no member of the opposite sex (that is, the passenger is a man of the same sex as the user), there is no smoking, and there is drinking alcohol.

The input unit 404 receives input from the first user 50 in each input field, and displays the input information in the input field of the display unit 406. Among the input fields, text input is accepted for the user ID, etc., and other inputs for selection/non-selection are accepted for the opposite sex, etc. (so-called radio buttons). When the send button on the input screen 410 is pressed, the input information is sent from the communication unit 402 to the vehicle management device 10 as a ride request.

In addition to the input screen 410, the display unit 406 displays acceptance information indicating that the ride request has been accepted. It is preferable that the same information as the input screen 410 is displayed as the reception information so that it can be confirmed that the ride request has been accepted.

Furthermore, when the communication unit 402 receives information on carpool candidates from the vehicle management device 10, the display unit 406 displays this information and also displays an image prompting the user to input whether carpooling is possible. Furthermore, when the communication unit 402 receives usage fee information from the vehicle management device 10, the display unit 406 displays this information.

FIG. 4 shows an example of functional blocks of the motor vehicle 30. The motor vehicle 30 includes an on-vehicle terminal 302, an automatic travel section 310, a current location information acquisition section 312, and a riding information acquisition section 314.

The in-vehicle terminal 302 includes a communication unit 304 that communicates with the vehicle management device 10 and a travel plan storage unit 306 that stores information on the travel plan that the communication unit 304 receives from the vehicle management device 10. In order to simplify the following explanation, it is assumed that the motor vehicle 30 is a vehicle capable of fully automated driving (sometimes referred to as level 5 automated driving). That is, an example will be described in which the automatic travel unit 310 executes driving tasks for all the motor vehicles 30 in accordance with the travel plan stored in the travel plan storage unit 306.

The current location information acquisition unit 312 includes, for example, GPS, and acquires information on the current location of the motor vehicle 30 at regular intervals. The current location information acquisition unit 312 associates the current location information with the traveling ID and transmits the current location information to the vehicle management device 10 at regular intervals. Alternatively or in addition to this, the current location information acquisition unit 312 refers to the current location information and the departure point and destination information stored in the trip plan storage unit 306 to determine when the departure point is reached. If the vehicle has arrived at the destination, information indicating that the vehicle has arrived at the destination may be transmitted to the vehicle management device 10 in association with the traveling ID.

The riding information acquisition unit 314 includes, for example, a camera that photographs the interior of the vehicle, and acquires images of the interior of the vehicle at regular intervals as information indicating the riding status of the motor vehicle 30. The ride information acquisition unit 314 associates the image with the travel ID and transmits the image to the vehicle management device 10 at regular intervals. Alternatively or in addition to this, the riding information acquisition unit 314 analyzes the image by image recognition or the like, and obtains information on whether or not the first user 50 and the second user 52 are riding in the motor vehicle 30. It is also possible to determine information on whether there is a person present, information on whether the vehicle has luggage, etc., and transmit the information to the vehicle management device 10 in association with the traveling ID.

FIG. 5 shows an example of travel plan information stored in the travel plan storage unit 306. Among the travel plans generated by the vehicle management device 10, the travel plan storage unit 306 stores those that use the motor vehicle 30, that is, the travel plan with the vehicle ID "A30."

However, in addition to the ID itself, the user ID column receives and stores images stored in the vehicle management device 10. The boarding information acquisition unit 314 determines whether the first user 50 and the second user 52 are on board, etc. by face authentication using the image.

FIG. 6 shows an example of functional blocks of the vehicle management device 10. The vehicle management device 10 includes a reception section 101, a ride information acquisition section 102, a travel information acquisition section 103, a travel plan management section 104, and an output section 105. The trip plan management section 104 includes a trip plan creation section 1041, a trip plan storage section 1042, a user information storage section 1043, and a time calculation section 1044. The output unit 105 includes a fare information output unit 1051, a trip plan output unit 1052, and a ride availability information output unit 1053.

The reception unit 101 receives a ride request from the user terminal 40 used by the first user 50. The reception unit 101 receives the information of the first user 50 from the user terminal 40 prior to accepting the ride request or at the time of receiving the ride request for the first time, and stores it in the user information storage unit 1043 of the trip plan management unit 104. do. The reception unit 101 receives a ride request from the user terminal 42 used by the second user 52. The reception unit 101 similarly stores information about the second user 52 in the user information storage unit 1043 of the trip plan management unit 104.

FIG. 7 shows an example of user information stored in the user information storage section 1043. The user information storage unit 1043 stores the user's terminal ID, name, gender, age, and user's face image in association with the user ID. The user ID may be designated by the first user 50, or may be automatically assigned when the reception unit 101 receives information from a new user. Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 7, an e-mail address that can be received by the terminal is stored as the terminal ID.

In the example of FIG. 7, for example, an image file is associated with the user ID "U0001", the terminal ID "abc@edf.com", the name "Honda○ro", the gender "male", the age "32", and the face image. Stored.

Returning to FIG. 6, the driving information acquisition unit 110 of the vehicle management device 10 acquires information on the driving situation from the motor vehicle 30. An example of the information on the driving situation is information on the current location of the motor vehicle 30, which is obtained at regular intervals. Information on the current location of the motor vehicle 30 is linked to time information. Alternatively or in addition to this, the driving status information includes information as to whether the motor vehicle 30 has arrived at the starting point in the corresponding driving plan, and information as to whether the motor vehicle 30 has arrived at the destination. may be included.

The riding information acquisition unit 112 acquires information indicating the riding situation from the motor vehicle 30. An example of the information indicating the riding situation is an image of the inside of the motor vehicle 30 that is acquired at regular intervals. Alternatively or in addition to this, the information indicating the riding situation includes information on whether the first user 50 and the second user 52 are riding in the motor vehicle 30, and information on whether there is a fellow passenger. , information on whether or not the user has baggage may be included.

When the trip plan management section 104 receives the ride request of the first user 50 from the reception section 101, the trip plan creation section 1041 of the trip plan management section 104 creates a trip plan for the motor vehicle 30 based on the ride request of the first user 50. Create. In this case, the trip plan creation unit 1041 reads user information stored in association with the user ID included in the ride request from the user information storage unit 1043, and creates a trip plan using this information as well. do. Note that, unless otherwise specified, a method similar to that of known route guidance devices may be used to create the travel plan. Unless otherwise specified, a method for creating a travel plan when carpooling is added to a previous travel plan may be the same as that used for adding passing points to a travel route in known route guidance devices. When the travel plan creation unit 1041 creates a travel plan for the motor vehicle 30, the travel plan management unit 104 transmits information indicating that the ride request has been accepted and the created travel plan to the user terminal 40 of the first user 50.

If the trip plan creation unit 1041 determines that it is not possible to create a trip plan that satisfies the ride request of the first user 50 based on the current status of the plurality of managed vehicles, the trip plan management unit 104 The request is rejected and information to that effect is sent to the user terminal 40 of the first user 50.

When creating a travel plan, the travel plan creation unit 1041 predicts the expected time of arrival at the destination of the first user 50 based on information included in the ride request received from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50. . In this case, the travel plan creation unit 1041 determines the departure time, the distance between the departure point and the destination, the expected travel route, the number of traffic lights on the travel route, the placement status of traffic signs such as temporary stops on the travel route, The system predicts the estimated time of arrival at the destination, taking into account the availability of toll roads, traffic congestion information by time of day, route closures due to accidents, etc. A known method may be used to predict the estimated time of arrival by the travel plan creation unit 1041.

The travel plan creation unit 1041 predicts a first scheduled arrival time at which the motor vehicle 30 will arrive at the destination at a first point in time. The first time point is the time point when a ride request is received from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50. Further, the first time point may be the time point when the first user 50 gets into the motor vehicle 30. Furthermore, the first time point may be a time point while the motor vehicle 30 is traveling after the first user 50 gets into the motor vehicle 30.

At a second time point after the first time point, the travel plan creation unit 1041 creates a travel plan again from the newly acquired traffic conditions and the travel situation of the motor vehicle 30 at that time point, and The second estimated time of arrival at the destination is again predicted. The second time point is when half of the travel time in the travel plan of the first user 50 has passed. The travel time in the travel plan of the first user 50 is the time from the departure time to the first scheduled arrival time. The second point in time may be a point in time when the first user 50 passes through an intermediate point of the travel route in the travel plan. The second time point may be another time point after the first time point.

The trip plan management section 104 stores information on the trip plan created by the trip plan creation section 1041 in the trip plan storage section 1042.

FIG. 8 shows an example of travel plan information stored in the travel plan storage unit 1042. The travel plan storage unit 1042 stores vehicle ID, carpool information, user ID, departure place, departure time, destination, travel route, arrival time, number of fellow passengers, presence or absence of opposite sex, in association with the travel ID. Information regarding whether or not the person smokes and whether or not he or she drinks alcohol is stored.

Note that the arrival time in FIG. 8 is the first estimated arrival time predicted at the first point in time when the travel plan management unit 104 received the ride request from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50. Here, if the travel plan management unit 104 predicts the second scheduled arrival time, the first scheduled arrival time is overwritten by the second scheduled arrival time. This is because the second estimated time of arrival is a time predicted at a later point in time than the first time, and is considered to be a more accurate time than the first estimated time of arrival. Note that a second scheduled arrival time column may be provided next to the first scheduled arrival time column to store both the first scheduled arrival time and the second scheduled arrival time.

The vehicle ID specifies the motor vehicle used in the travel plan specified by the travel ID. In the example of FIG. 8, since the vehicle ID "A30" is associated with the travel ID "D001", the vehicle specified by the vehicle ID "A30" in the travel plan, for example, the vehicle 30 in FIG. is used.

The carpooling information stores whether there is carpooling in the driving plan specified by the driving ID, and if there is carpooling, the driving ID of the driving partner's driving plan is stored. In the example of FIG. 8, the trip ID "U0002" is stored in the carpool information column of the trip ID "D001," indicating that these are carpools. Note that if there is no carpooling, an invalid value is stored.

The user ID column stores the user ID that uses the travel plan specified by the travel ID. Note that when the motor vehicle 30 is forwarded, that is, when no user gets on the vehicle, a user ID "U9999" indicating forwarding is stored. In the example of FIG. 8, the user ID "U9999" is stored in correspondence with the travel ID "0003" indicating forwarding.

The fields of departure point, time, destination, number of fellow passengers, presence of the opposite sex, presence of smoking, and presence of alcohol consumption are input by the first user 50 and second user 52 identified by the user ID in the ride request. Information is stored. The travel route stores information set by the travel plan storage unit 1042 based on the departure point, time, destination, travel route, and other information.

In FIG. 8, in order to simplify the explanation, it is simply indicated by letters such as "route S". The destination time is stored as information predicted by the trip plan storage unit 1042 based on the departure point, time, destination, travel route, and other information. Other information includes information on traffic congestion along the driving route. A known method may be used to set the travel route and predict the destination time.

Returning to FIG. 6, the time calculation unit 1044 of the trip plan management unit 104 calculates whether the trip plan will be run at the first scheduled arrival time and the second scheduled arrival time predicted by the trip plan creation unit 1041 at the first and second points in time. Obtained from the plan storage unit 1042. In this embodiment, the first time point is the time point when the trip plan management unit 104 receives a ride request from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50, and the second time point is the time point when the trip plan management unit 104 receives the ride request from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50, and the second time point is the time point when the trip plan management unit 104 receives the ride request from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50. This is when half the time has passed. Further, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time.

The time calculation unit 1044 calculates a time S by which the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time. Note that, when the first user 50 specifies a desired time of arrival at the destination in the ride request, the time calculation unit 1044 may use the desired time in place of the first scheduled arrival time.

FIGS. 9(a) to 9(d) show the time S at which the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time. FIG. 9A shows a departure time T0 and an estimated arrival time T1, which is the first estimated arrival time predicted by the travel plan management unit 104 at the first time point. In FIG. 9A, a set time S1 and a set time S2 are set in advance to indicate the extent to which the scheduled arrival time T1 is earlier than the scheduled arrival time T1. The set time S1 and the set time S2 are preset, for example, so that the ratio with the travel time in the travel plan of the first user 50 becomes a predetermined ratio, and are stored in the travel plan storage unit 1042. The set time S1 and the set time S2 may be set in advance as absolute values such as 5 minutes or 10 minutes.

The travel plan management unit 104 selects the second user 52 for the motor vehicle 30 based on the contents of the ride request of the first user 50 received from the reception unit 101 and the travel information of the motor vehicle 30 in which the first user 50 is riding. Set acceptance conditions for accepting ride requests. The trip plan management unit 104 sets the first acceptance condition 200 at the first time point when the ride request is received from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50 .

FIG. 10 shows the first acceptance condition 200 set by the travel plan management unit 104 at the first time point. The first acceptance condition 200 is a condition regarding the second user 52 for accepting a shared ride by the second user 52 with respect to the first user's 50 travel plan. As shown in FIG. 10, the first acceptance conditions 200 at the first point in time include the number of accepted ride requests "2 groups or less", the boarding location "A district, B district", and the boarding time "10:00 to 10:00". :30'', get-off location ``X district, Y district'', get off time ``12:00-12:30'', gender ``male'', ``no smoking'', and ``yes'' drinking alcohol.

Among the first reception conditions 200 shown in FIG. 10, the number of accepted ride requests is "2 or less", the boarding location is "A district, B district", the boarding time is "10:00 to 10:30", and the getting off position is "X". District, District Y” and alighting time “12:00 to 12:30” are conditions derived from the travel plan of the motor vehicle 30 created by the travel plan creation unit 1041, and the motor vehicle 30 is the first user 50. This is set within the range that allows you to arrive at your destination without delay. Further, among the first reception conditions 200, the conditions of gender "male", "no smoking", and "yes" drinking are conditions derived from the ride request of the first user 50 shown in FIG. 3.

The travel plan management unit 104 determines whether it is necessary to relax the first acceptance condition 200 at the second time point based on the newly acquired traffic conditions and the travel situation of the motor vehicle 30 at the second time point. to judge. If it is determined that the first acceptance condition 200 needs to be relaxed, second acceptance conditions 201 and 202 are set at a second point in time by relaxing the first acceptance condition 200. On the other hand, if it is determined that relaxing the first acceptance condition 200 is not necessary, the first acceptance condition 200 is not relaxed. The determination as to whether or not to relax the first acceptance condition 200 depends on the driving situation of the motor vehicle 30, as shown below.

FIG. 9B shows the departure time T0 and the scheduled arrival time T2, which is the second scheduled arrival time predicted by the travel plan management unit 104 at the second time point. In FIG. 9(b), the scheduled arrival time T2 is earlier than the scheduled arrival time T1 by a time S3. Here, since the relationship of set time S1>time S3 holds true, it is considered that time S3 is not so large that the conditions for accepting the ride request from the second user 52 are relaxed. Therefore, the travel plan management unit 104 does not relax the first acceptance condition 200 of the second user 52's ride request for the motor vehicle 30. Note that if the scheduled arrival time T2 is later than the scheduled arrival time T1, that is, if there is a delay from the original plan, the travel plan management unit 104 classifies the set time S1>time S3.

FIG. 9(c) shows the departure time T0 and the scheduled arrival time T3, which is the second scheduled arrival time predicted by the travel plan management unit 104 at the second time point. FIG. 9(c) shows a situation where the motor vehicle 30 travels more quickly than in FIG. 9(b). In FIG. 9(c), the scheduled arrival time T3 is earlier than the scheduled arrival time T1 by a time S4. In FIG. 9(c), since the relationship of set time S1≦time S4≦set time S2 holds true, there is a certain amount of margin in the arrival time, and the first acceptance condition 200 of the ride request of the second user 52 is satisfied. It is thought that it may be possible to relax. Therefore, the travel plan management unit 104 relaxes the first acceptance condition 200 for the second user 52's ride request for the motor vehicle 30. Specifically, the trip plan management unit 104 makes changes to expand the range of the second user's 52 riding position, etc. in the first acceptance condition 200 of the second user's 52 riding request.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the second acceptance condition 201 set by the travel plan management unit 104 at the second time point. FIG. 11 shows an example of changing the acceptance condition when the relationship of set time S1≦time S4≦set time S2 holds, as shown in FIG. 9(c). As shown in FIG. 11, the second acceptance condition 201 at the second point in time includes the number of accepted ride requests "2 groups or less", the boarding location "A district, B district, C district", and the boarding time "10: 00-10:45'', drop-off location ``X area, Y area, Z area'', get off time ``12:00-12:45'', gender ``male,'' ``no smoking,'' and ``yes'' drinking alcohol. has been done.

Since the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time by the time S4 and there is some margin, the second acceptance condition 201 shown in FIG. 11 is different from the first acceptance condition shown in FIG. 10. It has been relaxed from 200. Specifically, the boarding locations range from "A district, B district" to "A district, B district, C district", and the boarding time ranges from "10:00 to 10:30" to "10:00". - 10:45'', the drop-off locations are spread from ``X district, Y district'' to ``X district, Y district, Z district'', and the drop-off time is ``12:00 to 12:00''. :30'' to 12:00-12:45.

FIG. 9(d) shows the departure time T0 and the scheduled arrival time T4, which is the second scheduled arrival time predicted by the travel plan management unit 104 at the second time point. FIG. 9(d) shows a situation where the motor vehicle 30 travels more quickly than in FIG. 9(c). In FIG. 9(d), the scheduled arrival time T4 is earlier than the scheduled arrival time T1 by a time S5. In FIG. 9(d), since time S5>set time S2, there is a large margin in the arrival time, and the first acceptance condition 200 for the ride request of the second user 52 may be greatly relaxed. it is conceivable that. Therefore, the trip plan management unit 104 relaxes the first acceptance condition 200 of the ride request from the second user 52. Specifically, in addition to the changes shown in FIG. 11, the trip plan management unit 104 makes changes to increase the upper limit of the number of ride requests received from the second user 52.

FIG. 12 shows another example of the second acceptance condition 202 set by the travel plan management unit 104 at the second time point. FIG. 12 shows an example of changing the acceptance condition when the relationship of time S5>set time S2 holds as shown in FIG. 9(d). As shown in FIG. 12, the second acceptance conditions 202 at the second point in time include the number of accepted ride requests "3 groups or less", the boarding location "A district, B district, C district", and the boarding time "10: 00-10:45'', drop-off location ``X area, Y area, Z area'', get off time ``12:00-12:45'', gender ``male,'' ``no smoking,'' and ``yes'' drinking alcohol. has been done.

Since the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time by a time S5 and there is a large margin in the arrival time, the second acceptance condition 202 shown in FIG. This has been significantly relaxed from the acceptance conditions of 200. Specifically, the number of ride requests received has increased from ``2 groups or less'' to ``3 groups or less,'' and the boarding locations range from ``A district, B district'' to ``A district, B district, C district.'' The boarding time has expanded from 10:00 to 10:30 to 10:00 to 10:45, and the drop-off location has changed from ``X area, Y area'' to ``X area, The drop-off time has expanded from 12:00 to 12:30 to 12:00 to 12:45.

FIG. 13 shows an example of the riding position of the second user 52. FIG. 13 shows a change in the acceptance condition to widen the range of the riding position of the second user 52, which is performed by the travel plan management unit 104 when the set time S1≦the time S (see FIGS. 9(c) and (d)). An example is shown.

FIG. 13 shows the starting point and destination of the first user 50 and the boarding positions of the second users 52A to 52C. In FIG. 13, the riding position of the second user 52A is located in the A district, the riding position of the second user 52B is located in the B district, and the riding position of the second user 52C is located in the C district. positioned.

In FIG. 13, the driving route in the driving plan of the first user 50 is shown by a solid line, the driving route changed when the second user 52B is carpooled is shown by a dashed line, and the driving route of the second user 52C is shown by a dashed line. The driving route that was changed when the car was shared is shown by a two-dot chain line. In FIG. 13, the riding position of the second user 52A is located on the driving route in the driving plan of the first user 50, but the riding position of the second user 52B and the second user 52C is located on the driving route in the driving plan of the first user 50. The vehicle is located outside the travel route, and the driver must take a detour especially if the second user 52C is to board the vehicle.

Here, in the first acceptance condition 200 set by the travel plan management unit 104 at the first time point, only "A district, B district" is set as the boarding position of the second user 52 (see FIG. 10). . However, since the set time S1≦time S and there is a margin in the arrival time, the travel plan management unit 104 defines the range of the riding position of the second user 52 with respect to the motor vehicle 30 as “A district, B district, Expand to "C district". Therefore, under the changed acceptance conditions, the travel plan management unit 104 also accepts a ride request from the second user 52C who rides from the C area.

The travel plan management unit 104 receives a ride request from the second user 52 that meets the changed second acceptance conditions 201 and 202. When the trip plan management unit 104 decides to accept the ride request from the second user 52, the trip plan creation unit 1041 of the trip plan management unit 104 schedules the trip of the motor vehicle 30 based on the accepted ride request from the second user 52. Change plans. The travel plan creation unit 1041 predicts the scheduled arrival time T5, which is the third scheduled arrival time when the ride request from the terminal of the second user 52 is received. The travel plan management unit 104 accepts additional boarding requests from the second user 52 until the scheduled arrival time T5 is later than the scheduled arrival time T1.

Returning to FIG. 6, the fee information output unit 1051 of the output unit 105 settles the usage fee for the first user 50 and second user 52 who used the motor vehicle 30, and sends the usage fee to the corresponding user terminals 40, 42. Send information. In this case, the fee information output unit 1051 settles the usage fee based on the driving status information from the driving information acquisition unit 103 and the riding status information from the ride information acquisition unit 102. The fare information output unit 1051 may calculate the rate at which the first user 50's fare is discounted due to the second user 52's shared ride in the motor vehicle 30, and output the calculated rate to the first user's 50 user terminal 40. The rate at which the first user 50's fee is discounted may increase depending on the number of second users 52 accepted.

The travel plan output unit 1052 of the output unit 105 transmits the created travel plan of the first user 50 to the in-vehicle terminal 302 of the motor vehicle 30 and the user terminal 40 of the first user 50. When the trip plan output unit 1052 receives a ride request from the second user 52, the trip plan output unit 1052 outputs the trip plan changed by the second user 52 getting into the motor vehicle 30 to the in-vehicle terminal 302 of the motor vehicle 30 and the first user. 50 and the second user 52's user terminals 40 and 42.

The ride availability information output unit 1053 of the output unit 105 transmits information on whether or not to accept the ride request from the first user 50 to the user terminal 40 of the first user 50 . The ride availability information output unit 1053 outputs information on whether or not to accept a ride request from the second user 52 to the in-vehicle terminal 302 of the motor vehicle 30 and the user terminals 40 and 42 of the first user 50 and second user 52. Send.

FIG. 14 is an example of a processing flow for processing boarding requests from the first user 50 and the second user 52 in the vehicle management device 10.

The reception unit 101 of the vehicle management device 10 receives a ride request from the first user 50, and the travel plan management unit 104 receives the ride request from the first user 50 based on the content of the ride request received from the reception unit 101. is determined (S01). For example, a ride request is input by launching a dedicated application installed on the user terminal 40, and the user terminal 40 transmits the ride request to the reception unit 101 of the vehicle management device 10.

The travel plan creation unit 1041 of the travel plan management unit 104 creates a travel plan that satisfies the boarding request from the user terminal 40 of the first user 50, and predicts the first scheduled arrival time at the first time point (S02). . After the second point in time, which is half of the travel time in the first user's 50 travel plan (S03: YES), the travel plan creation unit 1041 of the travel plan management unit 104 determines the traffic situation and A travel plan is created again in consideration of the travel situation, and a second scheduled arrival time at a second time point is predicted (S04).

The time calculation unit 1044 of the travel plan management unit 104 compares the first scheduled arrival time and the second scheduled arrival time and calculates the time S by which the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time. Then, the time S is compared with a predetermined set time S1 (S05).

As shown in FIG. 9B, when the set time S1>time S (S06: YES), the travel plan management unit 104 does not relax the conditions for accepting the ride request from the second user 52 (S06). As shown in FIGS. 9(c) and 9(d), when the set time S1≦time S (S06: NO), the trip plan management unit 104 relaxes the conditions for accepting the ride request from the second user 52. (S07).

Subsequently, when the trip plan management unit 104 receives a boarding request from the second user 52 (S08), the trip plan creation unit 1041 calculates the third estimated arrival time T5 when the second user 52 is boarded. The prediction is made and the travel plan is changed (S9). The travel plan management unit 104 accepts additional boarding requests from the second user 52 until the scheduled arrival time T5 is later than the scheduled arrival time T1 (S10).

FIG. 15 is an example of a processing flow in which the travel plan management unit 104 relaxes the conditions for accepting the ride request from the second user 52. FIG. 15 shows details of the process shown in S07 of FIG. 14. When set time S1≦time S, travel plan management unit 104 determines whether time S>set time S2 (S11).

If time S>set time S2 (S11: YES), the trip plan management unit 104 increases the upper limit of the number of boarding requests accepted as shown in FIG. A change is made to widen the range of (S12). On the other hand, if time S≦set time S2 (S11: NO), the trip plan management unit 104 only makes changes that widen the range of the boarding position, boarding time, alighting position, and alighting time, as shown in FIG. S13).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the first user 50 is likely to arrive at the destination early, the conditions for accepting the second user 52's ride request to the motor vehicle 30 are relaxed, so the first user 50 You can control the time of arrival at your destination.

In the above embodiment, the travel plan creation unit 1041 predicts the first scheduled arrival time and the second scheduled arrival time, and the time calculation unit 1044 calculates the time by which the second scheduled arrival time is earlier than the first scheduled arrival time. S was calculated. However, the prediction of the estimated arrival time after the first estimated arrival time may be performed multiple times. In that case, the latest estimated time of arrival and the first estimated time of arrival may be compared.

If the second scheduled arrival time is delayed relative to the first scheduled arrival time, the travel plan management unit 104 may change the acceptance conditions to be stricter. In that case, the upper limit of the number of boarding requests accepted as an acceptance condition may be lowered depending on the delay time, and the range of boarding positions may be narrowed.

The travel plan management unit 104 may control the travel speed of the motor vehicle 30 based on the time S. In this case, the travel plan management unit 104 may create a travel plan in which the speed of the motor vehicle 30 is reduced when the time S is longer than the set time S1. The degree to which the speed of the motor vehicle 30 is lowered may be set in stages according to the time S.

The travel plan management unit 104 may change the travel route of the motor vehicle 30 depending on the time S. In this case, the travel plan management unit 104 may change the travel route in the travel plan to a route that requires a later arrival time when the time S is longer than the set time S1, or may change the travel route to include a toll road. The route may be changed to a route that does not include toll roads.

The travel plan management unit 104 may manage a travel plan in which the motor vehicle 30 is temporarily stopped when the time S is longer than the set time S1. The temporary stop location may be near a commercial facility such as a convenience store or a supermarket. Further, the temporary stop location may be a location that has little effect on the temperature inside the vehicle, such as a shaded location. The vehicle management device 10 may further include a vehicle maintenance section, and may calibrate vehicle sensors or update vehicle applications via wireless communication during a temporary stop.

In addition, although the above-mentioned motor vehicle 30 has been described as an example of a vehicle capable of fully automatic driving, the motor vehicle 30 may be a vehicle that is not fully automatic driving. That is, the vehicle may be a vehicle (sometimes referred to as level 0 to 4 autonomous driving) in which a driver performs at least a portion of the driving tasks of the vehicle. The drivers may be the first user 50 and the second user 52. Some or all of the functions of the vehicle management device 10 described above may be installed in the in-vehicle terminal 302 or the like. Thereby, the in-vehicle terminal 302 and the like may function as the vehicle management device 10.

Additionally, various embodiments of the invention may be described with reference to flowcharts and block diagrams, in which blocks represent (1) the stages of a process in which operations are performed or (2) the roles in which operations are performed. may represent a section of equipment that has Certain steps and sections may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium, and/or a processor provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. It's fine. Specialized circuits may include digital and/or analog hardware circuits, and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and/or discrete circuits. Programmable circuits include logic AND, logic OR, logic Reconfigurable hardware circuits may include reconfigurable hardware circuits, including, for example.

A computer-readable medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions for execution by a suitable device, such that the computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon is illustrated in a flowchart or block diagram. An article of manufacture will be provided that includes instructions that can be executed to create a means for performing the operations. Examples of computer readable media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, and the like. More specific examples of computer readable media include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM or flash memory), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Disk (DVD), Blu-ray (RTM) Disc, Memory Stick, Integrated Circuit cards etc. may be included.

Computer-readable instructions include assembler instructions, Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state configuration data, or object-oriented programming such as Smalltalk, JAVA, C++, etc. language, and either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including traditional procedural programming languages such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages. good.

Computer-readable instructions may be implemented on a processor or programmable circuit of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, either locally or over a wide area network (WAN), such as a local area network (LAN), the Internet, etc. ), computer-readable instructions may be executed to create a means for performing the operations specified in the flowchart or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, and the like.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example computer 2200 in which aspects of the invention may be implemented, in whole or in part. A program installed on computer 2200 may cause computer 2200 to function as an operation or one or more sections of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, or to perform one or more operations associated with an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Sections and/or computer 2200 may be caused to perform a process or a step of a process according to an embodiment of the invention. Such programs may be executed by CPU 2212 to cause computer 2200 to perform certain operations associated with some or all of the blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

Computer 2200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 2212, RAM 2214, graphics controller 2216, and display device 2218, which are interconnected by host controller 2210. The computer 2200 also includes input/output units such as a communication interface 2222, a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM drive 2226, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 2210 via an input/output controller 2220. There is. The computer also includes legacy input/output units, such as ROM 2230 and keyboard 2242, which are connected to input/output controller 2220 via input/output chip 2240.

CPU 2212 operates according to programs stored in ROM 2230 and RAM 2214, thereby controlling each unit. Graphics controller 2216 obtains image data generated by CPU 2212, such as in a frame buffer provided in RAM 2214 or itself, and causes the image data to be displayed on display device 2218.

Communication interface 2222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. Hard disk drive 2224 stores programs and data used by CPU 2212 within computer 2200. DVD-ROM drive 2226 reads programs or data from DVD-ROM 2201 and provides the programs or data to hard disk drive 2224 via RAM 2214. The IC card drive reads programs and data from and/or writes programs and data to the IC card.

ROM 2230 stores therein programs that are dependent on the computer 2200 hardware, such as a boot program that is executed by the computer 2200 upon activation. Input/output chip 2240 may also connect various input/output units to input/output controller 2220 via parallel ports, serial ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, etc.

A program is provided by a computer readable medium such as a DVD-ROM 2201 or an IC card. The program is read from a computer readable medium, installed on hard disk drive 2224, RAM 2214, or ROM 2230, which are also examples of computer readable media, and executed by CPU 2212. The information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 2200 and provides coordination between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured to implement the manipulation or processing of information according to the use of computer 2200.

For example, when communication is performed between the computer 2200 and an external device, the CPU 2212 executes a communication program loaded into the RAM 2214 and sends communication processing to the communication interface 2222 based on the processing written in the communication program. You may give orders. The communication interface 2222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer processing area provided in a recording medium such as a RAM 2214, a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM 2201, or an IC card under the control of the CPU 2212, and transmits the read transmission data. Data is transmitted to the network, or received data received from the network is written to a reception buffer processing area provided on the recording medium.

Further, the CPU 2212 causes the RAM 2214 to read all or a necessary part of a file or database stored in an external recording medium such as a hard disk drive 2224, a DVD-ROM drive 2226 (DVD-ROM 2201), an IC card, etc. Various types of processing may be performed on data on RAM 2214. The CPU 2212 then writes back the processed data to the external recording medium.

Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on a recording medium and subjected to information processing. The CPU 2212 performs various types of operations, information processing, conditional determination, conditional branching, unconditional branching, and information retrieval on the data read from the RAM 2214 as described elsewhere in this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequence of the program. Various types of processing may be performed, including /substitutions, etc., and the results are written back to RAM 2214. Further, the CPU 2212 may search for information in a file in a recording medium, a database, or the like. For example, if a plurality of entries are stored in the recording medium, each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute, the CPU 2212 search the plurality of entries for an entry that matches the condition, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby associate it with the first attribute that satisfies the predetermined condition. The attribute value of the second attribute may be obtained.

The programs or software modules described above may be stored on computer readable media on or near computer 2200. Also, a recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable medium, thereby providing the program to the computer 2200 via the network. do.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the range described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes or improvements can be made to the embodiments described above. It is clear from the claims that such modifications or improvements may be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

The order of execution of each process, such as the operation, procedure, step, and stage in the apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims, specification, and drawings, is specifically defined as "before" or "before". It should be noted that they can be implemented in any order unless the output of the previous process is used in the subsequent process. Even if the claims, specifications, and operational flows in the drawings are explained using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, this does not mean that it is essential to carry out the operations in this order. It's not a thing.

Reference Signs List 10 vehicle management device, 30 motor vehicle, 40, 42 user terminal, 50 first user, 52, 52A to 52C second user, 70 vehicle management system, 101 reception section, 102 ride information acquisition section, 103 travel information acquisition section, 104 Travel plan management unit, 105 Output unit, 200, 201, 202 Acceptance conditions, 302 In-vehicle terminal, 304 Communication unit, 306 Travel plan storage unit, 310 Automatic travel unit, 312 Current location information acquisition unit, 314 Riding information acquisition unit, 402 communication section, 404 input section, 406 display section, 410 input screen, 1041 trip plan creation section, 1042 trip plan storage section, 1043 user information storage section, 1044 time calculation section, 1051 charge information output section, 1052 trip plan output section, 1053 Riding availability information output unit, 2200 Computer, 2201 DVD-ROM, 2210 Host controller, 2212 CPU, 2214 RAM, 2216 Graphic controller, 2218 Display device, 2220 Input/output controller, 2222 Communication interface, 2224 Hard disk drive, 2226 DVD- ROM drive, 2230 ROM, 2240 input/output chip, 2242 keyboard

Claims (15)

A carpooling management device that manages carpooling vehicles,
a travel plan management unit that manages a travel plan including an estimated time of arrival at which the vehicle in which the first user rides will arrive at the destination;
A time at which a second scheduled arrival time scheduled at a predetermined second point later than the first point in time is earlier than a first scheduled arrival time scheduled at a predetermined first point. and a time calculation unit that calculates the
If the time to advance is equal to or greater than a predetermined first time, the travel plan management unit relaxes conditions for accepting a boarding request from a terminal of a second user who desires to ride in the vehicle, and schedules the travel plan. A carpool management device that manages plans. The travel plan management unit increases the upper limit of the number of ride requests accepted from the second user's terminal when the advance time is equal to or longer than a predetermined second time that is larger than the first time. The carpool management device according to claim 1. The travel plan management unit expands the range of the area in which the second user can board the vehicle when the advance time is equal to or greater than a predetermined third time that is greater than the first time. The carpool management device according to item 1 or 2. The trip plan management unit is configured to manage the second user's schedule until a third scheduled arrival time, which is scheduled when receiving a boarding request from the second user's terminal, is later than the first scheduled arrival time. The carpool management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, configured to accept ride requests from terminals. 5. The vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a fare information output unit that calculates a rate at which the first user's fare is discounted due to the second user's ride and outputs the calculated rate to the first user's terminal. The carpool management device described. further comprising a reception unit that receives ride requests from the first user and the second user,
The first point in time is the point in time when the reception unit receives a ride request from the user terminal of the first user, and the second point in time is when half of the travel time in the first user's travel plan has passed. The carpool management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, which is a point in time. The vehicle is an autonomous vehicle,
7. The travel plan management unit manages a travel plan in which the speed of the motor vehicle is reduced when the accelerated time is a predetermined fourth time that is greater than the first time. The carpool management device according to any one of the items. The travel plan management unit manages a travel plan in which the motor vehicle is temporarily stopped when the accelerated time is equal to or greater than a predetermined fifth time that is greater than the fourth time. Carpool management device. The carpool management device according to claim 8, further comprising a vehicle maintenance section that calibrates a vehicle sensor or updates a vehicle application via wireless communication during the temporary stop. The carpool management device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the temporary stop location is near a commercial facility. The carpool management device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the temporary stop location is in the shade. The vehicle is an autonomous vehicle,
The travel plan management unit changes the route set in the travel plan to a route in which the scheduled arrival time is later if the earlier time is equal to or greater than a predetermined sixth time that is greater than the first time. The carpool management device according to any one of claims 1 to 11. The vehicle is an autonomous vehicle,
When the travel plan management unit selects a route including a toll road as a route in the travel plan, when the time to advance is equal to or greater than a predetermined seventh time that is greater than the first time, The carpool management device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, which changes the route in the travel plan to a route that does not include a toll road. The computer is
a travel plan management stage for managing a travel plan including an estimated time of arrival in which the vehicle in which the first user rides is scheduled to arrive at the destination;
A time at which a second scheduled arrival time scheduled at a predetermined second point later than the first point in time is earlier than a first scheduled arrival time scheduled at a predetermined first point. a time calculation step of calculating ;
In the driving plan management step, if the advance time is equal to or greater than a predetermined first time, the driving plan management step relaxes the conditions for accepting a boarding request from a terminal of a second user who desires to ride in the vehicle, A carpool management method to manage your plans. to the computer,
a travel plan management stage for managing a travel plan including an estimated time of arrival in which the vehicle in which the first user rides is scheduled to arrive at the destination;
A time at which a second scheduled arrival time scheduled at a predetermined second point later than the first point in time is earlier than a first scheduled arrival time scheduled at a predetermined first point. A time calculation step for calculating, and a carpool management program for executing.
In the driving plan management step, if the advance time is equal to or greater than a predetermined first time, the driving plan management step relaxes the conditions for accepting a boarding request from a terminal of a second user who desires to ride in the vehicle, A carpool management program that manages your plans.

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