JP2021170864A - Information processor - Google Patents

Abstract

To more appropriately increase a cruising range of a vehicle provided with a drive battery.SOLUTION: A control unit of a vehicle management server as an information processor of the disclosure executes the steps of: acquiring a scheduled travel route of a vehicle capable of autonomous traveling and a charge remaining level of a drive battery of the vehicle; specifying a rail track in a predetermined relation with the scheduled travel route to a vehicle to be charged when the charge remaining level reaches a threshold or lower; and transmitting commands to the vehicle such that the vehicle travels following the vehicle to be charged and power is supplied from the vehicle to be charged during following traveling.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

The present disclosure relates to an information processing device.

Patent Document 1 proposes a management system that manages a travel plan of a vehicle that can travel on a road and a railroad track.

JP-A-2019-128226

In a so-called electric vehicle having only a battery as a power source, there is a problem in securing a cruising range in terms of the remaining charge of the battery. It is an object of the present disclosure to more preferably increase the cruising range of a vehicle having a drive battery.

One aspect of this embodiment is exemplified by an information processing device including a control unit. The control unit acquires the planned travel path of the vehicle capable of autonomous driving and the remaining charge of the driving battery of the vehicle, and when the remaining charge becomes equal to or less than the threshold value, the planned travel route and a predetermined amount are predetermined. A command is given to the vehicle to identify a train to be fed on a related track and to follow the train to be fed and to execute power supply from the train to be fed during the follow-up running. To send and execute.

According to this information processing device, the cruising range of a vehicle having a drive battery can be more preferably lengthened.

It is a figure which shows the schematic structure of the system which concerns on this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state of each wheel in the road traveling mode in which a vehicle travels on a road. It is a figure which shows the state of each wheel in the railroad track traveling mode in which a vehicle travels on a railroad track. It is a block diagram which roughly showed the structure in the system of FIG. 1, and is the figure which showed the structure of a vehicle in particular. It is a block diagram which roughly showed the structure in the system of FIG. 1, and is the figure which showed the structure of the vehicle management server in particular. It is a flowchart of the process in the control part of the vehicle management server in the system of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the application example of the system of FIG.

This embodiment exemplifies an information processing device including a control unit. This control unit acquires the planned travel path of the vehicle capable of autonomous driving and the remaining charge of the driving battery of the vehicle, and when the remaining charge becomes equal to or less than the threshold value, the planned travel route and a predetermined amount are predetermined. A command is given to the vehicle to identify a train to be fed on a related track, to follow the train to be fed, and to execute power supply from the train to be fed during the follow-up running. To send and execute.

The control unit of the information processing device acquires the planned travel path of the vehicle capable of autonomous driving and the remaining charge of the drive battery of the vehicle. This vehicle has a battery as a power source, that is, a drive battery. The control unit identifies a train that can supply power to the vehicle when the remaining charge of the acquired battery falls below the threshold value. This train should be a train. The specified train may be a train scheduled to travel on a track having a predetermined relationship with the planned traveling route of the vehicle. The specified train is a train that supplies power to the vehicle, and is referred to as a power supply target train here. Then, when the power supply target train is specified, the control unit follows the power supply target train and transmits a command to the vehicle so as to execute power supply from the power supply target train during the follow-up running. .. Through such processing, the information processing device makes it possible to smoothly supply power to the vehicle from the train to be supplied, and thus to suitably increase the cruising distance of the vehicle.

Hereinafter, the information processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the information processing method in the control unit of the information processing apparatus, and the program will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a system S according to the present embodiment. The system S can also be referred to as a power feeding system.

The system S has a vehicle management server 200 that processes information about the vehicle 100 (100A, ...). In the system S, the vehicle 100 and the vehicle management server 200 are connected to each other via the network N. The vehicle 100 has wheels for traveling on a road and wheels for traveling on a railroad track, and is a vehicle capable of traveling not only on a road but also on a railroad track.

2 and 3 are diagrams showing the state of each wheel of the vehicle 100 when the vehicle 100 travels on a road and when the vehicle 100 travels on a railroad track. FIG. 2 shows the state of each wheel in the road traveling mode in which the vehicle 100 travels on the road. Further, FIG. 3 shows the state of each wheel in the track traveling mode in which the vehicle 100 travels on the railway track. In FIGS. 2 and 3, WH1 indicates a wheel for road traveling, and WH2 indicates a wheel for traveling on a track. Then, in the road traveling mode, as shown in FIG. 2, the road traveling wheel WH1 is brought into contact with the road, and the track traveling wheel WH2 is pulled up so as not to come into contact with the road. As a result, in the road traveling mode, the vehicle 100 can travel on the road by the road traveling wheel WH1. On the other hand, in the track traveling mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the road traveling wheel WH1 is pulled up and the track traveling wheel WH2 is brought into contact with the railway track. As a result, in the track traveling mode, the vehicle 100 can travel on the track by the track traveling wheel WH2. Further, in the vehicle 100, the wheels used when switching the traveling mode from one of the road traveling mode and the track traveling mode to the other (hereinafter, the wheels used in each traveling mode may be referred to as "used wheels"). The switching is performed by the wheel switching device 110, which is a wheel switching actuator or the like.

The vehicle management server 200 is a server that manages a travel plan of the vehicle 100. The vehicle management server 200 generates a travel plan for the vehicle 100 including the travel route, and transmits the generated travel plan to the vehicle 100 via the network N. The travel plan includes data on the travel route of the vehicle 100 and the travel schedule (time schedule) when the vehicle 100 travels on the travel route. The vehicle 100 autonomously travels according to the travel plan transmitted from the vehicle management server 200.

In addition, a plurality of trains 300 (3) operated using railway tracks are connected to network N.
00A, ...) And the train management server 400 that manages the operation of each train 300 are connected. The train management server 400 transmits the operation schedule of each train 300 to each train 300 via the network N. Each train 300 travels on a railroad track based on an operation schedule transmitted from the train management server 400. The train 300 is a type of train, and may be any train that can supply power to the vehicle 100. Here, the train 300 specifically refers to a train that travels using electricity from an overhead line. However, the train 300 may be another type of train capable of supplying power to the vehicle 100.

In this system S, power is supplied to the vehicle 100 while the vehicle 100 follows the train 300. In the following, the configuration of the vehicle 100 and the configuration of the vehicle management server 200 in the system S will be mainly described, and the processing in them will be described. First, the vehicle 100 will be described.

In FIG. 4, the configuration of the vehicle 100A is shown as an example of the vehicle 100. The other vehicle 100 (100B, ...) Also includes, for example, an information processing device 102, which has the configuration described below.

The vehicle 100A of FIG. 4 includes an information processing device 102, and has a control unit 104 that substantially bears the function thereof. The vehicle 100A can travel according to the operation command acquired from the vehicle management server 200. Specifically, the vehicle 100A travels in an appropriate manner while sensing the periphery of the vehicle according to the travel plan included in the operation command based on the operation command acquired via the network N.

The vehicle 100A further includes a sensor 105, an inter-vehicle distance meter 106, a battery remaining amount meter 107, a position information acquisition unit 108, a drive unit 109, a wheel switching device 110, a power supply device 111, a communication unit 112, a storage unit 114, and an input unit 116. Consists of including. The vehicle 100A operates such as running with the electric power supplied from the driving battery.

The sensor 105 is a means for sensing the periphery of the vehicle, and typically includes a stereo camera, a laser scanner, a Light Detection and Ranging, a Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), a radar, and the like. The information acquired by the sensor 105 is transmitted to the control unit 104. The sensor 105 includes a sensor for the own vehicle to perform autonomous driving. The sensor 105 includes a camera provided on the vehicle body of the vehicle 100A. For example, the camera can be a photographing device using an image sensor such as Charged-Coupled Devices (CCD), Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS), or Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS).

The inter-vehicle distance meter 106 is of a radar type and enables measurement of the distance from a vehicle or a train in front of the vehicle. The information acquired by the inter-vehicle distance meter 106 is transmitted to the control unit 104. The inter-vehicle distance meter 106 is not limited to the radar type, and may be, for example, one that measures the distance from the vehicle or train in front by analyzing the image from the camera. The inter-vehicle distance meter 106 is included in the sensor 105, but is shown here separately from the other sensors 105.

The battery fuel gauge 107 transmits a signal indicating the remaining charge (battery remaining amount) of the driving battery of the vehicle 100A to the control unit 104. The battery fuel gauge 107 is included in the sensor 105, but is shown here separately from the other sensors 105.

The position information acquisition unit 108 is a means for acquiring the current position of the vehicle 100A. The position information acquisition unit 108 includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and the like. A GPS receiver as a satellite signal receiver receives signals from a plurality of GPS satellites.
Each GPS satellite is an artificial satellite that orbits the earth. The satellite positioning system, that is, the Navigation Satellite System (NSS), is not limited to GPS. Position information may be detected based on signals from various satellite positioning systems. The NSS is not limited to the Global Navigation Satellite System, but may include the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System, for example, the European "Galileo" or the Japanese "Michibiki" operated integrally with GPS. Can include. The position information detection system including the position information acquisition unit 108 is not limited to this technique.

The control unit 104 is a computer that controls the vehicle 100A based on the information acquired from the sensor 105, the inter-vehicle distance meter 106, the battery remaining amount meter 107, the position information acquisition unit 108, and the like. The control unit 104 is an example of a control means for controlling the traveling of the vehicle 100A and the like. Input from a user such as a driver is transmitted from the input unit 116 to the control unit 104. The input from this user may include information such as the travel destination and / or the target arrival time of the vehicle 100A. Here, the vehicle 100 is a vehicle that travels based on an input from the user, but other travel may be performed.

The control unit 104 has a CPU and a main storage unit, and executes information processing by a program. The CPU is also called a processor. However, the CPU is not limited to a single processor, and may have a multiprocessor configuration. Further, a single CPU connected by a single socket may have a multi-core configuration. At least a part of the processing of each of the above parts may be performed by a processor other than the CPU, for example, a dedicated processor such as a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) or a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Further, at least a part of the processing of each of the above parts may be an integrated circuit (IC) or other digital circuit. Further, an analog circuit may be included in at least a part of each of the above parts. The main storage unit of the control unit 104 is an example of the main storage device. The CPU in the control unit 104 executes a computer program executably deployed in the main memory unit to provide various functions. The main storage unit in the control unit 104 stores a computer program and / or data or the like executed by the CPU. The main storage unit in the control unit 104 is a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a Read Only Memory (ROM), or the like.

The control unit 104 is connected to the storage unit 114. The storage unit 114 is a so-called external storage unit, which is used as a storage area that assists the main storage unit of the control unit 104, and stores a computer program and / or data or the like executed by the CPU of the control unit 104. The storage unit 114 is a hard disk drive, a solid state drive (SSD), or the like.

The control unit 104 has an information acquisition unit 1041, a plan generation unit 1042, an environment detection unit 1043, a task control unit 1044, a remaining amount acquisition unit 1045, and an information providing unit 1046 as functional modules. Each functional module is realized, for example, by executing a program stored in the main storage unit and / or the storage unit 114 by the control unit 104, that is, the CPU thereof. However, a part of the functional module may be hardware such as another processor, a digital circuit, or an analog circuit.

The information acquisition unit 1041 acquires the user's input from the input unit 116. Then, the information acquisition unit 1041 transmits the user's input to the plan generation unit 1042. In addition, the information acquisition unit 1041 acquires information such as an operation command including a travel plan from the vehicle management server 200. This operation command may include information about the power supply of the vehicle 100A. In addition, the information acquisition unit 1041 acquires the information of the own vehicle periodically or irregularly and stores it in the own vehicle information database 1141 of the storage unit 114.

The plan generation unit 1042 generates an operation plan of the own vehicle based on the input of the user and the operation command acquired from the vehicle management server 200. The operation plan generated by the plan generation unit 1042 is transmitted to the task control unit 1044, which will be described later. In the present embodiment, the operation plan is the route on which the vehicle 100A travels, that is, the planned travel route, the scheduled date and time at each point of the planned travel route, and the vehicle 100A on a part or all of the planned travel route. It is the data that defines the processing to be done. The processing to be performed on the planned traveling route includes, for example, traveling on a track and power supply during this traveling, but is not limited to these.

The environment detection unit 1043 detects the environment around the vehicle based on information such as data acquired by the sensor 105, the inter-vehicle distance meter 106, and the like. Targets of detection are, for example, the number and position of lanes, the number and position of vehicles around the own vehicle, and obstacles (for example, pedestrians, bicycles, structures, buildings, etc.) around the own vehicle. Numbers and locations, road structures, road signs, etc., but not limited to these. Any object may be detected as long as it is necessary for autonomous driving. In addition, the environment detection unit 1043 may track the detected object. For example, the relative velocity of the object may be obtained from the difference between the coordinates of the object detected one step before and the coordinates of the current object. The data related to the environment (hereinafter referred to as environment data) detected by the environment detection unit 1043 is transmitted to the task control unit 1044 described later.

The task control unit 1044 has a drive unit 109, based on an operation plan generated by the plan generation unit 1042, environmental data generated by the environment detection unit 1043, and the position information of the own vehicle acquired by the position information acquisition unit 108. It controls each operation of the wheel switching device 110 and the power feeding device 111. For example, the task control unit 1044 travels along a predetermined route and travels the own vehicle so that an obstacle does not enter the predetermined safety area centered on the own vehicle. The predetermined route may be a planned travel route set based on, for example, a departure point and an arrival point. As a method for autonomously driving the vehicle, a known method can be adopted. In addition, the task control unit 1044 also executes tasks other than running based on the operation plan generated by the plan generation unit 1042. Examples of tasks include wheel switching and power supply.

For example, when the task control unit 1044 travels based on the operation command by the vehicle management server 200, the task control unit 1044 sets the vehicle 100A on the planned travel route included in the travel plan of the operation command according to the travel schedule included in the travel plan. Run. When the vehicle 100A travels on the road, the task control unit 1044 controls the operation of the wheel switching device 110 according to the road traveling mode because the road traveling mode is selected as the traveling mode (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, when the vehicle 100A travels on a railroad track, the task control unit 1044 controls the operation of the wheel switching device 110 according to the track travel mode because the track travel mode is selected as the travel mode (see FIG. 3).

The remaining amount acquisition unit 1045 acquires the remaining battery amount of the vehicle 100A based on the output of the battery remaining amount meter 107. The remaining amount acquisition unit 1045 periodically acquires the remaining battery level and provides it to the vehicle management server 200 via the information providing unit 1046. The remaining amount acquisition unit 1045 may acquire the remaining battery amount and provide it to the vehicle management server 200 via the information providing unit 1046 only irregularly or at a predetermined timing. When the information acquisition unit 1041 acquires the battery remaining amount and stores it in the own vehicle information database 1141, the remaining amount acquisition unit 1045 may acquire the battery remaining amount from the own vehicle information database 1141. Further, the remaining amount acquisition unit 1045 may also execute storing the acquired remaining amount of the battery in the own vehicle information database 1141.

The information providing unit 1046 provides, that is, transmits the information of the own vehicle to the vehicle management server 200, for example, the information stored in the own vehicle information database 1141. This offer may be made on a regular basis or irregularly. The remaining battery level acquired by the remaining amount acquisition unit 1045 is provided to the vehicle management server 200 via the information providing unit 1046.

The drive unit 109 is a means for driving the vehicle 100A using the electric power of the drive battery based on the command generated by the task control unit 1044. The drive unit 109 includes, for example, a motor for driving the wheels, an inverter, a brake, a steering mechanism, a secondary battery, and the like.

As described above, the wheel switching device 110 is an actuator that switches the wheels to be used according to the traveling mode of the vehicle 100A. The wheel switching device 110 switches the wheels to be used based on a command from the task control unit 1044.

The power feeding device 111 is a non-contact power feeding device here. The power supply device 111 becomes usable based on a command from the task control unit 1044, and can charge the drive battery. The power supply device 111 includes a power receiving coil, and enables power reception by non-contact power transmission with the power transmission coil of the power supply device of the train 300. When the vehicle 100A follows the train 300 to enable non-contact power supply from the train 300, the task control unit 1044 controls the traveling of the vehicle based on the information from the inter-vehicle distance meter 106. In this follow-up running, the inter-vehicle distance L (see FIG. 7) between the train 300 and the vehicle 100A is maintained within a predetermined distance. The power supply from the train 300 to the vehicle 100A may be performed by a method or means other than the non-contact power supply. The power supply from the train 300 to the vehicle 100A may be performed by substantially connecting a part of the train 300 and a part of the vehicle 100A.

The communication unit 112 has a communication means for connecting the vehicle 100A to the network N. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100A can communicate with another device, for example, the vehicle management server 200, via the network N.

The input unit 116 may be a keyboard, a pointing device, or the like. In the present embodiment, the input unit 116 includes a touch panel and is substantially integrated with the display unit.

Next, the vehicle management server 200 will be described. The vehicle management server 200 is a device that provides information on various operation commands to each of the plurality of vehicles 100.

The vehicle management server 200 is an information processing device, and as shown in FIG. 5, includes a communication unit 202, a control unit 204, and a storage unit 206. The communication unit 202 is the same as the communication unit 112, and has a communication function for connecting the vehicle management server 200 to the network N. The communication unit 202 of the vehicle management server 200 is a communication interface for communicating with the vehicle 100 and the train management server 400 via the network N. The control unit 204 has a CPU and a main storage unit like the control unit 104, and executes information processing by a program. Of course, this CPU is also a processor, and the main storage unit of the control unit 204 is also an example of the main storage device. The CPU in the control unit 204 executes a computer program executably deployed in the main storage unit and provides various functions. The main storage unit in the control unit 204 stores a computer program and / or data or the like executed by the CPU. The main storage unit in the control unit 204 is a DRAM, SRAM, ROM, or the like. However, the CPU is not limited to a single processor, and may have a multiprocessor configuration. Further, a single CPU connected by a single socket may have a multi-core configuration. At least a part of the processing of each of the above parts is performed by a processor other than the CPU, for example, a Digital Signal Processor (DS).
It may be performed by a dedicated processor such as P) or Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Further, at least a part of the processing of each of the above parts may be an integrated circuit (IC) or other digital circuit. Further, an analog circuit may be included in at least a part of each of the above parts.

The control unit 204 is connected to the storage unit 206. The storage unit 206 is an external storage unit, is used as a storage area that assists the main storage unit of the control unit 204, and stores a computer program and / or data or the like executed by the CPU of the control unit 204. The storage unit 206 is a hard disk drive, SSD, or the like.

The control unit 204 is a means for controlling the vehicle management server 200. As shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 204 has an information acquisition unit 2041, a vehicle management unit 2042, a train information unit 2043, a power supply processing unit 2044, and an information providing unit 2049 as functional modules. The power supply processing unit 2044 includes a functional module of a data acquisition unit 2045, a remaining amount determination unit 2046, a train identification unit 2047, and a command generation unit 2048. Each of these functional modules is realized, for example, by executing a program stored in the main storage unit and / or the storage unit 206 by the CPU of the control unit 204. However, a part of the functional module may be hardware such as another processor, a digital circuit, or an analog circuit.

The information acquisition unit 2041 acquires various information from the vehicle 100 and the train management server 400. Then, the acquired information is transmitted to the vehicle management unit 2042, the train information unit 2043, and the like. The information acquisition unit 2041 periodically acquires the position information and the information of the own vehicle information database 1141 from the vehicle 100, for example, data such as the planned travel route and the remaining battery level, and transmits the information to the vehicle management unit 2042. Here, the planned travel route may be the result calculated by the plan generation unit 1042 based on the user's input such as the destination and / or the target arrival time. Further, the information acquisition unit 2041 acquires operation information of a plurality of trains 300 (300A, ...) From the train management server 400 and transmits the operation information to the train information unit 2043.

The vehicle management unit 2042 manages information on a plurality of vehicles 100 under control. Specifically, the vehicle management unit 2042 receives information about the vehicle 100 from the plurality of vehicles 100 via the information acquisition unit 2041 and stores the information in the vehicle information database 2061 of the storage unit 206. The information about the vehicle 100 may include the vehicle identification information (identification ID), the position information, the above-mentioned planned traveling route, and the above-mentioned remaining battery level.

The train information unit 2043 stores the information about the train 300 acquired from the train management server 400 via the information acquisition unit 2041 in the train information database 2062 of the storage unit 206. As information on the train 300, an operation schedule can be mentioned. However, there may be a deviation (for example, delay or suspension of operation) of the train 300 from the operation plan (operation schedule) due to an accident, weather, or the like. Therefore, not only the operation plan of the train 300 but also the operation schedule of the train 300 based on the deviation from the operation plan in the actual operation is acquired and stored.

The power supply processing unit 2044 executes a process of causing the vehicle to follow the train 300 and supply power from the train 300 to the vehicle 100 according to the remaining battery level of the vehicle 100. As described above, the power supply processing unit 2044 has a data acquisition unit 2045, a remaining amount determination unit 2046, a train identification unit 2048, and a command generation unit 2048.

The data acquisition unit 2045 acquires by reading the planned travel route of the vehicle 100 and the remaining battery level stored in the vehicle information database 2061. The acquired data, that is, the planned travel route and the remaining battery level are transmitted to the remaining amount determination unit 2046. The data acquisition unit 2045 may directly acquire the planned travel route of the vehicle and the remaining battery level from the vehicle 100 via the information acquisition unit 2041.

The remaining amount determination unit 2046 determines whether or not the remaining battery level acquired by the data acquisition unit 2045 is equal to or less than the threshold value. When it is determined that the remaining battery level is equal to or lower than the threshold value, the remaining battery level determination unit 2046 transmits the above-mentioned acquired planned travel route and the remaining battery level to the train identification unit 2047 together with the identification information of the vehicle 100.

The train identification unit 2047 specifies the train 300 scheduled to travel on the track having a predetermined relationship with the acquired planned travel route as the train to be fed. The train identification unit 2047 reads the roads and railway tracks existing on the map data stored in the storage unit 206, and specifies the sections of the railway tracks that have a predetermined relationship with the acquired planned travel route of the vehicle 100. Here, the predetermined relationship is, for example, a planned travel route and a railway that have a point that intersects the planned travel route and that the vehicle 100 can reach the intersection before the remaining battery level becomes zero. Refers to the relationship with the section of the railroad track. Whether or not the vehicle 100 can reach the intersection can be determined by whether or not the point exists within the cruising range calculated by the remaining battery level and the average fuel consumption of the vehicle 100. Further, the predetermined relationship may include the train 300 passing through the point within a predetermined time from the estimated time of arrival when the vehicle 100 arrives at the point. By doing so, the vehicle 100 can receive power from the train 300 after arriving at the relevant point with less wasted time. It should be noted that the predetermined relationship here is not limited to the intersection of the planned traveling route of the vehicle and the railroad track, and for example, the distance of the road connecting them has a relationship within the predetermined distance. May include that. Then, here, the train identification unit 2047 selects a train 300 from among the trains 300 scheduled to travel on the specified section of the railway track so that the vehicle 100 can enter the section of the railway track and follow the train more smoothly. Identify as a train to be powered. In this identification, the train identification unit 2047 refers to various information in the vehicle information database 2061 and the train information database 2062. The train specifying unit 2047 may specify the train to be fed so that the operation plan of the train 300 does not deviate from the power supplied from the train 300 to the vehicle 100.

The command generation unit 2048 generates a command to the vehicle 100 so that the vehicle 100 supplies power to and from the train 300 specified by the train identification unit 2047. For example, a traveling plan including a place and time when the vehicle 100 enters the railroad track, a place and time when the vehicle 100 leaves the railroad track, and information on the train 300 as a train to be fed (for example, identification information of the train 300). Generate an operation command with. An operation command regarding power supply to the vehicle 100 is also generated for the specified train 300. The operation command to the train 300 is transmitted to the train management server 400 so as to enable power supply from the train 300 to the vehicle 100 when the vehicle 100 follows the train 300, and is specified by the train management server 400. It is transmitted to the train 300.

The information providing unit 2049 transmits, that is, provides a command generated by the command generating unit 2048, particularly to the corresponding vehicle 100 and the train management server 400. The operation commands provided in this way are acquired by the vehicle 100 and the train 300, respectively, and are used for their running.

In FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the vehicle 100, the vehicle management server 200, the train 300, and the train management server 400 are connected by the same network N. However, this connection may be realized in a plurality of networks. For example, the network connecting the vehicle 100 and the vehicle management server 200 may be different from the network connecting the vehicle management server 200 and the train management server 400.

Here, the processing in the system S having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of processing by the control unit 204 of the vehicle management server 200 regarding the power supply of the vehicle 100.

First, the data acquisition unit 2045 in the power supply processing unit 2044 of the control unit 204 of the vehicle management server 200 acquires the planned travel route of the vehicle 100 and the remaining charge amount of the drive battery of the vehicle 100, that is, the remaining battery amount (step S601). ). Then, the remaining amount determination unit 2046 in the power supply processing unit 2044 determines whether or not the acquired remaining battery level is equal to or less than the threshold value (
Step S603). The threshold value is a predetermined fixed value (for example, a value corresponding to 30% of the remaining charge) here, but may be changed according to, for example, a planned traveling route.

When the remaining battery level is not equal to or less than the threshold value (negative determination in step S603), the routine ends. That is, the power supply from the train 300 to the vehicle 100 is not executed.

When the remaining battery level is below the threshold value, that is, when the remaining battery level is below the threshold value (affirmative determination in step S603), the train identification unit 2047 in the power supply processing unit 2044 specifies the train 300 as the power supply target train (a positive determination in step S603). Step S605).

Then, the command generation unit 2048 generates an operation command to the vehicle 100 so as to supply power from the specified train 300. This operation command is generated as a command to the vehicle 100 so that the vehicle 100 follows the train 300 as the power supply target train and executes power supply from the train 300 during the follow-up travel, via the information providing unit 2049. Is transmitted to the vehicle 100 (step S607). As described above, the command generation unit 2048 also generates a command for the specified train 300 and transmits it to the train management server 400 via the information providing unit 2049. The command to the train 300 includes, when the vehicle 100 travels on the railroad track and follows the train 300, activates the power supply device of the train 300 so as to enable power supply. Regarding the vehicle 100 to which the command is transmitted, a negative determination is automatically made in step S603 of the subsequent routine until the power supply from the train 300 to the vehicle 100 is completed.

Here, the case where the remaining battery level of the vehicle 100A becomes equal to or less than the threshold value will be further described with reference to FIG. 7. A part of the planned travel route of the vehicle 100A is a road R, which intersects the railway track T at intersections X and Y. Therefore, the train specifying unit 2047 first identifies the section XY of the railway track T as a track having a predetermined relationship with the planned traveling route of the vehicle 100A. Then, the train identification unit 2047 extracts the train 300A from the train information database 2062 from the trains 300 scheduled to travel on the railway track T. At this time, the train 300A is scheduled to stop at stations ST1 and ST2 that have passed the intersection X. Further, the vehicle 100A is scheduled to reach the intersection X before the train 300A passes the intersection X. Therefore, the train identification unit 2047 specifies the train 300A as a train to be fed to the vehicle 100A.

Then, the command generation unit 2048 generates an operation command to the vehicle 100A so as to supply power from the specified train 300A. Specifically, the operation command is that when the vehicle 100A enters the track T from the intersection X in FIG. 7, catches up with the train 300A stopped at the station ST1, and is following the train 300A, power is supplied from the train 300A. Including doing. Further, the operation command includes that when the train 300A stops at the station ST2, the power supply from the train 300A is terminated, and the vehicle 100A exits the road R from the intersection Y. Then, this operation command is transmitted to the vehicle 100A by the information providing unit 2049. On the other hand, the command generation unit 2048 provides a power supply device for the train 300A between the sections XY, more preferably stations ST1 and ST2, so as to enable power supply to such a vehicle 100A in the section XY of the railway track T. A command to put it into operation is also generated for the train 300A. This command is transmitted to the train management server 400 via the information providing unit 2049, and is substantially transmitted to the train 300A via the train management server 400.

The vehicle 100A acquires the above operation command from the vehicle management server 200. Then, the plan generation unit 1042 of the vehicle 100A enters the track T from the intersection X and generates an operation plan for changing the travel mode from the road travel mode to the track travel mode. As a result, when entering the track T from the intersection X, the task control unit 1044 of the control unit 104 of the vehicle 100A can operate the wheel switching device 110 from the state of FIG. 2 to the state of FIG. .. Then, the task control unit 1044 travels on the vehicle 100A based on the information from the inter-vehicle distance meter 106 so that the vehicle 100A catches up with the train 300A and follows the vehicle with the inter-vehicle distance L within a predetermined distance as shown in FIG. The drive unit 109 is controlled so as to be driven. The task control unit 1044 operates the power supply device 111 so as to execute power supply from the train 300A during the follow-up running at the inter-vehicle distance L within the predetermined distance. Then, when the train 300A arrives at the station ST2, the task control unit 1044 ends the operation of the power supply device 111 and ends the power supply. After the train 300A leaves the station ST2, the vehicle 100A exits the intersection Y on the road R. At this time, the traveling mode is switched to the road traveling mode, and the task control unit 1044 operates the wheel switching device 110 so as to be in the state shown in FIG. As a result, the vehicle 100A returns to the planned traveling route and can further travel.

As described above, the control unit 204 of the vehicle management server 200, which is an information processing device, executes to acquire the planned travel route of the vehicle 100 capable of autonomous driving and the remaining charge of the drive battery of the vehicle. Then, when the remaining charge becomes equal to or less than the threshold value, the control unit 104 executes to specify the train 300 scheduled to travel on the track having a predetermined relationship with the planned travel route as the train to be fed. As a result, the control unit 104 executes following the train 300 as the train to be fed, and transmits a command to the vehicle 100 so as to execute the power supply from the train 300 during the following running. do. Therefore, the vehicle 100 can follow the train 300 and supply power from the train 300 at that time. Therefore, the cruising range of the vehicle 100 can be more preferably lengthened.

The above embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof. The processes and / or means described in the present disclosure may be partially taken out or implemented in any combination as long as there is no technical contradiction.

The processing described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by a plurality of devices. For example, the vehicle management server 200, which is an information processing device, and / or the information processing device 102 of the vehicle 100 do not have to be one computer, and may be configured as a system including a plurality of computers. Alternatively, the processing described as being performed by different devices may be performed by one device. In a computer system, it is possible to flexibly change what kind of hardware configuration is used to realize each function.

The present disclosure can also be realized by supplying a computer program to which the functions described in the above-described embodiment are implemented, and having one or more processors of the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium that can be connected to the computer's system bus, or may be provided to the computer via a network. Non-temporary computer-readable storage media include, for example, any type of disc such as a magnetic disc (floppy (registered trademark) disc, hard disk drive (HDD), etc.), an optical disc (CD-ROM, DVD disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.). Includes read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic cards, flash memory, optical cards, and any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions.

S System 100, 100A Vehicle 102 Information processing device 104 Control unit 105 Sensor 106 Vehicle distance meter 107 Battery level meter 108 Position information acquisition unit 109 Drive unit 110 Wheel switching device 111 Power supply device 112 Communication unit 114 Storage unit 200 Vehicle management server 202 Communication unit 204 Control unit 206 Storage unit 300, 300A Train 400 Train management server

Claims (1)

Acquiring the planned travel route of a vehicle capable of autonomous driving and the remaining charge of the drive battery of the vehicle,
When the remaining charge becomes equal to or less than the threshold value, the train to be fed is specified to travel on the track having a predetermined relationship with the planned travel route.
An information processing device including a control unit that follows a train subject to power supply and transmits a command to the vehicle so as to execute power supply from the train subject to power supply during the follow-up running.

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