JP2002279589A - Taxi allocation system and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a taxi allocation system and its method allowing the allocation of an empty taxi located closest to a position where a user waits and the user to know when a requested taxi arrives. SOLUTION: The taxi allocation system comprises portable telephones 1 for users to request taxis to come, a server 7 for searching an allocable taxi 2 and giving allocation instructions to the taxis determined to be allocated and storage means 6 for storing position information for the portable telephones for the users, position information for the allocable taxis and position information for the taxis determined to be allocated. Detecting means for detecting the position information for the portable telephone is provided in each of the portable telephones for the users so that the server searches the taxi located at the shortest distance from the portable telephone for the user out of the allocable taxis in accordance with the position information for the allocable taxi and the position information for the portable telephone of the user and determines the taxi to be allocated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a taxi dispatch system and method for providing positional information of a dispatched taxi to passengers waiting for a taxi transfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a passenger requesting a pick-up and drop-off of a taxi has informed a taxi company of the name of the passenger and a place for pick-up by telephone. In response to this transfer request by telephone, the taxi company calls the empty taxi that can be dispatched to notify the taxi driver who has responded by wirelessly calling that the passenger is at the designated place, and gives the taxi driver who responds the name and designation of the passenger. Taxi dispatch was done by telling the location.

[0003]

However, in the conventional taxi dispatch system, the taxi company does not always seek the nearest taxi to the place where the passenger is waiting or the place designated by the passenger, and the dispatch efficiency is not always high. There was a problem that was bad. In addition, there is an inconvenience for passengers who request a taxi transfer, because they do not know when the requested taxi will arrive.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a taxi company dispatches an empty taxi closest to a place where a passenger who requests a pick-up of a taxi waits or a place designated by the passenger. Another object of the present invention is to provide a taxi dispatch system and a taxi dispatching system that enables a passenger who has requested a taxi transfer to know when the requested taxi arrives.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to the first aspect of the present invention is capable of distributing a vehicle by receiving a mobile phone of a passenger who requests a taxi transfer and a transfer request from the passenger. A server that searches for a suitable taxi and issues a dispatch instruction to the taxi whose allocation has been determined, the location information of the passenger's mobile phone, the location information of a taxi that can be allocated, and the location information of the taxi whose allocation has been determined are stored. A taxi dispatching system comprising storage means, wherein the mobile phone of the passenger includes a detecting means for detecting position information of the mobile phone, and the server comprises: Based on the location information of the telephone, searching for a taxi that is the shortest distance from the passenger's mobile phone from taxis that can be dispatched, and determining dispatch to this taxi. That.

[0006] In the above configuration, the server selects a taxi which is the shortest distance from the passenger's mobile phone from among the taxis available for distribution, based on the positional information of the taxi which can be allocated and the positional information of the mobile telephone of the passenger. Search and determine the dispatch to this taxi. Therefore, the taxi company can dispatch an empty taxi closest to the place where the passenger who requested the transfer of the taxi is waiting or the place designated by the passenger.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the taxi includes communication means capable of communicating with the server and the passenger's mobile phone, and the server determines that the vehicle is to be dispatched. Based on the position information of the taxi and the position information of the passenger's mobile phone, when it is determined that the taxi determined to be dispatched is within a predetermined distance from the passenger's mobile phone, the taxi is provided for the taxi. The communication means is instructed to transmit arrival information to the passenger's mobile phone.

[0008] In the above configuration, the server determines, based on the location information of the taxi determined by the dispatch and the location information of the mobile phone of the passenger, that the taxi determined by the dispatch within a predetermined distance from the mobile phone of the passenger. When it is determined that the vehicle has entered, the communication means provided in the taxi is instructed to transmit the arrival information to the passenger's mobile phone. Therefore, the passenger who has requested the transfer of the taxi can know that the requested taxi is approaching.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the passenger's mobile phone is provided with display means capable of displaying positional information of a taxi for which dispatch has been determined. I do. In the above configuration, the display device provided on the passenger's mobile phone displays the position information of the taxi whose allocation has been determined. Therefore, the passenger who has requested the transfer of the taxi can know the current position of the requested taxi.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1 to 3.
In the invention described in any one of the above, the taxi is provided with a car navigation system capable of displaying position information of the passenger's mobile phone. In the above configuration, the car navigation system provided in the taxi displays the position information of the passenger's mobile phone. Therefore, even in an unfamiliar area, a taxi driver can quickly make a taxi reach a place where a passenger is waiting or a place designated by a passenger without making a mistake.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first step of transmitting a transfer request from a passenger and a location information of the portable telephone of the passenger to a server from a mobile phone of the passenger requesting a transfer of a taxi. A second step of storing the location information of the passenger's mobile phone in storage means storing the location information of the dispatchable taxi; and A third step of searching for a taxi located at the shortest distance from the passenger's mobile phone from among taxis that can be distributed, based on the location information of the mobile phone, and deciding to allocate the taxi to the taxi and issuing a dispatch instruction. And characterized in that:

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the server determines whether the vehicle is to be dispatched based on the location information of the taxi for which the dispatch is determined and the location information of the passenger's mobile phone. When it is determined that the determined taxi is within a predetermined distance from the passenger's mobile phone,
A fourth step of causing the communication means provided in the taxi to transmit arrival information to the mobile phone of the passenger.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a taxi dispatch system for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a passenger's mobile phone requesting a taxi transfer. The passenger's mobile phone 1 is equipped with a GPS receiver, so that the passenger's mobile phone 1 can detect the position of the passenger's mobile phone 1 itself. Reference numeral 2 denotes a taxi dispatched by a taxi company, reference numeral 21 denotes a taxi mobile phone mounted on the taxi 2, and reference numeral 22 denotes a car navigation system mounted on the taxi 2. Reference numeral 3 is a GPS satellite. still,
The passenger's mobile phone 1 has display means such as a screen for displaying position information of the taxi 2 and the like.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a portable telephone network, and reference numeral 5 denotes the Internet. Reference numeral 6 denotes a position information database that stores the position information of the passenger's mobile phone 1 and taxi 2. The position information of the taxi stored in the position information database 6 is updated to the latest position information in real time or at regular time intervals. Reference numeral 7 denotes a service content server that stores the location information of the passenger's mobile phone 1 and taxi 2 in the location information database 6. Furthermore, reference numeral 8 is a dispatch center terminal that determines dispatch of the taxi 2 to the passenger.
The time interval at which the position information of the taxi 2 is stored in the position information database 6 can be arbitrarily set from the dispatch center terminal 8.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, the passenger uses the passenger's mobile phone 1 to request the service content server 7 to dispatch a taxi. At this time, the passenger's mobile phone 1 transmits the passenger's information including the location information of the passenger's mobile phone 1 specified by using the GPS satellite 3, the boarding location designated by the passenger, the passenger's name, and the like. The contents are transmitted to the service content server 7 via the telephone network 4 and the Internet 5.

Next, the service content server 7 stores the location information of the passenger's mobile phone 1 in the location information database 6.
In addition, the location information of the mobile phone 1 of the passenger and the location information of an empty taxi that can be dispatched by the taxi company are displayed on the dispatch center terminal 8. At this time, the transmitted position information of the mobile phone 1 of the passenger is stored in the position information database 6 in addition to the position information of the empty taxi that can be distributed by the taxi company. Then, the service content server 7 searches for a taxi to be distributed to the passenger. In this search, the service content server 7 searches for an empty taxi 2 located closest to the passenger's mobile phone 1, notifies the information on the searched taxi 2 to the dispatch center terminal 8, and searches the taxi 2. To send passenger information.

When the dispatch center terminal 8 receives from the searched empty taxi 2 via the taxi radio or the taxi mobile phone 21, a message indicating that dispatch to the passenger is available is provided. The service content server 7 is notified of the decision to dispatch to the passenger. Further, the service content server 7 causes the car navigation system 22 to display the position information of the passenger's mobile phone 1 and the passenger information such as the boarding place designated by the passenger. After such a procedure, the service content server 7 causes the passenger's mobile phone 1 to display the position information of the taxi 2 for which the dispatch is determined. On the other hand, the driver of the taxi 2 drives the taxi 2 to the position of the mobile phone 1 of the passenger based on the position information of the mobile phone 1 of the passenger displayed on the car navigation system 22. Then, when the taxi 2 enters a range within a predetermined distance from the position of the passenger's mobile phone 1, that is, when the taxi 2 approaches the position where the passenger waits, the service content server 7 sets the mobile phone 21 of the taxi. And passenger's mobile phone 1
To be called. Note that this distance can also be set arbitrarily from the dispatch center terminal 8.

Also, when a passenger requests a taxi dispatch via the Internet using a personal computer at home or the like, instead of a mobile phone, the address and contact information of the designated location notified by the passenger to the service content server 7 are also provided. By using the telephone number as the passenger information, the dispatch of the taxi and the pre-arrival notification of the dispatched taxi can be performed in the same procedure as in the above-described embodiment. Further, even when the passenger uses a fixed telephone instead of a mobile telephone, the dispatch of a taxi and the notification of arrival of the dispatched taxi can be made in the same procedure as described above.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, the server can determine whether or not a taxi can be dispatched from among the taxis that can be dispatched based on the location information of the taxi that can be dispatched and the location information of the mobile phone of the passenger. The taxi company will search for the shortest taxi from your mobile phone and determine the dispatch to this taxi, so the taxi company will ask the taxi pick up and drop off the closest empty taxi to the place where the passenger is waiting or specified by the passenger Can be dispatched.

Further, according to the present invention, the server determines, based on the location information of the taxi determined to be dispatched and the location information of the mobile phone of the passenger, the taxi determined to be dispatched from the mobile phone of the passenger by a predetermined number. When it is determined that the taxi is within the range, the communication means provided in the taxi will be instructed to transmit the arrival information to the passenger's mobile phone, so the passenger who requested a taxi transfer will approach the requested taxi. You can know that.

Further, according to the present invention, the display device provided on the passenger's mobile phone displays the position information of the taxi for which the dispatch has been determined, so that the passenger who has requested the pick-up and drop-off of the taxi can receive the current information of the requested taxi. You can know the position.

Further, according to the present invention, the car navigation system provided in the taxi displays the position information of the mobile phone of the passenger, so that the driver of the taxi can wait for the passenger even in an unfamiliar area. A taxi can be quickly reached to a place where a passenger is or a place designated by a passenger without making a mistake.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a taxi dispatch system for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Passenger's mobile phone 21 Taxi's mobile phone 2 Taxi 3 GPS satellite 4 Mobile phone network 5 Internet 6 Location information database (storage means) 7 Service content server (server) 8 Dispatch center terminal 22 Car navigation system

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page F term (reference)

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A mobile phone of a passenger who requests a transfer of a taxi, a server that receives a transfer request from the passenger, searches for a taxi that can be distributed, and issues a dispatch instruction to the taxi whose allocation is determined, A taxi dispatch system comprising storage means for storing location information of a mobile phone, location information of a taxi that can be dispatched, and location information of a taxi determined to be dispatched, wherein the passenger's mobile phone is Detecting means for detecting position information of a telephone, wherein the server is configured to detect, based on the position information of the taxi that can be dispatched and the position information of the mobile phone of the passenger, from among the taxis that can be dispatched, A taxi dispatch system, wherein a taxi located the shortest distance is searched from a telephone and a dispatch is determined for this taxi. 2. The taxi includes communication means capable of communicating with the server and the mobile phone of the passenger, wherein the server includes:
Based on the location information of the passenger's mobile phone, when it is determined that the taxi dispatch is determined to be within a predetermined distance from the passenger's mobile phone, the communication means provided in the taxi, 2. The taxi dispatch system according to claim 1, wherein an instruction is issued to transmit arrival information to a passenger's mobile phone. 3. The taxi dispatch system according to claim 1, wherein the passenger's mobile phone includes display means capable of displaying position information of the taxi for which dispatch has been determined. 4. The taxi dispatch system according to claim 1, wherein the taxi includes a car navigation system capable of displaying position information of the passenger's mobile phone. 5. A first step of transmitting a transfer request from a passenger and location information of the passenger's mobile phone to a server from a mobile phone of the passenger requesting a taxi transfer, a mobile phone of the passenger The position information of the taxi which can be dispatched is stored in the storage means which stores the position information of the taxi.
The server, based on the location information of the dispatchable taxi and the location information of the passenger's mobile phone, from among the taxis available for distribution, a taxi that is the shortest distance from the passenger's mobile phone. A taxi dispatching method comprising the steps of: searching, deciding dispatch to this taxi, and issuing dispatch instructions. 6. The server according to claim 1, wherein the server determines, based on the location information of the taxi determined by the dispatch and the location information of the mobile phone of the passenger, the taxi determined by the dispatch within a predetermined distance from the mobile phone of the passenger. 6. The taxi dispatch method according to claim 5, further comprising a fourth step of, when it is determined that the vehicle has entered the range, transmitting the arrival information to the passenger's mobile phone by the communication means provided in the taxi.