JP7593296B2 - Mobile childcare service support system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the technical field of a mobile childcare service support system that supports childcare services provided by mobile bodies such as MaaS (Mobility as a Service) vehicles and buses that travel around facilities, residential areas, etc. provided by operators of events, lectures, courses, shopping, etc.

One such system that has been proposed is one that allows a child to be left in a traveling childcare vehicle for a short period of time, and allows parents or other users to view footage of the child's condition inside the vehicle on their own mobile devices (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-094600 A

However, according to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when a user goes to collect their child at the end of daycare, the childcare vehicle on a mobile tour is not necessarily near the meeting point at the facility. In other words, due to the nature of the mobile tour, users are often forced to wait a long time for the childcare vehicle to arrive at the meeting point, which creates a technical problem in that the childcare service support system does not function satisfactorily.

The present invention has been made in consideration of, for example, the technical problems described above, and aims to provide a mobile childcare service support system that supports mobile childcare services so as to reduce the waiting time for users when completing mobile childcare and to improve convenience.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the mobile childcare service support system according to the present invention is a mobile childcare service support system that supports childcare services provided by a childcare vehicle that travels along a route with multiple stops between a facility and a residential area, and includes an arrival time calculation unit that calculates, based on a facility location where the facility is located, a stop location where at least one of the multiple stops is located, and a vehicle location that is the current location of the childcare vehicle while moving, a first arrival time until the childcare vehicle arrives at the facility location and a second arrival time until the childcare vehicle arrives at the stop location of the at least one stop, based on a predetermined time point. and a travel time calculation unit that uses a travel time calculation system capable of calculating a travel time by vehicle for a specified section to calculate the travel time taken by the user of the childcare service from a user position, which is the user's current position, to arrive at the bus stop position of the at least one bus stop as a third arrival time, and a guidance unit that, when a return-home request is sent from the user's mobile terminal to the effect that the user wishes to return home from the facility, causes the arrival time calculation unit to calculate the first arrival time and the second arrival time, causes the travel time calculation unit to calculate the third arrival time, and presents an arrival time guide based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and the third arrival time on the mobile terminal.

According to one aspect of the mobile childcare service support system of the present invention, when a user sends a return-home request when returning home from a facility, the user can confirm, through the arrival time guide, for example, a first arrival time until the childcare vehicle in which the user has left the child arrives at the facility, a second arrival time until the vehicle arrives at at least one bus stop, and a third arrival time until the user arrives at at least one bus stop in a different vehicle. This allows the user to know the waiting time at the facility or at the bus stop when making a return-home request. Therefore, it is possible to provide the user with an environment in which the user can select a facility location or a bus stop that suits the user's wishes and convenience as the place to wait for the childcare vehicle. This can improve the convenience for users of childcare services.

The effects of the present invention will become more apparent from the embodiments of the invention described below.

1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a mobile childcare service support system according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a management server according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data structure of data held in a database according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a mobile terminal according to the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a terminal device according to the present disclosure. 1 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of processing performed in a mobile childcare service support system according to the present disclosure. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first arrival time, a second arrival time, and a third arrival time according to the present disclosure.

1. Overall Configuration of the Mobile Traveling Childcare Service Support System First, the overall configuration of the mobile traveling childcare service support system according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The mobile traveling childcare service support system 1 is configured to improve the convenience of users (e.g., parents of children) who use the childcare services provided by the childcare vehicle NV functioning as a MaaS vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the mobile childcare service support system 1 (hereinafter referred to as "support system 1") may include, for example, a management server 10, a database 15 accessible by the management server 10, a mobile terminal 20 carried by a user, and a terminal device 30 mounted on a childcare vehicle NV. The support system 1 is constructed on a communication network, for example the Internet 100, and the management server 10, the mobile terminal 20, and the terminal device 30 may be capable of data communication with each other via the Internet 100.

The childcare vehicle NV may provide a mobile childcare service by traveling along a circular route RT (dotted area in FIG. 1) connecting a facility FY and a residential area TN (shaded area in FIG. 1). The facility FY is a concept that includes, for example, shopping facilities, various venues where events and courses are held, workplaces, theaters, etc. The circular route RT may include, for example, a facility position P1 that is a boarding and disembarking position for the facility FY, as well as four stops SPa, SPb, SPc, and SPd at which the childcare vehicle NV can stop, which are located at stop positions P3a, P3b, P3c, and P3d, respectively. The childcare vehicle NV may travel along the circular route RT at a predetermined speed, for example, and travel between the facility position P1 and the four stops SPa to SPd in sequence. The current position of the childcare vehicle NV while it is traveling is called the vehicle position P2.

In the circular route RT in FIG. 1, four stops SPa to SPd are shown, but the number of stops SP on the circular route RT is not limited to this. When there is no need to distinguish between the stops SPa to SPd, they are referred to as stops SP, and the location of the stop SP is referred to as stop position P3. The circular route RT may be a route that travels back and forth along the same road connecting the facility FY and the residential area TN. The childcare vehicle NV may be a driver-driven vehicle or an autonomous vehicle.

The terminal device 30 mounted on the child care vehicle NV may, for example, have a function of controlling data communication between the management server 10 and the child care vehicle NV, and controlling or supporting the driving of the child care vehicle NV. The mobile terminal 20 may be a device with computer functions that can be carried by a user, such as a smartphone or tablet terminal. The management server 10 may, for example, be placed in the sales office of the operating organization that operates the child care vehicle NV or on the cloud, under the management of the organization. The database 15 holds data necessary for processing performed by the management server 10. The database 15 may be configured to be accessible to the management server 10 via the Internet 100.

Note that the management server 10 and database 15 shown in FIG. 1 are conceptual configurations and may be physically realized as one device, or may be physically realized by multiple devices. For example, the database 15 may be provided within the management server 10. Furthermore, the management server 10 may be realized by having the terminal device 30 take on part or all of the hardware configuration and processing of the management server 10.

For example, a travel time calculation system 2 may also be constructed on the Internet 100 as an external system of the support system 1. The travel time calculation system 2 may be, for example, an existing Web-based system capable of calculating an estimated travel time when traveling by car over a specified section. Processing in the travel time calculation system 2 is performed, for example, in a travel time calculation server 210, and the management server 10 may be capable of data communication with the travel time calculation server 210 via the Internet 100.

As the childcare service provided in the support system 1, for example, an existing mobile childcare service may be adopted. Regarding the outline of the childcare service in the present disclosure, for example, a case where a user uses a childcare vehicle NV to shop at a facility FY as a shopping facility will be described. For example, the user may board the childcare vehicle NV with a child at a bus stop SP (for example, bus stop SPc) near his/her home. The user may entrust the childcare of the child to the childcare vehicle NV and get off at the facility position P1 by himself/herself. The childcare vehicle NV may continue to run on the circular route RT with the child on board even after the user gets off (i.e., while the user is shopping). After the user has finished shopping at the facility FY, he/she may wait for the childcare vehicle NV at the facility position P1, for example, and board the childcare vehicle NV. The user may get off with the child at the bus stop SPc, for example, and go home. In this way, the childcare vehicle NV functions as a means of transportation to and from the facility FY and also provides childcare services.

2. Hardware Configuration of the Management Server An example of the hardware configuration of the management server 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Since the management server 10 is a conceptual entity as described above, the hardware configuration and its operation shown in Fig. 2 may be realized, for example, by a plurality of server devices. Alternatively, the hardware configuration and part or all of its operation may be realized by a terminal device 30.

The management server 10 may include, for example, a server control unit 11 and a server transmission/reception unit 12. The server control unit 11 and the server transmission/reception unit 12 are capable of mutual data communication and may be connected, for example, via a data bus 14. Furthermore, the management server 10 may include, for example, a data input/output unit (not shown) that accepts various operations by a system operations manager of the support system 1 and outputs various data to the system operations manager.

The server transmission/reception unit 12 transmits and receives various data to and from external components of the management server 10 (e.g., the mobile terminal 20, the terminal device 30, the travel time calculation server 210, etc.) via the Internet 100. The server control unit 11 is configured to control each process executed by the management server 10. The server control unit 11 may be configured as a computer unit consisting of, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory) that are storage areas required for the operation of the CPU.

The server control unit 11 may, for example, read and execute a computer program stored in a ROM. The server control unit 11 may also, for example, read a computer program stored in a computer-readable non-volatile recording medium using a recording medium reading device (not shown). The server control unit 11 may read a computer program from a device (not shown) located outside the management server 10 via the Internet 100. The server control unit 11 executes the read computer program. As a result, a logical function block for executing the operation to be performed by the management server 10 is realized in the server control unit 11. In other words, the server control unit 11 can function as a controller for realizing a logical function block for executing the operation to be performed by the management server 10. FIG. 2 shows an example of a logical function block realized in the server control unit 11. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, an arrival time calculation unit 111, a travel time calculation unit 112, and a guidance unit 113 may be realized in the server control unit 11.

3. Operation of the Server Control Unit The following describes the operation of each of the units 111 to 113 realized by the server control unit 11. Note that data transmission and reception in each of the units 111 to 113 includes transmission and reception via the server transmission and reception unit 12.

The arrival time calculation unit 111 may, for example, calculate a first arrival time until the child care vehicle NV arrives at the facility position P1 (Figure 1) where the facility FY is located, a bus stop position P3 (Figure 1) where the bus stop SP is located, and a vehicle position P2 (Figure 1) of the child care vehicle NV, based on a predetermined point in time. The predetermined point in time may be the present or the planned time of returning home.

The travel time calculation unit 112 may, for example, access the travel time calculation server 210 of the travel time calculation system 2, which is a Web-based system, and use the system 2 to calculate the travel time from the current location to each bus stop SP or a specific bus stop SP by car as the third arrival time. In addition, if the estimated arrival time is obtained from the travel time calculation system 2, the travel time calculation unit 112 may, for example, calculate the third arrival time based on the current time and the estimated arrival time. As a result, an estimated travel time until the user arrives at each bus stop SP or a specific bus stop SP using a vehicle other than the childcare vehicle NV (for example, a taxi, etc.) is obtained. The travel time calculation unit 112 may, for example, set the facility position P1 in advance as the user's current location (i.e., the user location). Alternatively, the travel time calculation unit 112 may, for example, use the location identification function of the mobile terminal 20 carried by the user to identify the location of the mobile terminal 20 as the user location. Alternatively, the travel time calculation unit 112 may, for example, display a map on the mobile terminal 20 and allow the user to specify the user's location on the displayed map. If an external web-based system is used as the travel time calculation system as in the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the processing load and memory capacity of the present system.

For example, when a return home request described later is received by the management server 10, the guidance unit 113 may cause the arrival time calculation unit 111 to calculate a first arrival time and a second arrival time, and cause the travel time calculation unit 112 to calculate a third arrival time. Then, the guidance unit 113 may transmit arrival time guidance based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and the third arrival time to the mobile terminal 20, and present the arrival time guidance to the user. As the arrival time guidance, for example, the first arrival time, and the second arrival time and the third arrival time for each bus stop SP or a specific bus stop SP may be presented. For example, the guidance unit 113 may cause the user to specify a specific bus stop SP from multiple bus stops SP via the mobile terminal 20. When a specific bus stop SP is specified by the user, the guidance unit 113 may take into consideration the time to wait for the childcare vehicle NV at the facility location P1 and the time to wait for the childcare vehicle NV at the specific bus stop SP, and may recommend waiting at either one (e.g., the one with the shorter waiting time) in the arrival time guidance. The time to wait at the specific bus stop SP may be calculated, for example, as the difference between the second time and the third time for the specific bus stop SP.

4. The data database 15 held by the database may hold a location list 151, for example, as shown in Fig. 3. The location list 151 may be, for example, a list showing locations where the childcare vehicle NV stops. The location list 151 includes, for example, a facility location P1, which is the location of the facility FY, and a bus stop location P3 of each bus stop SP. The facility FY and each bus stop SP may be associated with identification information (not shown) and identified by the identification information.

5. Hardware Configuration of the Mobile Terminal An example of the hardware configuration of the mobile terminal 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 4A. The mobile terminal 20 may include, for example, a terminal transmission/reception unit 21, a terminal output unit 22, a terminal input unit 23, and a terminal control unit 24. The terminal transmission/reception unit 21, the terminal output unit 22, the terminal input unit 23, and the terminal control unit 24 may be connected to each other so as to be able to communicate data with each other, for example, via a data bus 25. The terminal transmission/reception unit 21 may be configured to transmit and receive various data to and from the external configuration of the mobile terminal 20, such as the management server 10, via the Internet 100. The terminal output unit 22 may be configured to output various data to a user, for example. The data output includes screen output and voice output. The terminal input unit 23 may be configured to accept data input of various data by a user, for example. The data input includes, for example, input via various input devices such as a keyboard or a mouse, contact input or non-contact input to a touch panel or a button, and voice input.

The terminal control unit 24 may be configured to control each process in the mobile terminal 20 by controlling the operation of each of the other units 21, 22, and 23. The terminal control unit 24 may be configured as a computer unit composed of, for example, a CPU and RAM and ROM, which are storage areas required for its operation. The terminal control unit 24 may function as, for example, a user interface for the management server 10. The terminal control unit 24 may, for example, have the user input data according to instructions from the management server 10 and transmit the input data to the management server 10. The terminal control unit 24 may also, for example, obtain data from the management server 10 according to instructions from the management server 10 and output the obtained data to the user. The terminal control unit 24 may be configured to be able to realize a self-location function.

6. Hardware Configuration of Terminal Device An example of the hardware configuration of the terminal device 30 mounted on the childcare vehicle NV will be described with reference to FIG. 4B. The terminal device 30 may include, for example, a vehicle transmission/reception unit 31 and a vehicle control unit 32. The vehicle transmission/reception unit 31 and the vehicle control unit 32 may be connected to each other via, for example, a data bus 33 so that data can be communicated. The terminal device 30 may further include, for example, various sensors (not shown) and/or a data input/output unit connectable to the data bus 33. The vehicle transmission/reception unit 31 may be configured to transmit and receive various data to and from the external configuration of the terminal device 30, such as the management server 10, via the Internet 100. The vehicle control unit 32 may be configured to control various processes in the childcare vehicle NV by controlling the operation of each unit connectable to the data bus 33 in addition to the vehicle transmission/reception unit 31. The vehicle control unit 32 may be configured as, for example, a computer unit configured of a CPU and RAM and ROM, which are storage areas required for the operation of the CPU. The vehicle control unit 32 may be configured to control or support the traveling of the childcare vehicle NV. The vehicle control unit 32 may be configured to be able to identify the position of the vehicle while traveling (i.e., vehicle position P2) by a predetermined self-location identification technology using electromagnetic induction, GPS, or a three-dimensional map, etc. The vehicle control unit 32 may be configured to realize at least a part of the above-mentioned units 111 to 113 of the server control unit 11.

7. Processing in the Mobile Childcare Service Support System An example of processing performed in the support system 1 will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6, focusing on the processing in the management server 10. Note that in the following description, the processing in the management server 10 is performed by the server control unit 11, the processing in the mobile terminal 20 is performed by the terminal control unit 24, and the processing in the terminal device 30 is performed by the vehicle control unit 32.

First, the management server 10 waits for a request to go home (step S101). The request to go home is a notification indicating that the user who has finished shopping at the facility FY wishes to go home. The request to go home is transmitted from the mobile terminal 20 to the management server 10 by, for example, a predetermined operation on the mobile terminal 20 by the user. The user may transmit the request to go home at, for example, the facility position P1. When the management server 10 receives the request to go home, for example, the guidance unit 113 of the server control unit 11 may transmit a stop designation request to the mobile terminal 20 that transmitted the request to go home (step S102). The stop designation request requests the user to designate a specific stop SP at which the user wishes to get off. In the mobile terminal 20 that receives the stop designation request, for example, a list of stops SP provided on the circular route RT is displayed, and the user may select the stop SP at which the user wishes to get off, and the selected stop SP may be designated as the specific stop SP.

For example, when bus stop SPb is designated as a specific bus stop SP, bus stop designation information indicating the designated bus stop SPb is transmitted from the mobile terminal 20, and the management server 10 may receive this (step S103). In the management server 10 that has received the bus stop designation information, for example, the guidance unit 113 may cause the arrival time calculation unit 111 to perform the arrival time calculation process (step S104) and the travel time calculation unit 112 to perform the travel time calculation process (step S105).

In the arrival time calculation process (step S104) performed by the arrival time calculation unit 111, the first arrival time and the second arrival time are calculated as described above. The arrival time calculation unit 111 may, for example, transmit a current position request to the terminal device 30 in order to obtain the vehicle position P2, which is the current position of the child care vehicle NV (step S104a). In response to the current position request, the terminal device 30 transmits the current position of the child care vehicle NV to the management server 10, and the arrival time calculation unit 111 may receive this as the vehicle position P2 (step S104b). The arrival time calculation unit 111 may calculate the time from the vehicle position P2 received by the child care vehicle NV to the facility position P1 as the first arrival time, and may calculate the time from the vehicle position P2 received by the child care vehicle NV to the stop position P3b of the specified stop SPb as the second arrival time.

In the travel time calculation process (step S105) performed by the travel time calculation unit 112, the third arrival time is calculated as described above. As described above, the travel time calculation unit 112 may calculate the third arrival time by using the function of calculating the estimated travel time (or estimated arrival time) of the travel time calculation system 2 by accessing the travel time calculation server 210 of the travel time calculation system 2. For example, the travel time calculation unit 112 may obtain an estimated travel time from the user position to the bus stop position P3b by car travel from the user position by providing the user position (for example, facility position P1) and the bus stop position P3b of the specified bus stop SPb to the travel time calculation server 210 (step S105a) and may set this as the third arrival time. Note that the user position may be set in advance to, for example, the facility position P1. Alternatively, the user location may be configured to be obtained from the user's mobile terminal 20, for example, by using a location identification function of the mobile terminal 20, or by having the user specify their location on a map displayed on the mobile terminal 20, as described above.

With regard to the circular route RT in FIG. 1, an example of the first arrival time H1 (shown by a dashed line), the second arrival time H2 (shown by a dashed line), and the third arrival time H3 (shown by a thick line) is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, the childcare vehicle NV runs in the direction of the arrow A. In FIG. 6, the first arrival time H1, the second arrival time H2, and the third arrival time H3 are conceptually shown in the case where the specified time is the present (i.e., the time when the return home request is sent), the specific stop SP specified by the user UR is stop SPb, and the user UR sends the return home request from the facility position P1 (i.e., the user position is facility position P1). The first arrival time H1 is the time until the childcare vehicle NV located at the vehicle position P2 arrives at the facility position P1. The second arrival time H2 is the time until the childcare vehicle NV located at the vehicle position P2 arrives at the stop position P3b of the stop SPb. The third arrival time H3 is the time it takes for user UR to arrive at bus stop position P3b at bus stop SPb from facility position P1, which is the user position, by another vehicle.

Returning to FIG. 5, when the first arrival time H1 to the third arrival time H3 are calculated, the guidance unit 113 of the server control unit 11 may perform guidance processing (step S106). In the guidance processing, the guidance unit 113 may create an arrival time guide based on the first arrival time H1, the second arrival time H2, and the third arrival time H3, for example, and transmit this to the mobile terminal 20 to present it to the user UR. As the arrival time guide, for example, the first arrival time H1, the second arrival time H2, and the third arrival time H3 may be displayed. And/or, as the arrival time guide, the waiting time at the facility position P1 and the waiting time when waiting at a specific bus stop SPb by car (i.e., the second arrival time H2-third arrival time H3) may be displayed.

In the example of FIG. 6, when the first arrival time H1<the second arrival time H2, waiting for the childcare vehicle NV at the facility location P1 is shorter than waiting at the bus stop SPb. However, for example, when the first arrival time H1<the second arrival time H2 and the first arrival time H1> (the second arrival time H2-the third arrival time H3), if you go to the bus stop SPb by another vehicle (for example, a taxi), waiting at the bus stop SPb is shorter than waiting at the facility location P1. Therefore, for example, by comparing the first arrival time H1 with the difference between the second arrival time H2 and the third arrival time H3, it is possible to select the facility location P1 or the specific bus stop SPb, whichever has the shorter waiting time. Note that when the difference is a negative value, it indicates that the childcare vehicle NV will arrive at the bus stop SPb before the arrival by car, and therefore indicates that the bus stop SPb is not suitable as a place to wait for the childcare vehicle NV. In this way, by checking the arrival time information showing the first arrival time H1, the second arrival time H2, and the third arrival time H3, and/or the waiting time at facility position P1 and the waiting time at bus stop SPb, the user UR can choose, according to his/her own convenience or desire, whether to (i) wait for the child care vehicle NV at facility position P1, or (ii) move to a specific bus stop SPb and wait for the child care vehicle NV.

In the arrival time guidance, the guidance unit 113 may recommend to the user UR either the facility location P1 or the specific bus stop SPb, between (i) waiting for the childcare vehicle NV at the facility location P1, or (ii) moving to the specific bus stop SPb and waiting for the childcare vehicle NV at the specific bus stop SPb. For example, the guidance unit 113 may recommend the facility location P1 or the specific bus stop SPb, whichever results in the shorter waiting time, based on the above-mentioned relationship between the first arrival time H1, the second arrival time H2, and the third arrival time H3.

The support system 1 according to the present invention may provide arrival time guidance for at least two bus stops SP. The guidance unit 113 may, for example, have the user specify at least two bus stops SP in steps S102 and S103 (FIG. 5). Alternatively, when all bus stops SP on the circular route RT are to be the targets of arrival time guidance, the guidance unit 113 may not perform steps S102 and S103 (FIG. 5). The arrival time calculation unit 111 may, for example, calculate a second arrival time until the childcare vehicle NV arrives for each of the specified or all bus stops SP. The travel time calculation unit 112 may, for example, calculate a third arrival time until the user arrives by car for each of the specified or all bus stops SP. In this case, the travel time calculation server 210 may be provided with the bus stop position P3 of each bus stop SP together with the user's position. The arrival time guide may also show, for example, the second and third arrival times for each bus stop SP in addition to the first arrival time.

The return-home request in the support system 1 according to the present invention may also be applied to a planned return-home date. In this case, in the arrival time calculation process (FIG. 5: step S104), for example, the user who sent the return-home request may be made to specify time information related to the planned return-home date. For example, the planned end time of an event or shopping trip in which the user is participating may be specified as the "time information related to the planned return-home date." The arrival time calculation unit 111 may use the specified time as the planned return-home date. In addition, the time until the return-home date may be specified as the "time information related to the planned return-home date," such as "ZZ hours later." When a time is specified, the arrival time calculation unit 111 may calculate the planned return-home date based on the current time, for example.

When the time information related to the planned return home is specified by the user, the arrival time calculation unit 111 may calculate the first arrival time and the second arrival time based on the planned return home time. For example, the arrival time calculation unit 111 may identify the vehicle position P2' of the child care vehicle NV at the planned return home time by calculating the travel distance from the current vehicle position P2 of the child care vehicle NV based on the difference between the current time and the planned return home time, and calculate the first arrival time and the second arrival time for the identified vehicle position P2' in the same way as when the specified time is the present. In the travel time calculation process (FIG. 5: step S105), the user position may be automatically set to, for example, the facility position P1. Alternatively, the user position may be set by, for example, the travel time calculation unit 112 having the user specify a desired user position via the mobile terminal 20.

In the mobile childcare service support system 1 according to the present invention, the vehicle position P2 of the childcare vehicle NV while traveling may be identified by the management server 10. For example, the childcare vehicle NV may provide information about the surrounding environment to the management server 10, and the management server 10 may identify the vehicle position P2 of the childcare vehicle NV based on the provided information and map data that it possesses.

As described above in detail, according to the present disclosure, for example, a user who has finished shopping at facility FY can choose whether to wait for a childcare vehicle NV at facility FY for their child to board, or to arrive at the desired bus stop in a different vehicle from facility FY and wait for the childcare vehicle NV, depending on the user's convenience and desires. This makes it possible to avoid time loss and waste, and this support significantly improves the convenience of childcare services using MaaS vehicles, etc.

Supplementary Note: The following supplementary notes are further disclosed with respect to the above-described embodiment.

[Appendix 1]
The mobile childcare service support system according to the present invention, as described in Supplementary Note 1, is a mobile childcare service support system that supports childcare services provided by a childcare vehicle that travels along a route having a plurality of stops between a facility and a residential area, and includes an arrival time calculation unit that calculates, based on a facility location where the facility is located, a stop location where at least one of the plurality of stops is located, and a vehicle location that is a current location of the childcare vehicle while moving, a first arrival time until the childcare vehicle arrives at the facility location and a second arrival time until the childcare vehicle arrives at the stop location of the at least one stop, based on a predetermined time point; a travel time calculation unit that uses a travel time calculation system that can calculate the time required for a user of the childcare service to arrive at the stop position of the at least one bus stop from a user position that is the user's current position as a third arrival time, and a guidance unit that, when a return home request is sent from the user's mobile terminal to indicate a desire to return home from the facility, causes the arrival time calculation unit to calculate the first arrival time and the second arrival time, and also causes the travel time calculation unit to calculate the third arrival time, and presents an arrival time guidance based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and the third arrival time on the mobile terminal.

According to the mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 1, a user who wants to return home from a facility can confirm, for example, the first arrival time until the childcare vehicle in which the child is left arrives at the facility, the second arrival time until the vehicle arrives at at least one bus stop, and the third arrival time until the user arrives at at least one bus stop in another vehicle, by using the arrival time guide. As a result, if the user makes a return home request, the user can understand the waiting time at the facility or the waiting time at the bus stop, and after understanding this, the user can choose whether to wait for the childcare vehicle at the facility or to move in a different vehicle and wait at the bus stop. Therefore, an environment can be provided to the user where a place to wait for the childcare vehicle can be selected according to the user's wishes and convenience. Therefore, time loss and waste can be avoided, and the support can greatly improve the convenience of users of childcare services using MaaS vehicles, etc. Furthermore, if an external Web-based system is used as the travel time calculation system, it is also possible to reduce the processing load and memory capacity of this system.

[Appendix 2]
The mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 2 of the present invention is a mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 1, characterized in that when the return home request is sent, the guidance unit allows the user to specify a desired stop among the multiple stops via the mobile terminal, the arrival time calculation unit calculates the second arrival time based on the stop position of the specified stop and the vehicle position of the childcare vehicle, and the travel time calculation unit calculates the travel time taken by the user to arrive from the user position to the stop position of the specified stop as the third arrival time.

According to the mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 2, the second arrival time and the third arrival time are calculated for the bus stop designated by the user. For example, if the user designates a bus stop near his/her home as the "desired bus stop," the user can select, based on the arrival time guide, whether to wait for the childcare vehicle at the bus stop near his/her home or at the facility location.

[Appendix 3]
The mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 3 of the present invention is a mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 2, characterized in that, in the arrival time guidance, the guidance unit recommends to the user via the mobile terminal either (i) waiting for the childcare vehicle at the facility location, or (ii) waiting for the childcare vehicle at the specified stop, based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and the third arrival time.

According to the mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 3, either a facility location or a bus stop is recommended to the user as a place to wait for the childcare vehicle. For example, the facility location or the bus stop with the shortest waiting time may be recommended. This makes it possible to avoid time loss and waste, and this support significantly improves the convenience of the childcare service. It also makes it possible to prevent the childcare vehicle from arriving at the bus stop before the user.

[Appendix 4]
The mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 4 of the present invention is a mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 1, in which the arrival time calculation unit has the user related to the home request specify time information related to the planned home time via the mobile terminal, and calculates the first arrival time and the second arrival time based on the planned home time based on the time information as the specified point in time.

According to the mobile childcare service support system described in Appendix 4, while a user is participating in an event at a facility or shopping, for example, the user can check arrival time information based on the time and date of the planned end of the event. The user can feel at ease by deciding in advance whether to wait for the childcare vehicle at the facility or at a bus stop, and can also change the time as needed to suit their own convenience, making the childcare service even more convenient.

The present invention may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and the entire specification without violating the spirit or concept of the invention, and the mobile childcare service support system involving such modifications is also included in the technical concept of the present invention.

Mobile childcare service support system...1
Management server: 10
Mobile terminal: 20
Terminal device: 30
Arrival time calculation unit...111
Travel time calculation unit...112
Guide section...113
Childcare vehicle...NV
Patrol route...RT
Facility location: P1
Vehicle position: P2
Stop location: P3

Claims (4)

A mobile childcare service support system that supports childcare services provided by a childcare vehicle that travels along a route having a plurality of stops between a facility and a residential area,
an arrival time calculation unit that calculates, based on a facility location where the facility is located, a stop location where at least one of the plurality of stops is located, and a vehicle location that is the current location of the childcare vehicle while moving, a first arrival time until the childcare vehicle arrives at the facility location and a second arrival time until the childcare vehicle arrives at the stop location of the at least one stop, based on a predetermined time point;
a travel time calculation unit that uses a travel time calculation system capable of calculating a travel time by vehicle for a predetermined section to calculate a travel time taken by a user of the childcare service from a user position that is a current position of the user to an arrival at the at least one bus stop position as a third arrival time;
a guidance unit that, when a return-home request is sent from the user's mobile terminal to indicate a desire to return home from the facility, causes the arrival time calculation unit to calculate the first arrival time and the second arrival time, and also causes the travel time calculation unit to calculate the third arrival time, and presents arrival time guidance based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and the third arrival time on the mobile terminal. When the return-home request is transmitted, the guidance unit causes the user to specify a desired bus stop among the plurality of bus stops via the mobile terminal;
the arrival time calculation unit calculates the second arrival time based on the stop position of the designated stop and the vehicle position of the child care vehicle;
The mobile childcare service support system of claim 1, wherein the travel time calculation unit calculates the travel time taken by the user to arrive at the stop position of the specified stop from the user position as the third arrival time. The mobile childcare service support system according to claim 2, wherein the guidance unit, in the arrival time guidance, recommends to the user via the mobile terminal either (i) waiting for the childcare vehicle at the facility location or (ii) waiting for the childcare vehicle at the specified bus stop based on the first arrival time, the second arrival time, and the third arrival time. The mobile childcare service support system according to claim 1, wherein the arrival time calculation unit has the user related to the return-home request specify time information related to the planned return-home date via the mobile terminal, and calculates the first arrival time and the second arrival time based on the planned return-home date based on the time information as the predetermined time point.

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