JP6477391B2 - Group driving operation system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a group traveling operation system that operates a group traveling in which a plurality of vehicles travel in a group using a road-to-vehicle communication system.

  In recent years, automatic driving technology has been developed in the field of automobiles. As one of the development processes for automatic driving, there is convoy driving technology in which vehicles with automatic driving functions form a vehicle group and each vehicle follows the preceding vehicle while using inter-vehicle communication. It is coming. For example, in Patent Document 1, a magnetic marker is embedded at a predetermined interval in the center of a traveling road, and a vehicle is automatically steered while detecting the magnetic marker with a magnetic sensor provided on the automobile side, thereby forming a row of a plurality of vehicles. A technique for controlling traveling is disclosed.

  However, the technique of Patent Document 1 is premised on infrastructure development such as embedment of magnetic markers on the road, which is costly and lacks versatility and feasibility. Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 2, a sensor unit that acquires the three-dimensional position and shape data of the feature on the road surface is provided on the vehicle side so that the platooning can be performed even on a traveling road in which no magnetic marker is embedded. A technique for realizing platooning by providing an inter-vehicle communication device is disclosed. However, in the technique of Patent Document 2, since the introduction cost of the sensor unit and the like on the vehicle side is high, the spread is not expected to be so much.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-81899 JP2013-232241A

  By the way, even if it does not perform platooning with a large element of automatic driving as described above, for example, on a highway, etc., simply running a group traveling in which a plurality of vehicles travel at the same speed while maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance. By implementing it, various merits can be obtained. For example, alleviation of traffic congestion by improving road use efficiency, improvement of vehicle fuel efficiency by stable driving at constant speed, suppression of generation of greenhouse gases, excessive overtaking and acceleration / deceleration, and driver's driving load by reducing the number of lane changes And the resulting reduction in the incidence of accidents.

  Conventionally, even if such group traveling is carried out, it is considered that a single transportation company can travel a plurality of vehicles (trucks) having the same destination in a group. Therefore, for example, when multiple trucks perform group running across company boundaries, there is no choice but to rely on accidents, etc., and a system that manages and arranges group driving has not been considered at present. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to realize a group traveling operation that enables a group traveling in which a plurality of vehicles travel in a group while suppressing an increase in cost in infrastructure maintenance and vehicles. To provide the system.

In order to achieve the above object, the group traveling operation system (1) of the present invention is managed by an onboard device (2) mounted on a vehicle (T) and an information center (4) provided at a key point of the road. Using a road-to-vehicle communication system (6) that communicates with a plurality of roadside machines (3) to operate a group traveling in which a plurality of vehicles (T) travels in a group, The travel management center (5) is configured to be connectable to a communication terminal (8) of a user who wants to use travel, and includes a management server for adjusting and managing group travel, and the travel management center (5) And receiving means (5) for accepting and registering a reservation application regarding the vehicle (T) participating in the group run and its departure / arrival point and desired arrival / departure time from the communication terminal (8), and received registration contents Or As a plurality of registered vehicle (T) can travel group, the starting point, via point, arrival point, and the departure of their point, the estimated time of arrival, to adjust the average travel speed make the travel planning means (4, 5), notification means (4) for notifying the travel plan to the vehicle-mounted device (2) of the corresponding registered vehicle (T) by the roadside device (3), and the registered vehicle (T) being traveling Characterized in that it comprises monitoring means (4, 5) for monitoring the implementation status of the group travel based on the communication between the roadside machine (3) and the vehicle-mounted device (2) in (1). invention).

  According to this, a user who wishes to use the group travel, from his / her communication terminal (8) to the reception means (5) of the travel management center (5), the participating vehicle (T) and its arrival and departure By making a reservation application regarding the location and desired time, the reservation application is accepted and registered. Then, the planning means (4, 5) allows the plurality of registered vehicles (T) to travel in a group based on the received registration contents, starting point, waypoint, arrival point, and their scheduled time, average driving Adjust the speed and make a travel plan. At this time, the planning means (4, 5) adjusts so that the desired arrival / departure point and the desired arrival / departure time of each registered vehicle (T) are as much as possible, and a plurality of vehicles (T) travel in groups. A travel plan can be drawn up as possible.

  The planned travel plan is notified to the vehicle-mounted device (2) of the corresponding registered vehicle (T) by the notification means (4) via the roadside device (3). Thereby, the driver | operator of the registration vehicle (T) can implement | achieve the group driving | running | working in which several vehicles (T) drive | work in a group by following the driving | running plan notified to the onboard equipment (2). And the monitoring means (4, 5) monitors the implementation status of the group travel based on the communication between the roadside device (3) and the vehicle-mounted device (2) while the registered vehicle (T) is traveling. . Therefore, it can be confirmed whether or not the group traveling by the plurality of vehicles (T) has been started and ended according to the traveling plan.

  In this case, regarding the point of making a reservation application, it is sufficient to use a communication terminal (8) and a communication network system that are already widely used, and the vehicle-mounted device (2) and roadside necessary for notification and monitoring are used. Regarding the machine (3), the road-to-vehicle communication system (6) that has already been introduced or is newly introduced can be used. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to newly develop a dedicated infrastructure, and it is possible to suppress an increase in cost of the vehicle, which can be widely used by many vehicles, and has high versatility. It becomes.

The one which shows one Embodiment of this invention, and shows the whole structure of a system roughly A flowchart schematically showing a procedure of a reservation application reception process executed by the group travel management center A flowchart schematically showing a procedure of a travel planning process executed by the group travel management center A flowchart schematically showing a procedure of group running notification and monitoring processing executed by the information center A flowchart schematically showing the procedure of a process of creating a corrected travel plan executed by the group travel management center The figure which shows the specific example of an application table about three (a), (b), (c) Figure showing a specific example of a group table Diagram showing departure time adjustment data Diagram showing data structure of travel plan

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a case where a large vehicle T that travels at a relatively low speed, such as a truck of a transportation company, travels on a highway F as a group will be described as a specific example. Moreover, in this embodiment, the case where an "ETC2.0" service system is used as a road-vehicle communication system is taken as an example.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of a group travel operation system 1 according to the present embodiment. Here, the expressway F is provided with a plurality of entrance ICs and exit ICs (both only one is shown), and a plurality of (only two are shown) service areas (or parking areas) located at important points. ) SA1 and SA2 are provided. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a plurality (four in the figure) of vehicles (trucks) T perform group traveling in the section from the service area SA1 to the service area SA2.

  The group travel operation system 1 includes an in-vehicle device 2 mounted on each vehicle T, a plurality of roadside devices 3 provided at key points of the road, an information center 4 for managing the entire roadside device 3, and a group travel as a travel management center. It includes a management center 5 and the like. The vehicle-mounted device 2, the roadside device 3, the information center 4 and the like constitute a road-to-vehicle communication system 6 including an “ETC2.0” service system. The group travel management center 5 performs group travel adjustment and management, and includes a management server (computer) (not shown). The management server is connected to the information center 4 and communicates with a communication terminal 8 (such as a personal computer or a smartphone) owned by a company such as a transportation company as a user or an individual via the Internet 7, for example. It is possible to connect.

  The on-vehicle device 2 is composed of, for example, an ETC 2.0 on-vehicle device, which is not shown in detail, but includes a wireless unit as a communication means, a computer and a control unit that controls the whole. Moreover, although not shown in figure, the onboard equipment 2 is provided so that it may cooperate (or integrate) with a navigation apparatus, for example, and it may use the operation input part of a navigation apparatus, and output parts, such as a display apparatus, in common. It is configured. The vehicle-mounted device 2 mounted on each vehicle T has a unique ID (see FIG. 6 and the like) and is configured to be identifiable by the ID.

  The wireless unit includes a narrow-area wireless communication device that performs narrow-area wireless communication with the roadside device 3 using, for example, a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) method. Thus, the vehicle-mounted device 2 performs, for example, fee settlement processing at the entrance gate (toll gate) of the IC of the expressway F or road traffic information (VICS (registered trademark) information) by road-to-vehicle communication with the roadside device 3. ) And the like, and travel history information (probe information) is uploaded. In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish four vehicles T, (A), (B), (C), and (D) are added after the symbol T to distinguish them. To do. Similarly, when it is necessary to distinguish the in-vehicle record 2 of each vehicle T, (A), (B), (C), and (D) are attached after the reference numeral 2.

  Although not shown in detail, the roadside device 3 includes a radio unit composed of a narrow-band radio communication device that performs narrow-band radio communication with the vehicle-mounted device 2 by the DSRC method, and a control unit that is composed of a computer and controls the whole. I have. The roadside machine 3 is installed at the entrance gate of the IC on the highway F, and is installed on the main road of the highway F at a substantially constant interval (for example, 10 km interval). Furthermore, it is provided in the parking lot entrance part of each service area (parking area) SA1, SA2. Each roadside machine 3 is connected to the information center 4 by wire (or wirelessly) and is managed by the information center 4.

  Although not shown in detail, the information center 4 includes a server and a database. By managing the roadside device 3, the information center 4 performs settlement of highway tolls, distribution of road traffic information (VICS information), vehicle T It collects and uses the travel history information that is uplinked from. As will be described later, on the basis of a request (request) from the group travel management center 5, the role of creating a travel plan, notification and monitoring using the roadside device 3 is also realized with respect to the realization of the group travel. Yes.

  As will be described later in the description of the operation (flowchart description), the group travel management center 5 (management server) performs the following process so that a plurality of vehicles T can travel in groups. (Mediation and management). That is, first, the group travel management center 5 (management server) receives a reservation application from a communication terminal 8 (for example, a personal computer or a smart phone) by a user who wants to use group travel via the Internet 7 and receives an application table ( (See FIG. 6). Therefore, the group travel management center 5 (management server) functions as an accepting unit.

  The contents (items) of the reservation application at this time include the ID of the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the vehicle T that wants to participate in the group travel, the departure / arrival point (IC or service area name), the departure (or arrival) date, and the desired time. become. In FIG. 1, truck owner company a, transport company b, and another transport company c are shown as users who use group travel services. In this case, the truck-owning company a owns the vehicles T (A) and T (D), the transportation company b owns the vehicle T (B), and the transportation company c owns the vehicle T (C). I own it.

  Next, the group travel management center 5 and the information center 4 adjust the content of the application table so that a plurality of registered vehicles T can travel in a group based on the registration contents of the received application table, and the group travel travel plan (FIG. 9). As shown in FIG. 9, this travel plan includes, for example, a departure point and departure date, a scheduled time, a transit (rest) point and its scheduled departure and arrival time, an arrival point and a planned arrival time, and an average traveling speed. Therefore, the group travel management center 5 and the information center 4 function as planning means.

  At this time, the group travel management center 5 adjusts the group so that the number of vehicles T traveling in the group is within a predetermined range, for example, 4 at the minimum and 10 at the maximum in the planning of the travel plan. create. In addition, the travel plans are made so that not only the desired departure times coincide but also the vehicles T that are close to each other are in the same group. In this case, for example, within a range of plus or minus 10 minutes, the departure time is adjusted so that it can be incorporated into the same group. Further, a travel plan is made while allowing the vehicle T participating in the group travel to the middle and the vehicle T participating from the middle to be included.

  Then, the information center 4 creates travel plan data based on the group table, and sends the travel plan information to the in-vehicle device 2 of the corresponding registered vehicle T via the roadside device 3 provided at the departure point. It is comprised so that it may notify by road-to-vehicle communication between. The travel plan is notified to all the registered vehicles T. The vehicle-mounted device 2 that has received the notification of the travel plan displays the travel plan on the screen of the display device, for example, and prompts the driver to execute the group travel. The driver of each registered vehicle T performs group traveling by driving according to the displayed departure time, average speed, waypoint, and the like.

  At the time of execution of this group traveling, the group traveling management center 5 (management server) passes through the information center 4 based on communication between the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the registered vehicle T and the roadside device 3 during traveling. The implementation status of group driving is monitored. Here, it is monitored whether the passage (departure / departure) time of each vehicle T through the roadside unit 3 is proceeding according to the travel plan, whether there is a vehicle T leaving the group, or the like. Accordingly, the group travel management center 5, the information center 4, the roadside machine 3 and the like constitute notification means and monitoring means.

  At this time, the information center 4 can travel more smoothly than expected when the travel plan is changed during the travel by monitoring the group travel, for example, when a time delay of a predetermined time or more occurs due to a traffic jam or the like. If the time is earlier, a corrected travel plan is created and notified to the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the corresponding registered vehicle T using the information center 4 and the roadside device 3. Therefore, the information center 4 also functions as a plan correction unit.

  Furthermore, the group travel management center 5 manages the group travel performance of each registered vehicle T, and gives a privilege to the service user according to the performance performance of the group travel (for example, the distance traveled by the group travel). It is supposed to be. Therefore, the group travel management center 5 functions as a privilege granting unit. In this embodiment, for example, a discount on tolls on an expressway can be received according to the distance of group travel.

  Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, a user who wants to use the group travel service makes a reservation application and registration with the group travel management center 5 by, for example, the day before the use date (24 hours before). This reservation application is made via the Internet 7 using the user's communication terminal 8 (such as a personal computer or a smartphone). As the contents of the reservation application, the ID of the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the vehicle T that wants to participate in the group traveling, the departure / arrival point (IC or service area name), the date of departure (or arrival), and the data of the desired time are input and transmitted.

  The flowchart of FIG. 2 shows the overall processing procedure executed by the group travel management center 5 (management server). In step S1, it is determined whether a service user has applied for group travel. If there is an application (Yes in step S1), it is determined whether or not it is a registration application in the next step S2. If it is a registration application (Yes in step S2), application information (record) from the user is read in step S3, and the application information is stored in the application table (see FIG. 6) in step S4. Added.

  In the next step S5, it is determined whether or not the application information has been successfully added. If successful (Yes in step S5), the application is accepted to the user's communication terminal 8 in step S6. After the notification to the effect is transmitted, the process returns to step S1. On the other hand, if the application information has not been successfully added (No in step S5), after notification that the application has failed is transmitted to the user's communication terminal 8 in step S7. Return to step S1.

  If it is not determined in step S2 that the application from the user is a registration application (No in step S2), it is determined in step S8 whether or not it is a cancellation application. If it is not a cancellation application (No in step S8), the process directly returns to step S1. If it is a cancellation application (Yes in step S8), the application table is read in step S9, and the specified information is deleted from the application table in step S10. In step S11, the user is notified of cancellation, and the process returns to step S1.

  Here, FIG. 6A shows a specific example of the application table. This application table is composed of data of application ID, in-vehicle device ID, application date and time, desired departure time, departure point, and arrival point data. Of these, the application ID is a number assigned in the order of application. The application table data is sorted in order of desired departure time. FIG. 6B shows a state in which one piece of application information with an application ID “0007” is added to the application table of FIG. 6A at 8:30 on July 4th. Yes.

  Returning to FIG. 2, if it is not determined in step S1 that the service user has applied for group travel (No in step S1), it is determined in the next step S12 whether it is the timing of scheduling. To be judged. Scheduling timing occurs at predetermined time intervals (for example, every 10 minutes). If it is the timing of scheduling (Yes in step S12), in step S13, processing for adjusting the group and creating a group table (see FIG. 7) is executed.

  Details of the group table creation processing in step S13 will be described in detail in the flowchart of FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, this group table is data adjusted to form a group with a plurality (4 to 10) of vehicles T from the application table, and includes a group number, application ID, vehicle-mounted device ID, departure time, departure Consists of data on location and arrival point.

  Returning to FIG. 2, if it is not the timing of scheduling (No in step S12), it is determined in step S14 whether or not new group travel record information has been received from the information center 4. When the group travel record information is newly received (Yes in Step S14), the discount amount of the toll corresponding to the record is calculated in Step S15, and the user's communication terminal 8 is calculated in Step S16. On the other hand, after the notification of the record information (discount amount) is transmitted, the process returns to step S1. If new group travel record information has not been received (No in step S14), the process directly returns to step S1.

  Next, the flowchart of FIG. 3 shows the details of the group table creation processing in step S13 described above that is executed by the group travel management center 5 (management server). That is, first, in step S21, the group table is initialized. In step S22, the time ahead of a certain time from the present is added to the group table as the departure time. The fixed time ahead is, for example, 24 hours ahead, but may be one hour ahead.

  In step S23, records are taken out one by one from the application table (see FIG. 6B). In step S24, it is determined whether or not the difference between the retrieved record and the departure time of the group table is within a predetermined time, for example, 10 minutes. If the difference between the desired departure time in the record and the departure time in the group table is within 10 minutes (including the same time) (Yes in step S24), the group number in the group table is determined in the next step S25. It is determined whether it has not been granted.

  When the group number is not assigned (Yes in step S25), in step S26, the group number is assigned to the group table, and the departure point and arrival point data of the extracted record are added, and step S28 is performed. Proceed to If a group number has already been assigned to the group table (No in step S25), whether the departure point and arrival point of the retrieved record are the same as the departure / arrival point of the group table in step S27. Are the same (Yes in step S27), the process proceeds to step S28.

  In step S28, the in-vehicle device ID of the extracted record is added to the group table. In step S29, the extracted record is deleted from the application table, and the process proceeds to step S30. In addition, when the difference between the record taken out in step S24 and the departure time of the group table exceeds a predetermined time (10 minutes) (No in step S24), and taken out in step S27. If any of the departure point and arrival point of the record is different from the departure / arrival point of the group table (No in step S27), the process proceeds to step S30 without being deleted from the application table.

  In step S30, it is determined whether there is a next record in the application table. If there is a next record (Yes in step S30), the processing from step S23 is repeated. When there is no next record in the application table (No in step S30), in step S31, the departure time is adjusted for the contact information (communication terminal 8) of all users belonging to the created group table. The result is notified and the process ends.

  In the example of FIG. 6 (b), four records with the desired departure time within the range of 9:50 to 10:10, the departure point as the service area SA1, and the arrival point as the service area SA2 are included in the group table of FIG. As shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, in one record where the desired departure time is 9:50, the departure time is adjusted to 10:00, and this is notified. As a result of the creation of the group table as described above, four records are deleted from the application table as shown in FIG.

  The flowchart of FIG. 4 schematically shows the procedure of the group running notification and monitoring process executed by the information center 4. In this case, when the group travel management center 5 completes the creation of one group table, the group travel management center 5 requests the information center 4 to create travel plan information together with the created group table. First, in step S41, it is determined whether a travel plan creation request has been received from the group travel management center 5. If there is a request from the group travel management center 5 (Yes in step S41), information in the group table of the designated group number is read in step S42.

  In step S43, travel plan information for group travel is created. As illustrated in FIG. 9, this travel plan is composed of data such as a departure point, a transit point, an arrival point, their departure, scheduled arrival time, average travel speed, and the like. In the next step S44, the travel plan information of the group travel is transmitted to the roadside machine 3 at the departure point. Thus, although not shown, the roadside device 3 at the departure point transmits travel plan information to the onboard unit 2 of the registered vehicle T that performs the group travel specified by the onboard unit ID through road-to-vehicle communication. Thereby, each driver | operator of the grouped several registration vehicle T is drive | worked according to the driving | running plan notified to the vehicle equipment 2 and displayed on a display apparatus, and group driving | running | working is implement | achieved.

  On the other hand, if there is no request from the group travel management center 5 in step S41 (No in step S41), it is determined whether traffic information has been acquired from the group travel management center 5 in step S45. Is done. This traffic information includes traffic information that may interfere with the implementation of a group driving plan, such as traffic jams or accidents on roads currently being used for group driving, that is, the driving plan must be changed. May be included.

  When the traffic information is acquired (Yes in step S45), the group table currently performing the group travel is sequentially read in step S46, and the travel plan is reviewed (corrected) in step S47. To do. This travel plan review process will be described later with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step S48, it is determined whether or not there is a next group running group (Yes in step S48), and the processing from step S46 is repeated. If review has been completed for all groups (No in step S48), the process returns to step S41.

  Furthermore, if traffic information has not been acquired from the group travel management center 5 in step S45 (No in step S45), whether data related to group travel has been received from the roadside machine 3 in step S49 ( It is determined whether or not there is communication with the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the vehicle T traveling in a group. When data is received (Yes in step S49), the group number is confirmed from the received vehicle-mounted device ID in step S50. In step S51, it is determined whether or not reception is from an arrival point.

  Here, if it is a reception from the arrival point (Yes in step S51), it can be said that the group travel has ended, so in step S52, the group travel result information (departure point) related to the vehicle-mounted device ID. To the group travel management center 5 is transmitted to the group travel management center 5. In step S53, the information on the vehicle-mounted device ID is deleted from the group table. On the other hand, when it is not reception from the arrival point (No in step S51), a travel plan review process is executed in step S54. If no data is received in step S49 (No in step S49), the processing from step S41 is repeated.

  The flowchart in FIG. 5 schematically shows the procedure of the group travel plan review process executed by the information center 4 in steps S47 and S54 in FIG. This includes the process of creating a plan. That is, first, in step S61, the travel execution status is confirmed, and in step S62, it is determined whether or not a change occurs in the travel plan information for the group travel. If there is no change in the travel plan (No in step S62), the process ends.

  On the other hand, if there is a change in the situation that causes a change in the travel plan (Yes in step S62), it is determined in next step S63 whether or not there is a next waypoint. . If there is a next waypoint (Yes in step S63), a new travel plan (corrected travel plan) in which, for example, the arrival time at each point is corrected is created in step S64, and the corrected travel plan is created. Is transmitted to the roadside device 3 at the next waypoint. Thus, the vehicle-mounted device 2 of the registered vehicle T can obtain a corrected travel plan through communication with the roadside device 3 at the next waypoint. If the next waypoint does not exist (No in step S63), even if the travel plan is corrected, there is no opportunity to notify it, and the process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the group travel operation system 1 of the present embodiment, the group travel management center 5 and the information center 4 can perform a group travel of a plurality of registered vehicles T based on a user's reservation application. A travel plan can be made by adjusting. Then, by using the road-to-vehicle communication system 6 to notify the on-board unit 2 of each registered vehicle T, the driver of the registered vehicle T realizes group travel by following the notified travel plan. Can be possible. Furthermore, based on the communication between the roadside device 3 and the vehicle-mounted device 2 while the registered vehicle T is traveling, it is possible to monitor and confirm the implementation status of the group traveling.

  In this way, group travel can be easily realized even among strangers who have crossed the boundaries of companies, for example, and the following various advantages can be obtained by group travel. For example, alleviation of traffic congestion by improving road use efficiency, improvement of fuel efficiency of vehicle T by constant speed stable driving, suppression of generation of greenhouse gases, overtaking and acceleration / deceleration, driving by driver by reducing the number of lane changes For example, the load is reduced and the accident rate is reduced. These merits are enjoyed over the business owner, the driver, and the road manager who own the vehicle T.

  In the present embodiment, the group driving performance of each vehicle T is managed based on the group driving monitoring, and a privilege (toll discount) is given to the service user according to the group driving performance. I made it. Such group driving has many advantages for road managers, such as alleviation of traffic congestion, so returning to the user can provide benefits for both road managers and users, and spread group driving. Will be more useful. In addition, since the driver himself performs the driving operation, there is an advantage that the location of responsibility in the event of an accident is clear.

  In this case, with respect to the point of making a reservation application, the communication terminal 8 and the communication network system (Internet 7) that have already been used may be used, and the vehicle-mounted device 2 and the roadside that are necessary for notification and monitoring are used. The road-to-vehicle communication system 6 that has already been introduced or is newly introduced can also be used for the machine 3. For this reason, it is not necessary to newly develop a dedicated infrastructure, and an increase in cost of the vehicle T can be suppressed, so that many vehicles T can be widely used, and versatility is high. At this time, in this embodiment, by using the “ETC2.0” service system as the road-to-vehicle communication system 6, infrastructure maintenance and cost burden on the vehicle-mounted device 2 side can be suppressed, and the system is constructed as an inexpensive system. can do.

  In particular, in this embodiment, a travel plan is created (a group table is created) so that the number of vehicles T traveling in a group falls within a predetermined range (4 to 10). As a result, even when a vehicle T that leaves the group travels, the group travel can be maintained, and it is possible to prevent the confusion caused by the excessive number of group travels. . Further, not only the desired times coincide with each other but also the adjacent vehicles T are set to the same group. As a result, it becomes easier to form a group, so that it is easy to make a travel plan, and more vehicles T can participate in the group travel, and the spread of the group travel can be further promoted.

  Further, in the present embodiment, based on the monitoring of group travel, when a change occurs in the travel plan during travel, a modified travel plan is created and notified to the in-vehicle device 2 of the corresponding registered vehicle T. . For example, if an unexpected traffic jam occurs and it is delayed from the scheduled arrival time, or conversely, because it was able to run smoothly, it will be earlier than the scheduled arrival time, by correcting the travel plan Thus, it is possible to continue the group travel appropriately, and for example, it is possible to eliminate the need for the driver to perform excessive driving in order to recover the delay.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the vehicle T travels on a highway by group traveling is described as a specific example. However, the present invention can be applied even when traveling on a general road. Further, although not described in detail in the above embodiment, when creating a travel plan (group table) for group travel, the vehicle T participating in the group travel halfway and the vehicle T participating from the middle are included. Can also be allowed. This makes it easier to form a group.

  In the present invention, each vehicle T may be provided with notifying means, such as a lamp, for notifying other vehicles that the host vehicle is traveling in a group. In this case, since it becomes easy for the driver to distinguish whether the nearby vehicle T is a vehicle related to group traveling, for the driver of the vehicle T traveling in group traveling, which vehicle T should be followed. It becomes easy to understand whether it is good. Further, it is possible for a driver of another vehicle T to easily take measures such as traveling so as to leave (do not interrupt) without approaching the vehicle T in group traveling wastefully.

  In the present invention, it is more effective to perform group traveling in a vehicle provided with an ACC (adaptive cruise control) function. This ACC function is based on the signals from the laser radar and signals from various in-vehicle sensors provided in the vehicle with a preceding vehicle detection means such as a laser radar and a vehicle control device for controlling the steering, transmission, accelerator, brake and the like. Thus, the host vehicle is automatically tracked at a predetermined traveling speed with a certain inter-vehicle distance behind the selected preceding vehicle. Since the group running is suitable for using the ACC function of the vehicle, the ACC can be effectively used, and the burden on the driver can be further reduced (reduced fatigue). When using ACC, it is desirable to give some privilege to the leading vehicle (driver) that needs to be driven.

  In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a case where a plurality of relatively low-speed trucks that carry luggage is traveling in a group is taken as an example, but other large vehicles such as a sightseeing bus may be used, or limited to light vehicles and limited to elderly people The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. Can be implemented.

  In the drawings, 1 is a group travel operation system, 2 is a vehicle-mounted device, 3 is a roadside device, 4 is an information center, 5 is a travel management center, 6 is a road-vehicle communication system, 8 is a communication terminal, and T is a vehicle.

Claims (9)

Road-to-vehicle communication system that performs communication between the vehicle-mounted device (2) mounted on the vehicle (T) and a plurality of roadside units (3) that are provided at key points and managed by the information center (4) ( 6) is a system (1) for operating a group running in which a plurality of vehicles (T) run in a group,
It is configured to be connectable to a communication terminal (8) of a user who wants to use group travel, and includes a travel management center (5) provided with a management server for adjusting and managing group travel,
Accepting means (5) provided in the travel management center (5) for accepting and registering a reservation application from the communication terminal (8) regarding the vehicle (T) participating in the group travel, its departure / arrival point and desired departure / arrival time. )When,
Travel by adjusting the departure point, transit point, arrival point, departure and arrival time of these points , and average travel speed so that multiple registered vehicles (T) can travel in groups based on the received registration details Planning means (4, 5) to make a plan,
Notification means (4) for notifying the travel plan to the onboard unit (2) of the corresponding registered vehicle (T) by the roadside unit (3);
Monitoring means (4, 5) for monitoring the implementation status of the group traveling based on communication between the roadside machine (3) and the vehicle-mounted device (2) while the registered vehicle (T) is traveling. A group running operation system characterized by   2. The group travel operation system according to claim 1, wherein the planning unit makes a travel plan so that the number of vehicles traveling in the group falls within a predetermined range.   3. The group travel operation system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the planning means sets a travel plan so that not only the desired times coincide but also adjacent vehicles belong to the same group.   4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the planning unit makes a travel plan while allowing a vehicle participating in the group travel to the middle and a vehicle participating from the middle to be included. 5. Group running operation system.   The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a plan correction unit that creates a corrected travel plan and notifies an on-vehicle device of a corresponding registered vehicle when a change occurs in the travel plan during the travel by monitoring by the monitoring unit. The group travel operation system according to any one of 1 to 4.   The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a privilege granting unit that manages the group driving performance of each vehicle based on the monitoring by the monitoring unit and grants a privilege to the service user according to the group driving performance. The group travel operation system according to any one of 1 to 5.   The group according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the vehicle is provided with notifying means for notifying another vehicle that the vehicle is traveling in a group while traveling in a group. Driving operation system.   The group traveling operation system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the vehicle is provided with an ACC (adaptive cruise control) function and performs group traveling using the ACC function. .   The group traveling operation system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the road-to-vehicle communication system includes an "ETC 2.0" service system.

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