JP7368212B2 - Service vehicle dispatch system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a service vehicle dispatch system.

BACKGROUND ART Traditionally, on-site services have been provided in which each home is visited using a vehicle and services such as medical services and nursing care services are provided to those homes. In recent years, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles are sometimes used for such on-site services.

Electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles are equipped with an on-board battery, and can run using the electric power stored in the on-board battery. In addition, in recent years, some companies have begun connecting electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles (hereinafter referred to as electric vehicles, etc.) to buildings, and transmitting and receiving power between the electric vehicles and buildings while connected. has been done.

If an electric vehicle or the like is used as the above-mentioned on-site service vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a service vehicle), it is necessary to stop at a nearby building on the way to visit each home and supply electricity from that building to the service vehicle. It is conceivable that the battery could be supplied to the vehicle to charge the on-vehicle battery. Moreover, on the contrary, it is also possible to supply the electric power stored in the on-vehicle battery from the service vehicle to the building side and sell the electric power. In this way, when an electric vehicle or the like is used as a service vehicle, it is conceivable that power is exchanged between the service vehicle and the building while visiting each home.

Note that some systems have been proposed that create a movement plan for moving a vehicle to a building in order to transfer power between the vehicle and the building (see Patent Document 1).

JP2017-103938A

By the way, when transmitting and receiving electric power between a service vehicle and a building, it is conceivable to transmit and receive electric power while the service vehicle is parked in a parking space provided in the building. Therefore, even if a service vehicle is moved to a building to exchange electricity with the building, if a resident's vehicle is parked in the building's parking space, it will not be possible to exchange electricity. There is a possibility that it cannot be done.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its main purpose is to provide a service vehicle dispatch system that can reliably transfer power between a service vehicle and a building. It is something.

In order to solve the above problems, a service vehicle dispatch system according to a first aspect of the invention is used when visiting homes to provide a predetermined service, and a service vehicle having an on-board power storage area is connected to multiple buildings. This applies when it is possible to exchange electricity between the service vehicle and the building on the service provision day when the service vehicle is used to provide the prescribed service. A vehicle dispatching system that dispatches the service vehicle to the building in order to send and receive electric power at Based on a parking situation prediction means for predicting the parking situation of a vehicle in a parking space, and the parking situation of a vehicle in each of the buildings predicted by the parking situation prediction means, the service vehicle is assigned to any of the above on the service provision day. The present invention is characterized by comprising a vehicle allocation plan creation means for creating a vehicle allocation plan regarding whether to allocate a vehicle to a building.

According to the present invention, a service vehicle used when visiting homes and providing predetermined services can exchange power with a plurality of buildings. Therefore, it is possible to stop by a building while visiting a home using a service vehicle and exchange power between the service vehicle and the building.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the parking situation of vehicles in parking spaces on the day of service provision is predicted for each building, and based on the predicted parking situation of vehicles in each building, the parking situation of vehicles in parking spaces on the day of service provision is predicted. A vehicle allocation plan regarding whether to allocate vehicles to the building is created. In this case, a vehicle allocation plan may be created to allocate the service vehicle to a building with an empty parking space (that is, no vehicle is parked in the parking space) on the day the service is provided, or a vehicle allocation plan may be created to allocate the service vehicle to a building that has an empty parking space on the day the service is provided. It becomes possible to create a vehicle allocation plan to allocate service vehicles. Therefore, by allocating (moving) the service vehicle to a building according to the created vehicle allocation plan, it is possible to reliably park the service vehicle in the parking space of the building. This makes it possible to reliably transfer power between the service vehicle and the building.

In the service vehicle dispatch system according to a second invention, in the first invention, each of the buildings is provided with a power generation device that generates power using natural energy, and each of the buildings is provided with a power generation device that generates power on the service provision day. comprising a power surplus/deficiency situation prediction means for predicting a power surplus/deficiency situation regarding whether the amount of power generated by the power generation device is surplus or insufficient with respect to the amount of power used in the building, and the vehicle dispatch plan creation means: The present invention is characterized in that the dispatch plan for the service vehicle on the service provision day is created based on the power surplus/deficiency situation of each building predicted by the power surplus/deficiency situation prediction means.

According to the present invention, the power surplus/deficiency situation regarding whether the amount of power generated by the power generation device will be surplus or insufficient with respect to the amount of power used on the day of service provision is predicted for each building, and the predicted power surplus/deficiency situation for each building is predicted. A service vehicle dispatch plan is created based on the power surplus/deficiency situation. In this case, it is possible to create a vehicle allocation plan to allocate service vehicles to buildings with surplus electricity, or to allocate service vehicles to buildings with insufficient electricity. This makes it possible to create a suitable vehicle allocation plan according to the excess or shortage of electricity on the building side.

In the service vehicle dispatch system according to a third aspect of the invention, in the second invention, the vehicle dispatch plan creating means determines that the amount of electric power generated by the power generation device is relative to the amount of electric power used by the power surplus/deficiency situation predicting means. The present invention is characterized in that the vehicle allocation plan is created so as to allocate the service vehicle to the building predicted to have a surplus.

According to the present invention, a vehicle allocation plan is created to allocate a service vehicle to a building in which the amount of power generated by the power generation device is predicted to be in excess of the amount of power used on the day of service provision. In this case, the service vehicle can be dispatched to a building that has surplus electricity, so when the service vehicle is visiting a home, it can stop by the building and use the surplus electricity to store the surplus electricity in the service vehicle (in-vehicle power storage area). It becomes possible to charge the battery.

A service vehicle dispatch system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, acquires visit schedule information regarding which of the homes to be visited by the service vehicle on the service provision day. The service vehicle includes a visit schedule information acquisition means, and the vehicle allocation plan creation means creates the vehicle allocation plan for the service vehicle based on the visit schedule information acquired by the visit schedule information acquisition means.

According to the present invention, visit schedule information regarding which homes are to be visited by a service vehicle on a service provision day is acquired, and a service vehicle dispatch plan is created based on the acquired visit schedule information. In this case, it becomes possible to create a vehicle allocation plan tailored to the home to be visited, such as creating a vehicle allocation plan to allocate a service vehicle to a building on the way to the home to be visited. This provides a convenient configuration for transmitting and receiving power between the service vehicle and the building while visiting a home.

A service vehicle dispatch system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth inventions, dispatches the service vehicle to the building according to the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch plan creating means. The vehicle dispatch instructing means includes a vehicle dispatch instructing means for instructing the service vehicle, and a parking detecting means provided for each of the buildings and detecting whether or not a vehicle is parked in the parking space. When issuing an instruction to allocate a vehicle to the building, the instruction is provided on the condition that the parking detection means detects that no vehicle is parked in the parking space of the building.

According to the present invention, when the service vehicle is instructed to dispatch to a building according to the created vehicle dispatch plan, the dispatch instruction is given on the condition that no vehicle is parked in the parking space of the building. In this case, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which the service vehicle cannot be parked because the vehicle is parked in the parking space even though the service vehicle has gone to the building. Thereby, power can be more reliably transferred between the service vehicle and the building.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a service vehicle and a building where power can be exchanged with the service vehicle. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle dispatch system. 5 is a flowchart showing vehicle allocation planning processing. 5 is a flowchart showing vehicle dispatch instruction processing.

An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a service vehicle and a building to which power can be exchanged with the service vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a predetermined area E, a visiting service is being performed in which a vehicle 11 visits homes X within the area E and provides a predetermined service. In this embodiment, the home visit service is assumed to be a medical service that visits homes to provide examinations, treatments, etc., and the vehicle 11 described above is a vehicle used when providing medical services. The vehicle 11 is loaded with medical instruments, medical equipment, and the like. Note that, hereinafter, the vehicle 11 will be referred to as a service vehicle 11.

The service vehicle 11 is an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) equipped with an on-vehicle battery 51 (see FIG. 2). The service vehicle 11 is capable of traveling by driving a motor using electric power stored in an on-vehicle battery 51. Note that the on-vehicle battery 51 corresponds to an on-vehicle power storage site.

The service vehicle 11 is electrically connected to the building 12, and is capable of transmitting and receiving power to and from the building 12 in this connected state. Within the area E, there are a plurality of buildings 12 that can exchange power with the service vehicle 11. Thereby, the service vehicle 11 is able to stop by these buildings 12 and exchange power with the buildings 12 while visiting the home X that provides medical services. In other words, the service vehicle 11 receives power from the building 12 and charges the on-board battery 51 with the power, or supplies (discharges) the power stored in the on-board battery 51 to the building 12 and sells the electricity. It is now possible to do so.

Each building 12 is provided with a solar panel 16 capable of generating solar power. In these buildings 12, various electric devices (household appliances, lighting devices, etc.) within the buildings 12 are operated by the power generated by the solar panels 16. Specifically, in these buildings 12, when operating various electrical devices, the power generated by the solar panels 16 is used with priority, and only when the power generated by the solar panels 16 alone is insufficient, the shortage is resolved. We are trying to make up for this with commercial electricity. Note that the solar panel 16 corresponds to a power generation device.

Each building 12 is provided with a parking space 17 in which a vehicle can be parked. The parking space 17 is provided outdoors or in a garage. Furthermore, each building 12 is provided with a charging facility 18 that charges vehicles parked in the parking spaces 17. The charging equipment 18 has a charging cable 18a that can be connected to a vehicle. The charging equipment 18 is configured to charge the vehicle by supplying power from the building 12 (for example, power generated by the solar panel 16) to the vehicle while the charging cable 18a is connected to the vehicle. Furthermore, in addition to the function of charging the vehicle, the charging equipment 18 also has a function of supplying power from the vehicle (more specifically, an on-vehicle battery) to the building 12 side. In this way, in each building 12, it is possible to transfer power between the building 12 and the vehicle via the charging facility 18 while the charging cable 18a of the charging facility 18 is connected to the vehicle. .

Next, a vehicle dispatch system for distributing the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 in order to exchange electric power between the service vehicle 11 and the building 12 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the vehicle dispatch system.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle dispatch system includes a management server 30 provided at a vehicle dispatch service company. The management server 30 centrally manages the vehicle dispatch system, and is composed of, for example, a personal computer. The management server 30 includes a control section 31, a communication section 32, a building information storage section 33, and a visit schedule information storage section 34.

The control unit 31 performs various processes such as a vehicle dispatch process for distributing the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 . The control section 31 is connected to a communication section 32 and each storage section 33, 34, respectively. The communication unit 32 performs wireless communication with the service vehicle 11. The building information storage section 33 stores building information regarding each building 12. As the building information, for example, location information regarding the location (address) of each building 12 is stored.

The visit schedule information storage unit 34 stores visit schedule information regarding which home X to visit and when for each service provision day (that is, business day) on which medical services are provided. The visit schedule information also includes information such as the location (address) and telephone number of the home X to be visited.

The management server 30 is connected to a home server 40 provided in each building 12 via a communication network such as the Internet 27. The home server 40 performs power management and the like in the building 12, and is configured by, for example, a control device for a HEMS (home energy management system).

The home server 40 includes a control section 41, a power amount history storage section 42, and a parking history storage section 43. The control unit 41 performs various processes related to power management in the building 12, and is connected to each of the storage units 42 and 43, respectively. The power amount history storage unit 42 stores a history of the amount of power used (consumed) in the building 12 and a history of the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16 of the building 12. . Furthermore, the parking history storage unit 43 stores the parking history of vehicles in the parking spaces 17 of the building 12.

Each building 12 is provided with a power meter 46 that measures the amount of power used in the building 12 (that is, the amount of power used). This power meter 46 measures the amount of power used by various electrical devices in the building 12. The power meter 46 is connected to the home server 40, and information on the amount of power used measured by the power meter 46 is sequentially input to the control unit 41 of the home server 40. When information on the amount of power used is input from the power meter 46, the control section 41 stores the information on the amount of power used together with the current time in the power amount history storage section 42 each time. As a result, the power consumption history storage unit 42 stores the history of power consumption in the building 12.

The solar panel 16 of each building 12 is provided with a power generation amount sensor 16a that detects the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16. The power generation amount sensor 16a is connected to the home server 40, and information on the amount of power generated detected by the power generation amount sensor 16a is sequentially input to the control unit 41 of the home server 40. When information on the amount of generated power is input from the power generation amount sensor 16a, the control unit 41 stores the information on the amount of generated power in the power amount history storage unit 42 together with the current time each time. Thereby, the history of the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16 in the building 12 is stored in the power amount history storage section 42 .

Each building 12 is provided with a vehicle sensor 48 that detects the presence or absence of a vehicle in the parking space 17. Vehicle sensor 48 consists of an infrared sensor, for example. This vehicle sensor 48 detects whether a vehicle is parked in the parking space 17 or not. Note that the vehicle sensor 48 corresponds to parking detection means.

Vehicle sensor 48 is connected to home server 40 . Information on the presence or absence of a vehicle detected by the vehicle sensor 48 is sequentially input to the control unit 41 of the home server 40 . When information on the presence or absence of a vehicle is input from the vehicle sensor 48, the control unit 41 stores the information in the parking history storage unit 43 together with the current time each time. As a result, the parking history storage unit 43 stores the history of the presence or absence of a vehicle in the parking space 17, that is, the parking history of the vehicle in the parking space 17.

The management server 30 is connected to the weather center 29 (specifically, the server of the weather center 29) via the Internet 27. The weather center 29 is an external facility that provides weather forecast information, such as the Japan Meteorological Agency. The control unit 31 of the management server 30 accesses the weather center 29 via the Internet 27 and acquires weather forecast information from the center 29 .

The control unit 31 of the management server 30 controls the service vehicle 11 to transmit and receive electric power between the service vehicle 11 and the building 12 on each service provision day when medical services are provided using the service vehicle 11. 11 to the building 12. In the vehicle allocation process, a vehicle allocation plan process is performed to create a vehicle allocation plan regarding which building 12 the service vehicle 11 should be allocated to and when, and an instruction to allocate the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 according to the created vehicle allocation plan. Car dispatch instruction processing is performed.

The service vehicle 11 includes, in addition to the above-described on-board battery 51, a vehicle controller 50 and a car navigation device 52 (hereinafter simply referred to as the car navigation device 52). The vehicle controller 50 includes a well-known microcomputer and is connected to a car navigation device 52. The vehicle controller 50 also includes a communication unit 50a that can communicate wirelessly with the management server 30 (specifically, the communication unit 32).

The car navigation device 52 has a display that displays a guide screen for guiding the user to the destination. On the display of the car navigation device 52, in addition to the guidance screen, the contents of the vehicle allocation instruction given by the management server 30 are displayed. That is, when a vehicle allocation instruction is transmitted from the control unit 31 of the management server 30 via the communication unit 32, the transmitted vehicle allocation instruction is received by the vehicle controller 50 through the communication unit 50a. Then, the vehicle controller 50 causes the content of the received vehicle allocation instruction to be displayed on the display of the car navigation device 52. This allows the user (driver) of the service vehicle 11 to move (dispatch) the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 according to the dispatch instructions, and to transfer power between the building 12 and the service vehicle 11. be able to.

Next, the vehicle allocation process executed by the control unit 31 of the management server 30 will be described. The vehicle allocation process is executed every service day when medical services are provided using the service vehicle 11. As described above, the vehicle dispatch process includes a vehicle dispatch planning process that creates a vehicle dispatch plan for the service vehicle 11 to the building 12, and a vehicle dispatch instruction process that instructs the service vehicle 11 to dispatch according to the created vehicle dispatch plan. be. Therefore, in the following, the vehicle allocation planning process and the vehicle allocation planning process will be explained in order.

First, the vehicle allocation planning process will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that this process is executed the day before the service provision date, and is started, for example, when a predetermined time (for example, 20:00) arrives on the day before the service provision day.

As shown in FIG. 3, first, in step S11, visit schedule information for the service provision day (that day) is read out from the visit schedule information storage unit 34 and acquired. As a result, information on which home X to visit and when to visit with the service vehicle 11 on the service provision day is acquired, as well as location information of the home X to be visited (corresponding to visit schedule information acquisition means).

In step S12, a request signal is sent via the Internet 27 to the home server 40 of each building 12 to request transmission of building information necessary for the vehicle allocation plan. When this request signal is received by the control unit 41 of the home server 40 in each building 12, the control unit 41 transmits building information to the management server 30 as a response to the request signal. In this case, the control unit 41 reads the history of the amount of power used and the amount of generated power in the building 12 from the power amount history storage unit 42, and transmits the information on the history of the read out amount of power used and the amount of generated power as building information. do. Further, the control unit 41 reads information on the parking history of the vehicle in the building 12 (parking space 17) from the parking history storage unit 43, and transmits the read parking history information as building information.

In step S13, building information transmitted from the home server 40 (control unit 41) of each building 12 is received. As a result, information on the history of the amount of power used and amount of generated power in each building 12 and information on the parking history of vehicles in each building 12 are acquired.

In step S14, the weather center 29 is accessed and weather forecast information for the service provision day is obtained from the weather center 29. In this case, weather forecast information for a predetermined area E is obtained.

In step S15, a parking situation prediction process is performed for each building 12 to predict the parking situation of vehicles in the parking spaces 17 on the service provision day (corresponding to parking situation prediction means). In this prediction process, the parking situation of vehicles at each building 12 on the service provision day is predicted based on the parking history information at each building 12 acquired in step S13. Specifically, in this prediction process, for each building 12, the time period when a vehicle will be parked or not parked in the parking space 17 on the day of service provision is predicted as the parking situation of the vehicle.

In step S16, for each building 12, the power overload situation is predicted to determine whether the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16 will be surplus or insufficient with respect to the amount of power used in the building 12 on the service provision day. Performs shortage situation prediction processing (equivalent to power surplus/deficiency situation prediction means). In this prediction process, the power surplus/deficiency situation in each building 12 on the service provision date is predicted based on the history information of the amount of power generated and the amount of power used in each building 12 acquired in step S13. Specifically, in this prediction process, for each building 12, it is determined whether the amount of electricity generated by the solar panel 16 will be in surplus or insufficient with respect to the amount of electricity used in the building 12 for each time period on the service provision day. Forecast as a power surplus/deficiency situation. In addition, in the prediction process, if the amount of generated power is surplus to the amount of power used, the surplus power amount is also predicted, and if the amount of generated power is short of the amount of power used, the amount of power shortage is predicted. also predict.

Furthermore, in this step S16, the power surplus/deficiency situation on the service provision day is further predicted based on the weather forecast information on the service provision day acquired in the above step S14. When the weather is bad, such as during rainy days, it is assumed that the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16 will decrease. Therefore, in this case, the power surplus/deficiency situation is predicted taking this into consideration.

In step S17, a vehicle allocation plan is created regarding which building 12 and at what time the service vehicle 11 will be allocated to which building 12 and at what time so that electric power can be exchanged between the service vehicle 11 and the building 12 on the service provision day. Performs vehicle dispatch plan creation processing (equivalent to vehicle dispatch plan creation means). In this vehicle allocation plan creation process, the visit schedule information acquired in step S11, the parking situation of vehicles in each building 12 predicted in step S15, and the power surplus/deficiency situation in each building 12 predicted in step S16 are used. Based on this, a dispatch plan for the service vehicle 11 is created. In the vehicle allocation plan creation process, for example, at least one of the following processes (a) to (c) is performed. Therefore, the contents of each of these processes will be explained below.

(a) A vehicle allocation plan for the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 is created based on the visit schedule information on the service provision day. In this case, it is conceivable to create a vehicle allocation plan to allocate the vehicle to a building 12 located near the home X to be visited or a building 12 located on the way to the home X to be visited.

(b) A vehicle allocation plan for the service vehicles 11 to the buildings 12 is created based on the parking status of vehicles in each building 12. In this case, a vehicle allocation plan may be created to allocate the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 where no vehicle is parked in the parking space 17 on the service provision day (in other words, the parking space 17 is vacant). Alternatively, a vehicle allocation plan may be created such that the service vehicle 11 is allocated during a time period when the parking space 17 in the building 12 is vacant.

(c) Create a dispatch plan for the service vehicles 11 to the buildings 12 based on the power surplus/deficiency status in each building 12. In this case, a vehicle allocation plan is created so that the service vehicle 11 is allocated to a building 12 that has a surplus of electricity on the service provision day, or a vehicle allocation plan is created so that the service vehicle 11 is allocated to a building 12 that has a shortage of electricity on the service provision day. It is possible to create a . Further, the vehicle allocation plan may be created so that the service vehicle 11 is allocated during a time period when the building 12 has a surplus of electric power or a time period when there is a shortage of electric power.

Further, the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch plan creation process may include the dispatch time for dispatching the service vehicle 11 to the building 12. The time required for dispatching the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 depends on the time required for power transfer between the building 12 and the service vehicle 11. When calculating (predicting) the dispatch time of the service vehicle 11, first predict the time required for power transfer between the building 12 and the service vehicle 11, and then calculate the vehicle dispatch time based on the predicted power transfer time. It is possible to do so. For example, when supplying (giving and receiving) power from the building 12 to the service vehicle 11, the time required for the power transfer is predicted based on the history of the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16, and the vehicle is dispatched based on the predicted time. One possibility is to calculate the time.

In step S18, a travel plan creation process creates a travel plan for the service vehicle 11 on the service provision day based on the visit schedule information acquired in step S11 and the dispatch plan for the service vehicle 11 created in step S17. I do. In this travel plan creation process, the service vehicle 11 will visit home X and building 12 on the service provision day, at what time of day, and what route (traveling) will take to visit home X and building 12. Create a travel plan based on what you plan to do. After the travel plan creation process, this process (vehicle allocation planning process) is ended.

Next, the vehicle allocation instruction process will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 4. Note that this process starts when the medical service provision start time (for example, 9:00) arrives on the service provision day, and continues at a predetermined cycle until the medical service provision end time (for example, 18:00). is executed repeatedly.

As shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S21, the communication unit 32 transmits the travel plan for the service vehicle 11 created in step S18 of the above-described vehicle allocation planning process (FIG. 3) to the vehicle controller 50 of the service vehicle 11. do. When this travel plan is received by the vehicle controller 50 through the communication unit 50a, the vehicle controller 50 causes the received travel plan to be displayed on the display of the car navigation device 52. As a result, the user (driver) of the service vehicle 11 can know what route the service vehicle 11 will take to visit the home X to be visited and the building 12 to be visited during the visit on the day the service is provided. can.

Note that if the travel plan for the service vehicle 11 has already been transmitted, the process directly advances to step S22.

In step S22, based on the vehicle dispatch plan for the service vehicle 11 created in step S17 of the vehicle dispatch planning process (FIG. 3) described above, the current time is a vehicle dispatch instruction for dispatching the service vehicle 11 to the building 12. It is determined whether the designated time has arrived. The dispatch instruction time is set to a predetermined time before the scheduled dispatch time (dispatch start time) at which the service vehicle 11 is dispatched to the building 12, for example, set to 30 minutes before the scheduled dispatch time. has been done. When the vehicle allocation instruction time has arrived, the process advances to step S23.

In step S23, information regarding whether or not a vehicle (resident's vehicle) is currently parked in the parking space 17 of the building 12 is transmitted to the home server 40 of the building 12 to which the service vehicle 11 is dispatched. send a request signal requesting that When this request signal is received by the control unit 41 of the home server 40, the control unit 41 transmits information on the presence or absence of a vehicle detected by the vehicle sensor 48 to the management server 30 as a response to the request signal.

In step S24, information about the presence or absence of a vehicle transmitted from the home server 40 is received. As a result, information as to whether a vehicle is currently parked in the parking space 17 in the building 12 to which the vehicle is to be dispatched is acquired.

In step S25, it is determined whether or not a vehicle is currently parked in the parking space 17 in the building 12 to which the vehicle is allocated, based on the information on the presence or absence of a vehicle acquired in step S24. If the vehicle is parked, the process ends, and if the vehicle is not parked, the process advances to step S26.

In step S26, a vehicle allocation instruction process is performed to instruct the service vehicle 11 to allocate a vehicle to the building 12 according to the vehicle allocation plan for the service vehicle 11 (corresponding to a vehicle allocation instruction means). In the vehicle allocation instruction process, vehicle allocation instruction information is transmitted from the communication unit 32 to the vehicle controller 50 of the service vehicle 11. In this case, the vehicle dispatch instruction information includes information such as the location information of the building 12 to which the vehicle is dispatched and the scheduled vehicle dispatch time. When this dispatch instruction information is received by the vehicle controller 50, the vehicle controller 50 displays the dispatch instruction information on the display of the car navigation device 52. This allows the user of the service vehicle 11 to know that a dispatch instruction has been given and the contents of the instruction. After that, this process ends.

The user of the service vehicle 11 who has received the vehicle allocation instruction moves the service vehicle 11 to the destination building 12 in accordance with the vehicle allocation instruction, and parks it in the parking space 17 of the building 12. Then, the charging cable 18a of the charging equipment 18 is connected to the service vehicle 11, and in this connected state, power is exchanged between the building 12 and the service vehicle 11. Specifically, when the building 12 is a building with a surplus of electricity, the building 12 supplies electricity to the service vehicle 11 to charge the on-vehicle battery 51. Further, when the building 12 is a building with a power shortage, the stored power of the on-vehicle battery 51 is supplied to the building 12 from the service vehicle 11.

In the previous step S22, if the current time is not the dispatch instruction time, the process advances to step S31, and it is determined whether or not the service vehicle 11 has already been instructed to dispatch a vehicle to the building 12 (step S26). judge. If the vehicle allocation instruction has already been given, the process advances to step S32; otherwise, the process ends.

In step S32, the time when the resident who is leaving the building 12 to which the vehicle is to be dispatched is expected to return home is predicted. In other words, the time when the vehicle that is leaving the house will return to the parking space 17 of the building 12 is predicted. In this case, the resident's return home time is predicted based on information on the parking history of vehicles in the building 12.

In step S33, it is determined whether the time for the resident to return home has approached. This determination is made, for example, based on whether the current time is 10 minutes before the time when the resident returns home. If the time for the resident to return home is approaching, the process advances to step S34, and if it is not approaching the time for the resident to return home, the process ends.

In step S34, a departure instruction process is performed to instruct the service vehicle 11 to depart from the parking space 17 of the building 12. In the departure instruction process, departure instruction information is transmitted from the communication unit 32 to the vehicle controller 50 of the service vehicle 11. The departure instruction information includes information such as the departure time at which the service vehicle 11 departs from the parking space 17. When this departure instruction information is received by the vehicle controller 50, the vehicle controller 50 displays the departure instruction information on the display of the car navigation device 52. This allows the user of the service vehicle 11 to know that the departure time from the parking space 17 is approaching. Therefore, the user must complete the power transfer between the building 12 and the service vehicle 11 by the departure time, that is, by the time the resident returns home, and cause the service vehicle 11 to depart from the parking space 17. becomes possible. After that, this process ends.

According to the configuration of this embodiment described in detail above, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

The parking situation of vehicles in the parking spaces 17 on the day of service provision is predicted for each building 12, and based on the predicted parking situation of vehicles in each building 12, the service vehicle 11 is parked in which building 12 on the day of service provision. Create a dispatch plan for when to dispatch vehicles. In this case, a vehicle allocation plan may be created to allocate the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 where the parking space 17 is vacant on the day of service provision, or the service vehicle 11 may be allocated to the building 12 at a time when the parking space 17 is vacant. It becomes possible to create a vehicle allocation plan for dispatching vehicles. Therefore, by allocating the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 according to the created vehicle allocation plan, the service vehicle 11 can be reliably parked in the parking space 17 of the building 12. This makes it possible to reliably transfer power between the service vehicle 11 and the building 12.

For each building 12, predict the power surplus/deficiency situation regarding whether the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16 will be surplus or insufficient with respect to the amount of power used in the building 12 on the service provision date, and A dispatch plan for service vehicles 11 is created based on the power surplus/deficiency situation. In this case, it is possible to create a vehicle allocation plan to allocate the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 where there is a surplus of electricity, or to create a vehicle allocation plan to allocate the service vehicle 11 to the building 12 where there is a shortage of electricity. becomes. This makes it possible to create a suitable vehicle allocation plan according to the excess or shortage of electric power on the building 12 side.

A vehicle allocation plan is created to allocate a service vehicle 11 to a building 12 where the amount of power generated by the solar panel 16 is predicted to be surplus to the amount of power used on the day of service provision. In this case, the service vehicle 11 can be dispatched to the building 12 that has surplus electricity, so while visiting household 11 (vehicle battery 51) can be charged.

Visit schedule information regarding which home X is to be visited by the service vehicle 11 on the service provision day is acquired, and a dispatch plan for the service vehicle 11 is created based on the acquired visit schedule information. In this case, it is possible to create a vehicle allocation plan in accordance with the home X to be visited, such as creating a vehicle allocation plan to allocate the service vehicle 11 to a building 12 on the way to the home X to be visited. This provides a convenient configuration for transmitting and receiving power between the service vehicle 11 and the building 12 while visiting the home X.

When instructing the service vehicle 11 to allocate to a building 12 according to the prepared vehicle allocation plan, the allotment instruction is given on the condition that no vehicle is parked in the parking space 17 of the building 12. In this case, it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which the service vehicle 11 cannot be parked because the vehicle is parked in the parking space 17 even though the service vehicle 11 has gone to the building 12. Thereby, power can be transferred between the service vehicle 11 and the building 12 more reliably.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be implemented, for example, as follows.

(1) In the above embodiment, the parking history information of the vehicle in the parking space 17 is acquired, and the parking situation of the vehicle in the parking space 17 on the service provision day is predicted based on the acquired parking history information. Prediction of the parking situation of a vehicle does not necessarily have to be performed in this way. For example, if a resident of the building 12 who uses a vehicle to go to work or the like (hereinafter referred to as a specific resident) is absent from the building 12, it is assumed that the resident is out using the vehicle. Therefore, in consideration of this point, the presence/absence status regarding whether a specific resident is at home or absent from the building 12 on the day of service provision is predicted for each building 12, and the predicted presence/absence of the specific resident is made. Based on the absence status, the parking status of the vehicle on the day of service provision may be predicted. In this case, the presence/absence status of a specific resident on the service provision day is predicted for each time period. In other words, it is possible to predict when a specific resident will be at home or absent. With such a configuration as well, it is possible to predict the parking situation of vehicles in the parking spaces 17 for each building 12.

When predicting the presence/absence status of a specific resident for each building 12, the following method may be used, for example. That is, for each building 12, the home server 40 sequentially acquires the time when the specific resident leaves the building 12 and the time when the specific resident returns home to the building 12, and stores the acquired time of departure and time of return each time. I'll do what I do. As a result, the home server 40 stores (accumulates) history information of the specific resident's leaving time and returning home time. Then, the management server 30 acquires historical information on the going out time and returning home time of the specific resident from the home server 40 of each building 12, and based on the acquired historical information on the going out time and returning home time, the specific resident on the service provision day. Predict the presence/absence of the person.

In addition, as a configuration for acquiring the specific resident's leaving time and return home time, a configuration can be considered, for example, in which the specific resident acquires the information based on authentication information of an electronic key used for locking and unlocking the building 12. Specifically, when a specific resident locks/unlocks a lock using an electronic key, authentication information for the electronic key and information on whether the locking/unlocking operation was performed indoors or outdoors are acquired, and each of the acquired information is Based on this, it is determined whether a specific resident has gone out or returned home. Then, it is conceivable to determine the time when the specific resident goes out or returns home based on the determination result of whether the resident goes out or returns home and the time at which the authentication information is acquired.

(2) In the example of (1) above, the presence/absence status of a specific resident on the day of service provision is predicted based on the historical information of the specific resident's going out time and return time. Other methods can be considered when predicting. For example, it is possible to predict the presence/absence status of a specific resident based on information on the usage history of electrical equipment (lighting equipment, air conditioning equipment, home appliances, etc.) and water supply equipment by the particular resident. If electrical equipment or water supply equipment is being used by a specific resident, it can be assumed that the specific resident is at home, so it is possible to predict the presence or absence of the specific resident in this case as well. Note that the usage history of the electrical equipment may include the operating history of the electrical equipment, the switch operation history of the electrical equipment, and the like. Furthermore, when the electrical device is a refrigerator, the opening/closing history of the refrigerator may be used as the usage history.

Further, in addition to usage history information of electrical equipment and water supply equipment, the presence/absence status of a specific resident may be predicted based on historical information of the specific resident's wake-up time, etc.

(3) In the above embodiment, the home X visited by the service vehicle 11 may be the building 12 . In this case, while visiting home X and providing medical services, power can be exchanged between the service vehicle 11 and the building 12.

(4) There may be a plurality of service vehicles 11. In that case, for example, after instructing the service vehicle 11 to depart from the parking space 17 (step S34 in FIG. 4), the other service vehicle 11 is instructed to dispatch to the parking space 17. You may also do so.

(5) A storage battery may be provided in the building 12 to store the power generated by the solar panel 16. In this case, the electric power stored in the storage battery may be supplied to the service vehicle 11 to charge the on-vehicle battery 51. Alternatively, commercial power from the building 12 may be supplied to the service vehicle 11 to charge the on-vehicle battery 51.

(6) In the above embodiment, the building 12 is provided with the solar panel 16 as a power generation device, but the building 12 may be provided with a wind power generation device that generates wind power as a power generation device.

(7) In the above embodiment, the service vehicle 11 is a vehicle for medical services, but the service vehicle 11 may be a vehicle used for services other than medical services. For example, the service vehicle 11 may be a care service vehicle that visits homes and provides care.

(8) As the service vehicle 11, a vehicle having an automatic driving function may be used. In this case, it is conceivable that the service vehicle 11 be automatically controlled by the vehicle controller 50. Specifically, in this case, when the vehicle controller 50 receives a vehicle dispatch instruction transmitted from the management server 30 (control unit 31), the vehicle controller 50 directs the service vehicle 11 to the vehicle dispatch destination based on the vehicle dispatch instruction. It is conceivable to have the vehicle automatically drive up to the building 12.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Service vehicle, 12... Building, 16... Solar panel as a power generation device, 30... Management server, 31... Control unit, 40... Home server, 41... Control unit, 48... Vehicle sensor as parking detection means, 50 ...Vehicle controller, 51...In-vehicle battery as an in-vehicle power storage area, X...Household.

Claims (6)

Service vehicles that are used to visit homes and provide prescribed services such as medical or nursing care services, and that have an on-board power storage area, can send and receive electricity to and from multiple buildings. Applicable if
On a service provision day on which the predetermined service is provided using the service vehicle, stop by the building on the way to visit the home to exchange electricity between the service vehicle and the building. , a vehicle dispatch system that dispatches the service vehicle to the building,
Each of the buildings is provided with a parking space for vehicles;
Parking situation prediction means for predicting the parking situation of vehicles in the parking space on the service provision day for each of the buildings;
Vehicle allocation plan creation means for creating a vehicle allocation plan regarding which of the buildings the service vehicle will be allocated to on the service provision day based on the parking situation of vehicles in each of the buildings predicted by the parking situation prediction means;
A service vehicle dispatch system characterized by comprising: Each of the buildings is equipped with a power generation device that generates power using natural energy,
A power surplus/deficiency situation prediction that predicts, for each of the buildings, a power surplus/deficiency situation regarding whether the amount of power generated by the power generation device is surplus or insufficient with respect to the amount of power used in the building on the service provision date. have the means,
The vehicle dispatch plan creation means creates the vehicle dispatch plan for the service vehicle on the service provision day based on the power surplus/deficiency situation of each building predicted by the power surplus/deficiency situation prediction means. The service vehicle dispatch system according to claim 1. The vehicle dispatch plan creating means creates the vehicle dispatch plan so that the service vehicle is dispatched to the building where the amount of power generated by the power generating device is predicted to be surplus to the amount of power used by the power surplus/deficiency situation predicting means. 3. The service vehicle dispatch system according to claim 2, wherein: The vehicle dispatch plan creating means creates the vehicle dispatch plan so that the service vehicle is dispatched to the building where the amount of power generated by the power generation device is predicted to be insufficient with respect to the amount of power used by the power generation device. 3. The service vehicle dispatch system according to claim 2, wherein: comprising a visit schedule information acquisition means for acquiring visit schedule information regarding which of the homes to be visited by the service vehicle on the service provision day;
5. The vehicle allocation plan creating means creates the vehicle allocation plan for the service vehicle based on the visit schedule information acquired by the visit schedule information acquisition means. Dispatch system for the described service vehicles. Vehicle dispatch instruction means for instructing the service vehicle to dispatch a vehicle to the building according to the vehicle dispatch plan created by the vehicle dispatch plan creation means;
Parking detection means provided for each of the buildings and detecting whether a vehicle is parked in the parking space;
When instructing the service vehicle to allocate a vehicle to the building, the vehicle allocation instructing means may perform the above-mentioned service vehicle on the condition that the parking detection means detects that no vehicle is parked in the parking space of the building. 6. The service vehicle dispatch system according to claim 1, wherein the service vehicle dispatch system issues a dispatch instruction.

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