JP7344613B1 - A low-speed self-driving car that you can safely hop into - Google Patents

Abstract

[Issue] Low-speed self-driving cars have the advantage of being easy to get on and off at any point along the route, but if a large number of people get on and off the vehicle frequently and they are slow to begin with, stopping each time is time consuming. There is a problem with too much. [Solution] To enable safe boarding and alighting of a low-speed self-driving vehicle while the vehicle is running. When the door opens, set up a handle that you can hold onto with your hand, and set up a foot rest.When getting into the vehicle, walk a little faster than the speed of the self-driving car, hold onto the handle, and place your feet on the door. Get on the car by placing it on the footrest, and when getting off the vehicle, hold on to the handle. Place your feet on the footrest, one foot at a time, on the road. First, walk at the speed of the self-driving car, and then hold on to the handle. By letting go of your hand, you can get off the vehicle. [Selection diagram] Figure 1

Description

There is no self-driving car on the market with a failure rate of 0, and accidents at legal speeds can lead to serious personal injury accidents, which is especially dangerous on expressways, and self-driving cars at level 4 or higher will never be put into practical use. That's what I think. Assuming accidents and breakdowns occur, by limiting the speed to low speeds where no one will be injured even if an accident occurs, and driving only on designated roads, the vehicle becomes safe and secure, and this proposal is based on low-speed self-driving cars. It is something.

Low-speed self-driving cars have the advantage of being easy to get on and off at any point along the route, but many people get on and off the vehicle frequently, and they are slow to begin with, and it takes too much time to stop each time to get on and off the vehicle. There are challenges. (In an elevator, it's safe if the lamps on each floor change even slowly, but if the elevator stops for a long time on a certain floor, you wonder if they're loading or unloading luggage, etc., and if it happens frequently, you get irritated.)

Patent application 2020-60835

To reduce the time lost when getting on and off, and to arrive at the destination faster than walking slowly, even though the speed is low.

Enables safe entry and exit of low-speed self-driving cars while driving. When the door of the low-speed self-driving car opens, a handle that can be grabbed by the hand and a foot rest are set, and when getting into the vehicle, the speed of the low-speed self-driving car is further slowed down as necessary. Walk a little faster than the speed of the self-driving car, hold on to the handle, place your feet on the footrest, and get on the vehicle.When getting off the vehicle, hold on to the handle and place your feet on the footrest. The user places one foot on the road at a time, first walks at the speed of the low-speed self-driving car, and then lets go of the handle to get off the vehicle.

As long as the route is set, you can be called 24 hours a day from anywhere, and although the ride is generally slow, no matter how many passengers get on and off, you can enjoy the ride without getting frustrated and knowing the arrival time to a certain extent. can be done safely and securely.
Additionally, reservations can be made in advance using a smartphone app, which has the advantage of almost no waiting time.

An overview of the present invention is shown. An example of operation of the present invention will be shown.

When the door of the self-driving car opens, a handle that can be grabbed by the hand and a foot rest are set, and when getting into the vehicle, the speed of the low-speed self-driving car is further slowed down as necessary. Walk a little faster than the speed of the self-driving car, hold on to the handle, place your feet on the footrest, and get on the vehicle.When getting off the vehicle, hold on to the handle and place your feet on the footrest, one foot at a time. The user is allowed to get off the vehicle by first walking at the speed of the low-speed self-driving vehicle and then letting go of the handle.

In Figure 1, the four tire drive motors and steering motor are not interlocked with each other and operate independently, so even if one of them fails (it does not drive, but is free). ), it is designed to function as a low-speed self-driving car.
The steering motor allows the orientation of each tire to change direction within a range of ±90 degrees, and by forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor, it is possible to move in all directions of 360 degrees. (Parallel parking that moves directly sideways is possible.)
For example, when passing each other on a narrow road where it is difficult to drive in both directions, you can move perpendicular to the direction of travel, so if there is a vertical space of 8 m for the length of the car, you can put the car in there and pass each other. becomes possible.

In addition, there are two batteries, and the wiring from each battery is connected to all the motors, so even if one battery fails or the charge level becomes zero, it will continue to function as a low-speed self-driving car. ing. In order to prevent two batteries from becoming 0 at the same time, it is more efficient to replace the battery when one reaches 0 with about 50% of its charge remaining, so both batteries are used equally. Set it so that (Automatic exchange is performed by a robot at the automatic exchange house.)

There are two handles and a footrest on the inside of the entrance/exit door.When getting on the vehicle, walk or run a little faster than the speed of the low-speed self-driving car, hold on to the handles, and rest your feet. The user places the footrest on the footrest, gets on the vehicle, and then walks while holding on to the gripping bar to move to a safe position.
When getting off the vehicle, while holding on to the handle, place the feet placed on the foot rest on the road, one foot at a time, walk at the speed of the low-speed self-driving vehicle, and then let go of the handle. Make it possible to get off the train.
If an elderly person, a disabled person, or a visually impaired person wants to get on and off the vehicle after the low-speed self-driving vehicle has stopped, the user does not take the above steps and gets on and off while holding on to the grab bar. Those around you will assist if necessary.

The low-speed self-driving car is equipped with multiple cameras and AI (Chat GPT), and it opens the door after confirming that there are no problems with the surrounding environment, and also ensures that passengers get on or off the vehicle. Make sure you have done so before closing the door slowly.
Similar to elevator doors, the system is such that if a hand or foot gets caught, the door will open once.

Furthermore, the AI of the low-speed self-driving car can tell whether a person wants to ride based on their movements and gestures, so it is clear that the person wants to ride by saying, "Do you want to ride?" and a conversation such as "I will ride." The AI checks the speed and stop instructions given by the passenger when boarding the vehicle, speeds or stops as instructed, and then opens the door.
When getting off the train, the customer decides whether to get off the vehicle in N mode (6km/h), get off in S mode (3km/h), or get off at stop by pressing the button.

In addition, barrier-free pick-up and drop-off areas are frequently set up along the routes of low-speed self-driving cars, and if a person in a wheelchair or in a baby carriage is present and expresses an intention to board the vehicle, the low-speed self-driving car will The vehicle stops right next to the barrier-free area, and the AI says, "Open the door," then slowly opens the door, and once it confirms that the vehicle is boarding, closes the door.

FIG. 2 shows an example of actual operation of a low-speed self-driving vehicle.

As long as the route is set, you can be called 24 hours a day from anywhere, and although the ride is generally slow, no matter how many passengers get on and off, you can enjoy the ride without getting frustrated and knowing the arrival time to a certain extent. can be done safely and securely.
Another benefit is that you can make reservations in advance, so if you board at the same time as your reservation, you won't have to wait long at all.

Claims (1)

The drive motors for each of the four wheels of a low-speed self-driving car and the motor for each steering wheel are integrated with each tire and are independent, and the drive motor rotates forward and reverse, and the steering motor rotates the tires. It is a low-speed self-driving car that can move in a range of ±90 degrees and travel in all directions 360 degrees, and the door that opens perpendicular to the direction of travel is equipped with a handle and footrest that can be grabbed by hand. When getting on the vehicle, walk along the direction of travel of the low-speed self-driving vehicle, slightly faster than the speed of the low-speed self-driving vehicle, hold on to the handle, place your feet on the footrest, and when getting off the vehicle, walk a little faster than the speed of the low-speed self-driving vehicle. While holding on to the handle, place one foot on the foot rest on the road, first walk at the speed of the self-driving car, and then let go of the handle to get off the vehicle. A low-speed self-driving car that allows you to get on and off the vehicle while it is running, and in the same direction as the vehicle is traveling .