JP7326977B2 - vehicle controller - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle control device .

Conventionally, there is a bus vehicle described in Patent Document 1 below. The bus described in Patent Literature 1 is equipped with a slope plate, a lift, and the like, which are aids for boarding and exiting that can be installed at the entrance/exit. A wheelchair user can easily get on and off the vehicle bus by using the aid for getting on and off.

JP-A-2001-247059

By the way, cruise vehicles that travel along a predetermined travel route, including the bus vehicle described in Patent Document 1, stop sequentially at a plurality of stops provided on the travel route. Each stop is a place where the passengers of the cruise car board and disembark.
On the other hand, such a cruising car needs to stop once at each stop, and when passengers get on and off the cruising car, it is necessary to wait until passengers have finished boarding and alighting. This is a factor that causes the time loss of the cruising car. Also, at each stop, it is necessary to brake the cruising car and stop it once. At that time, the energy consumed by braking is not used for running the cruising car. That is, the running energy of the cruising vehicle is lost by the braking energy. This is a factor that worsens the fuel consumption and electricity consumption of cruising cars.

The present disclosure has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle control device capable of suppressing time loss and running energy loss of a cruising vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems, a vehicle control device capable of moving an object to be transported to and from a cruise vehicle (20) traveling along a predetermined travel route includes a travel control unit that controls automatic travel of the vehicle. (380) and a position detector (382) for detecting the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the cruise vehicle. The traveling control unit determines whether or not there is an object to be transported on the cruise car, and if there is an object to be transported on the cruise car, based on the relative position of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit. , After the vehicle is driven close to the cruise car so that the object to be transported can be moved between the running cruise cars and the vehicle, the vehicle is moved away from the cruise car and boarded the cruise car. If there is no object to be transported, the process of causing the vehicle to approach the cruising vehicle is not executed .

According to this configuration, when the vehicle approaches the cruise car, it is possible to move objects such as users and articles between the cruise car and the vehicle. Specifically, an object to be transported on a vehicle can be moved to a cruise car, or an object to be transported on a cruise car can be moved to a vehicle. In this way, if the vehicle approaches the cruising car, the cruising car can be maintained in a running state, so that the frequency of stopping of the cruising car can be reduced. As a result, time loss and running energy loss of the cruising car can be suppressed.

It should be noted that the means described above and the reference numerals in parentheses described in the claims are examples showing the corresponding relationship with specific means described in the embodiments described later.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a vehicle control device capable of suppressing time loss and running energy loss of a cruising vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an overview of a vehicle running system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the outline of the vehicle running system of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the outline of the traveling route of the cruising car of the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle running system of the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the cruising car and the vehicle of the first embodiment are connected. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a part of the procedure of processing executed by the travel control ECU of the cruising car and the travel control ECU of the passenger vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a part of the procedure of processing executed by the travel control ECU of the cruising car and the travel control ECU of the passenger vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing part of the procedure of processing executed by the travel control ECU of the cruising car and the travel control ECU of the getting-off vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing part of the procedure of processing executed by the travel control ECU of the cruising car and the travel control ECU of the getting-off vehicle according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle running system in a modified example of the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a part of the procedure of processing executed by the travel control ECU of the cruise car and the travel control ECU of the passenger vehicle according to the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a map for calculating a target value of running speed from the length of the approaching running section and the number of users, which is used by the running control ECU of the cruise car of the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing part of the procedure of processing executed by the travel control ECU of the cruising car and the travel control ECU of the getting-off vehicle according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle control device and a vehicle running system will be described with reference to the drawings. In order to facilitate understanding of the description, the same constituent elements in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals as much as possible, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.
<First Embodiment>
First, a first embodiment of a vehicle control device and a vehicle running system will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the vehicle traveling system 10 of the present embodiment, when the vehicles 30 and 40 approach the cruise car 20, a It is a system that enables the movement of objects to be transported. The objects to be transported include users who use the cruising car 20, articles transported by the cruising car 20, and the like. In the following, an example will be described in which a user is the object of transportation that moves between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 .

The cruise car 20 travels along a predetermined travel route Rd. The cruise car 20 is a relatively large bus or the like that can accommodate many people. The cruise car 20 of this embodiment is an engine vehicle that runs using an engine as a power source. The cruising car 20 runs at a constant reference running speed except for places where it is legally required to stop, such as a stop line for a temporary stop or a stop line for a traffic light at a red light. As shown in FIG. 3 , on the travel route Rd of the cruise car 20 , a plurality of approaching sections Sa and Sb are set in which the vehicles 30 and 40 can approach the cruise car 20 . The cruise car 20 passes through each of the approach sections Sa and Sb at a predetermined time.

A vehicle 30 shown in FIG. 1 is a vehicle used by a user when getting on the cruise car 20 . The vehicle 30 is hereinafter also referred to as a "riding vehicle 30". The passenger vehicle 30 of this embodiment is an engine vehicle that runs using an engine as a power source. The passenger vehicle 30 is a relatively small vehicle that can accommodate a small number of people. The boarding vehicle 30 is waiting at a predesignated boarding point P10. The designated boarding point P10 is located near the boarding approach zone Sa on the running route Rd. The user can get into the boarding vehicle 30 by heading to the designated boarding point P10 at a predetermined boarding time. A boarding vehicle 30 carrying a user travels from a designated boarding point P10 to a boarding approaching section Sa, and approaches a cruise car 20 traveling in the boarding approaching section Sa. As a result, the user riding in the boarding vehicle 30 can move to the cruise car 20. - 特許庁When the user moves from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20, the user's boarding of the cruise car 20 is completed. After the user has boarded the cruise car 20, the passenger vehicle 30 separates from the cruise car 20 and heads for a designated boarding point P10 or a predetermined standby point.

A vehicle 40 shown in FIG. 2 is a vehicle used by a user when getting off the cruise car 20 . Below, the vehicle 40 is also called the "vehicle 40 for getting off." Like the boarding vehicle 30, the boarding vehicle 40 of the present embodiment is also a relatively small engine vehicle that runs using an engine as a power source and can accommodate a small number of people. The getting-off vehicle 40 approaches the cruise car 20 while the cruise car 20 is traveling in the getting-off approach section Sb provided on the travel route Rd. Note that, in the present embodiment, the boarding approach zone Sa and the exiting approach zone Sb shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are set as different sections on the travel route Rd. When the vehicle 40 for getting off approaches the vehicle 40 for getting off in the approaching section Sb for getting off, the user boarding the vehicle 20 for getting off can move from the vehicle 40 for getting off from the vehicle 20 for getting off. After the movement of the user from the cruising car 20 is completed, the getting-off vehicle 40 separates from the cruising car 20 and travels to a designated getting-off point P11 and stops. The designated drop-off point P11 is located near the drop-off approach section Sb on the travel route Rd. The user can get off at the specified drop-off point P11 from the drop-off vehicle 40 stopped at the specified drop-off point P11.

A user of the cruising car 20 can make a reservation for use of the travel system 10 by operating his or her mobile terminal. Specifically, the user can reserve, for example, the designated boarding point P10 at which the user himself/herself gets on, the time to board the boarding vehicle 30 at the designated boarding point P10, and the like. In addition, the user can reserve the designated drop-off point P11 at which the user will get off, the time to get off the vehicle 40 at the designated drop-off point P11, and the like.

In the traveling system 10 of the present embodiment, users get on and off the cruise car 20 via the vehicles 30 and 40 in this way, so that the cruise car 20 travels along the traveling route Rd at a constant reference traveling speed. I am making it possible.
Next, specific configurations of the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cruise car 20 includes a communication unit 21, a position sensor 22, a human sensor 23, a surrounding detection sensor 24, a vehicle speed sensor 25, a connecting device 26, a door device 27, A running control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 28 is provided.

The communication section 21 is composed of a long-distance communication section 210 and a short-distance communication section 211 . The long-distance communication unit 210 is a part that enables wireless communication with the control center 50 separate from the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 . The management center 50 is a part that manages the usage status of the cruise car 20 by each user. The long-distance communication unit 210 acquires, for example, information on the usage status of the cruise car 20 by each user through long-distance wireless communication with the management center 50 . The short-range communication unit 211 is a part that enables short-range wireless communication with the vehicles 30 and 40 .

The position sensor 22 acquires the current location of the cruise car 20 using a GPS (Global Positioning System) or the like. The position sensor 22 transmits the acquired current location information of the cruise car 20 to the travel control ECU 28 .
The human sensor 23 is a sensor that detects a user riding in the cruise car 20 . The human sensor 23 can also detect users moving between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 . The human sensor 23 transmits information about the detected user to the travel control ECU 28 .

The peripheral detection sensor 24 is a sensor that detects peripheral information of the cruise car 20 . The information acquired by the surrounding detection sensor 24 includes vehicles traveling around the cruise car 20, obstacles positioned in front of the cruise car 20, traffic signals positioned in front of the cruise car 20, and information about the location of the cruise car 20. This includes lanes, etc. of driving lanes that are The peripheral detection sensor 24 is composed of, for example, a camera, an infrared sensor, and a radar device. The periphery detection sensor 24 transmits the detected periphery information of the cruise car 20 to the travel control ECU 28 .

The vehicle speed sensor 25 detects the traveling speed of the cruising vehicle 20 and transmits information on the detected traveling speed to the traveling control ECU 28 .
The connecting device 26 is a device for connecting the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 , 40 when the vehicles 30 , 40 approach the cruise car 20 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 , the coupling device 26 is provided on the side of the cruise car 20 . The connecting device 26 consists of a rectangular frame-like member having a space inside which a person can pass. The vehicles 30 and 40 are equipped with a rectangular frame-shaped connecting device 36 having substantially the same size as the connecting device 26 of the cruise car 20 . Each connecting device 26, 36 contains an electromagnet. The coupling device 26 of the cruise car 20 and the coupling device 36 of the cars 30, 40 contact each other when the cars 30, 40 approach the cruise car 20. After the connecting devices 26, 36 come into contact with each other, the connecting devices 26, 36 are connected to each other by generating an electromagnetic force in each connecting device 26, 36 through their energization control. When the connecting devices 26, 36 are in a connected state, the user travels between the cruising car 20 and the vehicles 30, 40 by passing through a passage formed inside them. can be done. In this embodiment, the connecting device 26 corresponds to the cruise car side connecting portion, and the connecting device 36 corresponds to the vehicle side connecting portion.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the door device 27 of the cruise car 20 is provided to open and close the space inside the connecting device 26 . Further, the door devices 37 of the vehicles 30 and 40 are provided so as to open and close the space inside the coupling device 36 . That is, when the door devices 27 and 37 are in the open state, movement between the cruising car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 is possible, while when the door devices 27 and 37 are in the closed state , movement between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 becomes impossible.

The traveling control ECU 28 shown in FIG. 4 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having a CPU, a memory, and the like. The travel control ECU 28 has a travel control section 280 and a connection control section 281 .
The travel control unit 280 executes an automatic travel control to automatically travel the cruise car 20 along the travel route Rd by executing a program stored in advance in the memory. Specifically, the travel control unit 280 can exchange various information with other ECUs mounted on the cruise car 20, such as the engine ECU 60, the braking ECU 61, the steering ECU 62, and the like. The engine ECU 60 comprehensively controls the engine of the cruise car 20 . The braking ECU 61 controls the braking device of the cruise car 20 in an integrated manner. The steering ECU 62 controls the steering system of the cruise vehicle 20 in an integrated manner.

The travel control unit 280 is necessary for the cruise car 20 to automatically travel along a predetermined travel route Rd at a constant reference travel speed based on information about the surroundings of the cruise car 20 detected by the surrounding detection sensor 24. It calculates control command values such as a target acceleration value and a target steering angle value of the vehicle, and transmits the calculated control command values to the engine ECU 60, the brake ECU 61, and the steering ECU 62. The engine ECU 60, the brake ECU 61, and the steering ECU 62 control the engine, braking device, and steering device of the cruise car 20 based on this control command value, so that the cruise car 20 automatically travels along the travel route Rd.

The connection control unit 281 controls the drive of the connection device 26 to connect and disconnect the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 . The connection control unit 281 also controls the opening and closing of the door device 27 provided on the connection device 26 .
The getting-on vehicle 30 and the getting-off vehicle 40 basically have the same configuration. The vehicles 30 and 40 are provided with a communication unit 31, a position sensor 32, a human sensor 33, a peripheral detection sensor 34, a vehicle speed sensor 35, and a travel control ECU 38, in addition to the coupling device 36 and the door device 37. there is The communication section 31 is composed of a long-distance communication section 310 and a short-distance communication section 311 . Since the configuration and function of each element 31-38 of the vehicles 30, 40 are basically the same as or similar to the configuration and function of each element 21-28 of the cruise car 20, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

However, the travel control unit 380 of the travel control ECU 38 automatically causes the vehicles 30 and 40 to approach and separate from the cruise car 20 traveling on the travel route Rd by executing a program stored in advance in the memory. Execute travel control. The running control unit 380 automatically runs the vehicles 30 and 40 by transmitting control command values to the engine ECU 70, the braking ECU 71, and the steering ECU 72 mounted on the vehicles 30 and 40 when executing the automatic running control. Let The traveling control ECU 38 also includes a position detecting section 382 in addition to the traveling control section 380 and the connection control section 381 . The position detection unit 382 detects the relative positions of the vehicles 30 and 40 with respect to the cruise car 20 based on the information about the cruise car 20 detected by the surrounding detection sensor 34 . In this embodiment, the travel control ECU 38 of the vehicle 30, 40 corresponds to the control device of the vehicle.

The management center 50 comprehensively manages usage of the cruise car 20 by users. Specifically, when a user uses the cruising car 20 , it is necessary to operate his or her mobile terminal 80 to make a reservation for using the cruising car 20 . When making a reservation, the user inputs information such as a boarding place, boarding time, alighting place, and alighting time into the mobile terminal 80 . The boarding place is information for designating from which of the plurality of designated boarding points P10 the user will board. The boarding time is information for designating which of the boarding vehicles 30 departing from the boarding place designated by the user has a departure time. The drop-off location is information for specifying at which of the designated drop-off points P11 the user should get off. The drop-off time is information for specifying which of the drop-off vehicles 40 arriving at the drop-off location specified by the user has an arrival time of the drop-off vehicle 40 to be used. The management center 50 individually manages these pieces of information input through the mobile terminal 80 for each user. The management center 50 sends information on managed users to the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30, 40 in response to requests from the cruise control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20 and the respective cruise control ECUs 28, 38 of the vehicles 30, 40. Send.

Next, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the procedure of the processing executed by the cruise control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20 and the cruise control ECU 38 of the passenger vehicle 30 when the user gets on the cruise car 20 will be described in detail. explain. The processes shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are repeatedly executed by the ECUs 28 and 38 before the cruising car 20 reaches the boarding approach section Sa.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the travel control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20, first, the travel control unit 280 determines whether or not the cruise car 20 is approaching the next boarding approach section Sa as processing in step S10. to judge. Specifically, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 calculates the travel distance from the current location of the cruise car 20 to the start point of the next boarding approach section Sa, and adds the calculated travel distance to the cruise car 20. is divided by the running speed, the time T10 required for the cruise car 20 to travel from the current position to the boarding approach section Sa is calculated. The position information of the start point and end point of each boarding approach section Sa and the position information of the start point and end point of each dismounting approach section Sb are stored in advance in the memory of the cruise control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20. . When the calculated travel time T10 of the cruise car 20 exceeds the predetermined time Ttha, the cruise control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 determines that the cruise car 20 is not approaching the boarding approach section Sa. That is, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 makes a negative determination in the process of step S10. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 once terminates the series of processes.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cruise control unit 280 of the cruise car 20, in the process of step S10, determines that the cruise car 20 is traveling closer for boarding when the running time T10 of the cruise car 20 is equal to or shorter than the predetermined time Ttha. It is determined that the section Sa is approaching. In this case, the traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 makes an affirmative determination in the processing of step S10, and as the processing of the following step S11, the information of the user who gets on the cruise car 20 in the next boarding approach section Sa is obtained. , from the management center 50 via the long-distance communication unit 210 . The information acquired from the management center 50 includes information on the number of users Npa who board the cruise car 20 in the next boarding approach section Sa.

The travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 determines whether or not there is a user boarding the cruise car 20 in the next boarding approach section Sa as the process of step S12 following step S11. Specifically, when the number of users Npa acquired in the process of step S11 is zero, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 gets on the cruise car 20 in the next boarding approach section Sa. Determine that the user does not exist. That is, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 makes a negative determination in the process of step S12. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 once terminates the series of processes.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the number of users Npa exceeds zero in the process of step S12, the cruise control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 controls the cruise car in the next boarding approach section Sa. It is determined that there is a user who gets on the bus 20. In this case, the traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 makes an affirmative determination in the process of step S12, and in the subsequent process of step S13, transmits information on the current location and traveling speed of the cruise car 20 via the management center 50 to an on-board vehicle. Send to vehicle 30 . It should be noted that, once the process of step S13 is executed, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 does not operate until the connection between the coupling device 26 of the cruise car 20 and the coupling device 36 of the passenger vehicle 30 is completed. , the information on the current location and traveling speed of the cruising car 20 is continuously transmitted to the boarding car 30 at a predetermined cycle.

On the other hand, in the travel control ECU 28 of the boarding vehicle 30, the running control unit 380 transmits the information of the user boarding the boarding vehicle 30 from the designated boarding point P10 via the long-distance communication unit 310 as the process of step S20. to obtain from the management center 50. The information acquired from the management center 50 includes information on the number of users Npa who get on from the designated boarding point P10. The number of users Npa acquired by the running control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 from the management center 50 is the same as the number of users Npa acquired by the running control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 in step S11. be.

The traveling control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 determines whether or not there is a user boarding the boarding vehicle 30 from the designated boarding point P10 as the process of step S21 following step S20. Specifically, when the number of users Npa acquired in the process of step S20 is zero, the traveling control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 determines the number of users boarding the boarding vehicle 30 from the designated boarding point P10. determine that does not exist. That is, the traveling control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 makes a negative determination in the process of step S21. In this case, as shown in FIG. 7, the travel control unit 380 of the passenger vehicle 30 once terminates the series of processes.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the number of users Npa exceeds zero in the process of step S21, the traveling control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 moves from the designated boarding point P10 to the boarding vehicle 30. It is judged that there is a user who gets on the vehicle. In this case, the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 makes an affirmative determination in the process of step S21, and as the process of subsequent step S22, the current location of the cruise car 20 and the Receive travel speed information. It should be noted that, once the process of step S22 is executed, the travel control unit 380 of the vehicle for boarding 30 does not allow the connection between the coupling device 26 of the cruise car 20 and the coupling device 36 of the vehicle for boarding 30 to be completed. During this period, information on the current location and traveling speed of the cruising car 20 is continuously received from the cruising car 20 at a predetermined cycle.

The travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 executes running control to bring the boarding vehicle 30 closer to the traveling cruise car 20 as the process of step S23 following step S22. Specifically, the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 changes the boarding vehicle 30 to the designated boarding point at a predetermined departure time after the user who has made the reservation boards the boarding vehicle 30 . It is automatically dispatched from P10 toward the approaching section Sa for boarding. After that, the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 causes the cruise car 20 to travel near the start point of the boarding approach section Sa based on the information on the current location and traveling speed of the cruise car 20 acquired in the process of step S22. The vehicle 30 for boarding is automatically driven so that the vehicle 30 for boarding can approach the cruising car 20 when doing so. Further, when the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 determines that the boarding vehicle 30 has approached the cruise car 20 , Based on such positional information, the passenger vehicle 30 is automatically driven so that the connecting device 36 of the passenger vehicle 30 contacts the connecting device 26 of the cruise car 20 in the state shown in FIG.

The traveling control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 determines whether or not the connectable state shown in FIG. 5 has been reached as the process of step S24 following step S23. If the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 makes a negative determination in the process of step S24, that is, if it determines that the connectable state shown in FIG. 5 is not established, the process returns to step S22. Therefore, the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 repeatedly executes the processes of steps S22 and S23 until the boarding vehicle 30 approaches the cruise car 20 so as to be in the state shown in FIG. do.

When the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 determines that the connectable state shown in FIG. 5 has been established, it makes an affirmative determination in the process of step S24. In this case, the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 notifies the cruise vehicle 20 through the short-range communication unit 211 that the connection is possible as the process of step S25. In addition, the connection control unit 381 of the boarding vehicle 30 executes connection control for connecting the connecting device 36 of the boarding vehicle 30 to the connecting device 26 of the cruise car 20 as the process of step S26. Specifically, the connection control unit 381 of the boarding vehicle 30 causes the connecting fixture 36 to generate an electromagnetic force by energizing the connecting fixture 36 of the boarding vehicle 30 .

The traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 receives the notification that the connection is possible, which is transmitted from the boarding vehicle 30, as the process of step S14. Based on the reception of this notification, the connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 executes connection control to connect the connection device 26 of the cruise car 20 to the connection device 36 of the passenger vehicle 30 as the subsequent processing of step S15. Specifically, the connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 causes the connection device 36 to generate an electromagnetic force by energizing the connection device 26 of the cruise car 20 . As a result, the cruise car 20 and the passenger vehicle 30 are connected to each other in the state shown in FIG. At this time, the cruising car 20 and the boarding vehicle 30 are maintained in an automatic running state.

The coupling control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 executes the process of step S16 shown in FIG. 7 following the process of step S15. The connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 determines whether or not the connection with the boarding vehicle 30 is completed as the process of step S16, and if it determines that the connection is completed, the process of step S16 makes an affirmative determination. In this case, the connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 opens the door device 27 of the cruise car 20 as the process of step S17.

The connection control unit 381 of the boarding vehicle 30 executes the process of step S27 shown in FIG. 7 following the process of step S26 shown in FIG. The connection control unit 381 of the boarding vehicle 30 determines whether or not the connection with the cruise car 20 is completed as the process of step S27, and if it determines that the connection is completed, the process of step S27 makes an affirmative determination. In this case, the connection control unit 381 of the boarding vehicle 30 opens the door device 37 of the boarding vehicle 30 as the process of step S28.

In this manner, both the door device 27 of the cruise car 20 and the door device 37 of the passenger car 30 are opened, so that the user riding in the passenger car 30 can move to the cruise car 20. It becomes possible.
The connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 determines whether or not the movement of the reserved user from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20 is completed as the process of step S18 following step S17. Specifically, the connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 monitors the user moving from the boarding car 30 to the cruise car 20 by the human sensor 23, and the user moves from the boarding car 30 to the cruise car 20. When the number of users reaches the number of users Npa acquired in the process of step S11, it is determined that the movement of the reserved users from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20 is completed. In this case, the connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 notifies the boarding vehicle 30 via the short-range communication unit 211 that the movement of the user has been completed as the process of step S19. Further, the connection control unit 281 of the cruise car 20 closes the door device 27 of the cruise car 20 as the process of step S30, and stops the energization of the coupling device 26 of the cruise car 20 as the process of step S31. The coupling device 26 is disconnected from the coupling device 36 of the passenger vehicle 30 .

On the other hand, when the connection control unit 381 of the boarding vehicle 30 receives the notification that the movement of the user is completed from the cruise car 20 as the process of step S29, the door device of the boarding vehicle 30 is processed as the process of step S40. 37 is closed, and as a process of step S41, the connection of the connecting device 36 to the connecting device 26 of the cruise car 20 is released by stopping the energization of the connecting device 36 of the boarding vehicle 30 .

By disconnecting the coupling device 26 of the cruise car 20 and the coupling device 36 of the passenger car 30 in this way, the passenger car 30 is ready to move away from the cruise car 20 . Then, the travel control unit 380 of the boarding vehicle 30 executes separation running control for automatically running the boarding vehicle 30 so as to separate it from the cruise car 20 as the process of step S<b>42 . Specifically, the travel control unit 380 of the passenger vehicle 30 separates the passenger vehicle 30 from the cruise car 20 and then gradually decelerates the passenger vehicle 30 to stop.

A series of processes shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are executed by the traveling control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20 and the traveling control ECU 38 of the boarding vehicle 30, so that the user boarding the boarding vehicle 30 at the designated boarding point P10 is It becomes possible to move to the cruise car 20 .
Next, referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the procedure of processing executed by the cruise control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20 and the cruise control ECU 38 of the getting-off vehicle 40 when the user gets off the cruise car 20 will be specifically described. explain. The processes shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are repeatedly executed by the ECUs 28 and 38 before the cruise car 20 reaches the getting-off approach section Sb.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the travel control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20, the travel control unit 280 first executes the processes of steps S50 to S52. The processes of steps S50 to S52 are processes in which the processes of steps S10 to S12 executed in the boarding vehicle 30 shown in FIG. Therefore, since the processing of steps S50 to S52 is similar to the processing of steps S10 to S12 shown in FIG. 6, detailed description of those processing will be omitted.

If the determination in step S52 is affirmative, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 notifies the management center 50 via the long-distance communication unit 210 of dispatching the vehicle 40 for disembarkation in the subsequent step S53. request. The management center 50 notifies the unloading vehicle 40 to that effect when the cruise car 20 requests the unloading vehicle 40 to be dispatched. Further, following step S53, the traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 executes the processes of steps S54 to S59 and S70 to S72 shown in FIGS. The processes of steps S54 to S59 and S70 to S72 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are the processes of steps S13 to S19, S30 and S31 executed in the boarding vehicle 30 shown in FIGS. It is the processing replaced with the vehicle 40 for the vehicle. Therefore, since the processing of steps S54 to S59 and S70 to S72 is the same or similar to the processing of steps S13 to S19, S30 and S31 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, detailed description of those processing will be omitted. do.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, in the travel control ECU 38 of the getting-off vehicle 40, when the travel control unit 380 receives the dispatch request notified from the cruise car 20 in the process of step S60, As a process, dispatch of the vehicle 40 for getting off is prepared. After that, the travel control unit 380 of the getting-off vehicle 40 executes the processes of steps S62 to S69 and S80 to S82 shown in FIGS. The processes of steps S62 to S69 and S80 to S82 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are the processes of steps S22 to S29 and S40 to S42 executed in the boarding vehicle 30 shown in FIGS. It is the processing replaced with the vehicle 40 for the vehicle. Therefore, since the processing of steps S62 to S69 and S80 to S82 is the same or similar to the processing of steps S22 to 29 and S40 to S42 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, detailed description of those processing will be omitted. do.

A series of processes shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 are executed by the travel control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20 and the travel control ECU 38 of the getting-off vehicle 40 to specify the user who got off the getting-off vehicle 40 from the cruise car 20. It can be carried to the drop-off point P11.
According to the traveling control ECU 38 and the traveling system 10 of this embodiment described above, the following actions and effects (1) to (4) can be obtained.

(1) By the vehicles 30 and 40 approaching the cruise car 20, the user can be moved between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40. Specifically, it is possible to move the user on the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20 or move the user on the cruise car 20 to the alighting vehicle 40 . In this way, if the vehicles 30 and 40 approach the cruising car 20, the cruising car 20 can be maintained running at a constant reference speed, so that the cruising car 20 stops. can be done less frequently. As a result, time loss and running energy loss of the cruise car 20 can be suppressed.

(2) The travel control unit 380 of the vehicles 30 and 40 causes the vehicles 30 and 40 to travel close to the cruise car 20, and then the movement of the user between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 is completed. Based on this, the vehicles 30 and 40 are moved away from the cruising vehicle 20. - 特許庁According to such a configuration, it becomes possible for the user to move between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 more reliably.

(3) Vehicles 30 and 40 are provided with coupling devices 36 that are coupled to the coupling devices 26 of the cruise car 20 when approaching the cruise car 20 . The cruise control ECU 38 of the vehicle 30,40 authorizes the movement of the user between the cruise car 20 and the vehicle 30,40 after the coupling 36 of the vehicle 30,40 has been coupled to the coupling 26 of the cruise car 20. A connection control unit 381 is provided. Specifically, the connection control unit 381 opens the door devices 37 provided on the vehicles 30 and 40 to permit the movement of the user between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 . According to such a configuration, the user can move after the cruising car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 are completely connected, so that the user can move in a safer state.

(4) The connection control units 381 of the vehicles 30 and 40 close the door devices 37 when the vehicles 30 and 40 move away from the cruise car 20 . According to such a configuration, when the vehicles 30 and 40 separate from the cruising vehicle 20, it is possible to prevent articles and the like on the vehicles 30 and 40 from falling off.

(Modification)
Next, modifications of the travel control ECU 38 and the travel system 10 of the first embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 10 , the cruise car 20 of this modification includes a contact portion 29 in place of the coupling device 26 . Vehicles 30 and 40 also have contact portions 39 in place of connecting devices 36 . The contact portions 29 and 39 are portions that come into contact with each other when the vehicles 30 and 40 approach the cruise car 20 . However, the contact portions 29 and 39 do not have the function of connecting the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 to each other like the connecting devices 26 and 36 . Each contact portion 29, 39 is made of rubber, for example. In this modified example, the contact portion 29 corresponds to the cruise car side contact portion, and the contact portion 39 corresponds to the vehicle side contact portion.

Further, the traveling control ECU 28 of the cruise car 20 has a movement monitoring section 283 instead of the connection control section 281 . Similarly, the travel control ECU 38 of the vehicles 30 and 40 also has a movement monitoring section 383 instead of the connection control section 381 . The movement monitoring units 283 and 383 open the door devices 27 and 37 after the contact portions 29 of the cruise car 20 and the contact portions 39 of the vehicles 30 and 40 are in contact with each other. Allow user movement in Further, the movement monitoring units 283 and 383 close the door devices 27 and 37 when the vehicles 30 and 40 move away from the cruise car 20 .

Even with such a configuration, users can come and go between the cruise car 20 and the cars 30 and 40 .
<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the travel control ECU 38 and the travel system 10 will be described.

The movement of the user between the cruise car 20 and the boarding vehicle 30 must be completed between the start point and the end point of the boarding approach section Sa. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the cruise car 20 travels in the boarding approach section Sa, by executing control for adjusting the speed in the cruise car 20, the user from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20 movement is more reliably completed within the approaching travel section Sa for boarding.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 performs the process of step S90 subsequent to the process of step S13 when the user moves from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20. It is determined whether or not it can be completed within the approaching section Sa for boarding. Specifically, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 divides the length from the start point to the end point of the next boarding approach section Sa by the reference travel speed of the cruise car 20, thereby The time Td during which the vehicle 20 is traveling in the approaching section Sa for boarding is calculated. Further, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 multiplies the number of users Npa acquired in the process of step S11 by a predetermined time, thereby completing the movement of the users from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20. Estimate the time Tt required for As the predetermined time, a value obtained by experiments or the like in advance is used. When the travel time Tt is equal to or less than the travel time Td of the cruise car 20, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 determines that the movement of the user from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20 is within the boarding approach section Sa. determine that it can be completed with In this case, the traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 makes an affirmative determination in the process of step S90, and executes the processes after step S14.

On the other hand, when the travel time Tt of the cruise car 20 is longer than the travel time Td of the cruise car 20, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 determines that the movement of the user from the boarding car 30 to the cruise car 20 is a boarding approach. It is determined that it cannot be completed within the travel section Sa. In this case, the cruise control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 makes a negative determination in the process of step S90, and executes speed control for adjusting the running speed of the cruise car 20 as the subsequent process of step S91.

Specifically, the traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 sets the target value of the traveling speed of the cruise car 20 using a map as shown in FIG. The map shown in FIG. 12 is set such that the shorter the length L from the start point to the end point of the boarding approach section Sa, the smaller the target value of the traveling speed of the cruising vehicle 20 . Also, the target value of the running speed of the cruising car 20 is set to decrease as the number of users increases. By setting the target value of the traveling speed of the cruising car 20 using such a map, the shorter the length L from the start point to the end point of the approaching traveling section Sa for boarding, the more the number of users increases. As the number increases, the running speed of the cruise car 20 becomes slower, so the time during which the cruise car 20 runs in the boarding approach section Sa becomes longer. After setting the target value of the traveling speed of the cruise car 20 based on the map shown in FIG. to the set target value. As a result, compared to the case where the cruise car 20 runs at a constant reference speed, it is possible to secure a time margin when the user moves from the boarding vehicle 30 to the cruise car 20. .

On the other hand, when the cruise car 20 travels in the approaching section Sb for getting off, the same problem as in the approaching section Sa for boarding may occur. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 performs the process of step S100 following the process of step S54 so that the movement of the user from the cruise car 20 to the getting-off vehicle 40 is determined to be an approach for getting off. It is determined whether or not it can be completed within the travel section Sb. Further, when the traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 makes a negative determination in the process of step S100, it executes speed control for adjusting the traveling speed of the cruise car 20 as the process of step S101. In addition, since the processing of steps S100 and S101 is similar to the processing of steps S90 and S91 shown in FIG. 11, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

According to the traveling control ECU 38 and the traveling system 10 of the present embodiment described above, it is possible to further obtain the actions and effects shown in (5) and (6) below.
(5) The traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 determines whether or not the movement of the user is completed within the approaching sections Sa and Sb, and the movement of the user is not completed within the approaching sections Sa and Sb. If so, the running speed of the cruising car 20 is controlled. According to such a configuration, it becomes possible to complete the movement of the user between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 more reliably.

(6) The travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 determines the number of users moving between the cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 and the length of the approaching sections Sa and Sb. is completed within the approaching sections Sa and Sb. According to such a configuration, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the movement of the user is completed within the approaching sections Sa and Sb.

<Other embodiments>
The above embodiment can also be implemented in the following forms.
The cruise car 20 and the vehicles 30 and 40 of each embodiment are not limited to engine vehicles, and may be electric vehicles that run using an electric motor as a power source, or hybrid vehicles that run using both an engine and an electric motor as power sources. .

In the process of step S10 shown in FIGS. 6 and 11, it is determined whether or not the distance that the cruise car 20 needs to travel from the current location to the boarding approach section Sa is less than or equal to a predetermined distance. Based on this, it may be determined whether or not the cruising car 20 is approaching the next boarding approach section Sa. The same applies to the processing of step S50 shown in FIGS. 8 and 13 .

In the processing of step S91 shown in FIG. 11 and the processing of step S101 shown in FIG. Different parameters may be used to set the target travel speed of the cruise car 20 . Specifically, the traveling control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 may set the target value of the traveling speed of the cruise car 20 based on the characteristics of the user, for example, whether there is an obstacle. It should be noted that if the features of the user are used as input items when reserving the cruise car 20 , the travel control unit 280 of the cruise car 20 can acquire information about the features of the user from the management center 50 .
- In the traveling system 10 of 2nd Embodiment, the control center 50 may set the target value of the traveling speed of the cruise car 20 in the approach traveling area Sa and Sb.

- The vehicles 30 and 40 are not limited to connecting or contacting the side surface of the cruise car 20, and may be connected or contacting the front surface or the rear surface of the cruise car 20. - 特許庁
- The boarding vehicle 30 and the getting-off vehicle 40 may be the same vehicle. Specifically, when the vehicle approaches the cruise car 20, after the user on the vehicle moves from the vehicle to the cruise car 20, the user on the cruise car 20 moves from the cruise car 20 to the vehicle. If it moves, it is possible to get on and off the cruise car 20 with one vehicle. By using this configuration, it is possible to set the approaching section Sa for boarding and the approaching section Sb for getting off to the same section, and also set the designated boarding point P10 and the designated drop-off point P11 to the same point. .

- The cruise control ECUs 28, 38 and control methods thereof described in the present disclosure were provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions embodied by a computer program. It may be implemented by one or more special purpose computers. The cruise control ECUs 28, 38 and control methods thereof described in this disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer provided by configuring a processor that includes one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. The cruise control ECUs 28, 38 and control methods thereof described in this disclosure are implemented by a combination of a processor and memory programmed to perform one or more functions and a processor including one or more hardware logic circuits. It may also be implemented by one or more specially configured computers. The computer program may be stored as computer-executable instructions on a computer-readable non-transitional tangible storage medium. Dedicated hardware logic circuits and hardware logic circuits may be implemented by digital circuits containing multiple logic circuits or by analog circuits.

- The present disclosure is not limited to the above specific examples. Appropriate design changes made by those skilled in the art to the above specific examples are also included in the scope of the present disclosure as long as they have the features of the present disclosure. Each element included in each specific example described above, and its arrangement, conditions, shape, etc., are not limited to those illustrated and can be changed as appropriate. As long as there is no technical contradiction, the combination of the elements included in the specific examples described above can be changed as appropriate.

10: Running system 20: Cruise car 26: Connection device (cruise car side connection part)
29: Contact part (cruise car side contact part)
30, 40: Vehicle 36: Connection device (vehicle side connection portion)
37: Door device 38: Driving control ECU (control device)
39: Contact portion (vehicle side contact portion)
280: travel control unit 380: travel control unit 381: connection control unit 382: position detection unit 383: movement monitoring unit

Claims (10)

A control device for a vehicle capable of moving an object to be transported between it and a cruising vehicle (20) cruising along a predetermined travel route,
a travel control unit (380) for controlling automatic travel of the vehicle;
A position detection unit (382) that detects the relative position of the vehicle with respect to the cruise vehicle,
The travel control unit is
Determining whether or not there is an object to be transported on the cruising car,
When there is an object to be transported on the cruise car, the object to be transported is located between the running cruise car and the vehicle based on the relative position of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit. After moving the vehicle so as to approach the cruising car so as to be movable, the vehicle is moved away from the cruising car ,
If there is no object to be transported on the cruising car, the process of causing the vehicle to approach the cruising car is not executed.
Vehicle controller. After causing the vehicle to travel close to the cruise car, the travel control unit moves the vehicle to the cruise car based on completion of movement of the object to be transported between the cruise car and the vehicle. The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle is driven so as to separate from the vehicle. The vehicle is provided with a vehicle side contact portion (39) that contacts the cruise car side contact portion (29) provided on the cruise car when approaching the cruise car,
3. The movement monitoring unit (383) for permitting movement of the transport object between the cruise car and the vehicle after the vehicle side contact part contacts the cruise car side contact part (383) according to claim 1 or 2. vehicle controller. A door device (37) is provided at the vehicle-side contact portion,
The vehicle control device according to claim 3, wherein the movement monitoring unit permits movement of the object to be transported between the cruise car and the vehicle by opening the door device. The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein the movement monitoring unit closes the door device when the vehicle moves away from the cruise car. The vehicle is provided with a vehicle-side coupling portion (36) that is coupled to the cruise car-side coupling portion (26) provided on the cruise car when the vehicle approaches the cruise car,
3. According to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a connection control unit (381) that permits movement of the object to be transported between the cruise car and the vehicle after the vehicle-side connection unit is connected to the cruise car-side connection unit. Control device for the described vehicle. A door device (37) is provided at the vehicle-side connecting portion,
The vehicle control device according to claim 6, wherein the connection control unit permits movement of the object to be transported between the cruise car and the vehicle by opening the door device. The vehicle control device according to claim 7, wherein the connection control unit closes the door device when the vehicle separates from the cruise car. When the object to be transported on the cruise car is the first object to be transported,
The cruising vehicle requests the vehicle to be dispatched when there is a second object to be transported to be dismounted from the cruising vehicle,
When the dispatch is requested from the cruise car, the travel control unit controls the movement of the vehicle between the running cruise car and the vehicle based on the relative position of the vehicle detected by the position detection unit. 2. After the vehicle is driven close to the cruising car so that the object to be transported can move, the vehicle is moved away from the cruising car.
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The traveling route is set with an approaching section in which the cruising car and the vehicle can travel in close proximity,
The cruise car controls the traveling speed of the cruise car so that the movement of the object to be transported is completed in the approaching section,
The travel control unit moves the objects to be transported within the approaching section based on at least one of the number of the objects to be transported that move between the cruise car and the vehicle and the length of the approaching section. is completed, and if it is determined that the movement of the object to be transported in the approaching section is not completed, the cruising car is driven to complete the movement of the object to be transported in the approaching section to control the running speed of
The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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