JP3244625B2 - Mobile object allocation method, mobile terminal device, distribution information transmitting device, and mobile object allocation system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mobile object system for repeatedly allocating a plurality of mobile objects to a plurality of allocation request issuing sources, such as an autonomous mobile robot and an automatic guided vehicle. This can be applied to each of the terminal device and the base station device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, a system has been put to practical use in which a mobile unit such as an autonomous mobile robot or an automatic guided vehicle is repeatedly assigned in response to a request issued asynchronously from a request source located at an arbitrary position in an area. I have. For example, in a distribution terminal, a factory, a building, or the like, a package transport system that assigns an automatic guided vehicle to a package transport source corresponds to this. Conventionally, the following two methods are exclusively used in this type of system.

First, a system to which the first method is applied requires one control center, a plurality of moving objects, and a plurality of request sources. Each of these components has appropriate communication means so that messages can be exchanged with each other. The assignment of a moving object in this system will be described as follows.

[0004] First, a requester who wants to receive assignment of a mobile unit issues an assignment request to a control center. The control center can acquire the current positions of all assignable mobile units within the area, and upon receiving the assignment request, identify the mobile unit closest to the requester and issue a move command to this. Put out. When receiving the movement command, the moving body moves while selecting an appropriate route to the designated request source position. This is an overview of the assignment in a system using the first method.

On the other hand, a system to which the second method is applied requires a plurality of mobile units and a plurality of request sources. As in the case of the system described above, each component of this system also has appropriate communication means so that messages can be exchanged with each other. The request source is also provided with a means for broadcasting a message to other components in the area.

[0006] In this system, a requestor who wants to receive an assignment of a mobile broadcasts an assignment request message to the mobiles within the area. Because it is a broadcast, multiple mobiles can receive the message at the same time. At this time, position information indicating the current position of the request source is added to the assignment request message.

[0007] When the mobile receives the assignment request message, if it can respond to the request, it issues a bid message to the requestor that issued the assignment message. When the mobile unit receives a plurality of allocation request messages, it selects one of the request sources having the shortest distance from the allocation request messages and issues a bid message. At this time, position information indicating the current position of the moving object is added to the bid message.

[0008] When the requester receives the bid message,
If one bid message has been received, a successful bid message is issued to the mobile that issued the bid message. On the other hand, when the request source receives a plurality of bid messages, the request source issues a successful bid message to one of the closest moving objects, and issues a non-bid message to the other moving objects. If no bid message arrives within the predetermined time, the allocation request message is broadcast again.

[0009] The moving body that receives the successful bid message moves while selecting an appropriate route to the request source. By the above-described message exchange, assignment of the mobile unit to the request source is realized.

[0010]

However, in the first system, it is necessary to manage the positions of all mobile units in the control center, and it is necessary to manage all possible combinations of mobile units and request sources. Had to choose the best one from. Therefore, when the number of mobile units and request sources is relatively large, many calculations are required, and real-time control has been difficult.

On the other hand, in the second system, the calculation can be distributed to each mobile, and the problem of the first system can be solved. This is an effective method when it is dispersed.

[0012] However, in the second system, since all the mobile units determine the destination of the bidding message using the same criterion, the mobile units and request sources are concentrated in a specific place. In some cases, or when the distribution of mobiles or requesters is skewed, bidding messages may be concentrated on some requesters.

For this reason, there has been a problem that non-successful bid messages and bid messages that do not lead to a successful bid increase, and unnecessary communication increases.

[0014] In the whole system, even if there is a margin for the number of mobile units that can be allocated, there are request sources that wait for a long time, or there is a request source that is waiting for allocation, but there is a moving destination whose allocation destination is not determined. There was a problem in terms of system operation efficiency, such as the occurrence of physical problems.

[0015] This will be described assuming that there is, for example, a system that transports products from a plurality of different types of manufacturing machines to one warehouse in a factory. Each manufacturing machine broadcasts an allocation request message to the automatic guided vehicle in the factory when a certain amount of products is completed. At this time, if unmanned guided vehicles that meet the demand, that is, unmanned guided vehicles that unload goods and do not load products are concentrated around the warehouse, bid messages are duplicated for manufacturing machines relatively close to the warehouse. On the other hand, a relatively distant manufacturing machine is difficult to bid.

[0016]

According to the present invention, there is provided a moving object allocating method for allocating one or more moving objects to one or a plurality of allocation request issuing sources which have issued an allocation request. Is characterized by the following.

That is, each of the mobile units that have received the allocation request assigns the allocation request based on the distribution state of the plurality of mobile units, the position of the allocation request issuer that has issued the allocation request, and its own position. And determining a destination of the allocation request that responds to the request.

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a mobile unit allocating system includes a plurality of mobile units and one or a plurality of allocation request issuing sources, or a combination thereof and a distribution information transmitting apparatus. Wherein the mobile terminal device and the distribution information transmitting device are each configured to include the following means.

That is, in the mobile terminal device, (A) the distribution state of a plurality of mobiles present in a predetermined area, the position of the allocation request issuing source, and the position of the mobile terminal are determined under the same situation in the past. A storage unit that holds the assignment results as a set,
(B) When receiving the allocation request, the storage unit searches the past allocation results having the same situation as the current time from the storage unit, and based on the search result, includes a selection unit that determines a response destination to the allocation request.

Further, the distribution information transmitting apparatus includes: (A) a moving body position acquisition unit for acquiring the positions of the plurality of moving bodies as coordinates in an appropriate coordinate system; and (B) a location of the moving body based on the acquired coordinates. A district specifying unit that individually specifies a district, and (C) an information providing unit that repeatedly broadcasts the number of mobile units belonging to each district to the plurality of mobile units as a distribution state of the mobile units are provided.

As described above, according to the present invention, each mobile unit responds to the allocation request based on the distribution state of the plurality of mobile units existing in the predetermined area, the position of the allocation request issuing source, and its own position. Since the destination is determined, it is possible to prevent the responses from being concentrated only on those that are close in distance, even if the allocation request issuance sources or the location distribution of the mobile units are biased.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(A) First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment in which a mobile object assignment method and system according to the present invention is applied to a cargo transport system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(A-1) Configuration of First Embodiment (A-1-1) Overall Configuration The purpose of the baggage transport system according to the present embodiment is that a plurality of request sources issue asynchronously at arbitrary positions. One object of the present invention is to allocate one appropriate mobile unit to a mobile unit allocation request.

Hereinafter, the cargo transport system according to the embodiment will be described using an example of arrangement of system components at a certain time.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cargo transport system includes:
A plurality of (here, seven) request sources 1 (1-1, 1-2,..., 1-7) existing in the transport area AR;
A plurality of (here, five) moving bodies 2 (2-1, 2-
2,..., 2-5) and one control center 3 that is in charge of the transport area AR.

In the case of this luggage transport system, the transport area AR in which the mobile unit 2 can move is divided into a plurality of appropriately sized areas AR1, AR2,... And managed. If used, the location ward can be specified from the location information.

(A-1-2) Configuration of Each Part (A-1-2-1) Configuration of Control Center 3 FIG. 3 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the control center 3 according to this embodiment. . The control center 3 includes a communication device and a central processing unit that executes a program. The control center 3 has a function of allocating the mobile unit 2 to the request source 1 as shown in FIG.

The moving body position acquisition unit 31 includes a transport area AR
This is a means for acquiring the position of the moving body 2 within the area as coordinates in an appropriate coordinate system. The moving body position acquiring unit 31 acquires the position information of the assignable moving body 2 at a predetermined cycle and outputs the acquired information to the district specifying unit 32. The moving body position acquisition unit 31 can be realized by various known methods.

The district specifying unit 32 is a means for specifying the location of the mobile unit 2 from the coordinates of the mobile unit 2. By searching the segmented map, the location ward of each mobile unit is specified based on the position information of the mobile unit 2 input from the mobile unit position acquisition unit 31, and is output to the information providing unit 33.

The information providing unit 33 calculates the number of mobile units 2 that can be allocated in each area based on the location ward of each mobile unit 2 input from the area specifying unit 32 and is within the transport area AR. This is a means for notifying the mobile unit 2 of the latest distribution state of the mobile unit 2 at predetermined intervals. The notification to the mobile unit 2 is performed, for example, by broadcasting using a communication device. The information indicating the distribution state is determined by, for example, setting a threshold value for each district, and expressing the state of the district as “1” if the number of moving objects in the district is larger than the threshold value and “0” if the number is smaller than the threshold value. Are arranged in a line in order for all districts. In this case, if the area is divided into n districts, the number of information types is 2∧n.

(A-1-2-2) Configuration of Request Source 1 Request source 1 has the same configuration as the request source constituting the second system described in the conventional example. That is, request source 1
Has three functions: a function at the time of an allocation request, a function at the time of receiving a bid message, and a function at the time of sending a successful bid message.

First, when it is desired to receive the assignment of the mobile unit 2,
The request source 1 broadcasts the assignment request message in the transport area AR, and waits for the arrival of the bid message from the mobile unit 1. At this time, the request source 1 adds position information indicating the current position of the request source 1 to the broadcast allocation request message. Incidentally, the current position is measured based on a beacon installed in the transport area AR, and a radio wave (so-called GPS (Global Positioning Sys
tem) radio wave).

When a bid message is received, if there is only one received bid message, the requester 1 issues a successful bid message to the mobile unit 2 that has issued the bid message. On the other hand, when a plurality of bid messages are received, a successful bid message is issued to one moving body 2 located at the closest distance, and a non-successful bid message is issued to the other moving bodies 2. If no bid message arrives within a predetermined time, the allocation request message is broadcast again.

(A-1-2-3) Configuration of Mobile 2 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the mobile 2 according to the present embodiment. The mobile unit 2 includes a central processing unit that executes a program, an autonomous mobile mechanism, a communication device, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile unit 2 has a function of realizing assignment to the request source 1. Become.

The communication unit 21 includes the request source 1 and the control center 3
Is a means for exchanging messages between The communication unit 21 stores messages arriving within a predetermined time in a message queue for each message type, and outputs the message to the bid destination selection unit 25 in response to a request from the bid destination selection unit 25. In addition, a bid message is issued to the request source 1 according to an instruction from the bid destination selection unit 25.
Here, the difference between the system of the present embodiment and the conventional system is that the message received from the control center 3 includes information indicating the distribution state of the mobile unit 2.

The current position obtaining section 22 is a means for obtaining the current position of the moving body 2. The current position is obtained by coordinates in an appropriate coordinate system. The position information measured and obtained in the same manner as in the case of the request source 1 is stored in the movement control unit 23 and the bid destination selection unit 2.
5 is output.

The movement control unit 23 is a means for moving the mobile unit 2 to a destination. If a destination is specified, an appropriate route is selected based on the position information obtained by the current position acquisition unit 22. The moving body 2 is moved while moving.

[0038] The district specifying unit 24 is a mobile unit 2 or a request source 1
This is a means for specifying a district including the mobile unit 2 or the request source 1 from the position information of the above. When the coordinates are input from the bid destination selection unit 25, the district identification unit 24 searches for a district including the point by using a sectional map, and returns the name of the district.

The bid destination selection unit 25 is a means for the mobile unit 2 to determine a bid destination.
The bid destination is decided. A feature of the bid destination selection unit 25 is that a storage unit having a fixed capacity for storing a table called a bid evaluation table is prepared.

FIG. 4 shows an image of the bid evaluation table. The bid evaluation table shows the location Ai (i = 1,...,
n) and the location ward Aj of the request source 1 (j = 1,..., n)
And information Bk (k = 1,..., M (where m = 2∧n)) indicating a distribution state in the transport area AR of all the mobile units 2. One evaluation value is associated with one evaluation value. By the way,
Items in the bid evaluation table are prepared for combinations of all three pieces of information. The contents of the bid evaluation tables of all the mobile units 2 at the time of introduction of the system are the same, and their evaluation values are initialized to appropriate values (for example, all “0”).

(A-2) Assignment operation of moving object Hereinafter, the luggage transport system according to this embodiment
How the mobile unit 2 is assigned to the request source 1 will be specifically described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for the explanation. Note that this flowchart is based on the operation of the moving body 2.

First, in step SP1, the bid destination selection unit 25 sends a transmission request of the assignment request message received by the communication unit 21 to the communication unit 21 at a predetermined cycle.
All assignment request messages that arrive at the mobile 2 within each period are received.

In the next step SP2, the location section of the request source 1 that broadcasts the assignment request message is specified.
Here, the location ward is specified by the district specifying unit 24 based on the position information of the request source added to the message.

In the next step SP3, the position acquisition unit 22
Based on the position information obtained in the above, the district specifying unit 24 specifies the location of the mobile unit 2.

In the next step SP4, the bid destination selection unit 2
5 obtains the latest distribution information of the mobile unit 2 broadcasted by the control center 3 from the communication unit 21.

Then, in step SP5, the bid destination selection unit 25 obtains the location ward of the request source 1 specified in step SP2, the location ward of the mobile unit 2 specified in step SP3, and in step 4. From the bid evaluation table, a set that matches each value with the distribution information of the moving object 2 is retrieved from the bid evaluation table, and an evaluation value for the request source 1 that broadcasts the allocation request message is obtained from the bid evaluation table.

In the next step SP6, a step SP5
Then, the evaluation value for each request source 1 obtained in the above is compared, and the request source 1 having the largest value is selected. Here, the magnitude of the value is
Represents the frequency of successful bids under the same circumstances in the past. In addition,
When there are a plurality of items having the maximum values, one selected at random from them is selected.

Then, in step SP7, step S
A bid message is issued to the request source 1 selected in P6. At this time, the position information of the moving object is added to the bid message. As described above, in the mobile unit 2 according to the present embodiment, even if the bid messages from the plurality of request sources 1 compete at the same time, the transmission destination of the bid message is determined according to the past successful bid state. Concentration of bid messages on the request source 1 can be avoided.

In the next step SP8, the system waits for a successful bid message or a non-successful bid message to be sent from the request source 1 to which the bid message has been sent, and when the message is returned, the determination process in step SP9 is performed. .

Here, if it is found that the successful bid message has been received, the process proceeds to step SP10, and the location ward Aj of the request source 1 specified in step SP2 of the bid evaluation table.
And the location A of the moving object specified in step SP3
"1" is added to the evaluation value corresponding to the set (Ai, Aj, Bk) given by i and the distribution information Bk of all the mobile units 2 obtained in step SP4. And the next step SP
At 11, the system moves to the requester 1 who has won the bid. The mobile unit 2 that has moved to the request source executes the specified task, returns to step SP1, and waits for reception of the next assignment request message.

In this case, the task is to transport the package to the destination in this example, but it differs depending on the form of the system to be applied.

On the other hand, if the message received in step SP8 is a non-successful bidding message, the process proceeds to step SP12, and the request source 1 specified in step SP2 of the bid evaluation table
(Ai, Aj, B) given by the location ward Aj, the location ward Ai of the mobile unit 2 specified in step SP3, and the distribution information Bk of all mobile units 2 obtained in step 4.
“1” is subtracted from the evaluation value corresponding to k). Then, the process returns to step SP1, and waits for reception of the next assignment request message.

(A-3) Effect As described above, according to the first embodiment, the moving body 2
Bid evaluation table (a set consisting of the location ward Ai of the own device, the location ward Aj of the requester 1, and the distribution information Bk of the other mobile unit 2 including the own device, and the past successful bid results under the conditions of each set Is provided, and when a request message is received from a plurality of request sources 1, a bid message is determined based on a unique bid evaluation table learned from past successful bid results. Is determined, the bidding message can be prevented from being concentrated on a specific request source 1 even if the distribution of the request sources 1 and the mobile units 2 is uneven. That is, the transmission destinations of the bid messages can be distributed.

Accordingly, the waiting time from the broadcast of the request message to the reception of the bid message can be reduced. In addition, since bid messages are not concentrated, the number of mobile units 2 for which an assignment destination is not determined can be reduced.

Further, the control center 3 acquires the position of each of the moving objects 2 as coordinates in an appropriate coordinate system for each of the moving objects 2, and individually specifies the location section of the moving object 2 from the acquired coordinates. And an information providing unit 33 for determining the number of mobile units 2 belonging to each area at predetermined intervals and broadcasting the updated information as the latest distribution state of the mobile units 2. With respect to each mobile unit 2, it is possible to provide, in relation to the request source 1, what kind of positional relationship the own unit has with the other mobile units 2. Thus, even in a system in which the deviation of the location distribution of the mobile unit 2 changes greatly with time, the mobile unit 2 can act according to the latest situation.
For example, even in a case where a large amount of materials arrive at a receiving place at a certain time or a large amount of products are unloaded from a warehouse, as in a factory or the like, allocation according to each situation becomes possible.

As described above, a mobile unit allocating system excellent in operation efficiency is realized.

(B) Second Embodiment Next, a mobile object allocation method and system according to the present invention will be described.
A second embodiment applied to a cargo transport system will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(B-1) Configuration of the Second Embodiment (B-1-1) Overall Configuration Also in the case of the baggage transport system according to the present embodiment, the purpose is that a plurality of request sources are located at arbitrary positions. One object of the present invention is to allocate one of appropriate mobile units to a mobile unit allocation request issued asynchronously.

The system configuration is basically the same as that of the first embodiment.
That is, the request source 1, the mobile unit 2 'and the control center 3'
It becomes.

The difference between the system described in the second embodiment and the system described in the first embodiment is as follows.
This is the configuration and management method of the bid evaluation table, and the configuration of each unit associated therewith. Hereinafter, this point will be mainly described.

(B-1-2) Configuration of Each Unit The configuration of the request source 1 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description is omitted.

(B-1-2-1) Configuration of Control Center 3 'FIG. 6 is a block diagram functionally showing the configuration of the control center 3' according to the present embodiment. Parts are indicated by the same reference numerals. As described above, the control center 3 'also includes a communication device, a central processing unit that executes a program, and the like.
This is limited to the function part of allocating the mobile unit 2 ′ to the request source 1.

A component of the control center 3 'that is different from that of the first embodiment is an information providing unit 33'.

The information providing unit 33 'calculates the number of mobile units that can be assigned to each area based on the location of each mobile unit input from the district identification unit 32, and the mobile units 2' within the area. Means for notifying the mobile unit 2 ′ of the latest distribution state of the mobile unit 2 ′ at predetermined intervals. The notification to the mobile unit 2 'is performed by, for example, broadcasting using a communication device.

In this example, as information indicating the distribution state,
Two thresholds α1 and α2 (α1 <α2) are prepared for each district, and “0” if the number of existing mobiles 2 ′ is less than α1, and “1” if α2 is less than α1 and “1” and α2 if α2 or less. If there are many, the state of the number in the district is expressed in three stages, such as "2", and the state of all the districts is arranged in a line in order. Of course, it may be expressed at other stages. In this case, if the area was divided into n districts,
The number of information types is 3∧n.

(B-1-2-2) Configuration of Moving Object 2 'Next, the configuration of the moving object 2' will be described.

FIG. 7 shows the structure of the moving body 2 '. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a mobile unit 2 ′, which is limited to a function of realizing assignment to a request source 1. Therefore, a central processing unit, an autonomous moving mechanism, a communication device, and the like for executing a program are omitted. Also, FIG.
The same and corresponding portions as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

A component of the moving body 2 ′ that is different from that of the first embodiment is a bid destination selecting unit 25 ′.

The bid destination selection unit 25 'is also provided with a storage unit having a fixed capacity for storing a bid evaluation table. FIG. 8 shows an image of the bid evaluation table according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 8 is an image example of a state where a sufficient time has elapsed since the start of system operation.

Now, in the case of this bid evaluation table, the mobile unit 2 '
, Ai (i = 1,..., N) of the requester, the location Aj (j = 1,..., N) of the requester 1 ′, and the distribution of the mobile 2 ′ notified from the control center 3 ′ Information Bk (k =
The difference is that the evaluation value and the reference frequency are associated with each item given by a combination of three pieces of information such as 1,..., M (where m = 3∧n).

Further, these items (the location ward Ai of the mobile unit 2 ′, the location ward Aj of the requester 1, the control center 3 ′
) Is not prepared for all possible combinations, but only the state where each mobile unit 2 'has a history of bidding in the past is held. Is also different.

From this table, for example, this mobile unit 2 'is located in the area A3, and the distribution information from the control center 3' is B
At 55, the evaluation value for the request source 1 located in the district A7 is “6”, and it is understood that the reference frequency of this item is “23”.

Incidentally, the bid evaluation tables of the respective mobile units at the time of introduction of the system are all the same, and all the items are initialized to blank.

(B-2) Assignment Operation of Moving Object Hereinafter, the luggage transport system according to this embodiment
How the mobile unit 2 'is assigned to the request source 1 will be specifically described. 9, 10, and 11 are:
It is a flowchart for the explanation. First, in step SP21, the bidder selection unit 25 '
Sends a transmission request of the assignment request message received by the communication unit 21 to the communication unit 21 at a predetermined period, and receives all the assignment request messages arriving at the mobile unit 2 within each period.

In the next step SP22, the location ward of the request source 1 which broadcasts the assignment request message is specified. The district specifying unit 24 specifies the location ward based on the position information of the request source 1 added to the message.

In the next step SP23, the position acquisition unit 2
Based on the position information obtained in step 2, the district specifying unit 24 specifies the location of the mobile unit 2 '.

Then, in step SP24, the latest distribution information of the mobile units 2 'broadcast by the control center 3 is obtained from the communication unit 21, and the process proceeds to step SP25 for determining the evaluation value of each request source. FIG. 10 shows the detailed processing contents executed in step SP25.

First, in step SP251, for each of the request sources 1 that transmitted the request message, the location area of the request source specified in step SP22 and the mobile unit 2 ′ specified in step SP23. And a combination of three pieces of information of the location ward and the distribution information of the mobile unit 2 'obtained in step SP24, and retrieves an item matching the combination from the bid evaluation table.

The search result is determined in step SP252.

At this time, if the corresponding item exists, the value of the reference count of the corresponding item in the bid evaluation table is increased by “1” in step SP253, and the corresponding item in the bid evaluation table is increased in the next step SP254. Is referred to as an evaluation value for the request source 1.

On the other hand, if there is no corresponding item in the determination processing in step SP252, the process proceeds to step SP255, and the evaluation value for the request source 1 is set to “0”. Then, when all the evaluation values for each request source 1 are determined, the process returns to the main processing.

When the evaluation value determination process is completed, the process proceeds to step SP26. Here, the bid destination selection unit 25 'compares the evaluation values for each of the determined request sources, and selects one request source having the maximum evaluation value. If there are a plurality of items having the highest evaluation values, one is selected at random from among them.

At step SP27, a bid message is issued to the request source 1 selected at the previous step. At this time, the position information of the mobile unit 2 'is added to the bid message.

Thereafter, at step SP28, the system enters a state of waiting for a successful bid message or a non-successful bid message to arrive from the request source 1.

When the message arrives, step SP2
In step 9, the content is determined. If the message is a successful bid message, the process proceeds to step SP30, where the value of the evaluation update value is set to "1", and the bid evaluation table is updated in the next step SP31. Then, as shown in step SP32, the process moves to the request source 1.

After moving to the request source 1, the designated task is executed there, and the process returns to step SP21 to be in a state of waiting for reception of the next assignment request message. In the case of the present embodiment, the task is, for example, transporting a package to a destination, the content of which depends on the form of the applied system.

On the other hand, if the message received in step SP29 is a non-successful bidding message, the flow advances to step SP33 to set the value of the evaluation update value to “1”. Update the evaluation table. Thereafter, the process returns to step SP21.

In the above description, the description is omitted.
The state of the process of updating the bid evaluation table executed in step SP31 and step SP34 will be described with reference to FIG.

The processing for updating the bid evaluation table is performed in step SP.
In step 28, the evaluation value of the request source 1 is updated according to whether the message received from the request source 1 is a successful bid or a non-successful bid.

First, in the first step SP311 (step SP341), the location ward of the request source 1 specified in step SP22, the location ward of the mobile unit 2 ′ specified in step SP23, and step SP2
The bid evaluation table is searched based on the three information sets of the distribution information of the moving object obtained in step 4.

The search result is determined in step SP312 (step SP342). If there is a corresponding item, the process proceeds to step SP313 (step SP343), and the evaluation value of the corresponding item in the bid evaluation table is added by the updated value. . Here, the evaluation update value is a value obtained by substituting a value of “1” or “−1” in step SP30 or step SP33, and is passed as an argument to the process of updating the bid evaluation table.

On the other hand, if it is found in step SP312 (step SP342) that there is no corresponding item, step SP314 (step SP34)
In 4), it is checked whether or not there is a free area for adding a new item to the bid evaluation table.

Here, if there is a free area, the process directly proceeds to step SP316 (step SP346). If no free area exists, as shown in step SP315 (step SP345), the bidding is performed. The reference frequencies of all the items in the evaluation table are compared, the item with the lowest reference frequency is deleted from the table, and an area for a new item is secured.

When these processes are completed, the next step S
Proceeding to P316 (step SP346), the location area of the request source 1 identified in step SP22, the location area of the mobile unit 1 identified in step SP23, and the location area of the mobile unit 1 obtained in step SP24 are stored in the empty area of the bid evaluation table. An item for the set of three pieces of information on the distribution information of the moving object 1 is added.

The next step SP317 (step SP3
In 47), the newly set evaluation update value is set as an evaluation value in the item of the bid evaluation table. Further, step S
In P318 (step SP348), “0” is set as the reference frequency of the item in the bid evaluation table, and the process returns to the main processing.

(B-3) Effect As described above, according to the second embodiment, the moving body 2 ′
In the bid evaluation table (location Ai of own device, location Aj of requester 1, distribution information B of other mobile unit 2 'including own device)
When a request message is received from a plurality of request sources 1, a bid destination selection unit 25 ′ that holds a set consisting of k and an evaluation value and a reference frequency that summarize the past successful bid results under the conditions of each set is provided. Is based on a unique bid evaluation table learned from past successful bid results, so that the request source 1 for sending a bidding message can be determined, thereby biasing the distribution of the locations of the request source 1 and the mobile unit 2 '. Even if there is a specific request source 1
Bid messages can be prevented from being concentrated. That is, the transmission destinations of the bid messages can be distributed.

Accordingly, the waiting time from the broadcast of the request message to the reception of the bid message can be reduced. Further, since the bid messages are not concentrated, the number of mobile units 2 'for which the assignment destination is not determined can be extremely reduced.

In the second embodiment, the bid evaluation table shown in FIG. 11 is updated (steps SP311 to SP318, steps SP341 to SP34).
According to 8), since only the sets of situations with high frequency experienced by each mobile unit 2 ′ are stored as the bid evaluation table, the search time can be reduced even if the types of information to be provided are increased.

Further, as in the case of the first embodiment, all combinations of all possible positions of the request source 1, all possible positions of the mobile unit 2 ', and distribution states of all the mobile units are possible. Need not be stored, the area of the storage area can be reduced.

The control center 3 'has the same effect as the first embodiment.

As described above, a mobile unit allocating system having excellent operation efficiency is realized.

(C) Other Embodiments (C-1) In the above-described first embodiment, three pieces of information (the location Ai of the mobile unit 2 and the request source 1) are used as the bidder evaluation table. Is used for all possible combinations of the location ward Aj and the distribution information Bk of all the mobile units 2). From a certain range or more, or limit bids to a certain range so that they do not have an evaluation value of a certain distance from the location of the moving object 2. May be. In this way, the storage area of each mobile unit can be reduced, and the search speed can be increased.

The same is true for the second embodiment. For the location ward of the request source 1, the locations distant from the location ward of the mobile unit 2 by a certain range or more are collected into one category, Alternatively, the bidding may be limited to a certain range, and the evaluation value of the district that is more than a certain range away from the location of the moving object 2 may not be provided.

(C-2) In the above embodiment, the information provided from the control center 3 to the mobile units 2 is the distribution of all the mobile units in the transport area AR, but if the information to be provided is increased,
Flexible control according to the situation becomes possible.

(C-3) Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the transport area AR is managed by one control center 3 has been described. Instead, the transport area AR is managed by a plurality of management centers 3. It can be widely applied to management.

(C-4) In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the luggage transport system has been described, but the application of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to a vehicle allocation system.

(C-5) Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which one mobile unit is allocated to one request source, but a case in which a plurality of mobile units are allocated to one request source is also described. Applicable. At this time, the requester sends a notification of the allocation decision to the plurality of mobile units.

(C-6) In the above embodiment, the control center 1 manages the distribution state of the plurality of moving objects 3 present in the transport area AR, and periodically broadcasts the distribution state. As described above, broadcasting may be performed only when there is a change in the distribution state.

(C-7) Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case has been described where the distribution state of the plurality of moving objects 3 existing in the transport area AR is managed by the control center 1.
A function of monitoring the position of another moving object may be provided inside each moving object, and the distribution state of a plurality of moving objects may be obtained from the position information obtained by the function.

[0110]

As described above, according to the present invention, the distribution state of the plurality of mobile units existing in a predetermined area is periodically broadcast from a control station, and the distribution state of the plurality of mobile units is determined. And, based on the location of the allocation request issuer and the position of the own device, determine a response destination that responds to the allocation request. Also, it is possible to prevent the response from the mobile unit from concentrating on a specific assignment request issuing source.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a moving object according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a luggage transport system according to the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a control center according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a table showing an image of a bid evaluation table according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart of the moving object according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a control center according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a moving object according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a chart showing an image of a bid evaluation table according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an operation flowchart of a moving object according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an operation flowchart showing how a mobile according to the second embodiment determines an evaluation value of each request source that has received a request message.

FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart showing how the mobile according to the second embodiment updates a bid evaluation table.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... requester, 2 ... mobile, 3 ... control center, 2
1 communication unit 22 current position acquisition unit 23 mobile unit control unit 24 district identification unit 25 and 25 'bid destination selection unit 31 mobile unit position acquisition unit 32 … District identification department, 33, 33 '... Information provision department.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-7-230316 (JP, A) JP-A-4-60707 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G05D 1/02

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A mobile unit allocating method for allocating one or a plurality of mobile units to one or a plurality of allocation request issuing sources that have issued an allocation request, wherein each of the mobile units receiving the allocation request includes the plurality of mobile units. The distribution state of the mobile unit, the position of the allocation request issuer that has issued the allocation request, based on the relationship between the position of its own, determine the allocation request issuer of the destination to respond to the allocation request, Mobile unit allocation method. 2. The mobile unit allocation method according to claim 1, wherein the distribution state of the plurality of mobile units is provided by broadcasting from an external station, and is updated each time the distribution state changes. . 3. The plurality of mobile units each consider a past allocation result in which the distribution state of the plurality of mobile units, the position of the allocation request issuing source, and the position of the own unit are in the same state as the current time, The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an assignment request issuing source to which the assignment request is responded is determined. 4. When each of the plurality of mobile units receives a notification of an allocation decision from an allocation request issuer of a response destination,
The method according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation value of the allocation result is increased, and the evaluation value of the allocation result is decreased when there is no notification of the allocation determination from the response destination allocation request issuer.
The mobile object allocation method according to claim 2 or claim 3. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of mobile units each include: a distribution state of the plurality of mobile units;
It holds the frequency information at which the same situation has appeared together with its own position and the past allocation results, and when these storage areas are insufficient, deletes the information on the situation where the frequency information is the smallest at that time. 5. The mobile object allocation method according to claim 1, wherein information relating to a newly generated situation is recorded in the area. 6. Responsive to one of the allocation requests received from one or a plurality of allocation request issuing sources, and self-mounted at the position of the allocation request issuing source that has notified the response to the allocation decision. In a mobile terminal device that moves a mobile, a distribution state of a plurality of mobiles existing in a predetermined area, a position of the allocation request issuing source, a position of the mobile terminal, and a past allocation result under the same situation. And a selection unit that, upon receiving an allocation request, searches the storage unit for past allocation results having the same situation as the current time, and determines a response destination to the allocation request based on the search result. A mobile terminal device comprising: 7. When the allocation request is notified from the response destination allocation request source, the evaluation value of the allocation result is increased, and the allocation determination notification is transmitted from the response destination allocation request source. The mobile terminal device according to claim 6, further comprising a control unit configured to reduce an evaluation value of the assignment result when there is no assignment result. 8. The storage unit, wherein a distribution state of the plurality of mobile units, a position of the allocation request issuing source, a position of the own device,
Along with the past allocation results, holding the frequency information in which the same situation appears, the control unit, when the storage area of the storage unit is insufficient, the information on the situation where the frequency information is the smallest at that time 8. The mobile terminal device according to claim 6, wherein information on a newly generated situation is recorded in the area. 9. A moving body position acquisition unit that appropriately takes in the respective positions of a plurality of moving bodies as coordinates of an appropriate coordinate system, a district specifying unit that individually specifies a location of the moving body based on the acquired coordinates, A distribution information transmitting apparatus, comprising: an information providing unit that repeatedly broadcasts the number of mobile units belonging to each area to the plurality of mobile units as a distribution state of the mobile units. 10. A mobile allocation system comprising: one or more allocation request issuing sources; and a plurality of mobile terminal devices according to claim 6, 7, or 8. 11. A moving object position acquisition unit that acquires the position of each of a plurality of moving objects on which the mobile terminal device is mounted as coordinates in an appropriate coordinate system, and individually identifies a location block of the moving object from the acquired coordinates. And a distribution information transmitting device having an information providing unit that periodically calculates the number of mobile units belonging to each of the regions and periodically broadcasts the plurality of mobile units to the plurality of mobile units. The mobile unit assignment system according to claim 10, wherein