阅读说明：本技术 共乘管理系统、共乘管理方法及程序 (Ride sharing management system, ride sharing management method, and program ) 是由 藤本直登志 伊藤洋 山本诚一 岩本进 于 2018-06-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种共乘管理系统,具备：通信部,其与由多个利用者分别使用的多个终端装置通信；取得部,其取得多个利用者的利用请求,该利用请求定义有至少包含相会希望地点的利用条件；利用者到达状况监视部,其监视所述利用者向基于所述相会希望地点而导出的规定的地点的到达状况；以及运行管理部,其基于所述利用请求所包含的利用条件,检索能够调配的车辆,决定车辆的运行日程,且该运行管理部基于由所述利用者到达状况监视部监视的到达状况,决定在所述规定的地点与车辆相会的利用者。(A ride sharing management system is provided with: a communication unit that communicates with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of users, respectively; an acquisition unit that acquires a use request of a plurality of users, the use request defining a use condition including at least a meeting desired location; a user arrival status monitoring unit that monitors an arrival status of the user at a predetermined point derived based on the meeting desired point; and an operation management unit that searches for an available vehicle and determines an operation schedule of the vehicle based on the use condition included in the use request, and determines a user who meets the vehicle at the predetermined point based on the arrival situation monitored by the user arrival situation monitoring unit.)

1. A ride sharing management system is provided with:

a communication unit that communicates with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of users, respectively;

an acquisition unit that acquires a use request of a plurality of users, the use request defining a use condition including at least a meeting desired location;

a user arrival status monitoring unit that monitors an arrival status of the user at a predetermined point derived based on the meeting desired point; and

and an operation management unit that searches for an available vehicle and determines an operation schedule of the vehicle based on the use condition included in the use request, and determines a user who meets the vehicle at the predetermined point based on the arrival situation monitored by the user arrival situation monitoring unit.

2. The ride-sharing management system according to claim 1,

the operation management unit enables at least one vehicle, which is traveling near the predetermined point, to travel to the predetermined point in a direction toward the user's destination and in which the user can occupy at least a part of the vehicles.

3. The ride-sharing management system according to claim 1 or 2,

when a first user of the plurality of users approaches the predetermined point before a second user of the plurality of users approaches the predetermined point and a first vehicle dispatched by the operation management unit arrives at the predetermined point, the operation management unit determines the first user as a user occupying a part of the first vehicle and determines that the first user occupies a part of the first vehicle

The operation management unit determines the second user as a user who occupies a part of a second vehicle that arrives at the predetermined point after the first vehicle and has an occupiable portion corresponding to usage information requested by the second user, when the occupiable portion of the first vehicle is already occupied and is therefore unavailable, or based on a comparison between an arrival prediction time of the second user to the predetermined point predicted based on observation information of the user arrival condition monitoring unit and a time at which the first vehicle arrives at the predetermined point.

4. The ride-sharing management system of claim 3,

the operation management unit determines the second user as a user who occupies a part of the occupiable portion of the first vehicle when the occupiable portion of the first vehicle occupied by the first user meets the use condition requested by the second user or when the user arrival situation monitoring unit estimates that the second user will approach the predetermined point before a predetermined time elapses after the first vehicle arrives at the predetermined point.

5. The ride-sharing management system of claim 3,

the second user is a service provider corresponding to the predetermined location,

when an available part that is available and not reserved exists in the first vehicle after the first user occupies the available part of the first vehicle,

the operation management unit determines the second user as a user who occupies the non-reserved occupiable portion of the first vehicle regardless of the estimated arrival time of the second user.

6. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the user arrival situation monitoring unit monitors the arrival situation of the user at the predetermined point based on the position information specified by the position specifying device included in the terminal device owned by the user.

7. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

the user arrival status monitoring unit monitors the arrival status of the user at the predetermined point based on an input operation performed on an input unit provided at the predetermined point.

8. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the ride-sharing management system further includes a service providing unit that refers to a correspondence relationship between the predetermined point and the service provider based on the usage state of the vehicle, and gives a benefit that can be used to the user corresponding to the usage request.

9. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 8,

the prescribed location is a service provider and,

the ride-sharing management system further includes an assigning unit that assigns incentive information to the service provider, the user, or a manager that manages the ride-sharing management system, with reference to a usage status of the service provider and a usage status of the vehicle.

10. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 9,

the operation management unit derives a predetermined point, which is a point of use that is opposite to the expected meeting point, based on a comparison between the expected meeting point and the predetermined point, and provides information on the derived point of use to the user.

11. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 10,

the operation management unit, when the acquisition unit acquires the use request transmitted from the first portable terminal device, gives the first terminal device that transmitted the use request an option of selecting a vehicle that occupies an area of the vehicle together with other users or selecting a vehicle that is occupied only by a user corresponding to the use request.

12. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 11,

the operation management unit derives a time when the vehicle heading for the predetermined point arrives at the predetermined point, and provides the derived time to the user.

13. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 12,

the operation management unit provides the user with information for specifying a vehicle to travel to the predetermined point.

14. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 13,

the operation management unit provides information for use of an occupiable portion in the vehicle to the user.

15. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 14,

the operation management unit further includes a meeting control unit that sets a stop-midway position of the vehicle and permits a third person to meet an occupiable portion in the vehicle at the stop-midway position.

16. The ride-sharing management system according to any one of claims 1 to 15,

the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.

17. A ride sharing management method, wherein,

the computer performs the following processing:

communicating with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of users, respectively;

obtaining a utilization request of a plurality of users, wherein the utilization request defines a utilization condition at least comprising a meeting expected location;

monitoring the arrival situation of the user at a predetermined location derived based on the expected meeting location;

searching for vehicles that can be allocated based on the utilization conditions included in the utilization request, and determining an operation schedule of the vehicles;

and determining a user who meets the vehicle at the predetermined point based on the monitored arrival situation.

18. A process in which, in the presence of a catalyst,

causing a computer to execute:

communicating with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of users, respectively;

obtaining a utilization request of a plurality of users, wherein the utilization request defines a utilization condition at least comprising a meeting expected location;

monitoring the arrival situation of the user at a predetermined location derived based on the expected meeting location;

searching for vehicles that can be allocated based on the utilization conditions included in the utilization request, and determining an operation schedule of the vehicles;

and determining a user who meets the vehicle at the predetermined point based on the monitored arrival situation.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a ride sharing management system, a ride sharing management method and a ride sharing program.

The present application claims priority based on patent application No. 2017-117725 filed in japan on 6, 15 and 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Background

Conventionally, an invention for a vehicle common use support device in which a plurality of users use the same common vehicle has been disclosed (see patent document 1). The device is provided with: a database storage unit for storing user information and road information; an estimation processing unit that estimates a travel path on which the common vehicle travels from the departure point indicated by the departure point designation information to the arrival point indicated by the arrival point designation information, based on the departure point designation information and the arrival point designation information received from the user portable terminals, the road information stored in the database storage unit, and the current position information from the vehicle current position acquisition unit; and a selection processing unit that searches for a plurality of users who are objects of the shared ride of the common vehicle for the plurality of users based on the estimated travel route for each user, selects a plurality of waiting points based on the arrival easiness and the waiting easiness at the time of arrival of the common vehicle at the waiting point at which the shared ride is performed, and gives priority based on the selected plurality of waiting points.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the conventional art, although a process of changing the loading point according to the time when the vehicle arrives at the loading point is disclosed, no consideration is given to the change of the vehicle on which the passenger is to ride, and efficient operation may not be performed.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a ride sharing management system, a ride sharing management method, and a ride sharing management program that can realize more efficient operation.

Means for solving the problems

(1): the ride sharing management system comprises: a communication unit that communicates with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of users, respectively; an acquisition unit that acquires a use request of a plurality of users, the use request defining a use condition including at least a meeting desired location; a user arrival status monitoring unit that monitors an arrival status of the user at a predetermined point derived based on the meeting desired point; and an operation management unit that searches for an available vehicle and determines an operation schedule of the vehicle based on the use condition included in the use request, and determines a user who meets the vehicle at the predetermined point based on the arrival situation monitored by the user arrival situation monitoring unit.

(2): in the above aspect, the operation management unit may be configured to enable the user to travel to the predetermined point while occupying at least a part of one or more vehicles, among the vehicles traveling near the predetermined point, in a direction toward the user's destination.

(3): in the above (1) or (2), when a first user of the plurality of users approaches the predetermined point before a second user of the plurality of users approaches the predetermined point and a first vehicle dispatched by the operation management unit arrives at the predetermined point, the operation management unit determines the first user as a user who occupies a part of the first vehicle, and when an occupiable portion of the first vehicle is already occupied and thus cannot be occupied, or when an arrival prediction time of the second user to the predetermined point predicted based on observation information of the user arrival condition monitoring unit is compared with a time when the first vehicle arrives at the predetermined point, the operation management unit determines the second user as occupying the predetermined point after the first vehicle and having an occupiable time corresponding to usage information requested by the second user A user of a part of the second vehicle.

(4): in the step (3), the operation management unit may determine the second user as a user who occupies a part of the occupiable portion of the first vehicle, when the occupiable portion of the first vehicle after the occupancy of the first user meets the use condition requested by the second user or when the user arrival condition monitoring unit estimates that the second user will approach the predetermined point before a predetermined time elapses after the first vehicle arrives at the predetermined point.

(5): in the step (3), the second user is a service provider corresponding to the predetermined point, and when an available part that is not reserved and available is present in the first vehicle after the first user occupies the available part of the first vehicle, the operation management unit determines the second user as a user who occupies the available part that is not reserved of the first vehicle regardless of the arrival prediction time of the second user.

(6): in any one of (1) to (5), the user arrival status monitoring unit monitors the arrival status of the user at the predetermined point based on the position information specified by the position specifying device included in the terminal device owned by the user.

(7): in any one of (1) to (6), the user arrival status monitoring unit monitors the arrival status of the user at the predetermined point based on an input operation performed on an input unit provided at the predetermined point.

(8): in any one of (1) to (7), the ride-sharing management system further includes a service providing unit that gives available offers to users corresponding to the use requests, with reference to a correspondence relationship between the predetermined point and a service provider, based on the use status of the vehicle.

(9): in any one of (1) to (8), the predetermined point is a service provider, and the ride-sharing management system further includes an assigning unit that assigns incentive information to the service provider, the user, or a manager who manages the ride-sharing management system, with reference to a usage status of the service provider and a usage status of the vehicle.

(10): in any one of (1) to (9), the operation management unit derives a predetermined point, which is a point of use that faces the meeting desired point, based on a comparison between the meeting desired point and the predetermined point, and provides information on the derived point of use to the user.

(11): in any one of (1) to (10), the operation management unit gives, to the first terminal device that has transmitted the use request, an option of selecting a vehicle that occupies an area of the vehicle together with other users or selecting only a vehicle that is in possession of a user corresponding to the use request, when the use request transmitted by the portable first terminal device is acquired by the acquisition unit.

(12): in any one of (1) to (11), the operation management unit derives a time at which the vehicle heading for the predetermined point arrives at the predetermined point, and provides the derived time to the user.

(13): in any one of (1) to (12), the operation management unit provides the user with information for specifying a vehicle to travel to the predetermined point.

(14): in any one of (1) to (13), the operation management unit provides the user with information for use of an occupiable portion in the vehicle.

(15): in any one of (1) to (14), the operation management unit further includes a meeting control unit that sets a midway parking position of the vehicle and permits a third person to meet an occupiable portion in the vehicle at the midway parking position.

(16): in any one of (1) to (15), the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle.

(17): a ride sharing management method, a computer performs the following processing: communicating with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of users, respectively; obtaining a utilization request of a plurality of users, wherein the utilization request defines a utilization condition at least comprising a meeting expected location; monitoring the arrival situation of the user at a predetermined location derived based on the expected meeting location; searching for vehicles that can be allocated based on the utilization conditions included in the utilization request, and determining an operation schedule of the vehicles; and determining a user who meets the vehicle at the predetermined point based on the monitored arrival situation.

(18): a program for causing a computer to execute: causing a computer to execute: communicating with a plurality of terminal devices used by a plurality of users, respectively; obtaining a utilization request of a plurality of users, wherein the utilization request defines a utilization condition at least comprising a meeting expected location; monitoring the arrival situation of the user at a predetermined location derived based on the expected meeting location; searching for vehicles that can be allocated based on the utilization conditions included in the utilization request, and determining an operation schedule of the vehicles; and determining a user who meets the vehicle at the predetermined point based on the monitored arrival situation.

Effects of the invention

According to (1) to (6), (9), (11), (14), and (16) to (18), the operation management unit determines the user who uses the vehicle at a predetermined point based on the arrival status monitored by the user arrival status monitoring unit, and thus more efficient operation can be achieved.

According to (7), the user arrival status monitoring unit can monitor the arrival status of a user who does not have a portable terminal device. As a result, even a user who does not have a portable terminal device can use the ride sharing management system.

According to (8), the user can obtain a benefit that can be used in the store associated with the predetermined location, and therefore the convenience for the user is improved.

According to (10), the operation management unit provides the user with the information on the usage point based on the comparison between the meeting desired point and the predetermined point, so that the user can easily acquire the information on the usage point. Further, since the users gather the use points, when the use points are stores (convenience stores, eating and drinking stores, etc.), opportunities for the stores to provide the users with products and services increase.

According to (12) and (13), the user is provided with the scheduled time at which the vehicle arrives at the vehicle-to-vehicle contact point or the information for specifying the vehicle to go to the vehicle-to-vehicle contact point, and therefore the user's convenience is further improved.

According to (15), the third person can meet the occupiable portion at the intermediate parking position, and thus can carry out delivery of the article or complete the event by joining the vehicle. As a result, convenience for the user is further improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of a ride-sharing management system 1 including a ride-sharing management device 300.

Fig. 2 is a structural diagram of a vehicle 200.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining a processing procedure of the automatic driving.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the riding condition information 384.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the vehicle approach point information included in the map information 386.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the operation schedule information 388.

Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing processing performed by the ride-sharing management system 1 at the time of deployment.

Fig. 8 is a sequence chart showing processing executed by the ride-sharing management system 1 at the time of the car meet-in.

Fig. 9 is (a) a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the ride-sharing management apparatus 300.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 100 or the reception device 400.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart (second) showing the flow of processing executed by the ride-sharing management apparatus 300.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the moving states of the users U1 to U3 and the vehicle 200.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the movement states of the users U1 to U3 and the vehicle 200.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the ride-sharing management system 1A.

Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the ride sharing management device 300A including the meeting control unit 332 and the specific terminal device 600 used by the third person.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of a ride-sharing management system, a ride-sharing management method, and a program according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A ride sharing management system including a ride sharing management apparatus is an apparatus for supporting shared use (ride sharing) of one or more vehicles by a plurality of users. The vehicle used for ride sharing is, for example, an autonomous vehicle that basically requires no driving operation. In the following, the description will be given assuming that the automatically driven vehicle is used for ride sharing, but a manually driven vehicle may be used.

When an utilization request (for example, a riding request) is acquired from a user through communication, the ride-sharing management device searches for vehicles (deployable vehicles) that meet utilization conditions (for example, riding conditions) defined in the utilization request (riding request). The communication may include both data communication and voice communication, i.e., telephone communication. In the following embodiments, an example is described in which a user rides on a vehicle for deployment, but instead of (or together with) the user, for example, a user who is different from the user who has sent the request for use may ride on the vehicle, and an object such as luggage managed by the user may occupy an occupiable portion (seat, trunk) of the vehicle.

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of a ride-sharing management system 1 including a ride-sharing management device 300. The ride-sharing management system 1 includes one or more terminal devices 100 used by one or more users, one or more button terminal devices 112 used by one or more users, one or more terminal devices 120 used by one or more users, a terminal device 130 used by an operator OP who arranges one or more allocations, one or more vehicles 200, a ride-sharing management device 300, and one or more reception devices 400. These components can communicate with each other via a network NW. The network NW includes the internet, wan (wide Area network), lan (local Area network), public line, provider device, private line, radio base station, and the like. The term "used by the user" may include a case where the user U temporarily uses a terminal device of the internet cafe.

The terminal device 100 is a terminal device that can be carried by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal. The terminal device 100 is used for starting an application program, a browser, or the like using the ride share management system, and supports a service described below. In the following description, the terminal device 100 is a smartphone, and it is assumed that an application (ride-sharing application 110) is started. The ride-sharing application 110 communicates with the ride-sharing management device 300 in response to an operation by the user U, and transmits a request from the user U to the ride-sharing management device 300 or performs a push notification based on information received from the ride-sharing management device 300. The terminal device 100 acquires the position information specified by the position specifying unit of the terminal device, and transmits the position information of the terminal device and the user ID to the ride share management device 300 at predetermined intervals. Hereinafter, the user who uses the terminal device 100 is referred to as "user U1".

The button terminal device 112 is a terminal device provided with a push-down button and a communication unit, for example. The communication unit is connected to a network NW by wired communication or wireless communication, for example, and communicates with the ride share management device 300 via the network NW. When the push-down button is pushed, the user U transmits a riding request indicating that the user U wishes to ride the vehicle 200 at a preset vehicle approach point to the shared ride management device 300.

A plurality of buttons may be provided in the button terminal device 112. For example, different car approach points are associated with respective buttons, and when a predetermined button is pressed, the button terminal device 112 transmits a riding request corresponding to the pressed button to the shared ride management device 300. The ride-sharing management system 1 may be provided with the button terminal devices 112 for each of a plurality of vehicle entrance points. For example, the button terminal device 112 may be installed in a predetermined facility, near a road for pedestrians, or the like. The button terminal device 112 may transmit the riding request to the ride sharing management device 300 via the reception device 400.

The terminal device 120 is, for example, a personal computer placed at the user's own home or the like. In the terminal device 120, a browser or the like is started to support the service described below. The user who uses the terminal device 120 is referred to as "user U2".

The terminal device 130 is a terminal device used when the operator performs the adjustment in response to the request of the user U3. A scheduled user who requests the operator OP for an appointment via a telephone or the like is referred to as "user U3".

The vehicle 200 is, for example, a vehicle having four or more wheels on which a plurality of users U can ride, but may be another vehicle such as a motorcycle. Fig. 2 is a structural diagram of a vehicle 200. The vehicle 200 includes, for example, an outside monitoring unit 210, a communication device 220, a navigation device 230, a recommended lane determining device 240, an automatic driving control unit 250, a driving force output device 260, a brake device 262, a steering device 264, and a ticket authentication device 270.

The external monitoring unit 210 includes, for example, a camera, a radar, a lidar (light Detection and ranging), an object recognition device that performs a sensor fusion process based on outputs thereof, and the like. The external monitoring unit 210 estimates the type of an object (particularly, a vehicle, a pedestrian, and a bicycle) present in the periphery of the vehicle 200, and outputs the estimated type of the object together with information on the position and speed of the object to the automatic driving control unit 250.

The communication device 220 is a wireless communication module for connecting to a network NW and directly communicating with other vehicle and pedestrian terminal devices. The communication device 220 performs wireless communication based on Wi-Fi, DSRC (Dedicated Short range communications), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other communication standards. A plurality of communication apparatuses 220 may be prepared according to the application.

The navigation device 230 includes, for example, an hmi (human machine interface)232, a gnss (global navigation Satellite system) receiver 234, and a navigation control device 236. The HMI232 includes, for example, a touch panel display device, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. The GNSS receiver 234 measures the position of the vehicle (the position of the vehicle 200) based on radio waves coming from GNSS satellites (for example, GPS satellites). The navigation control device 236 includes, for example, a cpu (central processing unit) and various storage devices, and controls the entire navigation device 230. The storage device stores map information (navigation map). The navigation map is a map in which roads are expressed by nodes and routes. The navigation control device 236 refers to the navigation map and determines a route from the position of the vehicle 200 measured by the GNSS receiver 234 to the destination specified by the HMI 232. The navigation control device 236 may transmit the position and destination of the vehicle 200 to a navigation server (not shown) using the communication device 220, and acquire a route returned from the navigation server. In the present embodiment, the path to the destination is also specified by the ride-sharing management device 300. The route may include information on a point where the user stops to ride or get off the vehicle and the arrival target time. The navigation control unit 236 outputs information on the route determined by any of the above-described methods to the recommended lane determining unit 240.

The recommended lane determining device 240 includes, for example, an mpu (map Positioning unit) and various storage devices. High-precision map information more detailed than a navigation map is stored in a storage device. The high-accuracy map information includes, for example, information on a road width, an inclination, a curvature, a signal position, and the like for each lane. The recommended lane determining device 240 determines a recommended lane that is preferable for traveling along the route input from the navigation device 230, and outputs the determined recommended lane to the automatic driving control unit 250.

The automatic driving control Unit 250 includes one or more processors such as a CPU and an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), and various storage devices. The automatic driving control unit 250 automatically drives the vehicle 200 so as to avoid contact with an object, the input position of which is input from the outside monitoring unit 210, and the speed of which is input, in accordance with the principle of driving on the recommended lane determined by the recommended lane determining device 240. The automatic driving control unit 250 executes various events in sequence, for example. Among the events, there are a constant speed travel event that travels on the same travel lane at a constant speed, a follow-up travel event of a follow-up preceding vehicle, a lane change event, a merge event, a branch event, an emergency stop event, a toll gate event for passing a toll gate, a hand-over event for ending automated driving and switching to manual driving, and the like. In addition, during execution of these events, actions for avoidance may be planned based on the surrounding situation of the vehicle 200 (presence of surrounding vehicles and pedestrians, lane narrowing due to road construction, and the like).

The automatic driving control unit 250 generates a target track on which the vehicle 200 will travel in the future. The target track contains, for example, a velocity element. For example, the target track is expressed as a track in which points (track points) to be reached by the vehicle 200 are sequentially arranged. The track point is a point to which the vehicle 200 should arrive at every predetermined travel distance, and in contrast, a target speed and a target acceleration may be generated at every predetermined sampling time (for example, several fractions of sec) as a part of the target track. The track point may be a position to which the vehicle 200 should arrive at the sampling time at a predetermined sampling time. In this case, the information on the target velocity and the target acceleration is expressed in the interval between the track points.

Fig. 3 is a diagram for explaining a processing procedure of the automatic driving. First, as shown in the above figure, the navigation device 230 determines a route. This route is, for example, a rough route in which no lane distinction is made. Next, as shown in the figure, the recommended lane determining device 240 determines a recommended lane that is easy to travel along the route. Then, as shown in the following figure, the automatic driving control unit 250 generates a track point for traveling along the recommended lane as much as possible while avoiding an obstacle, and controls a part or all of the driving force output device 260, the brake device 262, and the steering device 264 so as to travel along the track point (and the accompanying speed profile). Such sharing of functions is merely an example, and the automatic driving control unit 250 may perform processing in one dimension, for example.

Driving force output device 260 outputs a running driving force (torque) for running of the vehicle to the driving wheels. The driving force output device 260 includes, for example, a combination of an internal combustion engine, a motor, a transmission, and the like, and a power ECU that controls them. The power ECU controls the above configuration in accordance with information input from the automatic drive control unit 250 or information input from a drive operation member not shown.

The brake device 262 includes, for example, a caliper, a hydraulic cylinder that transmits hydraulic pressure to the caliper, an electric motor that generates hydraulic pressure in the hydraulic cylinder, and a brake ECU. The brake ECU controls the electric motor so that a braking torque corresponding to a braking operation is output to each wheel, in accordance with information input from the automated driving control unit 250 or information input from the driving operation member. The brake device 262 may include a mechanism for transmitting a hydraulic pressure generated by an operation of a brake pedal included in the driving operation tool to the hydraulic cylinder via the master cylinder as a backup. The brake device 262 is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be an electronically controlled hydraulic brake device that controls an actuator in accordance with information input from the automatic steering control unit 250 and transmits the hydraulic pressure of the master cylinder to the hydraulic cylinder.

The steering device 264 includes, for example, a steering ECU and an electric motor. The electric motor changes the orientation of the steering wheel by applying a force to a rack-and-pinion mechanism, for example. The steering ECU drives the electric motor to change the direction of the steered wheels in accordance with information input from the automatic steering control unit 250 or information input from the steering operation.

The ticket authentication device 270 includes a reading unit and an authentication unit. The reading unit reads a passenger code printed on the medium and a passenger code drawn on an image displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 100. Hereinafter, the code for riding a car may be referred to as a ticket. The above-mentioned code is provided to the user after the user makes a reservation and completes the settlement. The code is, for example, a barcode or a QR (registered trademark) code. The code includes information such as a user ID, a passenger destination, and a one-time key. The authentication unit reads information encoded in the code printed by the reading unit of the device, decodes the read information, and acquires electronic information. Then, the authentication unit permits the user who has the ticket printed by the reading unit to ride the ticket when the information read by the reading unit matches the information (for example, the user ID or the one-time key) received in advance from the ride share management device 300, and prohibits the user from riding the ticket when the information does not match. The authentication unit may transmit the acquired information to the ride sharing management device 300, and request the ride sharing management device 300 to transmit a determination result of whether or not to permit riding of the user who has printed the ticket.

When the usage desire of the non-reserved user for the allocated vehicle 200 is detected, the operation management unit 330 may arrange another vehicle 200 different from the allocated vehicle 200 in accordance with the usage desire of the non-reserved user for the allocated vehicle 200. The non-reservation user is a user not included in the scheduled operation of the vehicle 200. For example, when the ticket authentication device 270 acquires the user ID from the image that the non-reserved user has printed, it transmits the acquired user ID to the shared passenger management device 300. When the received user ID is a user ID of an unsubscribed user, the ride-sharing management device 300 adds the user ID of the unsubscribed user to the operation schedule, and transmits information indicating permission of riding of the unsubscribed user to the vehicle 200. This allows the non-reservation user to ride in the vehicle 200 existing nearby without reserving the reservation. When a user who has entered the operation schedule through a previous reservation when riding a non-reserved user, the ride sharing management apparatus 300 allocates another vehicle 200 to the user who can no longer ride the vehicle 200. As a result, the convenience of the user who does not have a reservation can be improved without reducing the convenience of the reserved user.

In the above example, the authentication device of the vehicle 200 may be configured to allow the non-reserved user to ride in the vehicle when the user ID of the non-reserved user is acquired. In this case, when the vehicle 200 cannot take the vehicle 200 any more by the reserved user because the vehicle is not reserved for use, the vehicle 200 may request the ride sharing management device 300 to allocate another vehicle 200.

Returning to fig. 1, the ride-sharing management device 300 includes, for example, a communication unit 310, an acquisition unit 320, an operation management unit 330, an arrival status monitoring unit 340, a settlement unit 350, a service providing unit 360, and a storage unit 380.

The communication unit 310 is, for example, a network card for connecting to the network NW. The storage unit 380 is implemented by an hdd (hard disk drive), a flash memory, a ram (random Access memory), a rom (read Only memory), and the like. Communication unit 310 communicates with terminal device 100 and vehicle 200 via network NW.

The acquisition unit 320, the operation management unit 330, the arrival status monitoring unit 340, the settlement unit 350, and the service providing unit 360 are realized by a processor such as a CPU executing a program (software) stored in the storage unit 380. Some or all of these functions may be realized by hardware such as lsi (large Scale integration), asic (application specific integrated circuit), FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), gpu (graphical processing unit), or the like, or may be realized by cooperation of software and hardware.

The acquisition unit 320 acquires the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle 200 via the communication unit 310 and the network NW. The vehicle information includes, for example, a vehicle ID, position information of the vehicle 200, and information of a passenger who is riding the vehicle 200. Furthermore, acquisition unit 320 acquires the vehicle taking request transmitted from terminal device 100, 120, or 130 via communication unit 310 and network NW, and registers the vehicle taking conditions ("examples of use conditions") included in the vehicle taking request in storage unit 380 as vehicle taking condition information 384.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the contents of the riding condition information 384. As shown in the drawing, the riding condition information 384 is information in which a riding desired place (an example of an "meeting desired place"), a destination, a riding desired time, a vehicle allocation flag indicating whether allocation is determined (for example, 1 indicates allocation is determined and 0 indicates allocation is not determined), and the like are associated with a user ID which is identification information of a user registered in advance. The ride-sharing application of the terminal device 100 receives the input of the user to determine the content of the information other than the ride-allocation flag, and transmits the determined content to the ride-sharing management device 300 as a ride request. The desired riding place may be any place, or may be a preset vehicle-to-vehicle meeting place included in map information 386 described later. Hereinafter, a series of information associated with one user ID in the riding condition information 384 may be referred to as a record.

The operation management unit 330 refers to the riding condition information 384, the map information 386, and the operation schedule information 388, and searches for the deployable vehicle 200. The map information 386 includes, in addition to information of nodes and links, vehicle access point information indicating an outline of various vehicle access points (such information may be included in a navigation map or a high-precision map of the vehicle 200). Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the vehicle approach point information included in the map information 386. The vehicle contact point information is information in which, for example, the position, the content of the vehicle contact point, the correspondence range as one or more desired riding places, and the like are associated with the vehicle contact point ID, which is identification information of the vehicle contact point where the vehicle 200 is to contact the user. The vehicle-to-vehicle spot is, for example, a station front rotary, a service provider (e.g., a store such as a convenience store), or the like. The car meeting point is an example of "predetermined point".

For example, the operation management unit 330 roughly groups the time slot and the travel section near the travel section from the vehicle approach point to the destination from among the records included in the riding condition information 384, extracts one or more records based on the group result, and registers the extracted records as part of the operation schedule information 388 in the storage unit 380.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the operation schedule information 388. As shown in the figure, the operation schedule information 388 is information in which the coordinates of the departure point, the route point, and the arrival point, the user ID of the user who is present at the route point, and the user ID of the user who gets off the vehicle are associated with the vehicle ID that is the identification information of the vehicle 200 managed by the ride-sharing management device 300. The departure place and the arrival place are usually garages and the like. In the operation schedule information 388, information of "empty vehicle" for which the operation schedule has not been determined is also registered. In this case, only the coordinates of the departure point are registered for an empty vehicle. The operation management unit 330 may determine the operation schedule of one vehicle 200 by integrating the riding requests from a plurality of users as described above, or may search the already determined operation schedule and change the operation schedule in such a manner that the riding request of another user is added. That is, when searching for an available vehicle 200, the operation management unit 330 may search for a vehicle 200 for which a riding schedule has not been determined, or may search for a riding schedule of an already determined vehicle 200 for which a riding request of a user can be received. The route points are positions where the passengers of the vehicle 200 get off the vehicle and points where the vehicle 200 meets the vehicle. The operation management unit 330 transmits, to the vehicle 200, information of a route (route point) based on the operation schedule information 388 and an expected passing (arrival) time at a predetermined timing.

The operation management unit 330 determines a user who is riding in the vehicle at a predetermined point based on the arrival situation of the user monitored by the arrival situation monitoring unit 340. The determined information of the user is transmitted to, for example, the vehicle 200 in which the user is to be seated. Further, the operation management unit 330 refers to the map information 386 to derive a vehicle approach point corresponding to the desired riding place.

The arrival situation monitoring unit 340 monitors the arrival situation of the user at a predetermined point derived based on the desired riding place. The arrival situation monitoring unit 340 monitors the arrival situation of the user based on the positional information specified by the position specifying device included in the terminal device 100 or the input operation performed on the input unit of the reception device 400 provided at a predetermined point.

The settlement unit 350 performs settlement for use of the vehicle 200 based on the information transmitted from the terminal device 100 or the information transmitted from the reception device 400 installed at the vehicle pick-up point. The settlement unit 350 may also request settlement to a settlement server device, not shown. The service providing unit 360 gives a benefit that can be used in a shop associated with a predetermined place to a user corresponding to a riding request based on the usage state of the vehicle. The assignment to the user is to transmit information for displaying a benefit available in the store on the display unit to the user's terminal device 100. For example, the service providing unit 360 gives a user a preference that can be used by the service provider. For example, the service providing unit 360 refers to correspondence information defining a correspondence relationship between a car meeting point (a predetermined point) and a service provider (for example, a store), and gives a benefit that can be used by the service provider, included in the correspondence information, to the user. The service providing unit 360 may provide preferential information to the reception apparatus 400 based on the result of the settlement by the settlement unit 350. The control unit 440 of the reception device 400 may cause the printing device 420 to print, on a medium, coupon information that can be used in a store in which the reception device 400 is installed, and issue the coupon information. The offer information is information that can be given an offer in a store as a car meeting place.

Returning to fig. 1, the reception device 400 includes, for example, a touch panel 410, a printing device 420, a settlement terminal 430, a control unit 440, and a communication unit 450. The reception device 400 is installed near the vehicle entrance point, or in a shop, for example, when the vehicle entrance point is a shop. The touch panel 410 includes a display unit and an input unit. The printing device 420 issues tickets based on the processing of the control unit 440. The settlement terminal 430 requests the settlement unit 350 to settle the account in response to the operation of the input unit, and acquires the result corresponding to the request.

The control unit 440 transmits the content of the operation performed by the user and the processing result to the ride share management device 300 using the communication unit 450. Further, the control unit 440 causes the printing device 420 to print information indicating the benefit based on the result of the settlement by the settlement terminal 430. The control unit 440 is another example of the "service providing unit". Further, the control unit 440 may cause the printing device 420 to print information indicating the benefit based on the information transmitted from the service providing unit 360. The communication unit 450 is, for example, a network card for connecting to the network NW.

Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing processing performed by the ride-sharing management system 1 at the time of deployment. First, the ride sharing management device 300 acquires vehicle information transmitted from the vehicles 200(200A and 200B) as needed (step S100). In this process, for example, two empty seats of the vehicle 200A and one empty seat of the vehicle 200B are provided. Next, the ride sharing management device 300 acquires the riding request transmitted from the terminal device 100 (step S102), and registers the acquired information in the storage unit 380 (step S104). Next, the ride sharing management device 300 acquires the riding request transmitted from the terminal device 120 (step S106), and registers the acquired information in the storage unit 380 (step S108). Next, the ride sharing management device 300 acquires the riding request transmitted from the terminal device 130 (step S110), and registers the acquired information in the storage unit 380 (step S112). In this way, the ride sharing management device 300 collects the vehicle information and the riding requests transmitted from the terminal devices 100, 120, and 130.

Next, the ride sharing management device 300 generates the operation schedule information 388 based on the riding condition information 384 and the vehicle information (step 114). For example, the operation management unit 330 refers to the map information 386 to specify the vehicle approach point associated with the vehicle taking desired point included in the vehicle taking request. The operation management unit 330 extracts, from the riding condition information 384, a record that the determined vehicle meeting points are the same and the riding desired time is within a predetermined time. Then, the operation management unit 330 calculates the number of users corresponding to the extracted record, and allocates a vehicle that can be ridden at a time close to the riding desired time of the user or within a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes or 1 hour) from the riding desired time. The dispatched vehicle travels at a vehicle arrival point (near the vehicle arrival point) near the riding desired time and the destination matches the destination of the user. The term "match" includes the destination being the same, approaching in the heading direction, and passing near the destination of the user. For example, a vehicle in which two users among users U1 to U3 are to be seated is referred to as a vehicle 200A, and a vehicle in which one user is to be seated is referred to as a vehicle 200B. In this processing, it is assumed that the destinations of the vehicles 200A, 200B and the users U1 to U3 are the same, and the vehicle-to-vehicle contact points of the users U1 to U3 are the same.

Next, the ride-sharing management device 300 instructs the vehicles 200A and 200B to proceed to the vehicle pick-up point based on the generated operation schedule (step S116). Next, the ride-sharing management device 300 transmits the vehicle-to-ground point and the vehicle-to-ground time corresponding to the riding request in the generated operation schedule information to the terminal devices 100, 120, and 130 (step S118). This completes the reservation for the vehicle taking request.

Fig. 8 is a sequence chart showing processing executed by the ride-sharing management system 1 at the time of the car meet-in. First, when the terminal device 100 determines that the device (user U1) approaches the car pick-up point by the function of the ride-sharing application 110, the terminal device requests the ride-sharing management device 300 to settle the reserved car request (step S200). In this case, the terminal device 100 transmits the user ID and the information indicating the settlement to the ride-sharing management device 300. When settlement is requested, the ride sharing management device 300 derives the use fee based on the received user ID and the ride request transmitted in advance, settles the derived cost (step S202), and transmits information indicating that settlement is completed and information for generating a ticket to the terminal device 100 (step S204). The settlement is performed by deducting a fee from a bank account set in advance for the user ID, or by adding up requests for using the price of the terminal device 100.

The arrival situation monitoring unit 340 detects that the user approaches the vehicle pick-up point when the shared ride management device 300 is requested to settle for the use of the vehicle corresponding to the reserved ride request or when the settlement is completed. The arrival situation monitoring unit 340 may detect that the user approaches the vehicle entrance point when the position information transmitted from the terminal device 100 is within a predetermined distance from the vehicle entrance point.

The service providing unit 360 of the ride-sharing management apparatus 300 may transmit, to the terminal apparatus 100, information (benefit information) for displaying an image showing a benefit on the display unit, together with information showing that the settlement has been completed, or after the settlement is completed, for example.

Next, when the user U2 arrives at the store and performs an operation of settlement processing on the touch panel 410 of the reception device 400, the reception device 400 requests the ride share management device 300 to settle the account (step S206). In this case, the reception device 400 requests the user U2 to input the user ID, and transmits the input user ID and the information indicating settlement to the ride-sharing management device 300. When settlement is requested, the ride share management device 300 settles the derived price in the same manner as in step S120 (step S208), and transmits information indicating that settlement is completed and information for generating a ticket to the reception device 400 (step S210). When receiving the information indicating that the settlement is completed and the information for generating the ticket, the reception device 400 causes the printing device 420 to print the ticket (step S212).

The arrival situation monitoring unit 340 detects that the user approaches the car pick-up point when the settlement processing is performed on the touch panel 410 of the reception device 400 or when the settlement of the derived use price is performed by the ride-sharing management device 300.

The control unit 440 of the reception device 400 may print the coupon information on the medium together with the ticket using the printing device 420 and issue the coupon information.

At this time, the vehicle 200A arrives at the vehicle-to-vehicle spot where the reception device 400 is installed. The ride sharing management device 300 acquires the position information transmitted from the vehicle 200A (step S214), and recognizes that the vehicle 200A arrives at the vehicle entrance point based on the acquired information.

Next, the ride sharing management apparatus 300 determines the vehicle 200A to be reached by riding the users U1 and U2 at the arrival point (step S216), and transmits information such as the user ID, the destination, and the one-time key of the user to be reached to the vehicle 200A, and instructs the vehicle 200A to make the users U1 and U2 go to the destination after riding (step S218). User U1 or user U2 is an example of "first user". The vehicle 200A is an example of a "first vehicle".

Next, when the user U3 arrives at the store and performs an operation of settlement processing on the touch panel 410 of the reception device 400, the reception device 400 requests the ride share management device 300 to settle the account (step S220). In this case, the reception device 400 requests the user U3 to input the user ID, and transmits the input user ID and the information indicating settlement to the ride-sharing management device 300. When settlement is requested, the ride share management device 300 settles the derived use price in the same manner as in step S208 (step S222), and transmits information indicating that settlement is completed and information for generating a ticket to the reception device 400 (step S224). When receiving the information indicating that the settlement is completed and the information for generating the ticket, the reception device 400 causes the printing device 420 to print the ticket (step S226).

At this time, the vehicle 200B arrives at the vehicle-to-vehicle spot where the reception device 400 is installed. The ride sharing management apparatus 300 acquires the position information transmitted from the vehicle 200B (step S228), and recognizes that the vehicle 200B arrives at the vehicle access point based on the acquired information.

Next, the ride sharing management apparatus 300 determines the vehicle 200B to be reached by the user U3 who arrives at the car pick-up point (step S230), transmits information such as the user ID, the destination, and the one-time key of the user who is to be reached to the vehicle 200B, and instructs the vehicle 200B to allow the user U3 to go to the destination after the ride (step S232). The user U3 is an example of a "second user". The vehicle 200B is an example of a "second vehicle".

As described above, the ride-sharing management device 300 can realize a more efficient ride-sharing operation by dynamically changing and adjusting the operation schedule.

In the above-described processing, the vehicles 200A and 200B are allocated before the user makes a settlement, but the timing of allocating the vehicle 200A or 200B may be any timing after the user requests a ride request (for example, after the settlement).

In the process of step S216, even when the number of persons capable of riding in vehicle 200A is not zero (when user U3 is capable of riding), if arrival situation monitoring unit 340 estimates that user U3 is close to the predetermined point after a predetermined time has elapsed since vehicle 200A arrived at the predetermined point, operation management unit 330 may determine user U3 as the user of vehicle 200B riding in the predetermined point after vehicle 200A. In this case, for example, the ride-sharing management device 300 acquires the position information of the user U3 when the vehicle 200A arrives at the predetermined point, and estimates the time until the user U3 arrives at the predetermined point based on the acquired position information. For example, when the user U3 has the terminal device 100 or the like, the terminal device 100 transmits the position information of the user U3 when the vehicle 200A arrives at a predetermined point to the ride share management device 300.

In addition, the operation management unit 330 may determine the user U3 as the user riding in the vehicle 200A when the number of available occupants of the vehicle 200A is one or more (in the above example, when the users U1 to U3 can ride in the vehicle), or when the arrival situation monitoring unit 340 estimates that the user U3 is close to the predetermined point before the predetermined time elapses after the vehicle 200A arrives at the predetermined point.

Fig. 9 is (a) a flowchart showing a flow of processing executed by the ride-sharing management apparatus 300. This processing is performed in accordance with a predetermined vehicle approach point.

First, the arrival situation monitoring unit 340 determines whether or not the user who has transmitted the riding request approaches the vehicle approach point (step S300). When the user approaches the vehicle approach point, the operation management unit 330 determines the vehicle on which the user approaches the vehicle approach point (step S302). The vehicle on which the user who approaches the vehicle approach point is to be seated may be a vehicle on which the user intends to be seated before the user approaches the vehicle approach point, or may be a different vehicle. The different vehicle is, for example, a vehicle in which a destination matching the destination of the user is set, and is a predetermined vehicle which arrives at the vehicle-to-vehicle contact point or arrives at the vehicle-to-vehicle contact point within a predetermined time when the user approaches the vehicle-to-vehicle contact point. The operation management unit 330 determines a vehicle on which the user is to be seated so that, for example, the riding condition of the user is satisfied at the time when the user approaches the vehicle approach point and the vehicle managed by the ride-sharing management system 1 can be efficiently operated.

Next, the operation management unit 330 transmits the information of the user to be seated to the vehicle in which the user is to be seated (step S304). Next, the operation management unit 330 transmits information based on the operation schedule in which the processing result of step S302 is reflected to the user' S terminal device 100 or the reception device 400 (step S306). The transmission of the information based on the operation schedule to the terminal device 100 or the reception device 400 of the user is an example of providing the user with the time at which the vehicle will arrive at a predetermined point and providing the user with information for specifying the vehicle heading to the predetermined point. The operation management unit 330 may provide information for use of the occupiable portion in the vehicle to the user. The occupiable portion is a seat or an area where an object such as luggage can be placed. The information for use by the occupiable portion is information of a one-time key for opening the door, a code for a passenger, a riding position, a door position, an occupancy position, and the like. Next, the operation management unit 330 determines whether or not the business of the shared ride at the vehicle entrance has ended (step S308). If the business is not ended, the process returns to step S300, and if the business is ended, the process of this flowchart is ended.

When receiving the operation schedule reflecting the processing result of step S302 from the ride-sharing management device 300, the terminal device 100 or the reception device 400 displays the image IM of fig. 10 on the display unit of the own device. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed on the display unit of the terminal device 100 or the reception device 400. For example, the image IM is drawn in such a manner that the user ID, information indicating the characteristics of a predetermined vehicle to be mounted, or information for identification (for example, a license plate, the color and shape of the vehicle body of the vehicle, an image indicating the vehicle, or the like), a predetermined time when the vehicle arrives at the vehicle entrance point, the current traveling position of the vehicle, and the like are associated with each other. Each time the operation schedule is changed, the image displayed on the display unit is changed to an image reflecting the change.

Fig. 11 is a flowchart (second) showing the flow of processing executed by the ride-sharing management apparatus 300. First, the operation management unit 330 determines whether all the users are riding the vehicle in which the user to be seated is determined in step S302, based on the vehicle information acquired from the vehicle 200 (step S400). When all the users have taken the vehicle, the operation management unit 330 transmits an instruction to send the vehicle to the vehicle in which the passengers have taken (step S402), and the process of routine 1 in the flowchart ends.

The shared riding management apparatus 300 determines the vehicle on which the user is to ride based on the arrival situation of the user at the vehicle meeting point, and the user can depart to the destination without waiting for other users. In addition, in the ride-sharing management system, more efficient operation can be realized.

When generating the operation schedule, the operation management unit 330 may assign an option to the terminal device 100 that has transmitted the vehicle taking request, in response to the vehicle taking request transmitted from the terminal device 100, to select whether the vehicle (for example, a vehicle that has ridden) occupies an area of the vehicle together with other users or whether the user corresponding to the vehicle taking request occupies the vehicle. In this case, the operation management unit 330 acquires the result selected by the user, that is, information indicating whether the terminal device 100 performs the ride or the occupation, and generates the operation schedule based on the acquired information.

The operation management unit 330 may preferentially allocate a vehicle that may be shared by other users in response to the riding request transmitted from the terminal device 120 or the terminal device 130.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the moving states of the users U1 to U3 and the vehicle 200. Fig. 12 (a) shows the movement state of the user and the vehicle at time t +1, (B) of fig. 12 shows the movement state of the user and the vehicle at time t +2, and (C) of fig. 12 shows the movement state of the user and the vehicle at time t + 3. As shown in fig. 12 (a), the users U1 to U3 transmit the ride request to the ride-sharing management device 300 at time t + 1. The facility car meeting place is store a. The operation management unit 330 transmits an instruction to the vehicle 200A so as to arrive at the store a at time t + 2. The empty seat of the vehicle 200A is "2".

As shown in fig. 12 (B), users U1 and U2 arrive at the store a at time t + 2. The operation management unit 330 transmits an instruction to the vehicle 200A to allow the users U1 and U2 arriving at the store a to ride in the vehicle 200A and to depart to the destination of the passenger of the vehicle 200. The operation management unit 330 instructs the vehicle 200B on which the user U3 is riding to travel to the store a. The vehicle 200B is a vehicle scheduled to arrive at the store a at time t +3, and is a vehicle that is currently empty and is scheduled to exit one passenger at the store a.

As shown in fig. 12 (C), the user U3 and the vehicle 200B arrive at the store a at time t + 3. The operation management unit 330 transmits an instruction to the vehicle 200B to allow the user U3 arriving at the store a to ride in the vehicle 200B and to depart to the destination of the passenger in the vehicle 200B.

In the above example, when there are three empty seats in the vehicle 200A, even when the vehicle 200A, the user U1, and the user U2 arrive at the store a, the vehicle 200A may depart to the destination without waiting for the user U3. In this case, the operation management unit 330 may determine whether or not to start the vehicle 200A toward the destination without waiting for the user U3, for example, according to the status of the vehicle existing in the vicinity of the store a. Specifically, the operation management unit 330 starts the vehicle 200A to the destination when there is a vehicle that can be accommodated by the user U3 and arrives at the store a within a predetermined time after the vehicle 200A is issued, or when there is a vehicle that can be accommodated by the user U3 and exists within a predetermined distance from the store a.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing another example of the movement states of the users U1 to U3 and the vehicle 200. Fig. 13 (a) shows the movement state of the user and the vehicle at time t +11, (B) of fig. 13 shows the movement state of the user and the vehicle at time t +12, and (C) of fig. 13 shows the movement state of the user and the vehicle at time t + 13. As shown in fig. 13 (a), the users U1 to U3 transmit the ride request to the ride-sharing management device 300 at time t + 11. The facility car meeting place is store a. The operation management unit 330 transmits an instruction to the vehicle 200C to arrive at the store a at time t + 13.

As shown in fig. 13 (B), the user U1 arrives at the store a at time t + 12. The vehicle 200D is set to stop at the store a in order to get off the passenger. The destination of the vehicle 200D is assumed to match the destination of the user U1. In this case, the operation management unit 330 determines the vehicle on which the user U1 is to be seated as the vehicle 200D, and transmits information urging the user to ride the vehicle 200D to the terminal device 100 of the user U1. Further, the operation management unit 330 sends an instruction to the vehicle 200D to get the user U1 to get on and get out to the destination. The vehicle 200D acquires information on tickets held by the user U1, for example, from the ride sharing management device 300. When the user U1 checks the ticket by the reader of the ticket authentication device 270, the user U1 is permitted to take the ticket.

As shown in fig. 13 (C), it is assumed that the users U2, U3, and the vehicle 200C arrive at the store a at time t + 13. The operation management unit 330 transmits an instruction to the vehicle 200C to allow the users U2 and U3 arriving at the store a to ride in the vehicle 200C and to depart to the destination of the passenger in the vehicle 200C.

As described above, the shared ride management apparatus 300 can improve the convenience of the user by determining the passenger who rides the vehicle at the vehicle entrance point based on the arrival situation of the user at the vehicle entrance point. For example, a first-arriving user can ride in a vehicle without waiting for a user who does not know when the user will arrive at the vehicle pick-up location. Even when the users U1 to U3 arrive at the car approaching point at different timings, the shared ride management system 1 allows the passenger to ride the vehicle on which the arriving user can ride, and allows the user who arrives later at the car approaching point to ride another vehicle, thereby enabling the vehicle to operate more efficiently. As a result, more efficient operation can be achieved.

The ride-sharing management apparatus 300 (incentive providing unit 370) may provide incentive information to the store or the user with reference to the use status of the store and the use status of the vehicle. The incentive information is information indicating, for example, the amount of money and the contents of a discount. In this case, the ride sharing management system 1A may include the ride sharing management device 300A instead of the ride sharing management device 300. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the ride-sharing management system 1A. The ride-sharing management device 300A may further include an excitation providing unit 370 in addition to the functional configuration of the ride-sharing management device 300.

Further, the storage unit 380A of the ride-sharing management device 300 stores the use status information 390. The usage status information 390 includes, for example, the number of times of the vehicle request for each user, the number of times of settlement, the amount of settlement, the number of times of settlement performed in the store in which the reception device 400 is installed (the amount of settlement), the number of times that the store is used as the vehicle pick-up point, the number of users who use the store as the vehicle pick-up point, and the like. The information included in the usage state information 390 is, for example, information acquired by the ride-sharing management apparatus 300 from the processing result of the apparatus itself, the reception apparatus 400, or a terminal apparatus installed in a shop.

The incentive providing unit 370 determines the content of incentive information to be provided to the store or the user, for example, by referring to the use situation information 390. For example, the greater the number of times the user utilizes the ride-sharing service, the greater the amount of incentive given to the user. For example, the greater the number of times a store is utilized as a car approach point, the greater the amount of incentive given to the store. The assignment is, for example, to transmit preferential information such as discount available for sharing or use in a store to the terminal device 100, or to instruct the account management server 500 to remit money corresponding to the amount of incentive to a bank account of a preset store via the network NW.

The incentive providing unit 370 may determine the content of incentive information received from the store, for example, by referring to the usage situation information 390. For example, the greater the number of times a store is utilized as a car meeting point, the greater the amount of incentives received from the store. For example, the incentive granting unit 370 instructs to transmit information indicating the determined amount of incentive to a terminal or the like installed in the store, and remits money corresponding to the amount of incentive to a bank account of the store set in advance. Through the above-described processing, the incentive providing unit 370 can obtain incentives from stores that have been used as the car-to-car meeting point a large number of times and have collected passengers.

In the above-described embodiment, it is assumed that the user transmits the ride request to the ride-sharing management device 300 in order to ride the vehicle 200, and the ride-sharing management device 300 searches for the vehicle 200 that matches the use condition defined in the ride request when acquiring the ride request, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the user may transmit a utilization request to the ride-sharing management apparatus 300. The vehicle 200 used for the ride may be a vehicle 200 for transporting luggage or passengers, or may be a vehicle 200 for loading a mixture of cargo and passengers.

The use request is a request indicating that the user wishes to use the vehicle 200. For example, the user transmits the use request to the ride share management device 300 in order to load luggage onto the vehicle 200, unload luggage placed on the vehicle 200, assist a passenger who rides the vehicle 200, or ride a user different from the user who transmitted the use request. The user may also send a request for use to the ride-sharing management device 300 in order to join the vehicle 200 and come into contact with the vehicle 200 or a person or object in the vehicle 200. For example, the user may transmit the use request to the ride sharing management device 300 for the purpose of checking, confirming, processing, checking the interior of the vehicle 200, the luggage placed in the vehicle 200, etc., merging with the passenger of the vehicle 200, and examining the passenger of the vehicle 200.

Then, the ride sharing management device 300 searches for the vehicle 200 that matches the condition defined in the use request, in accordance with the user request. The condition defined in the use request is satisfied when the use request for placing the baggage on the vehicle 200 is satisfied, for example, when the vehicle 200 has a space for storing the baggage, the vehicle 200 is traveling at a vehicle-approaching point (near the vehicle-approaching point) allocated near a desired time, and the destination is matched with the destination of the baggage (user).

Instead of (or in addition to) the riding condition information 384, for example, the use condition information may be stored in the storage unit 380. The usage condition information is information in which a meeting desired point, a destination, a meeting desired time (a desired time at which the user and the vehicle 200 meet each other), a vehicle allocation flag indicating whether allocation is decided, and the like are associated with a user ID that is identification information of a user registered in advance, for example.

For example, the operation management unit 330 refers to the use condition information, the map information 386, and the operation schedule information 388 to search for the deployable vehicle 200. The map information 386 includes, in addition to information on nodes and routes, car meeting point information indicating an outline of various car meeting points. The vehicle contact point information is information in which, for example, a position, a vehicle contact point content, a correspondence range as one or more desired points of meeting, and the like are associated with a vehicle contact point ID that is identification information of a point where the vehicle 200 meets a user.

In the operation schedule information 388, for example, the kind, size, weight, and behavior of the object to be placed or the object to be detached are associated with the departure point, the route point, or the destination. The storage unit 380 stores information on the type, size, and weight of luggage that can be placed on the vehicle 200. The operation management unit 330 determines a user who uses the vehicle 200 at a predetermined point based on the arrival status of the user monitored by the arrival status monitoring unit 340.

For example, the operation management unit 330 refers to the map information 386, specifies the vehicle approach point associated with the meeting desired point included in the vehicle taking request, and extracts a record that the specified vehicle approach point is the same and the desired use time is within a predetermined time from the use condition information. Then, the operation management unit 330 allocates the vehicle 200 that can be used at a time close to the desired use time of the user or within a predetermined time (e.g., 30 minutes, 1 hour) from the desired use time. The deployed vehicle 200 is, for example, a vehicle 200 that is traveling at a vehicle entrance point (near the vehicle entrance point) near the riding expectation time, and that matches a destination designated by a user and that enables the user to occupy at least a part of an available portion of the vehicle 200. The occupancy availability means, for example, that a user can place luggage to be placed on the occupiable portion, or that a person designated by the user or user can sit on the occupancy.

The ride sharing management apparatus 300 may execute a process of determining the vehicle 200 to be ridden by the users U1 and U2 arriving at the vehicle entrance point (step S216) as follows. For example, when a first user of the plurality of users approaches a predetermined point and the first vehicle 200 accommodated by the operation management unit 330 arrives at the predetermined point before a second user of the plurality of users approaches the predetermined point, the operation management unit 330 determines the first user as a user occupying a part of the first vehicle 200 and performs the following process (1) or (2). (1) For example, when the occupiable portion of the first vehicle 200 becomes occupied and cannot be occupied, the operation management unit 330 determines the second user as a user who occupies a part of the second vehicle 200 that arrives at a predetermined location after the first vehicle 200 and has an occupiable portion corresponding to the usage information requested by the second user. (2) The operation management unit 330 determines the second user as a user who occupies a part of the second vehicle 200 that arrives at the predetermined point after the first vehicle 200 and has an occupiable portion corresponding to the usage information requested by the second user, for example, based on a comparison between the scheduled arrival time of the second user at the predetermined point predicted from the observation information of the arrival condition monitoring unit 340 and the time at which the first vehicle 200 arrives at the predetermined point. The occupied state refers to a state where there is no seat on which the user is seated, a state where the seat on which the user is seated is occupied, a loading area where no luggage is loaded, a state where other luggage is loaded in the loading area, and the like. The observation information is information indicating that "the user has approached the vehicle meeting point".

For example, when it is predicted that the scheduled arrival time of the second user at the predetermined point predicted based on the observation information of the arrival condition monitoring unit 340 is longer than the time at which the first vehicle 200 has arrived at the predetermined point by the predetermined time, the operation management unit 330 determines the second user as a user who occupies a part of the occupiable portion of the second vehicle 200 that arrives at the predetermined point after the first vehicle 200 and has the occupiable portion corresponding to the usage information requested by the second user. The "having an occupiable portion corresponding to the use information requested by the second user" is, for example, an occupiable portion in which the second user can place the object to be placed or a person to be seated.

Further, the operation management unit 330 determines the second user as a user who occupies a part of the occupiable portion of the first vehicle 200 when the occupiable portion of the first vehicle 200 occupied by the first user matches the usage condition requested by the second user or when the arrival situation monitoring unit 340 estimates that the second user is approaching the predetermined point before the predetermined time elapses after the first vehicle 200 arrives at the predetermined point. The agreement with the use condition is, for example, that the direction in which the second user moves ahead coincides with the direction in which the first vehicle 200 moves ahead, and the second user can ride the first vehicle 200 or a baggage (an occupied area) placed on the second user exists in the first vehicle 200.

Further, when the first vehicle 200 has an available part that is not reserved after the first user has occupied the available part of the first vehicle 200, the operation management unit 330 determines the second user as a user who occupies the available part of the first vehicle 200 that is not reserved regardless of the estimated arrival time of the second user. The second user in this case is a service provider such as a shop (existing at or near the car-to-car location) corresponding to the car-to-car location, and the service provider as the second user can be regarded as having arrived at the car-to-car location. As a result, when the vehicle 200 has an empty occupiable part, the service provider such as a store can efficiently use the first vehicle 200 for distribution or the like.

The operation management unit 330 may further include a meeting control unit 332, and the meeting control unit 332 may set a parking position at which the vehicle 200 is parked halfway, and may permit a third person to meet the occupiable portion at the parking position. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of the ride sharing management device 300A including the meeting control unit 332 and the specific terminal device 600 used by the third person. The specific terminal device 600 may be a terminal device that can be carried by a user, such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, or may be a personal computer.

The meeting control unit 332 may notify a third person who is to meet an occupiable portion of the vehicle 200 (an occupiable portion in which a user is sitting, an occupiable portion in which luggage is placed) or a passenger (or an object) present in the occupiable portion of information for meeting the occupiable portion (for example, a one-time key for opening a door of the vehicle 200) or information related to the vehicle 200 before the vehicle 200 stops at the parking position or before or when the third person meets the vehicle 200. The parking position may be a position designated by a third person, or a position designated by a user (for example, a user who has transmitted a use request) different from the third person. For example, the meeting control unit 332 notifies the information for meeting with the occupiable portion, the parking position, and the information on the vehicle 200 to the specific terminal device 600 having the identification information stored in advance in the storage unit 380. For example, the specific terminal device 600 to which the information for meeting the possessable portion is notified is the specific terminal device 600 designated by the user in association with the usage request, the specific terminal device 600 to which the authority is given in advance, or the like.

The vehicle 200 may be configured to have a plurality of divided occupiable portions, and the meeting may be restricted according to the divided occupiable portions. For example, the vehicle 200 may be provided with a plurality of rooms and containers, and each room and container may be lockable. In this case, the specific terminal device 600 acquires information for meeting a room or a container to which authority is given in advance. By thus notifying the third person of the information for meeting, it is possible to deliver the article or complete the event by the vehicle 200 and the third person meeting.

According to the embodiment described above, the present invention includes: a communication unit 310 that communicates with a plurality of terminal devices 100, 120, and 130 used by a plurality of users, respectively; an acquisition unit 320 for acquiring usage requests of a plurality of users defined with usage conditions including at least a meeting desired location; an arrival situation monitoring unit 340 for monitoring an arrival situation of a user at a predetermined point derived based on a meeting desired point; the operation management unit 330 searches for vehicles that can be allocated based on the use conditions included in the use request, determines the operation schedule of the vehicles, and determines users meeting the vehicles at a predetermined point based on the arrival conditions monitored by the arrival condition monitoring unit 340, thereby achieving more efficient operation.

The ride sharing management device 300 may be mounted on the vehicle 200. When vehicle 200 is a manually driven vehicle, communication unit 310 may communicate with a terminal device of a driver of vehicle 200 via network NW.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and various modifications and substitutions can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.