JP6443249B2 - Transportation system, vehicle control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for automatically driving a vehicle.

A major advantage of automobiles is that they can start from a favorite place and move to a favorite destination when the driver likes it. And this advantage is thought to be caused by the fact that automobiles have a greater degree of freedom than other means of transportation.
For example, a railway can travel only on the rails, but an automobile can travel anywhere on the road, and in some cases can travel even without a road. Also, in the case of a railway, it is difficult to get on and off the platform where there is no platform, so the train will stop exclusively at the location where the platform exists (that is, the station), but the car can stop and get on and off anywhere. Furthermore, since the railway is a public transportation system, it is necessary to operate according to a predetermined operation schedule. However, since an automobile is exclusively used by the driver and his / her passenger for his / her movement, the operation schedule is predetermined. It is not decided. Accordingly, the departure time, the destination, and the like can be freely changed for the convenience of the driver and passengers.

  In addition, although an automatic driving vehicle in which a vehicle performs a driving operation on behalf of a driver has been developed today (for example, Patent Document 1), the situation described above also applies to an automatic driving vehicle. In other words, the autonomous driving vehicle can travel freely anywhere on the road (unless it is not particularly limited), and can stop freely as necessary. In addition, the destination can be freely changed for the convenience of the driver and passengers.

JP 2013-43475 A

However, the large degree of freedom that automobiles have has the advantages of automobiles, as well as the disadvantages of automobiles, such as the occurrence of accidents and traffic jams. There was a problem that I had to accept it to some extent.
In other words, the car can travel on any road and can freely leave the road or join the road. In addition, acceleration and deceleration during traveling, change of destination, etc. can be freely changed at any time for the convenience of the driver. For this reason, there is a possibility that another vehicle traveling in the vicinity may be involved in an accident due to sudden change of course or deceleration. In addition, since each vehicle can freely select a route, there is a possibility that many vehicles are concentrated and a traffic jam occurs. As described above, the drawback of automobiles that may be involved in accidents and traffic jams is caused by the great freedom of automobiles. Therefore, there is a problem that if the user wants to enjoy the advantages of an automobile, the disadvantages of the automobile must be accepted to some extent.

  The present invention has been made in response to the above-described problems of the prior art, and has the advantage of being able to start from a favorite place and move to a favorite destination when the driver likes it. The purpose is to provide technology that can suppress the drawbacks of automobiles that can be involved in accidents and traffic jams.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the traffic system and the vehicle control device of the present invention give the vehicle the freedom to select the departure time, the departure place, and the destination, but move from the departure place to the destination. Restrict the degree of freedom for the process and let the server manage the movement process. Specifically: First, as a precondition, a road communicator is provided that divides a road into a plurality of areas, determines whether to permit entry of the vehicle for each area, and transmits the determination result to the vehicle. Then, the vehicle cannot enter the area without permission from the area communication device.
In addition, the vehicle can freely select a departure time, a departure place, and a destination, and can apply for movement at any time to the server. The server that has received the application for movement determines the movement schedule of the vehicle for which the application has been made. At this time, the server determines the movement schedule so that the vehicle that has applied for movement can move to the destination without colliding with the other vehicle after grasping the current location and the movement schedule of the other vehicle. And according to the movement schedule which the server determined, the vehicle travels to the destination while inquiring whether the area communication device on the route is allowed to enter.

  In this way, the vehicle can start from a favorite place and move to a favorite destination at any time, while the movement process is managed by the movement schedule determined by the server. In addition, the vehicle moves according to the movement schedule determined by the server, and further enters the next area after obtaining permission from the area communication device, so that it does not collide with other vehicles. In addition, the server grasps the road conditions based on the current location of each vehicle, and determines a movement schedule that allows each vehicle to move smoothly, thereby preventing traffic jams.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of the traffic system 1 of a present Example. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that the vehicle 4 drive | works the road where the traffic system 1 is applied. It is a block diagram showing the internal structure of each of the server 2, the area communication device 3, and the vehicle control device 5. 4 is a flowchart of server-side management processing executed inside the server 2. It is explanatory drawing showing the movement path | route of three vehicles 4a-4c. It is a timetable showing the movement schedule of three vehicles 4a-4c. It is explanatory drawing which showed the condition where the two vehicles 4 exist in one occupied area. 4 is a flowchart of a vehicle side movement process executed inside the vehicle control device 5. It is explanatory drawing which shows the movement schedule which the vehicle control apparatus 5 mounted in the vehicle 4c receives. 5 is a flowchart of area management processing executed inside the area communication device 3; It is explanatory drawing which shows the method of the judgment of the admission permission by the area | region communication apparatus 3. FIG.

Hereinafter, examples will be described in order to clarify the contents of the present invention described above.
A. Apparatus configuration of this embodiment:
FIG. 1 shows an outline of a traffic system 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the traffic system 1 includes a server 2, an area communication device 3, and a vehicle control device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4. A road to which the traffic system 1 is applied is virtually divided into a plurality of occupied areas, and the area communication device 3 is embedded in each occupied area. The server 2, the area communication device 3, and the vehicle control device 5 are connected to each other by wireless communication and can transmit and receive information.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a state where the vehicle 4 travels on a road to which the transportation system 1 is applied. As shown in the figure, the vehicle 4 moves in an occupied area on the road. Further, another vehicle 4 cannot enter the occupied area where the vehicle 4 exists. Here, if a unique address such as A1, A2, B1,... Is assigned to each occupied area, the moving route of the vehicle 4 can be represented by the arrangement of the addresses. Furthermore, the movement schedule of the vehicle 4 can also be expressed by defining the time of passing through each occupied area on the movement route.
By using this, in the traffic system 1, the server 2 determines the movement schedule of each vehicle 4, thereby centrally managing the process of each vehicle 4 moving from its starting point to a desired destination. To do. In the present specification, the “movement schedule” represents a concept in which time is given to a movement route.

  Since a plurality of vehicles 4 travel on the road, the server 2 needs to determine the movement schedule of each vehicle 4 so that the vehicles 4 do not collide with each other. Therefore, the server 2 determines the movement schedule of each vehicle 4 so that only one vehicle 4 can exist in one occupied area. If it carries out like this, each vehicle 4 will move, occupying the occupied area in which it exists as an area | region which the other vehicles 4 do not approach, and it avoids colliding with the other vehicles 4. Can do.

In this way, in order to prevent the vehicles 4 from colliding with each other, it is necessary for each vehicle 4 to actually move according to the movement schedule. Therefore, the server 2 confirms whether or not there is a delay in the execution of the movement schedule in each vehicle 4 and how many vehicles 4 exist on the road and where each vehicle 4 is located. Know the road conditions. The road situation can be grasped as follows.
First, each of the area communication devices 3 provided for each occupied area detects the presence or absence of the vehicle 4 in its own occupied area. When the vehicle 4 is detected, the fact is transmitted to the server 2 together with the address of the occupied area. Based on the information transmitted from each area communication device 3, the server 2 represents the number of vehicles 4 and the road conditions indicating the positions of the vehicles 4 (in the example shown in FIG. 2, the occupied areas A 3, B 9, D 2 are respectively Information indicating that the vehicle 4 is present).

  In addition to the server 2, the area communication device 3 transmits information that the presence of the vehicle 4 is detected to the vehicle control device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4. The vehicle control device 5 uses the information transmitted from the area communication device 3 in addition to the content of the movement schedule determined by the server 2, thereby moving its own vehicle 4 so as not to collide with other vehicles 4. Control.

FIG. 3 shows the internal structures of the server 2, the area communication device 3, and the vehicle control device 5 included in the traffic system 1.
As shown in FIG. 3, the server 2, the area communication device 3, and the vehicle control device 5 are each provided with a plurality of “units”. It is a concept classified from the above, and does not represent that each device is physically divided. Therefore, each of these units can be realized as a computer program executed by the CPU, can be realized as an electronic circuit including an LSI, a memory, and a timer, or can be realized by combining them.

(1) Overview of server 2:
As shown in FIG. 3, the server 2 includes a movement application reception unit 21, a movement schedule determination unit 22, a movement schedule transmission unit 23, a delay determination unit 24, and a road condition grasping unit 25.
The movement application reception unit 21 receives a movement application including the departure place, departure time, and destination from the vehicle 4. As will be described later, when each vehicle 4 starts moving, a movement application is transmitted from the vehicle control device 5 of each vehicle 4 in advance. The movement application accepting unit 21 accepts the movement application at an arbitrary timing so that each vehicle 4 can depart at a desired timing.

The movement schedule determination part 22 determines the movement schedule of the vehicle 4 with respect to a movement application. The method of determining the movement schedule will be described in detail later. Generally, the movement route (that is, the order of the occupied areas from the starting point of the vehicle 4 to the destination) is first determined, and then along the movement route. The time for passing through each occupied area is determined.
In order to determine the movement route, it is necessary to know the address of the occupied area formed on the road from the departure place to the destination. Therefore, the movement schedule determination unit 22 includes a database for the addresses of the occupied areas formed on the road in advance, and determines a movement route by referring to this database.

  The delay determination unit 24 acquires the road condition from the road condition determination unit 25 and determines whether or not there is a delay in the execution of the movement schedule in each vehicle 4. The road condition grasping unit 25 acquires information indicating that the vehicle 4 is detected in the occupied area from the area communication device 3. The delay determination unit 24 can grasp the road condition of which occupied area each vehicle 4 is currently in by integrating the information for each occupied area acquired from the road condition grasping unit 25 (see FIG. 2). . If the delay determination unit 24 determines that the movement schedule is delayed based on the road condition, the movement schedule determination unit 22 re-determines the movement schedule.

(2) Overview of area communication device 3:
As described above, the area communicator 3 is provided in each of the occupied areas, and each area communicator 3 includes the area sensor 31 and the detection information transmission unit 32.
The area sensor 31 detects the vehicle 4 existing in its own occupied area. As a detection method, a known method may be used. For example, a method of detecting the vehicle 4 or the like based on an image taken in the occupied area, or a method of measuring an electromagnetic wave or a sound wave reflected by the vehicle 4 or the like is used. Can do. In addition, the object which the area | region sensor 31 detects is not restricted to the vehicle 4, You may make it detect a pedestrian and a bicycle.
When the detection information transmission unit 32 detects the vehicle 4 or the like within its own occupation area, the detection information transmission unit 32 transmits the information to the road condition grasping unit 25 of the server 2. The detection information transmitting unit 32 also transmits information indicating that the vehicle 4 or the like is detected within the own occupation area to the vehicle control device 5.

(3) Overview of vehicle control device 5:
The vehicle control device 5 includes a position information acquisition unit 51, a setting acquisition unit 52, a movement application transmission unit 53, a movement schedule reception unit 54, an occupation area selection unit 55, an entry inquiry unit 56, and a movement control unit. 57.
The position information acquisition unit 51 acquires position information of the vehicle 4. As the position information, for example, a longitude and latitude can be acquired using a satellite positioning system.
The setting acquisition unit 52 acquires the setting of a desired destination and the like input by the passenger of the vehicle 4 to the vehicle control device 5. In addition to the destination, settings related to the movement of the vehicle 4 such as departure time, waypoints, and routes may be acquired.

The movement application transmission unit 53 transmits a movement application for the vehicle 4 to the server 2. As described above, the application for movement includes the departure location, destination, and departure time of the vehicle 4, and the current location of the vehicle 4 is transmitted as the departure location. As the destination, the destination input to the setting acquisition unit 52 is transmitted.
Furthermore, as the departure time, if the occupant of the vehicle 4 has set a desired time, the time is transmitted, and if there is no particular setting, the current time or the time for transmitting the movement application is transmitted. In addition, if the setting acquisition unit 52 has acquired settings such as waypoints and routes, such information is also included in the transfer application and transmitted. In addition to the settings acquired by the setting acquisition unit 52, the movement application transmission unit 53 also transmits an identification code unique to the vehicle 4 itself.
The movement application transmission unit 53 transmits the movement application again not only when the vehicle 4 starts moving but also when the occupant of the vehicle 4 changes the setting of the destination or the like.

When a movement application is transmitted from the movement application transmission unit 53 to the server 2, the server 2 determines a movement schedule according to the movement application and then transmits the movement schedule toward the vehicle 4. Therefore, the movement schedule receiving unit 54 receives a movement schedule for the movement application from the server 2.
The occupied area selection unit 55 selects an occupied area where the vehicle 4 will move next in accordance with the movement schedule. For example, when departing, the first occupied area indicated in the movement schedule is selected.
Thus, the vehicle 4 can be moved by selecting the occupied areas to be moved one by one according to the movement schedule received from the server 2.

The entry inquiry unit 56 inquires of the area communication device 3 of the occupied area selected by the occupied area selection unit 55 as to whether or not the occupied area can be entered. On the other hand, the area communication device 3 side determines whether or not it is possible to enter based on the detection result of the area sensor 31 and answers the result.
The movement control unit 57 controls the vehicle 4 to move to the next occupied area or not to move according to the answer from the area communication device 3.

In order to actually move the vehicle 4 to the occupied area even if the entry inquiry unit 56 inquires of the occupation area selected by the occupied area selection unit 55 as to whether or not the entry is possible. Needs to know the positional relationship of the occupied area with respect to the vehicle 4.
Therefore, the center position of each occupied area is defined by longitude and latitude (that is, longitude and latitude), and each vehicle 4 has a database representing this in advance, or the database is transmitted from the server 2 together with the movement schedule. To do. Since the vehicle 4 can detect the longitude and latitude in which it is present, the positional relationship of the occupied area with respect to the vehicle 4 can be obtained in this way.

B. Processing executed inside each device of this embodiment:
(1) Server side management processing by server 2:
FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of server-side management processing executed inside the server 2. When the server side management process is started, first, the road condition is confirmed (S101). This confirmation is performed based on the detection result of the vehicle 4 in each area communication device 3 (see FIG. 2), and the position information of the current location of each vehicle 4 grasped by this is used for the subsequent processing.
If the road condition is confirmed (S101), it is determined whether a movement application is received from the vehicle 4 (S102). If any vehicle 4 is not going to start moving to the destination anew, the application for movement is not accepted (S102: no), and then whether each vehicle 4 is moving according to the movement schedule. It is determined whether or not (S103). And when each vehicle 4 is moving according to a movement schedule (S103: yes), it returns to the first process and confirms a road condition again (S101). Note that the determination method in S103 will be described later.

When a movement application is received from any of the vehicles 4 while the processes of S101 to S103 are repeated (S102: yes), the following process is executed. First, the identification code of the vehicle 4 that transmitted the movement application is acquired (S104). This is for identifying and managing the plurality of vehicles 4 respectively. Next, information such as the current location and the destination of the vehicle 4 that transmitted the application for movement is acquired (S105). These pieces of information are information acquired based on the contents of the transfer application.
Subsequently, a travel schedule is determined using information such as the current location and destination of the vehicle 4 (S106). As described above, as the movement schedule, first, the arrangement order of the occupied areas from the departure point to the destination of the vehicle 4 is determined as the movement route, and then the passage time for each occupied area arranged on the movement route. To decide. At this time, it is necessary to determine the movement schedule so that the vehicles 4 do not collide with each other in consideration of the existence of other vehicles 4 traveling on a nearby road. Hereinafter, how to determine such a movement schedule will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 5 shows the movement paths of the three vehicles 4a to 4c. Among these, as shown by the thick broken line in the figure, the moving path of the vehicle 4a is a two-lane road extending vertically in the center, straightly northward (A9, A8, A7... A2, A1). This corresponds to the upward direction). As this movement route, a reasonable route is set so that the vehicle 4a can move without making a detour from the current location to the destination. When the route application or route specification is included in the content of the travel application from the vehicle 4, the travel route may be set to satisfy the conditions. Similarly, for the other vehicle 4b, as indicated by the thick one-dot chain line in the drawing, the movement paths C4, C3, B3... B8, B9 are set.

It is assumed that a movement application is further received from the vehicle 4c in a state where the movement routes of the vehicle 4a and the vehicle 4b are already set. For example, it is assumed that the application for movement of the vehicle 4c has the S point as the departure point and the G point as the destination. In this case, a reasonable movement route for the application for movement of the vehicle 4c enters the occupied area E4 from the S point, moves to E3, B7, A7, A6, A5, A4, A3, C2, and moves from C1 to the G point. It becomes a route to reach.
Therefore, the passing time of the vehicle 4c is determined for each of the occupied areas on the moving route. At this time, it is necessary to be careful not to collide with other vehicles (here, the vehicle 4a and the vehicle 4b). In other words, the occupation area B7 that is the movement path of the vehicle 4c is also the movement path of the other vehicle 4b, and the vehicles collide if they attempt to pass this occupation area at the same timing. The same applies to the range from the occupied area A7 to the occupied area A3. Therefore, the movement schedule is determined as follows.

  FIG. 6 shows a time table representing the movement schedules of the three vehicles 4a to 4c. As shown in the figure, in this time table, the abscissa represents the passage time set at a predetermined unit time interval, and the ordinate represents the address of each occupied area. Looking at the square of the occupied area A9 at the passage time t1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as time t1, the same applies to subsequent times), the vehicle 4a is set. In addition, the occupied area A9 at time t1 is hatched with a right upward slant. Similarly, the position with a diagonal line with a right upward slant moves to the occupied area A8 at time t2, and is occupied at time t3. It has moved to area A7. As the movement schedule of the vehicle 4a, it starts from the occupied area A9 at time t1 and proceeds to the next occupied area one by one with the occupied area A8 and the occupied area A7 every time one unit time elapses. This indicates that the movement schedule has been determined.

  Similarly, each square marked with a vertical line in the figure represents the movement schedule of the vehicle 4b. That is, every time one unit time elapses, the vehicle 4b exists in the occupied area C4 at time t1, in the occupied area C3 at time t2, and in the occupied area B3 at time t3. The movement schedule is determined so as to proceed to. In the time table of FIG. 6, it appears that the area has moved to the occupied area away from C3 to B3 because it is arranged in the order of the addresses assigned to the occupied area. As shown in FIG. 5, the occupied regions of C3 and B3 are adjacent to each other.

  When such movement schedules of the vehicle 4a and the vehicle 4b have already been determined, the movement schedule of the new vehicle 4c (the cross-hatched squares in FIG. 6) is determined as follows. First, the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c starts from time t5. This is determined based on the content of the movement application from the vehicle 4c. Then, according to the movement route of the vehicle 4c (see FIG. 5), the movement schedule is determined so that it exists in the occupied area E4 at the first time t5 and advances by one at the next time t6. .

  Here, if it is considered that the occupied area is advanced by one at the next time t7, the vehicle 4c exists in the occupied area B7 at time t7. However, the occupation area B7 at the time t7 has already been determined as the movement schedule of another vehicle 4b (the squares with vertical lines in the figure), and when the vehicle 4c proceeds as it is, the occupation area B7 at the time t7. It will collide with the vehicle 4b in B7. Therefore, in the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c, the vehicle 4c waits in the occupied area E3 without moving at time t7. At the next time t8, the vehicle 4b has moved to another occupied area and the occupied area B7 will be vacant, but the vehicle 4c still keeps waiting in the occupied area E3. And the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c is determined so that it may exist in the occupation area B7 at the next time t9. Here, the reason why the vehicle 4c is made to wait in the occupied area E3 even though the occupied area B7 is empty at time t8 is that there are two vehicles 4 in one occupied area if it is not made to wait. This is because a situation can occur.

FIG. 7 shows the reason why a situation in which two vehicles 4 exist in one occupied area may occur. As described above, in the actual movement schedule of the vehicle 4c, although the occupied area B7 is empty at time t8, the vehicle 4c stands by in the occupied area E3 and moves to the occupied area B7 after time t9. On the other hand, FIG. 7 shows a case where the vehicle 4c moves from the occupied area E3 to the occupied area B7 without waiting at time t8.
At time t7, as shown in FIG. 7A, the vehicle 4c exists in the occupied area E3, and the vehicle 4b exists in the occupied area B7. At time t8, as shown in FIG. 7C, the vehicle 4c exists in the occupied area B7, and the vehicle 4b exists in the occupied area B8.

  Then, the vehicle 4b moves from the occupied area B7 to the occupied area B8 at any time from time t7 to time t8. Similarly, the vehicle 4c moves from the occupied area E3 to the occupied area B7 at any time from time t7 to time t8. Therefore, at any time from time t7 to time t8, as shown in FIG. 4B, a total of two vehicles 4b, that is, a vehicle 4b on the way out and a vehicle 4c on the way in, It can happen that 4c exists in one occupied area B7. As a result, the vehicle 4b and the vehicle 4c may collide.

On the other hand, as described above with reference to FIG. 6, if the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c is determined so as to exist in the occupied area B7 at the time t9 further following the time t8 when the occupied area B7 is vacant, from the time t7 to the time t8. At any timing, the vehicle 4 existing in the occupied area B7 is either the vehicle 4b or the vehicle 4c, and there is no possibility of collision. For this reason, the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c is determined to stand by at time t8.
In addition, when the same occupation area is set at successive passage times as in the case of time t7 and time t8 of the vehicle 4c described above, the passage time is not the time to pass through the occupation area, but the occupation time. It represents the time to wait in the area.

  Although it has been described that the travel schedule is determined based on the travel route shown in FIG. 5 after the travel route is set, the travel time is also taken into consideration in order to wait for another vehicle 4 to pass. A route can also be set. That is, even if the travel route is a detour, if the time to wait for the passage of another vehicle 4 is shorter than the travel route that does not detour, and the destination can be reached earlier, the detour travel route is set. It may be.

  Now, the description returns to the server-side management process in FIG. After the application for movement from the vehicle 4 is accepted (S102: yes), if the process for determining the movement schedule is executed as described above (S106), the movement schedule is transmitted to the vehicle 4 (S107). And if a series of processing S104-S107 after receiving a movement application is performed, it will be judged whether each vehicle 4 is moving according to a movement schedule next (S103).

  The determination of whether or not each vehicle in S103 is moving according to the movement schedule is performed by comparing the current location of each vehicle 4 acquired in the road condition confirmation process (S101) with the movement schedule of each vehicle 4. You can do that. For example, assuming that the current time is t6 and each vehicle 4 is moving according to the movement schedule of FIG. 6, each vehicle 4 should be present in any of the occupied areas A4, B6, E3. is there. Therefore, if the current location of each vehicle 4 acquired in step S101 is the occupied areas A4, B6, E3, it can be determined that each vehicle 4 is moving according to the movement schedule (S103: yes). On the other hand, if the vehicle 4 is not detected in any of the occupied areas A4, B6, E3, it can be determined that each vehicle 4 is not moving according to the movement schedule (S103: no).

  If it is determined as a result of the determination in S103 that any of the vehicles 4 is not moving according to the movement schedule (S103: no), it is necessary to re-determine a new movement schedule for the vehicle 4. Before that, the vehicle 4 that needs to be changed is specified (S108). As described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, since only one vehicle 4 can exist in one occupied area, the movement schedule of any vehicle 4 affects the movement schedule of another vehicle 4. Can affect. Therefore, when a vehicle 4 that does not move according to the movement schedule occurs, it is determined whether or not it is necessary to change the movement schedule for other vehicles 4 managed by the server 2. And if the vehicle 4 which needs a change of a movement schedule is specified (S108), the process S104-S107 similar to when the movement application was received about each of those vehicles 4 will be performed.

  As described above, in the server-side management process executed inside the server 2, after grasping the current location and the movement schedule of each vehicle 4 and receiving a movement application transmitted from each vehicle 4 at an arbitrary timing, A new movement schedule is determined according to the contents of the movement application. In this way, the server 2 centrally manages the movement schedule of each vehicle 4 so that the vehicles 4 can move to a desired destination without colliding with each other.

In addition, the movement schedule may be determined at the discretion of the server 2 as long as the contents of the application for movement from the vehicle 4 are followed, so that the vehicle 4 moves smoothly as a whole in consideration of the congestion situation of each occupied area. It is also possible to manage. In addition, if the vehicle 4 is a vehicle that needs to move urgently such as a police car, a fire engine, an ambulance, etc., the movement of the other vehicle 4 so that they can move without waiting for the passage of the other vehicle 4. It is also possible to change the schedule later.
Furthermore, since the server 2 grasps the implementation status of the movement schedule of each vehicle 4 and newly determines the movement schedule of each vehicle 4 as necessary, a failure has occurred in any of the vehicles 4. Even if there is an unexpected situation, the entire vehicle 4 can continue to move smoothly.

(2) Vehicle-side movement processing by the vehicle control device 5:
FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a vehicle side movement process executed inside the vehicle control device 5 mounted on the vehicle 4c. This vehicle-side movement process is started at an arbitrary timing based on the fact that the occupant of the vehicle 4c has input a setting such as a desired destination to the vehicle control device 5.
When the vehicle side movement process is started, first, a movement application is made to the server 2 (S201). In the movement application, as described above, the identification code of the vehicle 4c, the departure place, the departure time, the destination, and the like are transmitted. In contrast, the server 2 determines the movement schedule as described above. Then, the vehicle control device 5 receives the movement schedule determined by the server 2 (S202).

  FIG. 9 shows a movement schedule received by the vehicle control device 5. This is obtained by extracting the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c from the movement schedules of the three vehicles 4a to 4c shown in FIG. In the received movement schedule, as shown in FIG. 9, the passage time set at predetermined unit time intervals and the address of the occupied area where the vehicle 4c should exist at each passage time are represented correspondingly. Yes. Hereinafter, the vehicle control device 5 will be described as controlling the vehicle 4c according to the movement schedule of FIG. 9 unless otherwise specified.

  When the movement schedule is received (S202 in FIG. 8), it is determined whether or not a predetermined time before the passage time has come (S203). The predetermined time here is the time required to move to the next occupied area. As a result of this determination, if it is not a predetermined time before the passage time, it waits (S203: no), and if it is a predetermined time before the passage time (S203: yes), it is determined whether or not to move to the next occupied area. Judgment is made (S204).

  The determination in S204 is made based on whether or not the vehicle 4c is currently in the occupied area corresponding to the next passing time in the movement schedule. For example, if the next passing time is the first time t5 and the vehicle 4c is in the corresponding occupied area E4, it is determined not to move to the next occupied area (S204: no). However, the vehicle 4c can also start from outside the occupied area (see the vehicle 4c in FIG. 5). In such a case, it is determined that the vehicle 4c moves toward the occupied area E4 (S204: yes).

As a result of the determination in S204, if it is determined not to move to the next occupied area (S204: no), the process returns to S203 and waits until a predetermined time before the next passage time (S203: no). .
On the other hand, if it is determined to move to the next occupied area (S204: yes), the occupied area is selected as the occupied area where the vehicle 4c proceeds (S205), and the area communication device 3 of the selected occupied area is selected. Is inquired whether or not it is allowed to enter the occupied area (S206). A method of determining whether or not the area communication device 3 can enter will be described later.

  The vehicle control device 5 inquires whether or not it is possible to enter the occupied area (S206), and then determines whether or not entry is permitted from the area communication device 3 (S207). As a result, if entry is permitted (S207: yes), the vehicle 4c is controlled to move to the selected occupied area (S208). If it is the first time t5 shown in FIG. 9, the vehicle 4c will move to the occupation area E4.

  When the vehicle 4c is moved, it is determined whether or not a destination change has been input (S209). If the occupant of the vehicle 4c has not changed the setting, it is determined as “no”, and then it is determined whether or not the vehicle 4c has moved to the last occupied area in the movement schedule (S210). If it is immediately after the vehicle 4c departs, of course, it has not moved to the last occupied area (S210: no), and then it is determined whether or not the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c has been updated by the server 2 ( S211). The movement schedule update may be executed based on a request from the vehicle control device 5 as will be described later, but may also be executed based on the determination of the server 2 as described above (FIG. 4). S103: no), that is, whether or not the movement schedule has been updated.

  If the movement schedule has not been updated as a result of the determination in S211 (S211: no), the process returns to S203 and waits until a predetermined time before the next passage time (S203: no). On the other hand, if the movement schedule has been updated (S211: yes), the process returns to the processing of S202, and waits until a predetermined time before the next passage time after receiving a new movement schedule ( S203: no).

  The vehicle control device 5 executes a series of processes from S203 to S211 (hereinafter referred to as a series of movement processes) at a unit time period set in the movement schedule, so that each time the unit time elapses. The vehicle 4c repeats controlling whether to move one occupied area or not. That is, in the next series of movement processing, after waiting for a predetermined time before time t6 (S203: yes), the vehicle 4c is present in the occupied area E3 at time t6 according to the movement schedule of FIG. Is controlled (S208). On the other hand, in the next series of movement processing, since the vehicle 4c has already moved to the occupied area E3 corresponding to time t7, it is determined not to move to the next occupied area (S204: no). The vehicle 4c is not moved in a series of movement processes.

Then, a series of movement processes are repeated, and when waiting until a predetermined time before time t16 (S203: yes), the movement is made to the last occupied area C1 shown in the movement schedule of FIG. 9 ( S208). As a result, in the determination in S210, it is determined that the last occupied area has been moved (S209: yes). Since this means that the vehicle 4c has arrived at the destination, the vehicle control device 5 ends the vehicle-side movement process.
As described above, since the vehicle control device 5 controls the movement of the vehicle 4c according to the movement schedule determined by the server 2, the movement process of the vehicle 4c is managed by the server 2. As a result, the vehicle 4c Can move to the desired destination.

  In addition, although the server 2 transmitted all the movement schedules from the departure place of the vehicle 4c as shown in FIG. 9 to the destination, and the vehicle control apparatus 5 received this, although not limited to this, the server 2 The movement schedule may be transmitted separately for one time or for several times in a series of movement processes, and the vehicle control device 5 may receive the movement schedule for each time or several times. In that case, in determining whether or not the movement schedule has been updated (S211), it is only necessary to determine whether or not the movement schedule transmitted by the server 2 has been updated.

  If a change of destination is input by the occupant of the vehicle 4c while repeating a series of processes from S203 to S211 (S209: yes), the process returns to the process of S201 and returns to the server 2 again. Apply for movement. In the same way, when the setting related to movement such as a waypoint or route is changed in addition to the destination, the application for movement is made again. The relocation application is basically performed by transmitting the same information as the movement application at the time of departure, but the new departure location is the current location of the vehicle 4c, which is omitted because the server 2 knows it. Also good.

In response to the transfer request again, the server 2 executes the same process as the transfer request at the time of departure (S102: yes, S104 to S107 in FIG. 4), determines a new transfer schedule, and transmits this. . The vehicle control device 5 receives this new movement schedule (S202), and thereafter repeatedly executes a series of movement processes according to this new movement schedule (S203 to S211).
In this way, when a destination change or the like is input, by requesting the server 2 to update the movement schedule, the vehicle 4c You can freely change the location, waypoint, route, etc.

  Further, when the entry from the area communication device 3 is permitted while the series of processing from S203 to S211 is repeated (S207), even when the entry is not permitted (S207: no). Returning to the process of S201, the transfer application is made again. If entry is not permitted, it is not possible to move to the occupied area that was scheduled to proceed. And since the movement schedule prescribes | regulates the movement of the vehicle 4 for every process (refer FIG. 9), a delay arises in implementation of a movement schedule. Therefore, by requesting the movement again, the server 2 is requested to update the movement schedule. The subsequent processing is the same as when a destination change or the like is input (S209: yes).

(3) Area management processing by area communication device 3:
FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of area management processing executed inside the area communication device 3. The area communicator 3 is provided for each occupied area, and the area management processing is individually executed in each area communicator 3.
When the area management process is started, first, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 4 or the like is detected in its own occupied area (S301). If the vehicle 4 is not detected as a result of this determination (S301: no), it is determined whether or not an inquiry about whether or not to enter can be received from the vehicle 4 (S302).
On the other hand, when the vehicle 4 is detected (S301: yes), information indicating that the vehicle 4 is detected within its own area is transmitted to the server 2 (S303), and an inquiry about whether or not to enter is received from the vehicle 4 Whether or not (S302). As described above, the server 2 acquires the information that the vehicle 4 has been detected from each area communication device 3 to grasp the road condition.

As a result of the determination in S302, if an inquiry about whether or not to enter is not received (S302: no), the process returns to the determination (S301) as to whether or not the vehicle 4 is detected within the occupied area.
On the other hand, when an inquiry about whether or not to enter is received (S302: yes), it is determined whether or not the vehicle 4 that has made the inquiry is permitted to enter its own occupation area (S304).

FIG. 11 shows how to determine whether or not to enter. Here, three scenes of FIG. 11 (a) to FIG. 11 (c) are shown, and in any case, from the central vehicle 4 with respect to the area communication device 3 in the occupied area hatched. It is assumed that an inquiry about whether or not to enter is made. In the case shown in FIG. 11 (a), when an inquiry about whether or not entry is possible is made from the vehicle 4, no other vehicle 4 is detected within the area occupied by the vehicle 4, so entry is permitted for this vehicle 4. can do.
On the other hand, in the case shown in FIG. 11 (b), when the vehicle 4 is inquired of whether or not to enter, the other vehicle 4 is detected within its own occupancy area. 4 cannot be allowed to enter.
In the case shown in FIG. 11 (c), the other vehicle 4 is not detected within its own occupation area, but two vehicles 4 are inquiring whether or not they can enter at the same time. The vehicle 4 cannot be allowed to enter at the same time.

When determining that entry is not permitted based on such a determination method (S304: no in FIG. 10), the area communication device 3 replies that entry is not permitted in response to the inquiry (S305).
On the other hand, when it is determined that the entry is permitted (S304: yes), it is determined whether the inquiry about whether or not the entry is possible is made from one vehicle 4 (S306). As a result, if it is one vehicle 4 that has made an inquiry about whether or not to enter (S306: yes), the vehicle 4 that has made the inquiry is permitted to enter (S307). On the other hand, if two or more vehicles 4 have made an inquiry about whether or not to enter (S306: no), entry is permitted in response to any one inquiry about whether or not to enter (S308). If the two vehicles 4 do not enter at the same time, a collision between the vehicles 4 can be prevented. Therefore, the entry may not be permitted for any inquiry about whether or not entry is possible in S308.
When any answer is given regarding whether or not to enter (S305, S307, S308), the process returns to the top process S301 and the same process is repeated.

  In this way, in determining whether or not to enter, it is possible to occupy only one vehicle 4 when there is no other vehicle 4 and the entry can be permitted at the same timing. Allow entry into the area. By doing so, each area communication device 3 manages its own occupied area so that only one vehicle exists in its own occupied area at any time. Each time the vehicle 4 tries to advance one occupied area, it makes an inquiry about whether or not it can enter in advance (S206 in FIG. 8), thereby securing one occupied area where only the own vehicle can exist. However, since it moves, it does not collide with other vehicles 4.

  As described above, the server 2 determines the movement schedule of each vehicle 4 on the condition that only one vehicle 4 can exist in one occupied area at any time. Therefore, as long as each vehicle 4 is moving according to its movement schedule, the vehicles 4 should not collide with each other. However, it is possible that any vehicle 4 cannot move according to the movement schedule due to an unexpected situation such as a failure. Therefore, each time the vehicle 4 tries to advance one occupied area, it makes an inquiry about whether or not the entry is possible and the area communication device 3 determines whether or not the entry is possible. This means that the server 2 centralizes the movement schedule of each vehicle 4. In addition to managing the vehicle, it has the significance of ensuring a double prevention measure against the collision between the vehicles 4.

  In addition, the determination of whether or not the area communication device 3 can enter the vehicle is based on the current situation in the occupied area that the server 2 cannot grasp when determining the movement schedule. It also has the meaning that it can be prevented more directly. From this, each vehicle 4 moves in accordance with the movement schedule determined by the server 2 in principle, but if the area communication device 3 does not permit entry, it does not follow the movement schedule and enters the next occupied area. Is trying not to proceed.

  Further, according to the determination as to whether or not the area communication device 3 is allowed to enter, it is possible to avoid a collision with a pedestrian or a bicycle without being limited to a collision with another vehicle 4. For example, it is assumed that a pedestrian or a bicycle is added as a detection target in the detection process in the occupation area of S301 illustrated in FIG. Then, even if these pedestrians and bicycles are detected in their own occupancy area in the determination of whether or not to enter in S304, it is determined that entry is not permitted in response to an inquiry about whether or not the vehicle 4 can enter. be able to. In this way, each vehicle 4 does not move to the occupied area where pedestrians and bicycles are present (S207: no in FIG. 8), and can avoid collision with pedestrians and bicycles. Any object that can be detected by the area sensor 31 provided in the area communication device 3 can similarly avoid a collision. In addition to other vehicles 4, pedestrians, and bicycles, fallen objects on the road And construction sites are considered as targets for avoidance.

  In the description of FIG. 8, regarding the method of movement of the vehicle 4, when entry is permitted from the area communication device 3 (S <b> 207: yes), after the movement to the occupied area is completed (S <b> 208), subsequent processing ( S209 to S211) are executed, and the system waits until a predetermined time before the next passing time (S203: no). Not limited to this, if the entry is permitted in the determination of S207, the subsequent processing (S209 to S211) is executed until the movement to the occupied area permitted to enter is completed (S208). It is preferable to obtain permission to enter the occupied area (S207: yes). Thus, if other processing is executed in parallel with the movement of the vehicle 4 (S208), the vehicle 4 can travel smoothly without repeating the movement and the stop. At this time, the traveling speed of the vehicle 4 is expressed as a value obtained by dividing the interval between adjacent occupied areas by a predetermined unit time (that is, the interval between passage times). The traveling speed of will increase.

  Thus, when processing other than S208 is performed in parallel with the movement of the vehicle 4 (S208), the following may be further performed. That is, in the above explanation, the vehicle 4 inquires whether or not it is possible to enter the area communication device 3 in the occupation area next to the current occupation area (S205, S206). Furthermore, it is preferable to make an inquiry as to whether or not it is possible to enter the area communication device 3 in the occupied area that is two or three ahead. For example, in the movement schedule of the vehicle 4c shown in FIG. 9, when the current time is t10 and the vehicle 4c is in the occupied area A7, in addition to the area communication device 3 in the next occupied area A6, the next That is, an inquiry is made as to whether or not the area communication device 3 in the occupied area A5 and the next occupied area A4 is allowed to enter. If the entry permission is obtained from each area communication device 3 in each of the plurality of occupied areas scheduled to advance, the vehicle 4 is stopped in front of the occupied area where entry is not permitted even if the traveling speed of the vehicle 4 increases. Is possible.

As mentioned above, although the traffic system 1 of a present Example was demonstrated from each viewpoint of the server 2, the vehicle 4, and the area | region communication apparatus 3, it supplements description about the occupation area set on a road.
In the description so far, the size of the occupied area has not been mentioned in particular, and the area has been illustrated as being slightly larger than the vehicle 4 that is a passenger car (FIGS. 1 and 2). As described above, the size of the occupied area may be set based on the size of a general passenger car. However, when the vehicle 4 is a large vehicle such as a truck or a bus, one occupied area is set. It will not fit in. In view of this, the size of the occupied area may be set based on a large vehicle, but may be as follows. That is, the size of the occupied area is set on the basis of the size of a general passenger car. If the target vehicle 4 does not fit in one occupied area, the movement schedule of the vehicle 4 is set to two adjacent ones. What is necessary is just to determine so that it may move, occupying the above occupied area.

The shape of the occupied area is not limited to the rectangle as shown in the figure, and an arbitrary shape corresponding to the road shape can be set. For example, it is conceivable to set a triangular occupation area at a junction such as a Y-junction.
Similarly, the arrangement of the occupied areas can be arbitrarily set. For example, on a wide road, it is possible to pass in the same lane by arranging two rows of occupied areas in one lane.

  In addition, the occupied area has been described as an area for each vehicle 4 to move, but if there is a place that does not hinder the movement of the other vehicle 4 in the corner of the lane, an occupied area that can park and stop is set. You can also. In this case, in the same manner as the method of grasping the road situation described with reference to S101 of FIG. 4 and FIG. 2, the server 2 can grasp the vacant situation of the occupied area where parking and stopping is possible. The occupied area where parking and stopping is possible is not limited to a shared space for moving and parking the vehicle 4 such as a corner of the lane, but can be set as a dedicated space for parking. By carrying out like this, it becomes possible to apply the traffic system 1 also to a parking lot.

  As mentioned above, although the present Example was described, this invention is not limited to said Example, In the range which does not deviate from the summary, it can implement with a various aspect further.

  For example, the server 2 has been described to acquire information from the area communication device 3 and grasp the current location of the vehicle 4, but in the vehicle-side movement process (see FIG. 8), each time the vehicle 4 advances one occupied area. In addition, the execution of the movement schedule is reported to the server 2, and the server 2 can grasp the current location of each vehicle 4 based on the report.

In addition, it has been described that the area communication device 3 transmits information regarding the presence / absence of the detection of the vehicle 4 to the server 2, but as illustrated in FIGS. 11B and 11C, If a situation requiring updating occurs, a message to that effect may be sent to the server 2. The movement schedule update request is transmitted from each vehicle 4 to the server 2 (S207: no, S201). However, even if the information has the same content, the server 2 can transmit more information by transmitting it through a plurality of routes. It is possible to reliably grasp the current road conditions.
Further, when the area communication device 3 detects a pedestrian, a bicycle, a fallen object on the road, a construction site, etc. within its own area as described above, the fact is transmitted to the server 2. May be. Since such a temporary road condition cannot be grasped in advance by the server 2, it is useful for the vehicle 4 as a whole to move smoothly that the movement schedule can be determined in consideration of these.

  Further, in the example of the movement schedule received by the vehicle side shown in FIG. 9, only the movement schedule for the own vehicle 4c is received, but the movement schedules of the other vehicles 4a and 4b may also be received. . If the movement schedule of the other vehicle 4 is grasped in this way, it becomes possible to select a free route in the own vehicle 4c and request the server 2 to update the movement schedule.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Transportation system, 2 ... Server, 3 ... Area communication device 4 ... Vehicle, 5 ... Vehicle control apparatus, 21 ... Movement application reception part,
22 ... movement schedule determination unit, 23 ... movement schedule transmission unit,
24 ... Delay judgment part 24 ... Road condition grasping part 31 ... Area sensor,
32 ... Detection information transmission unit, 51 ... Position information acquisition unit, 52 ... Setting acquisition unit,
53 ... Movement application transmission part, 54 ... Movement schedule reception part,
55 ... Occupied area selection part, 56 ... Inquiry inquiry part, 57 ... Movement control part.

Claims (6)

A traffic system (1) comprising a vehicle (4) traveling on a road and a server (2) communicating with the vehicle,
The road
A plurality of occupied areas provided by virtually dividing the road;
An area communication device (3) that is provided for each occupied area, determines whether the vehicle is allowed to enter the occupied area, and transmits the determination result to the vehicle;
The server
A movement application receiving unit (21) for receiving a movement application including at least a departure position, a departure time, and a destination of the vehicle from the vehicle;
A movement schedule determination unit (22) for determining a movement schedule for the movement application from the vehicle;
A movement schedule transmission unit (23) for transmitting the movement schedule to the vehicle,
The vehicle is
A movement application transmission unit (53) for transmitting the movement application to the server;
A movement schedule receiver (54) for receiving the movement schedule determined for the movement application from the server;
An occupied area selecting unit (55) for selecting the occupied area to be entered on the road according to the movement schedule;
An entry inquiry unit (56) for inquiring whether or not the area communication device of the selected occupied area is allowed to enter the occupied area;
A traffic system comprising: a movement control unit (57) for moving the vehicle to the occupied area where the entry is permitted. The traffic system according to claim 1,
The transportation system, wherein the travel schedule determination unit of the server considers the travel schedule determined for the travel application from another vehicle when determining the travel schedule. The traffic system according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The area communicator on the road transmits information regarding the presence or absence of the vehicle in the occupied area where the area communicator is provided to the server,
The server
Based on the information transmitted from the area communication device, a road condition grasping unit (25) for grasping a road condition related to the presence or absence of the vehicle for each occupied area;
A delay determination unit (24) for determining whether there is a delay in the travel schedule transmitted to the vehicle based on the road condition;
The travel schedule determination unit of the server determines a new travel schedule when a delay occurs in the travel schedule. The traffic system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The transportation system, wherein the movement application transmitting unit of the vehicle can transmit the movement application even after starting movement according to the movement schedule. The traffic system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The occupancy area selection unit of the vehicle selects a plurality of the occupancy areas that the vehicle is scheduled to enter according to the movement schedule,
The entry inquiry unit of the vehicle inquires of the area communication device of the plurality of occupied areas selected by the occupied area selecting unit whether or not entry into the occupied area is possible. system. A vehicle control device (5) mounted on a vehicle traveling on a road,
A determination is made as to whether or not the area communication device is provided for each of a plurality of occupied areas obtained by virtually dividing the road, and determines whether the vehicle can enter the occupied area. An inquiries inquiry department,
A movement control unit that moves the vehicle to the occupied area where the entry is permitted ,
The occupation area is set to a size that cannot be occupied by a plurality of the vehicles at the same time.
The vehicle control apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned .

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