JP7544640B2 - Pick-up point information system, Pick-up point information system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a pick-up point guidance system and a drop-off point guidance system.

Patent Document 1 describes a navigation device that sets a meeting point for meeting with a meeting partner, where an indoor facility is set as the meeting point when it is raining, and a facility that can be used both indoors and outdoors is set as the meeting point when it is sunny.

JP 2006-105929 A

However, the conventional technology does not take into consideration the case where the weather at the time of departure is different from the weather at the time of arrival. For example, if the departure point of a person being dropped off by vehicle is sunny when the person is dropped off, but the destination is rainy when the person is dropped off, the person may not have rain gear, and in that case, a roofed facility near the destination may be the drop-off point. On the other hand, if it is raining both at the time of departure and the time of arrival, the person may have rain gear, and in that case, the roofed facility may not necessarily be the drop-off point. In this way, the tendency of the actual pick-up and drop-off point near the destination may differ depending on the weather at the departure point of the pick-up and drop-off and the weather at the destination when the person is dropped off.
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a technique for providing information on pick-up and drop-off points according to the weather at the time of departure and arrival.

To achieve the above object, the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system includes a pick-up and drop-off history acquisition unit that acquires a pick-up and drop-off history including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of a pick-up and drop-off by vehicle, the destination, the pick-up and drop-off point around the destination where the pick-up and drop-off was actually performed, and the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up and drop-off; a new pick-up and drop-off information acquisition unit that acquires new pick-up and drop-off information including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of a new pick-up and drop-off by vehicle, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the scheduled arrival time; a pick-up and drop-off point acquisition unit that acquires a pick-up and drop-off point associated with the pick-up and drop-off history where the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up and drop-off matches the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the scheduled arrival time in the new pick-up and drop-off information; and a guidance control unit that causes the guidance unit to guide the user to the acquired pick-up and drop-off points.

In other words, the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system acquires in advance a pick-up and drop-off history that includes the destination, the pick-up and drop-off points around the destination where the pick-up and drop-off was actually performed, and the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up and drop-off. Then, when the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the expected arrival time for a new pick-up and drop-off match the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination in the pick-up and drop-off history, the guidance unit is caused to provide guidance to the pick-up and drop-off points in the pick-up and drop-off history. This makes it possible to provide guidance to pick-up and drop-off points according to the weather at the time of departure and arrival.

In addition, the pickup point guidance system for achieving the above object includes a pickup history acquisition unit that acquires a pickup history including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of a person picked up by a vehicle, the destination, the pickup point where the person was actually picked up around the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of pickup; a new pickup information acquisition unit that acquires new pickup information including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of a person newly picked up by a vehicle, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of scheduled arrival; a pickup point acquisition unit that acquires a pickup point associated with a pickup history in which the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of pickup matches the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of scheduled arrival in the new pickup information; and a guidance control unit that causes the guidance unit to guide the person to the acquired pickup point.

In other words, the pickup point guidance system acquires in advance a pickup history that includes the destination, the pickup point around the destination where the vehicle was actually picked up, and the weather around the destination at the time of pickup. Then, if the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the expected arrival time for a new pickup matches the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of pickup in the pickup history, the guidance unit is caused to provide guidance to the pickup point in the pickup history. This makes it possible to provide guidance to a pickup point that suits the weather at the time of departure and arrival.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a pick-up and drop-off point guidance system. FIG. 2A is a diagram showing an example of a pick-up history, and FIG. 2B is a flowchart showing a pick-up point guidance process. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a pick-up point guidance system.

Here, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order.
(1) First embodiment:
(1-1) Configuration of Pick-up and Drop-off Point Guidance System:
(1-2) Pick-up and drop-off point information processing:
(2) Second embodiment:
(3) Other embodiments:

(1) First embodiment:
(1-1) Configuration of Pick-up and Drop-off Point Guidance System:
1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a pick-up and drop-off point information system 10. In this embodiment, the pick-up and drop-off point information system 10 cooperates with navigation systems 100 and 200. The navigation system 100 is a system mounted on a probe vehicle, and transmits probe information generated by the probe vehicle to the pick-up and drop-off point information system 10.

In this embodiment, the probe information includes the driving history of the probe vehicle, information indicating door opening and closing in the probe vehicle, and information indicating the destination. The pick-up and drop-off point information system 10 acquires the probe information from the navigation system 100. The pick-up and drop-off point information system 10 generates a pick-up and drop-off history 30b from the probe information and records it in the recording medium 30. In this embodiment, it is assumed that there are multiple probe vehicles. Each probe vehicle is equipped with a navigation system 100, but FIG. 1 shows only one of them. Since the probe information is transmitted from each probe vehicle, the pick-up and drop-off point information system 10 can acquire the pick-up and drop-off point based on the probe information transmitted from the multiple probe vehicles.

Meanwhile, the navigation system 200 is a system installed in a guide vehicle that provides guidance on pick-up and drop-off points, and in this embodiment, it is assumed that there are multiple guide vehicles. Each guide vehicle is equipped with a navigation system 200, but FIG. 1 shows only one of them. The pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 acquires pick-up and drop-off points in response to requests from the multiple navigation systems 200, and has the navigation systems 200 provide guidance to the pick-up and drop-off points.

The navigation system 100 includes a control unit 120 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., a recording medium 130, a door sensor 140, a GNSS receiving unit 141, a vehicle speed sensor 142, a gyro sensor 143, a communication unit 144, and a user I/F unit 145. The recording medium 130 stores map information 130a. The map information 130a includes node data indicating the positions of nodes corresponding to the end points of a road section, shape interpolation point data indicating the positions of shape interpolation points for identifying the shape of a road between nodes, link data indicating links connecting nodes, etc. Here, the nodes correspond to intersections, and the links correspond to road sections from intersection to intersection. The map information 130a is used to identify the position of a probe vehicle, search for a route to a destination, and provide route guidance. The map information 130a also includes facility data including facility IDs, names, facility genres, and locations of facilities around the road. The facilities can be used as destinations for route searches.

The communication unit 144 is a device for wirelessly communicating with external devices. The control unit 120 transmits and receives information to and from the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 via the communication unit 144. The door sensor 140 is a sensor that detects the opening and closing of doors equipped in the probe vehicle and outputs the detection result. The control unit 120 can detect the opening and closing of each door equipped in the probe vehicle based on the output signal of the door sensor 140. The user I/F unit 145 is an interface unit for inputting instructions from users of the probe vehicle and for providing various information to the users, and is equipped with a touch panel display, switches, speakers, etc. (not shown).

The GNSS receiver 141 is a device that receives signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System. The GNSS receiver 141 receives radio waves from navigation satellites and outputs a signal for calculating the position of the vehicle via an interface not shown. The control unit 120 acquires this signal to acquire the position of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 142 outputs a signal corresponding to the rotation speed of the wheels of the vehicle. The control unit 120 acquires this signal via an interface not shown to acquire the vehicle speed. The gyro sensor 143 detects the angular acceleration of the vehicle turning in a horizontal plane and outputs a signal corresponding to the orientation of the vehicle. The control unit 120 acquires this signal to acquire the traveling direction of the vehicle. The vehicle speed sensor 142, the gyro sensor 143, and the like are used to identify the traveling trajectory of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the control unit 120 identifies the position of the vehicle based on the departure point and traveling trajectory of the vehicle, and corrects the position of the vehicle identified based on the departure point and traveling trajectory based on the output signal of the GNSS receiver 141.

The control unit 120 can execute various programs stored in a ROM or a recording medium (not shown). In this embodiment, the control unit 120 can execute a navigation program (not shown) and a probe information transmission program 121 as these programs. The navigation program causes the control unit 120 to realize a function of searching for a route to a destination and guiding the vehicle to travel along the route. When the probe information transmission program 121 is executed, the control unit 120 functions as a probe information transmission unit 121a. The control unit 120 generates probe information by using the function of the probe information transmission unit 121a, and transmits the probe information to the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 via the communication unit 144.

The control unit 120, using the function of the probe information transmission unit 121a, acquires the current location of the probe vehicle based on the output signals of the GNSS receiving unit 141, the vehicle speed sensor 142, and the gyro sensor 143 every time the probe vehicle travels for a certain period of time or a certain distance. Furthermore, using the function of the probe information transmission unit 121a, the control unit 120 acquires the current time based on a timing circuit (not shown), associates the current time with the current location of the probe vehicle, and records it as probe information in the RAM or a recording medium (not shown). Furthermore, when the control unit 120 detects the opening or closing of a door based on the output of the door sensor 140, it associates the current location and current time at the time the opening or closing of the door was detected with information indicating the opening or closing of the door, and records this as probe information. Furthermore, it records the destination set in the probe vehicle as probe information.

The control unit 120 then uses the function of the probe information transmission unit 121a to associate the probe information collected within a certain period with the vehicle ID of the probe vehicle and transmits it to the pick-up and drop-off point information system 10 via the communication unit 144. By carrying out the above processing in each probe vehicle, the pick-up and drop-off point information system 10 can obtain probe information of multiple probe vehicles.

Next, the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 will be described. The pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 includes a control unit 20 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., a recording medium 30, and a communication unit 41. The control unit 20 can execute various programs stored in the recording medium 30 or ROM. The control unit 20 of this embodiment can execute a pick-up and drop-off point guidance program 21 as one of these programs. By processing the pick-up and drop-off point guidance program 21, the control unit 20 generates a pick-up and drop-off history 30b based on probe information collected from multiple probe vehicles, and causes the navigation system 200 to guide the pick-up and drop-off points based on the pick-up and drop-off history 30b.

The communication unit 41 is a device for wireless communication with external devices. The control unit 20 communicates with the navigation system 100 and the navigation system 200 via the communication unit 41 to exchange various information. The control unit 20 also communicates with a weather information distribution server (not shown) via the communication unit 41 to obtain information on past weather, current weather, and future forecast weather in any area from the weather information distribution server. The recording medium 30 can store various information, and in this embodiment, records the pick-up and drop-off history 30b. The recording medium also has map information 30a pre-recorded on it. In addition to being similar in configuration to the map information 130a, the map information 30a includes data indicating an administrative district, and the map information 30a is used to identify the administrative district in which any point is included.

When the control unit 20 executes the pick-up and drop-off point guidance program 21, the control unit 20 functions as a pick-up and drop-off history acquisition unit 21a, a new pick-up and drop-off information acquisition unit 21b, a pick-up and drop-off point acquisition unit 21c, and a guidance control unit 21d. The pick-up and drop-off history acquisition unit 21a is a function that acquires a pick-up and drop-off history including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of the pick-up and drop-off by the vehicle, the destination, the pick-up and drop-off points around the destination where the pick-up and drop-off was actually performed, the pick-up and drop-off time zone at the pick-up and drop-off point, and the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up and drop-off. The control unit 20 acquires probe information transmitted from the probe vehicle via the communication unit 41 using the function of the pick-up and drop-off history acquisition unit 21a.

In this embodiment, the probe information is used to identify the departure point, departure time, destination, pick-up and drop-off point, and pick-up and drop-off time for a pick-up or drop-off by a probe vehicle. In this embodiment, the pick-up and drop-off point is the point where the driver of the probe vehicle drops off the passenger. The control unit 20 refers to the history of the current location of the probe vehicle within a certain period of time acquired from the probe vehicle, and considers any history in which the change in the current location is less than a predetermined distance as parking history. If any door other than the driver's door is open or closed during the parking period, and if the point indicating the current location during the parking period is within a predetermined range of the destination set in the navigation system, the control unit 20 considers that point to be the pick-up or drop-off point.

Then, the control unit 20 identifies the starting point of the movement to the pick-up and drop-off point. For example, the control unit 20 identifies the most recent parking period in the past before the pick-up and drop-off point, in which the doors other than the driver's seat were opened and closed, in the same manner as described above, and identifies the current location during that period as the starting point (i.e., the location where the person to be delivered to the destination was picked up). The control unit 20 acquires the weather for the time period including the door opening and closing time at the starting point and the weather for the time period including the door opening and closing time at the pick-up and drop-off point from the weather information distribution server. The control unit 20 identifies the administrative district including the starting point and the administrative district including the pick-up and drop-off point and the destination by referring to the map information 30a, and acquires the weather for the above-mentioned time period for the administrative district. The administrative district identified here is preferably the most subdivided area, and may be, for example, a city, ward, town, or village. The time period may be a predetermined time range, and in this embodiment, for example, one hour from 0 minutes past the hour is one time period. The control unit 20 then generates a pickup history 30b that associates the coordinates of the departure point, the weather around the departure point during the time of departure, the coordinates of the pick-up and drop-off point, the coordinates of the destination (or a facility ID indicating the destination), the pickup and drop-off time period (the time period including the time when the door is opened and closed at the pick-up and drop-off point), and the weather around the destination during the pickup and drop-off time period, and records this in the recording medium 30.

In this way, the control unit 20 acquires a plurality of pick-up and drop-off histories 30b from a plurality of probe information acquired from a plurality of probe vehicles. Fig. 2A shows an example of the pick-up and drop-off history. Fig. 2A shows a plurality of pick-up and drop-off points for each destination, for each same pick-up and drop-off time period, for each weather at the time of departure from the departure point, and for each weather around the destination at the time of pick-up and drop-off. For example, pick-up and drop-off points _P10 , _P11 , and _P12 are histories of pick-up and drop-off points where passengers were dropped off from the probe vehicle when the destination is Station A, the pick-up and drop-off time period is from 17:00 to 18:00, the weather around the departure point at the time of departure is sunny/cloudy (at least either sunny or cloudy), and the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up and drop-off is sunny/cloudy.

In the case of C2, where it is raining at the time of pick-up (when the passenger gets off) but not at the time of departure (when the passenger gets on), the person (passenger) being sent by the probe vehicle may not have rain gear. Therefore, in order to shorten the distance to walk in the rain, pick-up and drop-off points may be distributed near the entrance of the building of Station A, near the entrance of a covered facility (such as an underground passage, arcade, department store, etc.) connected to Station A, or inside a covered facility (such as an indoor parking lot). Furthermore, if the pick-up and drop-off time is rush hour, it is likely that the area near the entrance of the building of Station A will be crowded with vehicles, so it is possible that there are more pick-up and drop-off points near the entrance of a covered facility that can indirectly access Station A or inside a covered facility than near the entrance of the building of Station A that can directly access Station A. In another case, for example, in the case of C4, where it is raining at the time of pick-up and drop-off but also raining at the time of departure, the person being sent to Station A may already have rain gear, and it is likely that pick-up and drop-off points will not be distributed near the entrance of the building of Station A, near the entrance of a covered facility connected to Station A, or inside a covered facility as much as in the case of C2. Also, for example, in cases such as C1 and C3 where it is sunny or cloudy at the time of pick-up and drop-off, rain gear is not required, so the distribution of pick-up and drop-off points is likely to be more varied than in C2 and C4. In this way, the trends in pick-up and drop-off points can differ depending on the combination of weather at the time of departure and pick-up and drop-off, and the time of pick-up and drop-off.

When multiple such pick-up and drop-off histories 30b are accumulated, the control unit 20 uses the pick-up and drop-off history 30b to acquire candidates for pick-up and drop-off points for new pick-up and drop-off. Specifically, the control unit 20 acquires the departure time, departure point, destination, and estimated arrival time at the destination for a new pick-up and drop-off from the navigation system 200 of the guide vehicle using the function of the new pick-up and drop-off information acquisition unit 21b. The control unit 20 acquires the weather around the departure point in the time period including the departure time and the weather around the destination in the estimated arrival time period including the estimated arrival time from the weather information distribution server using the function of the new pick-up and drop-off information acquisition unit 21b. That is, the control unit 20 identifies the administrative district that includes the departure point based on the map information 30a and acquires the current weather in that district. The control unit 20 also identifies the administrative district that includes the destination and acquires the estimated weather in that district for the estimated arrival time period. The combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of a new pick-up and drop-off by the guide vehicle, the destination, the weather around the destination in the estimated arrival time period, and the estimated arrival time period is hereinafter referred to as new pick-up and drop-off information.

The control unit 20, by using the function of the pick-up/drop-off point acquisition unit 21c, acquires pick-up/drop-off points (coordinates) associated with pick-up/drop-off history that match the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, the estimated arrival time at the destination, and the weather around the destination at the estimated arrival time in the new pick-up/drop-off information. For example, in the case where the pick-up/drop-off history shown in FIG. 2A is stored, and the weather around the departure point at the time of departure in the new pick-up/drop-off information is sunny/cloudy, the destination is Station A, the estimated arrival time at the destination is 17:00 to 18:00, and the weather around the destination at the estimated arrival time is sunny/cloudy, the control unit 20 acquires pick-up/drop-off points _P10 , _P11 , _P12 , etc. associated with the case of C1.

Then, the control unit 20 causes the guidance unit to guide the acquired pick-up and drop-off point by using the function of the guidance control unit 21d. That is, the control unit 20 transmits the coordinates of the pick-up and drop-off point to the navigation system 200 of the guide vehicle, and causes the navigation system 200 of the guide vehicle to notify the user of the guide vehicle of the location of the pick-up and drop-off point.

The navigation system 200 of the guide vehicle includes a control unit 220, a recording medium 230, a GNSS receiving unit 241, a vehicle speed sensor 242, a gyro sensor 243, a communication unit 244, and a user I/F unit 245. The GNSS receiving unit 241, the vehicle speed sensor 242, the gyro sensor 243, the communication unit 244, and the user I/F unit 245 have the same configuration as 141 to 145 in the navigation system 100 of the probe vehicle. The control unit 220 includes a CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and is capable of executing various programs including a navigation program 221 recorded on the recording medium 230. The map information 230a has the same configuration as the map information 130a. The map information 230a is used to identify the position of the guide vehicle, search for a route to the destination, provide route guidance, etc.

The navigation program 221 includes a function of providing information on potential pick-up and drop-off points (points where passengers can get off) when dropping off passengers around the destination. In this case, the control unit 220 functions as the guidance unit 221a. When the driver of the guide vehicle starts picking up or dropping off passengers in the guide vehicle, the driver operates the user I/F unit 245 to input the destination into the navigation system 200 and instructs the system to search for a route to the destination and provide information on potential pick-up and drop-off points around the destination. The control unit 220 searches for a route to the input destination and calculates an estimated arrival time. The control unit 220 then transmits the destination, the current location, the current time, and the estimated arrival time at the destination to the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 via the communication unit 244. As described above, when the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 obtains the potential pick-up and drop-off points and returns them to the navigation system 200 of the guide vehicle, the control unit 220 obtains the potential pick-up and drop-off points via the communication unit 244. The control unit 220 uses the function of the guidance unit 221a to display a map of the area around the destination on the user I/F unit 245, and in this embodiment, overlays icons indicating the locations of candidate pick-up and drop-off points on the map. An area where icons indicating pick-up and drop-off points are densely concentrated indicates that the area is often used as a pick-up and drop-off point when the weather combination is the same at the time of departure and arrival during the same time period as the expected arrival time. When the driver of the guide vehicle reaches the area around the destination, he or she can drive the guide vehicle toward one of the points indicated by the icons presented as candidate pick-up and drop-off points.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pick-up and drop-off point guidance system 10 can provide information on pick-up and drop-off points according to the weather at the time of departure and arrival. Therefore, even if the destination is an unfamiliar location, the driver of the guide vehicle can recognize a convenient pick-up and drop-off point according to the weather at the time of departure and pick-up/drop-off and the pick-up and drop-off time zone, and can drive the vehicle toward that point.

(1-2) Pick-up and drop-off point information processing:
Next, the pick-up and drop-off point guidance process executed by the control unit 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 2B. The pick-up and drop-off point guidance process is started when the departure time, the departure point, the destination, and the estimated arrival time at the destination for a new pick-up and drop-off are received from the navigation system 200 of the guide vehicle in a state in which the pick-up and drop-off history 30b is accumulated in advance by the function of the pick-up and drop-off history acquisition unit 21a, and pick-up and drop-off points are collected for each destination, each pick-up and drop-off time zone, each weather around the departure point at the time of departure, and each weather around the destination at the time of pick-up and drop-off, as shown in Fig. 2A. When the pick-up and drop-off point guidance process is started, the control unit 20 acquires new pick-up and drop-off information by the function of the new pick-up and drop-off information acquisition unit 21b (step S100). That is, the control unit 20 acquires the weather around the departure point in the time zone including the departure time and the weather around the destination in the estimated arrival time zone including the estimated arrival time from the weather information distribution server, and acquires new pick-up and drop-off information that associates the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of the new pick-up and drop-off, the destination, the weather around the destination in the estimated arrival time zone, and the estimated arrival time zone.

Next, the control unit 20, using the function of the pick-up/drop-off point acquisition unit 21c, acquires pick-up/drop-off points associated with pick-up/drop-off history that match the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the expected arrival time in the new pick-up/drop-off information, and the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up/drop-off (step S105). That is, the control unit 20 refers to the pick-up/drop-off history 30b, and acquires pick-up/drop-off points in the pick-up/drop-off history that match these combinations.

Then, the control unit 20 uses the function of the guidance control unit 21d to guide the vehicle to the pick-up or drop-off point (step S110). That is, the control unit 20 transmits the pick-up or drop-off point to the navigation system 200 of the guiding vehicle, and causes the guidance unit 221a to guide the vehicle to the pick-up or drop-off point. As a result, candidate locations for the pick-up or drop-off point are presented on the display unit of the user I/F unit 245 of the navigation system 200.

(2) Second embodiment:
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the pickup point guidance system 50. The pickup point guidance system 50 cooperates with a mobile terminal 150 and a mobile terminal 250. The mobile terminals 150 and 250 are portable terminals having a communication function, such as a smartphone or a tablet. The mobile terminal 150 is a terminal that transmits a movement history to the pickup point guidance system 50 to acquire a pickup history. There are a plurality of mobile terminals, but FIG. 3 shows one of them. The mobile terminal 250 is a terminal that guides the pickup point. There may be a plurality of mobile terminals, but FIG. 3 shows one of them. In the second embodiment, the pickup point guidance system 50 has a function of guiding candidates of pickup points around the destination to a person who has a mobile terminal, travels toward a destination using public transportation or the like, and is picked up by a vehicle at the destination.

The mobile terminal 150 includes a GNSS receiver 191, a communication unit 194, and a touch panel display 195. The control unit 160 of the mobile terminal 150 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. (not shown), and can execute various programs recorded on a recording medium (not shown). In this embodiment, the control unit 160 can execute a navigation program and a movement history transmission program 161. The navigation program causes the control unit 160 to realize a function of searching for a route to a destination according to a means of transportation and guiding the user to move along the route. The route search function and route guidance function may be configured to be performed in cooperation with a navigation server (not shown). The user of the mobile terminal 150 can operate the touch panel display 195 to start the navigation program, input a destination, and select a means of transportation to obtain a route according to the means of transportation.

When executing the movement history transmission program 161, the control unit 160 functions as a movement history transmission unit 161a. Using the function of the movement history transmission unit 161a, the control unit 160 acquires the current location based on the output signal of the GNSS receiving unit 191 at regular intervals, and associates the current time acquired from a timing circuit (not shown) with the ID of the terminal to create a movement history. Furthermore, the control unit 160 associates the destination set in the mobile terminal 150 to create a movement history. The control unit 160 transmits the movement history to the pick-up point guidance system 50 via the communication unit 194 at a preset timing.

The pickup point guidance system 50 includes a control unit 60, a recording medium 70, and a communication unit 81. The communication unit 81 includes a circuit for communicating with the mobile terminals 150, 250 and a weather information distribution server (not shown). Map information 70a is recorded in advance on the recording medium 70. The map information 70a has the same configuration as the map information 30a in the first embodiment. The control unit 60 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. (not shown), and can execute any program recorded on the recording medium 70. As one of these programs, the control unit 60 can execute a pickup point guidance program 61. When the control unit 60 executes the pickup point guidance program 61, the control unit 60 functions as a pickup history acquisition unit 61a, a new pickup information acquisition unit 61b, a pickup point acquisition unit 61c, and a guidance control unit 61d.

The control unit 60 acquires a pickup history from the movement history of the mobile terminal 150 by using the function of the pickup history acquisition unit 61a. For example, when the control unit 60 determines from the movement history that the mobile terminal 150 has reached the destination, it determines whether or not there is a history indicating that the mobile terminal 150 has been picked up by a vehicle within a predetermined range of the destination. For example, after arriving at the destination, if the mobile terminal 150 moves on foot to a point within the predetermined range of the destination and the movement history from that point indicates that the mobile terminal 150 has boarded a vehicle, the control unit 60 considers the mobile terminal 150 to have been picked up and sets that point as the pickup point. For example, if the movement trajectory from that point is on a roadway and the movement speed is faster than the general walking speed, it can be considered that the mobile terminal 150 boarded a vehicle from that point. In addition, in order to acquire any point other than a bus stop or a taxi stand as a candidate for the pickup point, the control unit 60 determines whether the point corresponds to a bus stop or a taxi stand based on the map information 70a, and if so, excludes the point from the movement history for acquiring the pickup history.

If the pick-up point can be identified from the movement history, the control unit 60 identifies the point where the movement to the destination started from the movement history. For example, the control unit 60 identifies the current location when the route search is performed as the starting point. Then, the control unit 60 acquires the weather at the starting point in the time period including the time of starting the movement from the starting point, i.e., the departure time, from the weather information distribution server. The control unit 60 also acquires the weather at the destination in the time period including the arrival time at the destination from the weather information distribution server. The control unit 60 can identify the area including the starting point and the area including the destination based on the map information 70a and acquire the weather of the area. Then, the control unit 60 generates and records the pick-up history 70b in which the weather around the starting point at the time of departure of the person who was picked up, the destination, the pick-up point where the person was actually picked up around the destination, the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up, and the pick-up time zone at the pick-up point are associated with each other. In this way, the control unit 60 can generate the pick-up history from the movement history of multiple mobile terminals. When multiple pickup histories are generated, the control unit 60 compiles the multiple pickup histories by destination, pickup time zone, weather at the departure point, weather at the destination, and pickup point (see FIG. 2A for example). The tendency of the pickup point may differ depending on the weather at the departure point when the person to be picked up departs, the weather at the destination when the person to be picked up arrives, and the arrival time zone at the destination. For example, in the case of C2 where it is assumed that the person to be picked up does not have rain gear, it is conceivable that the person will wait in a covered facility near the destination and be picked up. The tendency of the pickup point may also differ depending on the time zone at which the person is to be picked up.

With the pickup points collected as shown in FIG. 2A, the pickup point guidance system 50 can acquire candidates for pickup points for new pickups. The control unit 60 acquires new pickup information including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of the person newly picked up by the vehicle, the destination, the weather around the destination during the expected arrival time, and the expected arrival time at the destination, by using the function of the new pickup information acquisition unit 61b. That is, when the control unit 60 receives the destination, current location, current time, and expected arrival time at the destination as a request for guidance on candidate pickup points from the mobile terminal 250, it acquires the weather around the current location of the mobile terminal 250 during the time period including the current time from a weather information distribution server (not shown). In addition, the control unit 260 acquires the weather around the destination at the expected arrival time at the destination from the weather information distribution server. The combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of the new pickup, the destination, the weather around the destination during the expected arrival time, and the expected arrival time is hereinafter referred to as new pickup information.

The control unit 60, by using the function of the pick-up point acquisition unit 61c, acquires a pick-up point associated with a pick-up history that matches the combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, destination, pick-up time, and weather around the destination at the time of pick-up, which matches the combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, destination, pick-up time, and weather around the destination at the time of pick-up, in the new pick-up information.

Then, the control unit 60 causes the guidance unit to guide the user to the acquired pick-up point using the function of the guidance control unit 61d. That is, the control unit 60 transmits the coordinates of the pick-up point to the mobile terminal 250, and causes the mobile terminal 250 to notify the user of the location of the pick-up point.

The mobile terminal 250, like the mobile terminal 150, is equipped with a control unit 260, a communication unit 294, a GNSS receiving unit 291, and a touch panel display 295. The control unit 260 is equipped with a ROM, a RAM, a CPU, etc. (not shown), and can execute various programs including the navigation program 261. When executing the navigation program 261, the control unit 260 functions as a guidance unit 261a. When the user of the mobile terminal 250 inputs a destination and a means of transportation to instruct a route search and also instructs the presentation of candidate pick-up points around the destination, the control unit 260 searches for a route according to the means of transportation and obtains the route to the destination and the estimated time of arrival at the destination. Then, the control unit 260, using the function of the guidance unit 261a, transmits the destination, the current location, the current time, and the estimated time of arrival at the destination to the pick-up point guidance system 50 via the communication unit 294 as a guidance request for candidate pick-up points.

The pickup point guidance system 50 acquires the candidate pickup points as described above and returns them to the mobile terminal 250. When the candidate pickup points are received, the control unit 260, by using the function of the guidance unit 261a, displays a map of the area around the destination on the touch panel display 295 and displays icons indicating the candidate pickup points on the map by overlaying them. When the user of the mobile terminal 250 selects one of the points, the control unit 260 transmits the estimated arrival time together with the mobile terminal of the driver of the vehicle to be picked up (or the navigation system of the vehicle). As a result, the user of the mobile terminal 250 can request to be picked up at the estimated arrival time at the pickup point. The user who drives the vehicle and picks up the vehicle can drive the vehicle so that it arrives at the pickup point around the transmitted estimated arrival time. The control unit 260 of the mobile terminal 250 guides the user of the mobile terminal 250 to move along the route to the destination. The route search function and route guidance function in the navigation program 261 may be performed in cooperation with a navigation server (not shown).

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pick-up point guidance system 50 can provide information on possible pick-up points according to the weather at the departure point when the person to be picked up departs, the weather at the destination when the person to be picked up arrives at the destination, and the expected time of arrival. Therefore, even if a new person to be picked up is in an unfamiliar destination, he or she can recognize a convenient pick-up point according to the weather at the time of departure and pick-up and the pick-up time, and can request to be picked up by a vehicle at that point.

(3) Other embodiments:
The above embodiment is an example for implementing the present invention, and various other embodiments can be adopted. For example, the pick-up location information system 10 and the pick-up location information system 50 may be systems realized by a plurality of devices. At least a part of the pick-up history acquisition unit 21a, the new pick-up information acquisition unit 21b, the pick-up location acquisition unit 21c, and the guidance control unit 21d constituting the pick-up location information system 10 may be separated and exist in a plurality of devices. Also, at least a part of the pick-up history acquisition unit 61a, the new pick-up information acquisition unit 61b, the pick-up location acquisition unit 61c, and the guidance control unit 61d constituting the pick-up location information system 50 may be separated and exist in a plurality of devices. Also, each system shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3 may be composed of a smaller number of devices. For example, the pick-up location information system 10 may be incorporated into the navigation system 200. In this case, it is sufficient that the pick-up history 30b is recorded in the recording medium 230 provided in the navigation system 200. The pick-up history 30b may be generated by an external device and provided to the navigation system 200, or may be generated in advance and recorded in the recording medium 230. Furthermore, the navigation system 100 of the probe vehicle may be realized by the navigation system 200 of the guide vehicle. Of course, some of the configurations of the above-described embodiments may be omitted, and the order of processing may be changed or omitted.

The navigation system 100 mounted on the probe vehicle and the navigation system 200 mounted on the guide vehicle may be a device mounted on a vehicle, etc., may be a device realized by a portable terminal, or may be a device realized by multiple devices (e.g., a client and a server).

In the first embodiment, the pick-up and drop-off point may be a point where the driver of the vehicle picks up (has the vehicle board) another person in the vehicle. A scenario may be assumed in which the driver of the vehicle departs for a destination to pick up another person in the vehicle, parks in a parking lot near the destination, gets off the vehicle, and then goes to pick up the other person. A parking lot suitable for the driver of the vehicle may differ depending on the weather at the departure point when the driver of the vehicle departs and the weather near the destination when the driver of the vehicle arrives near the destination. For example, if it is sunny at the time of departure and rainy at the time of arrival, the driver may not have rain gear. Therefore, it is conceivable that a large number of pick-up and drop-off histories using covered parking lots will be accumulated. If such pick-up and drop-off histories are accumulated, a covered parking lot can be suggested as a pick-up and drop-off point (a place where the vehicle is parked to pick up another person) even for a new pick-up and drop-off when it is sunny at the time of departure and rainy during the planned arrival time.

The weather information recorded in the pick-up history and drop-off history may be various weather-related information, and various conditions other than sunny, cloudy, and rainy may be recorded. In addition, temperature, humidity, air pressure, probability of precipitation, wind speed, wind direction, and the issuance status of warnings and alerts may be recorded. Such information may also be used in new pick-up information and new pick-up information to determine whether it matches the history.

The method of identifying the pick-up and drop-off point based on the probe information in the pick-up and drop-off history acquisition unit may employ various methods other than those described in the above embodiment. For example, the vehicle driver may be configured to explicitly input the completion of pick-up and drop-off to the navigation system when dropping off (disembarking) a passenger, and the current location and time of the vehicle when the completion of pick-up and drop-off is input may be included in the probe information. Alternatively, the system may be configured to periodically prompt the driver to review past travel history, and to allow the input of pick-up and drop-off points for past travel history.

The pick-up/drop-off time zone at the pick-up/drop-off point does not have to be associated with the pick-up/drop-off history, and the new pick-up/drop-off information does not have to include the estimated arrival time zone at the destination. In this case, the pick-up/drop-off point acquisition unit only needs to acquire a pick-up/drop-off point associated with the pick-up/drop-off history that matches the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of pick-up/drop-off with the combination of the weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and the weather around the destination at the estimated arrival time in the new pick-up/drop-off information.

The pickup history does not need to be associated with a pickup time zone at the pickup point, and the new pickup information does not need to include an expected arrival time zone at the destination. In this case, the pickup point acquisition unit only needs to acquire a pickup point associated with a pickup history that has a combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, destination, and weather around the destination at the time of pickup that matches the combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, destination, and weather around the destination at the time of pickup in the new pickup information.

In the probe vehicle, the guide vehicle, or the mobile terminal, the destination may be explicitly input by the user, may be estimated from past travel history or travel patterns, or may be specified from outside. In addition, the pick-up history acquisition unit or the pickup history acquisition unit may be configured to have the user review past travel history and input the destinations of each past trip.
In the second embodiment, the destination of the pick-up point notified by the user of the mobile terminal 250 may be a regular vehicle driven by a family member or acquaintance of the person to be picked up, or a service vehicle provided by a shuttle service.

In the pick-up point guide unit and the pick-up point guide unit, the guide unit may directly present the points associated with the pick-up history and the pick-up history as candidates for the pick-up point and the pick-up point, or may display the areas in which they are distributed on a map. For example, the area in which they are distributed may be surrounded by a frame, the facilities corresponding to the area may be colored in a different color than usual, or a figure indicating a road section corresponding to the area may be colored in a different color than usual. The road section corresponding to the area may be a section from one intersection to another, or may be a part of the section. In addition, the area with a larger number of distributions may be highlighted. In addition, a plurality of pick-up points (or pick-up points) may be classified by road section, and a representative point of a plurality of points distributed in one road section may be presented as the pick-up point (or pick-up point).
The area defined as the distribution unit of weather information by the weather information distribution server may be an area other than an administrative district such as a city, ward, town, or village. For example, it may be an area indicated by a mesh on a map. If the mesh on a map is the finest level of division, it is possible to specify the weather in an area smaller than an administrative district such as a city, ward, town, or village.

Furthermore, the techniques of the present invention can also be applied as programs or methods. The above-mentioned systems, programs, and methods may be realized as standalone devices or may be realized by using parts shared with the various parts of the vehicle, and include various aspects. They can also be modified as appropriate, such as being partly software and partly hardware. Furthermore, the invention can also be realized as a recording medium for a program that controls the system. Of course, the recording medium for the program may be a magnetic recording medium or a semiconductor memory, and any recording medium developed in the future can be considered in exactly the same way.

10...Pick-up/drop-off location information system, 20...Control unit, 21...Pick-up/drop-off location information program, 21a...Pick-up/drop-off history acquisition unit, 21b...New pick-up information acquisition unit, 21c...Pick-up/drop-off location acquisition unit, 21d...Guidance control unit, 30...Recording medium, 30a...Map information, 30b...Pick-up history, 41...Communication unit, 50...Pick-up location information system, 60...Control unit, 61...Pick-up location information program, 61a...Pick-up history acquisition unit, 61b...New pick-up information acquisition unit, 61c...Pick-up location acquisition unit, 61d...Guidance control unit, 70...Recording medium, 70a...Map information, 70b...Pick-up history, 81...Communication unit, 100...Navigation system, 120...Control unit, 121...Probe information transmission program, 121a...Probe information transmission unit, 130...Recording medium, 130a...Map information, 140...Door center 141...GNSS receiver, 142...vehicle speed sensor, 143...gyro sensor, 144...communication unit, 145...user I/F unit, 150...mobile terminal, 160...control unit, 161...movement history transmission program, 161a...movement history transmission unit, 191...GNSS receiver, 194...communication unit, 195...touch panel display, 200...navigation system, 220...control unit, 221...navigation program, 221a...guidance unit, 230...recording medium, 230a...map information, 241...GNSS receiver, 242...vehicle speed sensor, 243...gyro sensor, 244...communication unit, 245...user I/F unit, 250...mobile terminal, 260...control unit, 261...navigation program, 261a...guidance unit, 291...GNSS receiver, 294...communication unit, 295...touch panel display

Claims (4)

a pickup history acquisition unit that acquires a pickup history including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of the pickup by vehicle, the destination, a pickup point around the destination where the pickup was actually performed, and the weather around the destination at the time of pickup;
A new transfer information acquisition unit that acquires new transfer information including weather around a departure point at the time of departure of a new transfer by vehicle, a destination, and weather around the destination at a scheduled arrival time;
a pick-up/drop-off point acquisition unit that acquires a pick-up/drop-off point associated with the pick-up/drop-off history that has a combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and weather around the destination at the time of pick-up/drop-off that matches a combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and weather around the destination at the time of expected arrival in the new pick-up/drop-off information;
A guidance control unit that causes a guidance unit to guide the user to the acquired pick-up and drop-off point;
A pick-up and drop-off point guidance system comprising: The pickup and drop-off history is associated with a pickup and drop-off time period at a pickup and drop-off point,
The new pickup information includes an estimated arrival time at the destination;
The pick-up/drop-off point acquisition unit acquires a pick-up/drop-off point associated with the pick-up/drop-off history, the pick-up/drop-off point corresponding to the pick-up/drop-off time period that coincides with the planned arrival time period of the destination in the new pick-up/drop-off information.
The pick-up and drop-off point guidance system according to claim 1 . a pickup history acquisition unit that acquires a pickup history including the weather around the departure point at the time of departure of a person picked up by the vehicle, the destination, a pickup point where the person was actually picked up around the destination, and the weather around the destination at the time of pickup;
a new pickup information acquisition unit that acquires new pickup information including weather around a departure point at the time of departure of a person to be newly picked up by the vehicle, a destination, and weather around the destination during a scheduled arrival time;
a pick-up point acquisition unit that acquires a pick-up point associated with the pick-up history that has a combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and weather around the destination at the time of pick-up that matches a combination of weather around the departure point at the time of departure, the destination, and weather around the destination at the time of scheduled arrival in the new pick-up information;
a guidance control unit that causes a guidance unit to guide the user to the acquired pick-up point;
A pickup point guidance system comprising: The pickup history is associated with a pickup time period at a pickup point;
The new pickup information includes an estimated arrival time zone at a destination;
The pick-up point acquisition unit acquires a pick-up point associated with the pick-up history, the pick-up point having a pick-up time period that matches a planned arrival time period at the destination in the new pick-up information.
The pickup point guidance system according to claim 3.

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