JP7519875B2 - On-board device, vehicle allocation method, vehicle allocation program, vehicle allocation management device, vehicle allocation management method, and vehicle allocation management program - Google Patents

Description

The disclosed embodiments relate to an in-vehicle device, a vehicle allocation method , a vehicle allocation program, a vehicle allocation management device, a vehicle allocation management method, and a vehicle allocation management program .

Conventionally, taxi dispatch systems operated by taxi companies and the like are known. In such systems, the current location of each taxi is tracked, for example, via a Global Positioning System (GPS), and in response to a dispatch request from a taxi user via telephone or the like, a center searches for the most suitable taxi and makes a dispatch request to the selected taxi.

In recent years, taxi dispatch services have also emerged that select and dispatch a taxi that best suits the needs of a taxi customer through a taxi dispatch app that runs on the customer's mobile device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Such a service would be operated, for example, by an app provider that partners with various taxi companies, and through the aforementioned app, taxi users would be able to receive the taxi dispatch service that is best suited to them, regardless of the taxi company. Meanwhile, through such a service, taxi drivers would be able to receive dispatch requests from systems other than their own, thereby improving the on-boarding rate, which indicates the percentage of times that a taxi is carrying a passenger.

JP 2019-20942 A

However, there is room for further improvement in conventional technology in terms of preventing overlapping dispatch requests from multiple dispatch systems for a single taxi.

For example, when using the conventional technology described above, it is possible that one taxi will receive dispatch requests from multiple dispatch systems at almost the same time. In such a case, if a driver accepts one dispatch request and declines the other, the driver who was declined will have to select a new suitable taxi, which is time-consuming.

For example, if a driver accepts multiple dispatch requests, either intentionally or by mistake, this could result in customers being kept waiting for a long time or the taxi driver canceling the request without notice.

One aspect of the embodiment has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide an on-board device, a vehicle dispatch management device, a vehicle dispatch system, and a vehicle dispatch method that can prevent overlapping dispatch requests from multiple vehicle dispatch systems for a single transport vehicle.

According to an embodiment, an on-board device is mounted on a transport vehicle and receives a dispatch request based on a dispatch request of a user from a first dispatch system and a second dispatch system other than the first dispatch system, the on-board device including a controller, when the controller receives a dispatch request from the first dispatch system prior to the second dispatch system, the controller causes the second dispatch system to set a dispatch request prohibition that prohibits the second dispatch system from making a dispatch request to the transport vehicle.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, it is possible to prevent duplicate dispatch requests from multiple dispatch systems for a single transport vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a vehicle allocation method according to a comparative example of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the vehicle allocation method according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the outline of the vehicle allocation method according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing sequence of the integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a vehicle allocation method according to the second embodiment. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the processing of the integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing sequence of the integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a vehicle allocation method according to the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the environment information. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the processing of the integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a processing sequence of the integrated vehicle dispatch system according to the third embodiment. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of a modified example.

Below, embodiments of the vehicle-mounted device, vehicle dispatch management device, vehicle dispatch system, and vehicle dispatch method disclosed in the present application will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

The following description will be given using as an example a case in which the integrated dispatch system 1 according to the embodiment is an integrated system in which one taxi T can receive dispatch requests from both the first dispatch system 2 and the second dispatch system 3.

First, an overview of the vehicle dispatch method according to the embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 1 is an overview explanatory diagram of a vehicle dispatch method according to a comparative example of the embodiment. Also, Fig. 2 is an overview explanatory diagram of the vehicle dispatch method according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1 includes a first vehicle dispatch system 2 and a second vehicle dispatch system 3.

The first vehicle dispatch system 2 is a system operated, for example, by a taxi company, and includes a first vehicle dispatch management device 20. The second vehicle dispatch system 3 is a system operated, for example, by an app provider that cooperates with taxi companies, and includes a second vehicle dispatch management device 30.

The first vehicle dispatch management device 20 is a device that keeps track of the current location of each taxi, for example via GPS, searches for the most suitable taxi in response to a dispatch request from a taxi user via telephone or other means, and issues a dispatch request to the selected taxi.

The second vehicle dispatch management device 30 also keeps track of the current location of each taxi via GPS, and in response to a dispatch request made through a taxi dispatch app running on the taxi customer's mobile terminal, selects, for example, a taxi that best meets the customer's wishes, and makes a dispatch request to the selected taxi.

However, when the dispatch method according to the comparative example is used, as shown in FIG. 1, one taxi T may receive a dispatch request from the first dispatch system 2 (hereinafter referred to as the "first dispatch request") and a dispatch request from the second dispatch system 3 (hereinafter referred to as the "second dispatch request") at almost the same time, resulting in a clash between the two requests.

In such a case, for example, if the driver of taxi T accepts one dispatch request and rejects the other, the rejected request will have to select a new suitable taxi, which will be a hassle.

For example, if a driver intentionally or by mistake accepts both dispatch requests, it could result in the taxi customer having to wait for a long time or the taxi driver canceling the request without notice.

Therefore, in the dispatch method according to the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, only one dispatch request from the first dispatch system 2 and the second dispatch system 3 is notified to the driver of taxi T at any one time.

Note that FIG. 2 shows an example in which only the first dispatch request from the first dispatch system 2 is notified to the driver of taxi T.

This ensures that the driver of taxi T is always aware of only one dispatch request that is eligible to be accepted, preventing a single taxi T from receiving duplicate dispatch requests from multiple dispatch systems.

The vehicle dispatch method according to this embodiment will be described in more detail below, in the order of the first embodiment, the second embodiment, and the third embodiment.

First Embodiment
3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the dispatch method according to the first embodiment. In the dispatch method according to the first embodiment, an in-vehicle device 50 mounted on a taxi T notifies the driver of the first dispatch request or the second dispatch request, whichever is received first, with priority. The in-vehicle device 50 is a terminal device on the taxi T side in the integrated dispatch system 1.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, in the vehicle dispatch method according to the first embodiment, if the vehicle-mounted device 50 acquires, for example, a first vehicle dispatch request first, the vehicle-mounted device 50 transmits a vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag to the second vehicle dispatch management device 30 and causes the flag to be set.

The second vehicle dispatch management device 30, in which the dispatch request prohibition flag is set, will not make a dispatch request to the taxi T until a dispatch request permission flag (not shown) is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 50 and set in the second vehicle dispatch management device 30.

On the other hand, the in-vehicle device 50 notifies the driver of the taxi T of the first dispatch request acquired earlier. Then, if the driver accepts the dispatch request, for example, via the in-vehicle device 50, the in-vehicle device 50 guides the taxi T to pick up the driver and get a vehicle in response to the first dispatch request, and supports the taxi T in picking up the driver and getting a vehicle in response to the first dispatch request.

Then, when the taxi user who made the first dispatch request gets off the taxi T and the taxi T becomes vacant, the in-vehicle device 50 transmits the above-mentioned dispatch request permission flag to the second dispatch management device 30 and sets it. Also, if the driver does not accept the first dispatch request, the in-vehicle device 50 transmits the dispatch request permission flag to the second dispatch management device 30 and sets it.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the first dispatch request is acquired first, but if the second dispatch request is acquired first, the vehicle device 50 transmits a dispatch request prohibition flag to the first dispatch management device 20 and sets it.

In other words, the dispatch method according to the first embodiment performs exclusive control to give priority to only one dispatch request that has been acquired first.

This makes it possible to prevent overlapping dispatch requests from the first dispatch system 2 and the second dispatch system 3 for a single taxi T.

Next, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an integrated vehicle dispatch system 1 according to the first embodiment. Note that FIG. 4 shows only the components necessary to explain the features of this embodiment, and omits the description of general components.

In other words, each component shown in FIG. 4 is a functional concept, and does not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. For example, the specific form of distribution and integration of each block is not limited to that shown, and all or part of it can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc. The same applies to the block diagrams shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 12 later.

In addition, in the explanation using Figure 4 and Figures 7 and 12 shown later, the explanation of components that have already been explained may be simplified or omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a first vehicle dispatch management device 20, a second vehicle dispatch management device 30, an in-vehicle device 50, and a mobile terminal 100. Note that the second vehicle dispatch management device 30 is assumed to have a configuration substantially similar to that of the first vehicle dispatch management device 20.

The first vehicle dispatch management device 20, the second vehicle dispatch management device 30, the in-vehicle device 50, and the mobile terminal 100 are arranged to be able to communicate with each other via a network N such as the Internet or a mobile phone network.

The first vehicle dispatch management device 20 will be described. The first vehicle dispatch management device 20 includes a communication unit 11, a memory unit 12, and a control unit 13.

The communication unit 11 is realized, for example, by a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like. The communication unit 11 is connected to the network N by wire or wirelessly, and transmits and receives information between the second vehicle dispatch management device 30, the in-vehicle device 50, and the mobile terminal 100 via the network N.

The communication unit 11 can also directly transmit and receive information (such as current location and available/occupied status) to and from each taxi included in the first vehicle dispatch system 2 via a mobile phone network or the like.

The storage unit 12 is realized, for example, by a semiconductor memory element such as a random access memory (RAM) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk, and in the example of FIG. 4, stores vehicle information 12a, request information 12b, traffic information 12c, and dispatch request prohibition flag information 12d.

Vehicle information 12a is, for example, information about the status of each taxi included in the first dispatch system 2, and includes each taxi's current location and available/occupied status. Request information 12b is information about a dispatch request made by a taxi user via the mobile terminal 100, and includes the contents of the dispatch request. Traffic information 12c is, for example, information about traffic conditions provided by a traffic information providing system (not shown) and includes congestion information.

The dispatch request prohibition flag information 12d is information related to the dispatch request prohibition flag described above, and when a dispatch request prohibition flag is acquired from the in-vehicle device 50, a dispatch request prohibition flag is set in association with the corresponding taxi T. In addition, when a dispatch request permission flag is acquired from the in-vehicle device 50, a dispatch request permission flag is set in association with the corresponding taxi T.

The control unit 13 is a controller, and is realized, for example, by a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or MPU (Micro Processing Unit) executing various programs (not shown) stored in the memory unit 12 using a RAM as a working area. The control unit 13 can also be realized, for example, by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The control unit 13 has an acquisition unit 13a and a dispatch control unit 13b, and realizes or executes the information processing functions and actions described below.

The acquisition unit 13a acquires the status of each taxi transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50 via the communication unit 11, and stores the information in the vehicle information 12a. The acquisition unit 13a also acquires a dispatch request transmitted from the mobile terminal 100 via the communication unit 11, and stores the information in the request information 12b.

The acquisition unit 13a also acquires traffic information provided from a traffic information providing system (not shown) via the communication unit 11, and stores the traffic information in the traffic information 12c.

When a vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50, the acquisition unit 13a acquires the flag via the communication unit 11 and sets it to the vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag information 12d. When a vehicle dispatch request permission flag is transmitted from the in-vehicle device 50, the acquisition unit 13a acquires the flag via the communication unit 11 and sets it to the vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag information 12d.

The dispatch control unit 13b selects the optimal taxi T in response to the dispatch request based on the vehicle information 12a, the request information 12b, and the traffic information 12c. The dispatch control unit 13b also transmits a dispatch request to the selected taxi T via the communication unit 11. The dispatch request includes the request information 12b. Before the dispatch request is transmitted, there is a method in which the dispatch control unit 13b automatically dispatches a taxi based on the data required for the dispatch request input and transmitted by the taxi user through a taxi dispatch app (an app dedicated to each taxi company (association)) of the mobile terminal 100. In this method, it is also possible to use a learning model generated through machine learning, so-called AI (Artificial Intelligence). In addition, there is also a method in which the operator OP manually inputs a dispatch request based on the contents of the taxi user's speech via telephone or the like, and dispatches a taxi by data transmission operation, voice, etc. while checking the dispatch-related information displayed on the display or the like in response to the input. There is also a method in which the above (1) and (2) are mixed.

Next, the in-vehicle device 50 will be described. The in-vehicle device 50 includes a communication unit 51, a storage unit 52, and a control unit 53.

Like the communication unit 11, the communication unit 51 is realized by, for example, a NIC. The communication unit 51 is wirelessly connected to the network N, and transmits and receives information between the first vehicle dispatch management device 20, the second vehicle dispatch management device 30, and the mobile terminal 100 via the network N.

Like the storage unit 12, the storage unit 52 is realized by, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk, and in the example of FIG. 4, it stores request information 52a, map information 52b, and traffic information 52c.

The request information 52a corresponds to the request information 12b described above. The map information 52b is a database of maps used for navigation. The traffic information 52c corresponds to the traffic information 12c described above.

The control unit 53, like the control unit 13, is a controller, and is realized, for example, by a CPU, an MPU, or the like, executing various programs (not shown) stored in the memory unit 52 using the RAM as a working area. Also, like the control unit 13, the control unit 53 can be realized, for example, by an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA.

The control unit 53 has an acquisition unit 53a, a response control unit 53b, and a notification unit 53c, and realizes or executes the information processing functions and actions described below.

The acquisition unit 53a acquires a dispatch request transmitted from the first dispatch management device 20 or the second dispatch management device 30 via the communication unit 51, and stores the request content included in the dispatch request in the request information 52a.

The response control unit 53b performs exclusive control to give priority to the dispatch request acquired first among the dispatch requests transmitted from the first dispatch management device 20 or the second dispatch management device 30. Specifically, as described above, the response control unit 53b causes the notification unit 53c to notify the driver D of the contents of the dispatch request acquired first from the first dispatch management device 20 or the second dispatch management device 30.

When the response control unit 53b receives an acceptance operation from the driver D in response to the notification, the response control unit 53b transmits an acceptance response to either the first vehicle dispatch management device 20 or the second vehicle dispatch management device 30, whichever transmitted the dispatch request acquired earlier. The response control unit 53b also guides the driver to pick up the vehicle and deliver the vehicle in response to the accepted dispatch request via a display, speaker, etc. (not shown), thereby supporting the driver T in picking up the vehicle and delivering the vehicle.

Before acceptance, driver D basically has the right to choose. Therefore, if there are multiple dispatch requests before acceptance, driver D will perform an acceptance operation to select one of the multiple dispatch request data displayed on a display or the like. As a variation of such selection, the selection may be made automatically, for example, by an initial operation setting made by driver D. The automatic selection may be made, for example, in the order of display, or may be made according to a default setting for which one to select when there are multiple dispatch requests. The response control unit 53b will send an acceptance response to the selected party, and a decline response to the non-selected party.

In addition, a response time limit may be set. In such a case, if there is no acceptance response from the vehicle-mounted device 50 within a specified response time, the vehicle dispatch management device cancels the dispatch request and transmits a new distribution request to the vehicle-mounted device 50 of another candidate taxi T. Also, a dispatch request may be transmitted to multiple candidates at once in advance, and the taxi T with the quickest acceptance response may be dispatched.

The response control unit 53b also transmits a vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag to the first vehicle dispatch management device 20 or the second vehicle dispatch management device 30, whichever transmits the dispatch request acquired first. The first vehicle dispatch management device 20 or the second vehicle dispatch management device 30 to which the vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag is transmitted sets the vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag in the vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag information 12d. Then, until the vehicle dispatch request permission flag is transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 50 and set in the vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag information 12d, the vehicle dispatch request is not made to the vehicle-mounted device 50.

The notification unit 53c notifies the driver D of the contents of the previously acquired dispatch request via a notification device such as a display or speaker (not shown).

The second vehicle dispatch management device 30 has a configuration similar to that of the first vehicle dispatch management device 20, but differs from the first vehicle dispatch management device 20 in that it accepts dispatch requests through an app running on the mobile terminal 100 and can transmit dispatch requests to the in-vehicle device 50 regardless of the taxi company.

Next, the flow of processing executed by the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a processing sequence of the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1 according to the first embodiment. In the description using FIG. 5, it is assumed that the first vehicle dispatch request is acquired first and that driver D accepts this request.

First, when the first vehicle dispatch management device 20 accepts a dispatch request from a taxi customer via the mobile terminal 100-1, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20 transmits a first dispatch request to the in-vehicle device 50 of the selected taxi T (step S101). Then, the in-vehicle device 50 acquires the first dispatch request (step S102).

Then, the in-vehicle device 50 notifies the driver D of the contents of the first dispatch request, and when the driver D accepts it, it transmits an acceptance response to the first dispatch management device 20 (step S103). The first dispatch management device 20 then receives this acceptance response, and as a result notifies the taxi user of the dispatch information via the mobile terminal 100-1. In addition, a dispatch request prohibition flag is set for the taxi T, so that a dispatch request is not made until the taxi T becomes available.

If there is a dispatch request from another dispatch management device (e.g., the second dispatch management device 30) before Driver D accepts the request, each dispatch request is displayed on the display of the in-vehicle device 50, and Driver D selects the desired dispatch request. An acceptance response is then sent to the dispatch request selected by Driver D, and a decline response is sent to the other dispatch requests. For example, when Driver D selects the first dispatch request, an acceptance response is sent to the first dispatch management device 20 (step S103).

Meanwhile, the in-vehicle device 50 transmits a dispatch request prohibition flag to the second dispatch management device 30 (step S104). Upon receiving this (step S105), the second dispatch management device 30 sets the dispatch request prohibition flag (step S106).

Then, while the dispatch request prohibition flag is set, the second dispatch management device 30 does not transmit a second dispatch request to the in-vehicle device 50 even if it receives a dispatch request from the mobile terminal 100-2 (step S107). In other words, the second dispatch management device 30 makes a dispatch request to the in-vehicle device 50 installed in a taxi T that meets appropriate conditions and for which the dispatch request prohibition flag is not set.

Then, the in-vehicle device 50 assists in picking up and providing a vehicle in response to the first dispatch request that has been accepted (step S108). After that, when the vehicle in response to the first dispatch request is completed (step S109), the in-vehicle device 50 transmits vacant vehicle information indicating that the taxi T has become vacant to the first dispatch management device 20 (step S110). Then, the first dispatch management device 20 receives this vacant vehicle information, cancels the dispatch request prohibition flag for the taxi T, and allows a dispatch request to be made to the taxi T.

The in-vehicle device 50 also transmits a dispatch request permission flag to the second dispatch management device 30 (step S111). Upon receiving this (step S112), the second dispatch management device 30 sets the dispatch request permission flag (step S113), in other words, cancels the dispatch request prohibition flag.

As described above, the in-vehicle device 50 according to the first embodiment includes an acquisition unit 53a and a response control unit 53b. The acquisition unit 53a can acquire a dispatch request for a taxi T (corresponding to an example of a "transport vehicle") based on a user's dispatch request from each of the first dispatch system 2 and the second dispatch system 3. The response control unit 53b executes exclusive control of the dispatch request so that an acceptance response to the dispatch request acquired by the acquisition unit 53a is exclusively possible between the first dispatch system 2 and the second dispatch system 3.

Therefore, according to the in-vehicle device 50 of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the dispatch requests from the first dispatch system 2 and the second dispatch system 3 from overlapping with one taxi T. It is also possible to prevent a dispatch request other than an accepted dispatch request from remaining in a requested state for one taxi T for a long period of time. In other words, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the dispatch request cannot be appropriately switched to another taxi T.

The response control unit 53b also notifies the driver D of the taxi T of the content of the dispatch request that was acquired first from the first dispatch system 2 or the second dispatch system 3 so that an acceptance response is possible, and sets a dispatch request prohibition flag (equivalent to an example of a "dispatch request prohibition") for the other of the above-mentioned systems.

Therefore, according to the in-vehicle device 50 of the first embodiment, it is possible to execute exclusive control of dispatch requests under the initiative of the in-vehicle device 50.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described. Fig. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a vehicle dispatch method according to the second embodiment. In the vehicle dispatch method according to the second embodiment, a first vehicle dispatch system 2A acquires vehicle dispatch information of a second vehicle dispatch system 3A at any time. An operator OP of the first vehicle dispatch system 2A monitors the vehicle dispatch status of both the first vehicle dispatch system 2A and the second vehicle dispatch system 3A.

Then, the operator OP switches the vehicle-mounted device 50A of the taxi T to determine whether the vehicle-mounted device 50A can accept a dispatch request from the first dispatch system 2A or the second dispatch system 3 based on the monitoring status and instruction operations. The operator OP may be a dispatch manager, etc.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A acquires vehicle dispatch information of the second vehicle dispatch system 3A from the second vehicle dispatch management device 30A at any time. Then, based on this, the operator OP of the first vehicle dispatch system 2A monitors the dispatch status of both the first vehicle dispatch system 2A and the second vehicle dispatch system 3A.

Then, when an operator OP receives a dispatch request from a taxi user in the first dispatch system 2A, for example, and wants to secure a certain taxi T in response to the dispatch request, the operator OP transmits a switching instruction to the vehicle-mounted device 50A of the taxi T to switch the dispatch request acceptance destination to only the first dispatch system 2A.

Then, the in-vehicle device 50A that has received the switching instruction switches the reception destination system in response to the switching instruction. If only the first vehicle dispatch system 2A is set as the reception destination of vehicle dispatch requests, the in-vehicle device 50A returns a response indicating that the request cannot be accepted even if the vehicle dispatch request is received from the second vehicle dispatch system 3A.

In other words, in the dispatch method according to the second embodiment, the dispatch status of both the first dispatch system 2A and the second dispatch system 3A is monitored, and exclusive control is performed so that the in-vehicle device 50A can only accept dispatch requests from one of the systems depending on the monitored status.

This makes it possible to prevent overlapping dispatch requests from the first dispatch system 2A and the second dispatch system 3A for a single taxi T.

Next, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an integrated vehicle dispatch system 1A according to a second embodiment. Note that FIG. 7 corresponds to FIG. 4, so in the explanation using FIG. 7, differences from FIG. 4 will be mainly explained.

As shown in FIG. 7, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A differs from the first embodiment in that the memory unit 12 stores other system monitoring information 12e instead of the dispatch request prohibition flag information 12d. Also, the control unit 13 differs from the first embodiment in that it further includes a monitoring unit 13c.

The other system monitoring information 12e is information including the dispatch status of systems other than the own system, which is acquired by the acquisition unit 13a via the communication unit 11. The monitoring unit 13c presents the contents of the other system monitoring information 12e to the operator OP via a display or the like.

The monitoring unit 13c also receives instruction operations input by the operator OP according to the monitoring situation, and transmits, in response to such instruction operations, for example the aforementioned switching instructions, to the vehicle dispatch control unit 13b toward the in-vehicle device 50A.

The vehicle-mounted device 50A also differs from the first embodiment in that the control unit 53 further includes a switching unit 53d. When the switching unit 53d acquires a switching instruction from the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A via the communication unit 51 and the acquisition unit 53a, the switching unit 53d causes the response control unit 53b to switch the reception destination system in response to the switching instruction.

Here, we will use Figure 8 to make the explanation easier to understand. Figure 8 is a diagram explaining the processing of the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1A according to the second embodiment. Here, we show an example in which requests can be exclusively accepted only by the first vehicle dispatch system 2A.

As shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that a taxi dispatch request is received from a taxi customer via a mobile terminal 100. The taxi customer is a regular customer of the first taxi dispatch system 2A, and the operator OP decides that he or she would like to secure a nearby taxi T of the operator's company.

In such a case, the operator OP checks the contents of the other system monitoring information 12e, which includes the dispatch status of the second dispatch system 3A, and if it is determined that the desired taxi T is available, i.e., that it has not accepted a dispatch request from another system, issues a switching instruction to the on-board device 50A of the taxi T.

Then, the in-vehicle device 50A switches the reception system in response to the switching instruction, and accepts dispatch requests only from the first dispatch system 2A, for example, until the taxi user gets off the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 8.

For example, when the taxi user gets off, the in-vehicle device 50A cancels the switching state in which requests are accepted only from the first vehicle dispatch system 2A. Note that, because a vehicle dispatch request cannot be accepted while the vehicle is in operation, such cancellation may be performed when the taxi user gets on.

Next, the flow of processing executed by the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1A according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a processing sequence of the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1A according to the second embodiment.

First, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A acquires vehicle dispatch information from the second vehicle dispatch management device 30A at any time and monitors the dispatch status of the other system at any time (step S201). At this time, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A displays the acquired vehicle dispatch information on a display or the like.

Now, assume that a dispatch request from a taxi user is accepted via the mobile terminal 100-1. Then, the operator OP issues an instruction to switch the reception destination system according to the monitoring situation by performing a predetermined instruction operation based on the dispatch information (step S202), and the first dispatch management device 20A transmits such a switching instruction to the in-vehicle device 50A (step S203).

Then, when the in-vehicle device 50A receives a switching instruction (step S204), it switches the reception destination system in response to the switching instruction (step S205).

Then, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A transmits a first dispatch request in response to the received dispatch request to the vehicle-mounted device 50A (step S206). Also, it is assumed here that the second vehicle dispatch management device 30A receives a dispatch request from a taxi user via the mobile terminal 100-2 and transmits a second dispatch request to the vehicle-mounted device 50A (step S207).

In response, the in-vehicle device 50A acquires the first and second dispatch requests (step S208). However, since the in-vehicle device 50A has switched the reception system to the first dispatch system 2 in step S205, it returns an acceptance response to the first dispatch request (step S209), but returns a non-acceptance response to the second dispatch request (step S210). Note that even if the second dispatch request is acquired prior to the first dispatch request, the in-vehicle device 50A will return a non-acceptance response to the second dispatch request because the reception system has been switched to the first dispatch system 2.

Then, the in-vehicle device 50A assists in picking up and providing a vehicle in response to the first vehicle dispatch request that has been accepted (step S211). After that, when the vehicle dispatch in response to the first vehicle dispatch request is completed (step S212), the in-vehicle device 50A transmits vacant vehicle information indicating that the taxi T has become vacant to the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A (step S213).

As described above, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A according to the second embodiment is a vehicle dispatch management device for a first vehicle dispatch system 2 that dispatches a taxi T based on a vehicle dispatch request from a user, and includes an acquisition unit 11a and a vehicle dispatch control unit 11b. The acquisition unit 11a is capable of acquiring the vehicle dispatch status of a second vehicle dispatch system 3A other than the first vehicle dispatch system 2A. The vehicle dispatch control unit 11b executes exclusive control of the vehicle dispatch request based on the vehicle dispatch status of the second vehicle dispatch system 3 acquired by the acquisition unit 11a, so that the taxi T can accept a vehicle dispatch request based on the vehicle dispatch request only from one of the first vehicle dispatch system 2 and the second vehicle dispatch system 3.

Therefore, according to the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A of the second embodiment, it is possible to prevent overlapping dispatch requests from the first vehicle dispatch system 2 and the second vehicle dispatch system 3 for one taxi T.

The vehicle dispatch control unit 13b further includes a monitoring unit 13c that monitors the dispatch status of the second dispatch system 3, and based on an instruction from the first dispatch system 2, transmits an instruction to switch the reception destination of the dispatch request according to the monitoring status of the monitoring unit 13c to the taxi T, and causes the taxi T to switch the reception destination based on the switching instruction so that the one of the reception destinations can exclusively accept dispatch requests. The instruction from the first dispatch system 2 may be based on the operation of the operator OP, or may be automatic based on a learning model, or may include both.

Therefore, according to the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A of the second embodiment, it becomes possible to execute exclusive control of vehicle dispatch requests under the initiative of the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A.

Third Embodiment
Next, a third embodiment will be described. Fig. 10 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a vehicle dispatch method according to the third embodiment. Since Fig. 10 corresponds to Fig. 6, the explanation using Fig. 10 will mainly focus on the points different from Fig. 6.

As shown in FIG. 10, the dispatch method according to the third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the first dispatch management device 20B further acquires various environmental information. Also, it differs from the second embodiment in that the operator OP causes the on-board device 50B of the taxi T to switch whether the on-board device 50B can accept a dispatch request from the first dispatch system 2B or the second dispatch system 3B based on the monitoring status, instruction operation, and environmental information.

An example of environmental information is shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of environmental information. As shown in FIG. 11, the environmental information includes the season, date, time, reservation information, customer distribution, event progress, etc.

In other words, in the dispatch method according to the third embodiment, the dispatch status of both the first dispatch system 2B and the second dispatch system 3B are monitored, environmental information is acquired, and exclusive control is performed so that the in-vehicle device 50B can only accept dispatch requests from one side according to the monitoring status and environmental information.

This makes it possible to prevent overlapping dispatch requests from the first dispatch system 2B and the second dispatch system 3B for a single taxi T.

Next, FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of an integrated vehicle dispatch system 1B according to the third embodiment. Note that FIG. 12 corresponds to FIG. 7, so in the explanation using FIG. 12, differences from FIG. 7 will be mainly explained.

As shown in FIG. 12, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20B differs from the second embodiment in that the memory unit 12 further stores environmental information 12f. The environmental information 12f corresponds to the various types of environmental information shown in FIG. 11, and is acquired by the acquisition unit 13a via the communication unit 11, for example. It may also be set by manual input. The monitoring unit 13c can present the contents of the environmental information 12f to the operator OP in addition to the contents of the other system monitoring information 12e.

The monitoring unit 13c also accepts instruction operations input by the operator OP according to the monitoring status and/or the contents of the environmental information 12f, and transmits, in response to such instruction operations, for example the aforementioned switching instructions, to the vehicle dispatch control unit 13b toward the in-vehicle device 50B.

Here, a more easily understandable explanation will be given using FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the processing of the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1B according to the third embodiment. Here, an example is shown in which requests can be exclusively accepted only by the first vehicle dispatch system 2B.

In addition, in the third embodiment, unlike the first and second embodiments, the trigger is not an actual dispatch request from a taxi user, but rather a situation where the company wants to receive future dispatch requests through its own system. Such a situation would be, for example, the end of an event, when many taxi users are expected and profits can be expected to increase.

As shown in FIG. 13, assume that the operator OP has decided that he would like to reserve his company's taxi vehicles for the end of a night baseball game, for example, since he expects a large number of passengers returning home.

Then, the operator OP checks the progress of the event, for example, contained in the environmental information 12f, and if he or she knows that the night game is about to end, issues a time-limited (here, two hours) switching command to each of the vehicle-mounted devices 50B of the multiple taxis T.

Then, each vehicle-mounted device 50B switches the receiving system in response to the switching instruction, and accepts dispatch requests only from the first dispatch system 2B for two hours, as shown in FIG. 13.

Then, when two hours have elapsed, each in-vehicle device 50B cancels the switching state in which it accepts requests only from the first vehicle dispatch system 2A.

In this way, by enabling scheduling based on the contents of the environmental information 12f, it becomes possible to appropriately dispatch vehicles while prioritizing the business strategy of the taxi company, while still partnering with an app provider, etc.

In addition, while FIG. 13 shows an example of the end of an event, it is also effective when, for example, an empty taxi T running near a client company is to be dispatched from the company's system at a targeted time such as when many people are returning from a business trip or when they leave work. In addition, in the example of FIG. 8 shown in the second embodiment, it is also effective when, for example, a request for dispatch is predicted based on the past usage of a client and the company wants to dispatch a taxi from its system. In addition, cancellation is not limited to scheduling, and may be performed each time a taxi user gets on or off the taxi, as already mentioned. In addition, future dispatch requests may not be determined by the operator OP, but may be determined using AI, as already mentioned.

Next, the flow of processing executed by the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1B according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a processing sequence of the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1B according to the third embodiment.

First, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20B acquires dispatch information from the second vehicle dispatch management device 30B at any time and monitors the dispatch status of the other systems at any time (step S301).

The first vehicle dispatch management device 20B also acquires various types of environmental information from the outside, the vehicle-mounted device 50B, etc., as needed (step S302). At this time, the first vehicle dispatch management device 20B displays the acquired various types of environmental information on a display or the like. The operator OP then issues a command based on the various types of environmental information to switch the reception system according to the monitoring situation and the environmental information (step S303), and the first vehicle dispatch management device 20B transmits the command to switch to the vehicle-mounted device 50B (step S304).

Then, when the in-vehicle device 50B receives a switching instruction (step S305), it switches the reception destination system in response to the switching instruction (step S306).

The subsequent processing is similar to steps S206 to S213 shown in FIG. 9, so a detailed explanation is omitted here.

As described above, in the first vehicle dispatch management device 20B according to the third embodiment, the acquisition unit 13a can further acquire environmental information 12f, and the dispatch control unit 13b transmits the above-mentioned switching instruction to the taxi T based on the monitoring status of the monitoring unit 13c and/or an instruction corresponding to the environmental information 12f.

Therefore, according to the first vehicle dispatch management device 20B of the third embodiment, it becomes possible to execute exclusive control of vehicle dispatch requests under the initiative of the first vehicle dispatch management device 20A based on the monitoring status and/or environmental information 12f. In addition, by enabling, for example, scheduling according to the contents of the environmental information 12f, it becomes possible to appropriately dispatch vehicles while prioritizing the management strategy of the taxi company, while partnering with an app provider, etc.

(Modification)
In the second and third embodiments described above, the switching instruction is transmitted to the in-vehicle devices 50A and 50B based on the instruction operation of the operator OP, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the transmission of the switching instruction may be automated by using a learning model that has learned the instruction content of the operator OP.

Figure 15 is an explanatory diagram of such a modified example. As shown in Figure 15, in the modified example, for example, the dispatch control unit 13b generates and updates a learning model by appropriately learning the instructions of the operator OP according to the other system monitoring information 12e and/or the environmental information 12f. Such learning can be performed, for example, using a machine learning algorithm such as deep learning.

The learning model functions as an estimation model of instruction content, which outputs a dispatch request or switching instruction corresponding to the input information when other system monitoring information 12e and/or environmental information 12f is input. In a modified example, the dispatch control unit 13b is capable of automatically transmitting the dispatch request or switching instruction estimated by the learning model to the in-vehicle devices 50A, 50B without the instruction operation of the operator OP.

In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, two vehicle dispatch systems 2 and 3 are given as examples, but each embodiment can also be applied between three or more vehicle dispatch systems.

In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, the vehicle-mounted devices 50, 50A, 50B are physically integrated and configured as terminal devices on the taxi T side in the integrated vehicle dispatch system 1, 1A, 1B, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the vehicle-mounted devices 50, 50A, 50B may be virtually integrated by connecting a dedicated terminal of the taxi company installed in the taxi T and a taxi dispatch app for taxi T running on a mobile terminal such as a smartphone carried by the driver D via a communication means such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark) and cooperating with each other.

In addition, in each of the above-described embodiments, a taxi is given as an example, but this is not limited thereto, and any transport vehicle that can receive dispatch requests from multiple dispatch systems based on a dispatch request from a user may be used.

Further advantages and modifications may readily occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

1, 1A, 1B Integrated vehicle dispatch system 2, 2A, 2B First vehicle dispatch system 3, 3A, 3B Second vehicle dispatch system 11 Communication unit 11a Acquisition unit 11b Vehicle dispatch control unit 12 Memory unit 12a Vehicle information 12b Request information 12c Traffic information 12d Vehicle dispatch request prohibition flag information 12e Other system monitoring information 12f Environmental information 13 Control unit 13a Acquisition unit 13b Vehicle dispatch control unit 13c Monitoring unit 20, 20A, 20B First vehicle dispatch management device 30, 30A, 30B Second vehicle dispatch management device 50, 50A, 50B Vehicle-mounted device 51 Communication unit 52 Memory unit 52a Request information 52b Map information 52c Traffic information 53 Control unit 53a Acquisition unit 53b Response control unit 53c Notification unit 53d Switching unit 100 Portable terminal D Driver N Network OP Operator T Taxi

Claims (7)

An on-board device that is mounted on a transportation vehicle and receives a vehicle dispatch request based on a vehicle dispatch request from a first vehicle dispatch system and a second vehicle dispatch system other than the first vehicle dispatch system, the on-board device comprising: a controller;
The controller:
When a vehicle dispatch request is acquired from the first vehicle dispatch system prior to the second vehicle dispatch system, a vehicle dispatch request prohibition is set in the second vehicle dispatch system to prohibit a vehicle dispatch request for the transport vehicle.
In-vehicle equipment. The controller :
When a dispatch request is acquired from the first dispatch system prior to the second dispatch system, the contents of the dispatch request are notified to a driver .
The in-vehicle device according to claim 1 . A vehicle dispatch method for providing a vehicle dispatch request based on a vehicle dispatch request of a user to a driver of a transport vehicle from a first vehicle dispatch system and a second vehicle dispatch system other than the first vehicle dispatch system, the method comprising :
When a vehicle dispatch request is acquired from the first vehicle dispatch system prior to the second vehicle dispatch system, a vehicle dispatch request prohibition is set in the second vehicle dispatch system to prohibit a vehicle dispatch request for the transport vehicle.
The dispatch method executed by the controller. A vehicle dispatch program that provides a vehicle dispatch request based on a vehicle dispatch request of a user to a driver of a transport vehicle from a first vehicle dispatch system and a second vehicle dispatch system other than the first vehicle dispatch system,
When a vehicle dispatch request is acquired from the first vehicle dispatch system prior to the second vehicle dispatch system, a vehicle dispatch request prohibition is set in the second vehicle dispatch system to prohibit a vehicle dispatch request for the transport vehicle.
A dispatch program executed by the controller. A vehicle dispatch management device of a first vehicle dispatch system that performs a vehicle dispatch process for an on-board device mounted on a transport vehicle based on a vehicle dispatch request from a user, the vehicle dispatch management device comprising: a controller;
The controller:
acquiring a dispatch status of a second dispatch system other than the first dispatch system which performs dispatch processing of the transport vehicle based on a dispatch request of a user ;
Based on the acquired vehicle allocation status of the second vehicle allocation system, a vehicle allocation request from the second vehicle allocation system is not accepted and set in the vehicle-mounted device as an acceptance disallowance.
Vehicle dispatch management device. A vehicle dispatch management method for a first vehicle dispatch system that performs a vehicle dispatch process for an on-board device mounted on a transport vehicle based on a vehicle dispatch request from a user, comprising:
acquiring a dispatch status of a second dispatch system other than the first dispatch system which performs dispatch processing of the transport vehicle based on a dispatch request of a user;
Based on the acquired vehicle dispatch status of the second vehicle dispatch system, a vehicle dispatch request from the second vehicle dispatch system is not accepted and a request for acceptance is set in the vehicle-mounted device.
A vehicle dispatch management method implemented by the controller . A vehicle dispatch management program for a first vehicle dispatch system that performs a vehicle dispatch process for an on-board device mounted on a transport vehicle based on a vehicle dispatch request from a user, comprising:
acquiring a dispatch status of a second dispatch system other than the first dispatch system which performs dispatch processing of the transport vehicle based on a dispatch request of a user;
Based on the acquired vehicle dispatch status of the second vehicle dispatch system, a vehicle dispatch request from the second vehicle dispatch system is not accepted and a request for acceptance is set in the vehicle-mounted device.
A vehicle dispatch management program executed by the controller.

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