JP2001351188A - Operation state detecting device and vehicle operation managing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simply constituted operation state detecting device capable of determining the detailed operation state of a vehicle on its own vehicle and a vehicle operation managing system capable of reducing the load of determination processing at a control center side by loading the operating state detecting device on each of plural vehicles. SOLUTION: The basic constitution of the operating state detecting device 1 is provided with a position detecting part 10 for generating position information by detecting the present position of a vehicle, a state detecting part 11 for generating state information by detecting the traveling state based on the speed of revolution of an engine, and an operating state determination part 12 for determining which operation state, a traveling state or a stopping state its own vehicle is put in based on the position information from the position detecting part 10 and the state information from the state detecting part 11 which are respectively loaded on a vehicle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation status detection device for detecting the operation status of various vehicles, and a vehicle operation management system which mounts the device on a plurality of vehicles and manages the operation of each vehicle. The present invention relates to an operation state detection device that determines a detailed operation state based on information about a position and a traveling state, and a vehicle operation management system using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in the field of physical distribution and the like, a vehicle operation management system for managing the operation state of a plurality of vehicles is widely used. In a conventional vehicle operation management system, for example, information on a current position, a running state, and the like is transmitted from each vehicle to a management center, and based on transmission information from each vehicle, the operation state of each vehicle is managed by the management center. Each side is grasped.

In the conventional vehicle operation management system as described above, each vehicle is equipped with a position sensor for obtaining information on a current position, a state sensor for obtaining information on a running state, and a transmitter. Each piece of information obtained by each sensor is transmitted to the management center via the transmitter. The transmission of information from the vehicle side to the management center side is generally performed, for example, every time information is obtained by each sensor or at a fixed time interval. Then, in the management center, each operation state is determined based on information from each vehicle.

[0004]

However, in the conventional vehicle operation management system as described above, since the operation state of each vehicle is determined and processed collectively by the management center, the load on the management center side is extremely large. There was a problem of being large. In addition, since information transmitted from each vehicle to the management center is frequently transmitted regardless of the operation state of each vehicle, there is a disadvantage that communication costs increase.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and realizes an operation state detecting device having a simple structure capable of judging a detailed operation state of a vehicle on a host vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle operation management system that is mounted on a plurality of vehicles to reduce the load of the judgment processing on the management center side.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, an operation state detecting device according to the present invention detects a current position of a vehicle and generates position information, and detects a traveling state of the vehicle. State detecting means for generating state information by using the position information generated by the position detecting means and the state information generated by the state detecting means. Operating state determining means for determining whether the vehicle is in the vehicle or stopped.

[0007] In the operation state detecting device having such a configuration, whether the own vehicle is in a running state is determined by using the position information obtained by the position detecting means and the state information obtained by the state detecting means. For example, a practical and detailed operation state in operation management, such as whether the vehicle is in a stop state due to a break or unloading of luggage, is determined by the operation state determination means on the vehicle.

In the above-mentioned operation state detecting device, the transmission information generation means for generating transmission information including information relating to the operation state determined by the operation state determination means, and the transmission information generation means includes: And transmitting means for transmitting the transmission information to the outside of the vehicle. With this configuration, the operation state of the vehicle determined by the operation state determination unit is transmitted to the outside of the vehicle as transmission information.

Further, in the above-mentioned operation state detecting device, according to the state information generated by the state detecting means,
The transmission means may include a transmission control means for controlling a timing at which transmission information is transmitted.
By providing such transmission control means, transmission information is transmitted from the transmission means to the outside according to the state information obtained by the state detection means, and transmission of information at unnecessary timing is avoided. Become like

[0010] The state detecting means of the above-mentioned operation state detecting device may detect the running state based on the engine speed of the vehicle. Specifically, it is preferable to indirectly detect the engine speed according to the frequency of the noise component included in the electric signal supplied from the vehicle, and the electric signal is extracted from, for example, a cigarette lighter unit of the vehicle. It does not matter.

By utilizing the engine speed in this way, the running state of the vehicle can be easily detected. In particular, if a noise component included in the electric signal supplied from the vehicle is detected, and the engine speed is detected according to the frequency of the noise component, the engine speed can be detected more easily. become.

A vehicle operation management system according to the present invention receives a plurality of vehicles each equipped with the above-described operation state detecting device, and receives the transmission information sent from each of the vehicles, based on the received information. And a management center that collectively manages the operation state of each vehicle.

In the vehicle operation management system having such a configuration,
Transmission information including the operation status determined for each vehicle is sent from each vehicle to the management center, and the management center performs collective management of the operation status of each vehicle based on the received transmission information. This eliminates the need for the management center to determine the operation status of each vehicle, thereby reducing the load of the determination processing on the management center side.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an operation state detection device according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the present operating condition detecting device 1
It has a basic configuration including a position detection unit 10 as a position detection unit, a state detection unit 11 as a state detection unit, and an operation state determination unit 12 as an operation state determination unit. This operation state detection device is mounted on a vehicle and enables the operation state of the own vehicle to be determined on the vehicle.

The position detecting section 10 detects the current position of the own vehicle, and is, for example, a GPS (Global Positio).
ning System) can be used. When GPS is used for the position detection unit 10, position information including a current position measured by receiving a signal from a GPS satellite and the measurement time is generated. Then, the position information is output from the position detection unit 10 to the operation state determination unit 12. Here, the GPS is used as the position detection unit 10.
However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the current position of the vehicle may be measured using a known position detection technique.

The state detecting section 11 detects the running state of the vehicle, and may use various known sensors. Specifically, for example, a sensor that detects the number of revolutions of the engine, a sensor that detects the traveling speed, a sensor that detects the state of the door lock, a sensor that detects the position of the shift lever, and the like can be used. Further, each of the above-described sensors detects a change occurring on the vehicle, but may be a sensor that detects a change occurring outside the vehicle to determine the traveling state of the own vehicle. For example,
There is a sensor or the like that detects a state of the own vehicle such as a signal waiting state by receiving information emitted from a road facility such as a traffic signal on a vehicle. The state detection unit 11 may be configured by using any one of the various sensors as described above, or may be configured by a combination of a plurality of sensors. In addition, the sensor used for the state detection unit 11 is not limited to the above specific example.

The operation state judging section 12 judges the own vehicle on the basis of the information on the current position (position information) sent from the position detecting section 10 and the information on the running state (state information) sent from the state detecting section 11. Is to determine the current operation status of the vehicle. The operation state here means whether the own vehicle is running or stopped, and further, during the above stop, whether the stop is due to a break or unloading of luggage, a signal waiting or the like. This is an operation state including a distinction as to whether it is a stop due to traffic congestion or the like, and a stop at a traffic light or traffic congestion may be determined as running. It is assumed that the operation state of the vehicle stopped due to such signal waiting or traffic congestion is substantially determined according to handling in operation management.

In the operation state detecting device 1 having the basic configuration as described above, first, based on the position information obtained by the position detection unit 10, the operation state determination unit 12 calculates the travel distance of the vehicle within a certain time. Is done. When the calculated moving distance is longer than a threshold value set in advance in consideration of, for example, a measurement error of the position detection unit 10, the operation state of the own vehicle is determined to be "running". On the other hand, when the travel distance is equal to or less than the threshold value, it is considered that the traveling state of the own vehicle is in a state equivalent to the stop, and based on the state information obtained by the state detection unit 11, the operation state determination unit 12 It is determined whether the above state is a stop due to a break or unloading of luggage, or a stop due to a signal waiting or traffic congestion. Here, in the case of a stop due to a break or loading / unloading of luggage, the operation state of the own vehicle is determined to be "stopping", and in the case of a stop due to a signal waiting or traffic jam, it is determined to be "running". . In the related art, the determination of the vehicle operation state as described above is physically made according to whether the vehicle is physically stopped (zero speed) or traveling, but in the present embodiment, in the operation management or the road traffic. From a standpoint,
This is performed depending on whether the vehicle is substantially stopped or running.

As described above, according to the present operation state detecting device 1, it is possible to make a detailed operation state determination on the vehicle based on the position information and the state information. If the vehicle operation management system is configured by mounting such an operation state detection device 1 on each vehicle, information including the operation state determined by each vehicle can be sent to the management center. It is possible to reduce the load of the judgment processing in the above.

Next, an embodiment in which the above basic configuration is made more specific will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the operation state detection device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a vehicle operation management system in the field of physical distribution and the like to which the operation state detection device of FIG. 2 is applied. The same parts as those in the basic configuration of FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the same applies hereinafter.

Referring to FIG. 2, an operation state detecting device 1A according to the first embodiment includes, for example, a position detection unit 10, a state detection unit 11, an operation state determination unit 12, and a transmission information generation unit as transmission information generation means. 13, a vehicle information storage unit 14, and a transmission unit 15 as a transmission unit.

The position detecting section 10 generates information (position information) relating to the current position of the own vehicle by using, for example, GPS or the like, as described in the basic configuration described above. The state detection unit 11 includes, for example, a power supply unit 11A and an engine speed detection unit 11B. The state detection unit 11 generates information (state information) on the traveling state by detecting the engine speed. As a method of detecting the engine speed, for example, a power supply (voltage or current) supplied from a vehicle is detected and analyzed by detecting noise generated according to the engine speed, thereby indirectly detecting the engine speed. Is preferred. As the power supply unit 11A serving as a power supply source from the vehicle, for example,
It is convenient to use the voltage or current supplied to the cigarette lighter. The voltage or current extracted from the power supply unit 11A is sent to the engine speed detection unit 11B, where noise detection and analysis corresponding to the engine speed are performed. Specifically, the engine speed detector 1
1B is, for example, a power supply unit 11 using an electric filter or the like.
A noise component is extracted from the voltage or current from A, and the frequency of the noise component is detected. The current engine speed is detected by referring to a table or the like created in advance for the correspondence between the frequency of the noise component and the engine speed. The detected engine speed is sent from the engine speed detector 11B to the operation state determiner 12 as state information.

Based on the position information from the position detection unit 10 and the state information (engine speed) from the state detection unit 11, the operation state determination unit 12 determines whether the operation state of the own vehicle is "running". It is determined whether it is "stopping". The determined operation state is sent to the transmission information creation unit 13 together with the position information. The specific determination process performed by the operation state determination unit 12 will be described later.

The transmission information creating unit 13 includes the operation state determining unit 1
The information (in-vehicle information) transmitted to the management center 2 of the vehicle operation management system shown in FIG. 3 using the current position and the operation state transmitted from the vehicle information storage unit 14 and the vehicle information stored in the vehicle information storage unit 14. Machine transmission information). This in-vehicle device transmission information can include various types of information necessary for vehicle operation management.For example, in a vehicle operation management system such as distribution, position information, time information, operation state information,
It can be vehicle ID information, loading information, departure / arrival information, and the like.

The vehicle information storage unit 14 stores in advance information unique to the vehicle on which the operation state detecting device 1A is mounted. Specifically, for example, vehicle ID information, loading information,
The departure / arrival information and the like are stored in the vehicle information storage unit 14.

The transmitting section 15 transmits the on-board unit transmission information created by the transmission information creating section 13 to the management center 2 by, for example, a radio signal. Management Center 2
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a receiving unit 20, a vehicle information processing unit 21, a vehicle information storage unit 22, a display unit 23,
It comprises a command information creation unit 24 and a transmission unit 25.

The receiving section 20 receives the in-vehicle transmission information sent from the operation state detecting devices 1A of the plurality of vehicles and outputs the information to the vehicle information processing section 21. The vehicle information processing unit 21
Based on the in-vehicle transmission information received by the reception unit 20, the current operation state of each of the plurality of vehicles to be subjected to operation management is grasped, and the result is written to the vehicle information storage unit 22 for each vehicle. Alternatively, the corresponding information stored in the vehicle information storage unit 22 is updated.

The display unit 23 displays the latest information stored in the vehicle information storage unit 22 to notify the current position, operating status, and the like of each vehicle to the outside. The command information creation unit 24 creates information (center transmission information) to be transmitted to each vehicle based on the position and the operation state of each vehicle stored in the vehicle information storage unit 22 and sends the information to the transmission unit 25. . The center transmission information created here includes, for example, reception confirmation information notifying that the on-vehicle device transmission information has been received, communication interval information indicating an interval for transmitting information to the management center 2, and a command regarding a future operation state. And so on.

The transmission unit 25 converts the center transmission information created by the command information creation unit 24 by, for example, a radio signal or the like.
This is transmitted to the corresponding vehicle. Although not shown, each vehicle is provided with a unit for receiving the center transmission information sent from the management center 2, and the operation state and the like are controlled according to the received center transmission information.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. In the operation state detection device 1A mounted on each vehicle, the position detection unit 10 sequentially measures the current position of the own vehicle by GPS or the like, and sends position information indicating the result to the operation state determination unit 12. At the same time, in the state detection unit 11, a noise component of the electric signal extracted from the power supply unit 11A is detected by the engine speed detection unit 11B, and the engine speed of the host vehicle is determined according to the frequency of the noise component. Then, state information indicating the result is sent to the operation state determination unit 12.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a specific judgment process in the operation state judgment unit 12. When the operation state determining unit 12 first receives the position information from the position detecting unit 10, the operation state determining unit 12 performs steps 1 to 4 in FIG. A determination process is performed for the moving distance. Specifically, in step 1, the center point α relating to the position of the host vehicle is determined by using a plurality of pieces of position information transmitted within a certain period of time.
c is calculated. This center point αc is, for example, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Assuming that three positioning points α1 to α5 are measured, the positioning points α
It is a point corresponding to the center coordinates of 1 to α5. Next, in Step 2, each positioning point α1 is calculated from the calculated center point αc.
Are calculated from L1 to L5. Then, in step 3, the average distance La for each of the distances L1 to L5 is calculated. Next, in step 4, it is determined whether or not the average distance La is equal to or less than a threshold value.
This threshold value is determined in consideration of a measurement error of the position detection unit 10,
The upper limit is set in advance to an upper limit value at which the host vehicle is estimated to be in a stopped state within a predetermined time. When the average distance La is longer than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step 5, where the operation state of the own vehicle is determined to be “running”, and the process returns to step 1. On the other hand, when the average distance La is equal to or smaller than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step 6, and the operation state determination processing based on the state information from the state detection unit 11 is executed.

Specifically, in step 6, the state detection unit 11
The change in the engine speed per unit time indicated by the status information from is monitored. Then, in step 7, it is determined whether or not the change in the engine speed exceeds a preset check criterion. This check criterion is set according to a change in the engine speed when it can be estimated that the host vehicle is running. For example, when the engine speed corresponding to the idling state continues, if the engine speed rises before reaching a predetermined duration, it is considered that the vehicle is stopped due to a signal waiting or traffic congestion, and the own vehicle is stopped. The operation status is determined to be "running" (step 9),
Return to step 1. On the other hand, if the engine speed does not increase or the engine speed drops below the idling state even if the predetermined duration is exceeded, it is considered that the vehicle stops due to a break or unloading of luggage, etc. Is determined to be "stopped" (step 8),
Return to step 1.

By repeating the series of operations of steps 1 to 9 as described above, the detailed operation state of the vehicle can be determined. The operation state determination result is transmitted from the operation state determination unit 12 to the transmission information creation unit 13 together with the position information.

The transmission information creation unit 13 combines the information sent from the operation state determination unit 12 with the information stored in the vehicle information storage unit 14 to create on-board unit transmission information. Output. In the transmission unit 15, for example,
In-vehicle device transmission information is transmitted to the management center 2 according to a predetermined transmission timing set in advance.

The in-vehicle device transmission information sent from the plurality of vehicles to the management center 2 as described above is received by the receiving unit 20 of the management center 2 and sent to the vehicle information processing unit 21. The vehicle information processing unit 21 grasps the current position, the operating state, and the like of each vehicle, and stores the result in the vehicle information storage unit 22 for each vehicle. The operation status of each vehicle stored in the vehicle information storage unit 22 is transmitted to the outside via the display unit 23,
It is used for creating center transmission information in the command information creating unit 24. The center transmission information created by the command information creation unit 24 is transmitted to each vehicle via the transmission unit 25, and the operation state of the corresponding vehicle is controlled.

As described above, according to the operation state detecting device 1A of the first embodiment, it is possible to make a detailed operation state judgment on each vehicle based on the position information and the change in the engine speed. In addition, by focusing on the change in the engine speed, the running state of the vehicle can be detected with a simple configuration. In particular, since the engine speed is indirectly detected using the noise component of the electric signal extracted from the cigarette lighter, there is no need to provide a sensor for directly detecting the engine speed. The installation work of the device is simple, and it can be inexpensive. Such an operation state detection device 1A
According to the vehicle operation management system mounted on each vehicle,
The load on the management center 2 can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to efficiently process the detailed operation state of each vehicle, and it is possible to realize quick and highly reliable operation management.

In the above-described first embodiment, the power source (voltage or current) supplied from the vehicle is a power source taken out from the cigarette lighter. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the power source (voltage or current) is not limited to the engine speed. It is possible to use an arbitrary power supply that generates a corresponding noise. Further, the method of detecting the engine speed is not limited to the method of detecting and analyzing the noise component of the power supply. For example, the method of indirectly detecting the engine speed by detecting the vibration of the vehicle according to the engine speed, etc. May be determined.

The operation state determination unit 12 always stores the lowest engine speed (corresponding to the idling state) with respect to the engine speed per unit time detected by the engine speed detector 11B. A learning function for updating may be provided. By providing such a function, for example, even if the air conditioner or the like operates while the engine is stopped in an idling state and the engine speed increases, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the increase in the engine speed is erroneously determined to be a running start. Will be done. This makes it possible to more accurately determine the operation state of the own vehicle.

Next, a second embodiment of the operation state detecting device according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation state detection device according to the second embodiment.

In FIG. 6, the operation status detecting device 1B of the second embodiment is different from the operation status detecting device 1A of the first embodiment shown in FIG. A transmission control unit 16 is provided as transmission control means for controlling. Other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment. It should be noted that, regarding the state detection unit 11, since the content related to the control of the transmission timing is not limited to the state detection using the engine speed as described later, a specific configuration as shown in FIG. Notation is omitted.

The transmission control section 16 generates a control signal for controlling the transmission timing of the vehicle-mounted device transmission information according to the state information obtained by the state detection section 11 and sends the control signal to the transmission section 15. For example, when the state detection unit 11 is configured using a sensor that detects the engine speed, the control signal may be a signal that determines the transmission timing of the vehicle-mounted device transmission information according to the engine speed. it can. Further, for example, when the state detection unit 11 is configured using a speed sensor, the signal may be a signal that determines the transmission timing of the vehicle-mounted device transmission information according to the traveling speed. Further, for example, when the state detection unit 11 is configured using a sensor that detects the position of the shift lever, the signal may be a signal that determines the transmission timing according to the position of the shift lever. Further, it is also possible to use a control signal for preventing transmission of the vehicle-mounted device transmission information in accordance with each of the status information as described above.

As described above, the transmission timing of the on-board unit transmission information is controlled by using the status information obtained by the status detection unit 11 as a trigger, so that information transmission from each vehicle to the management center 2 at unnecessary timing is performed. Therefore, the load on the management center 2 can be further reduced, and the communication cost can be reduced.

The vehicle operation management system to which the operation state detecting devices 1A and 1B of the above-described embodiments are applied is as follows.
The present invention is not limited to the field of physical distribution and the like as shown in FIG. 3, and can be applied to various vehicle operation management systems that need to accurately grasp the operation state of vehicles.

[0045]

As described above, according to the operation state detecting device of the present invention, it is possible to make a detailed operation state judgment on the vehicle based on the position information and the state information. If the vehicle operation management system is configured by mounting such an operation state detection device on a plurality of vehicles, transmission information including the operation state determined by each vehicle can be transmitted to the management center. It is possible to reduce the load of the judgment processing on the side. As a result, it is possible to efficiently process the detailed operation state of each vehicle, and it is possible to realize quick and highly reliable operation management.

Since the transmission control means is provided for the operation state detection device, the transmission information is transmitted to the outside according to the state information obtained by the state detection means. It is possible to reduce transmission. Thereby, the load on the management center side when the vehicle operation management system is configured can be further reduced, and the communication cost can be reduced.

Further, by using the engine speed for the state detecting means, the running state of the vehicle can be detected with a simple configuration. In particular, if the engine speed is indirectly detected by using the noise component of the electric signal extracted from the cigarette lighter unit, the mounting work of the present apparatus can be simplified and a low-cost apparatus can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of an operation state detection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation state detection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a vehicle operation management system to which the operation state detection device of FIG. 2 is applied.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a specific determination process of an operation state determination unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process of determining an operation state based on position information according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an operation state detection device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1, 1A, 1B Operation state detection device 10 Position detection unit 11 State detection unit 11A Power supply unit 11B Engine speed detection unit 12 Operation state judgment unit 13 Transmission information creation unit 14 Vehicle information storage unit 15, 25 Transmission Unit 16 transmission control unit 2 management center 20 reception unit 21 vehicle information processing unit 22 vehicle information storage unit 23 display unit 24 command information creation unit

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A position detecting means for detecting a current position of a vehicle to generate position information, a state detecting means for detecting a running state of the vehicle to generate state information, and a position generated by the position detecting means. Operation state determination means for determining whether the operation state of the vehicle is substantially running or stopped in operation management based on the information and the state information generated by the state detection means. An operation state detection device characterized by being provided with each of the above. 2. Transmission information creating means for creating transmission information including information on an operation state determined by the operation state determination means, and transmission for sending the transmission information created by the transmission information creation means to the outside of the vehicle. The operation state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the operation state detection device is configured to include: 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising transmission control means for controlling a timing at which said transmission means transmits transmission information in accordance with the state information generated by said state detection means. The operation state detecting device according to the above. 4. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said state detecting means detects a running state based on an engine speed of the vehicle.
The operation state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said state detecting means indirectly detects an engine speed according to a frequency of a noise component included in an electric signal supplied from the vehicle.
The operation state detection device according to any one of the above. 6. The operating state detecting device according to claim 5, wherein said state detecting means is configured to extract the electric signal from a cigarette lighter portion of the vehicle. 7. A plurality of vehicles each equipped with the operation state detecting device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, and the transmission information transmitted from each vehicle is received, and the reception information is included in the reception information. And a management center that collectively manages the operation status of each vehicle based on the vehicle operation management system.