DRIVING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM, VEHICLE, DRIVING ASSISTANCE TERMINAL DEVICE, AND DRIVING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

• US 20170068249A1
• Filed: 09/30/2014
• Published: 03/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: MINOWA, Toshimichi, HAMADA, Tomoyuki, ISHIMOTO, Hidefumi
• Granted Patent: US 9,898,011 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/36 Input/output arrangements for on-board computers
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0291 Fleet control monitoring fleets in traffic control systems for road vehicles G08G1/127, G08G1/127
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/56 exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0112 from the vehicle, e.g. floating car data [FCD]
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096816 where the complete route is transmitted to the vehicle at once
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09685 where the complete route is computed only once and not updated
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096888 where input information is obtained using learning systems, e.g. history databases
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/44 for communication between vehicles and infrastructures, e.g. vehicle-to-cloud [V2C] or vehicle-to-home [V2H]

Abstract

Provided is a technology that, when an unmanned haulage vehicle and a manned haulage vehicle are allowed to exist together and are subjected to fleet operations management, can provide driving assistance to an operator of the manned vehicle by using control data similar to those to be transmitted to the unmanned haulage vehicle. To this end, the manned vehicle is provided with a terminal-side communication control unit, a control command value conversion unit and a control command value providing unit. The terminal-side communication control unit receives, from a fleet operations management server that performs operations management of the unmanned haulage vehicle, a control command value for allowing the unmanned haulage vehicle to travel autonomously. The control command value conversion unit converts contents of the control command value to perceivable information. The control command value providing unit provides the perceivable information to the operator.

Claims

1-9. -9. (canceled)

10. A driving assistance system in which each of driving assistance terminal device mounted on a first-type haulage vehicle driven by an operator and a second-type haulage vehicle with an autonomous traveling function applied to the first-type haulage vehicle and a fleet operations management server, which performs fleet operations management of the first-type haulage vehicle and second-type haulage vehicle, are connectable together for communications via a wireless communication network, wherein:

the fleet operations management server includes;

a server-side communication control unit that performs control to establish a communicable connection with each of the driving assistance terminal device and second-type haulage vehicle, and

a control command value generation unit that generates a control command value, which is to be used for autonomous travel control by a travel control unit mounted on the second-type haulage vehicle, and a control command value for allowing the first-type haulage vehicle to travel according to operations management by the fleet operations management server;

the driving assistance terminal device includes;

a terminal-side communication control unit that performs control to establish a communicable connection to the fleet operations management server,

a request information processing unit that generates, to the fleet operations management server, request information to request a control command value for an own vehicle,

a conversion dictionary storage unit with conversion dictionary information stored therein, said conversion dictionary information including the control command value and perceivable data, which allows the operator to recognize contents of the control command value, associated with each other,

a control command value conversion unit that converts the control command value, which the terminal-side communication control unit has received, to the associated perceivable data with reference to the conversion dictionary information, and

a notification unit that provides the converted perceivable data to the operator; and

when the server-side communication control unit receives the request information from the driving assistance terminal device, the control command value generation unit, responsive to the request information, generates a control command value for the first-type haulage vehicle.

17. The driving assistance system according to claim 10, wherein:

the fleet operations management server further includes;

a connection target information storage unit that stores connection target management information in which vehicle identification information, that specifically identifies the second-type haulage vehicle, and connection target information for a wireless communication as applied to the second-type haulage vehicle indicated by the vehicle identification information are associated with each other, and

a vehicle identification information management unit that manages the vehicle identification information;

the connection target management information includes reserve vehicle identification information which is not associated with any specific connection target information;

the vehicle identification information management unit, upon receipt of the request information from the driving assistance terminal device, brings connection target information for the reserve vehicle identification information into association with connection target information of the driving assisting terminal device mounted on the first-type haulage vehicle, and outputs the reserve vehicle identification information and the request information to the control command value generation unit;

the control command value generation unit outputs, to the vehicle identification information management unit, the control command value together with the reserve vehicle identification information added thereto;

the vehicle identification information management unit, with reference to the connection target management information, specifies the connection target information associated with the reserve vehicle identification information, and outputs the specified connection target information and the control command value to the server-side communication control unit; and

the server-side communication control unit transmits the control command value toward the specified connection target information.

18. The driving assistance system according to claim 10, wherein:

the fleet operations management server further includes;

a connection target information storage unit that stores connection target management information in which vehicle identification information, that specifically identifies the second-type haulage vehicle, and connection target information for a wireless communication as applied to the second-type haulage vehicle indicated by the vehicle identification information are associated with each other, and

a vehicle identification information management unit that manages the vehicle identification information;

when allowing the first-type haulage vehicle to operate in place of the second-type haulage vehicle which is in operation, the vehicle identification information management unit rewrites connection target information, which has been brought into association with the vehicle identification information indicating the second-type haulage vehicle as a target of replacement, to connection target information for the driving assistance terminal device mounted on the first-type haulage vehicle to be operated instead, and outputs, to the control command value generation unit, the vehicle identification information, which indicates the second-type haulage vehicle as the target of replacement, and the request information received from the driving assistance terminal device;

the control command value generation unit outputs, to the vehicle identification information management unit, the control command value together with the vehicle identification information of the second-type haulage vehicle, which has become the target of replacement, as added thereto;

the vehicle identification information management unit, with reference to the connection target management information, specifies the connection target information associated with the vehicle identification information of the second-type haulage vehicle as the target of replacement, and outputs the specified connection target information and the control command value to the server-side communication control unit; and

the server-side communication control unit transmits the control command value toward the specified connection target information.

11. A first-type haulage vehicle driven by an operator and connectable to a fleet operations management server, which performs fleet operations management of a second-type haulage vehicle with an autonomous traveling function applied thereto and the first-type haulage vehicle, for communications via a wireless communication network, comprising:

an external sensor device that detects a front obstacle of an own vehicle;

a terminal-side communication control unit that receives, from the fleet operations management server, a control command value consisting of a control command value of a same kind as a control command value, which a travel control unit mounted on the second-type haulage vehicle uses for autonomous travel control and which is used for allowing the first-type haulage vehicle to travel according to operations management by the fleet operations management server;

a conversion dictionary storage unit with conversion dictionary information stored therein, said conversion dictionary information including the control command value and perceivable data, which allows the operator to recognize contents of the control command value, associated with each other;

a control command value conversion unit that converts the control command value, which the terminal-side communication control unit has received, to the associated perceivable data with reference to the conversion dictionary information; and

a notification unit that provides the converted perceivable data to the operator.

12. Driving assistance terminal device to be mounted on a first-type haulage vehicle that is driven by an operator, comprising:

a terminal-side communication control unit that receives, from a fleet operations management server which performs operations management of an autonomously-traveling, second-type haulage vehicle and the first-type haulage vehicle, a control command value consisting of a control command value of a same kind as the control command value, which a travel control unit mounted on the second-type haulage vehicle uses for autonomous travel control and which is used for allowing the first-type haulage vehicle to travel according to operations management by the fleet operations management server;

a conversion dictionary storage unit with conversion dictionary information stored therein, said conversion dictionary information including the control command value and perceivable data, which allows the operator to recognize contents of the control command value, associated with each other;

a control command value conversion unit that converts the control command values, which the terminal-side communication control unit has received, to the associated perceivable data with reference to the conversion dictionary information; and

a notification unit that provides the converted perceivable data to the operator.

13. The driving assistance terminal device according to claim 12, wherein:

the control command value is at least one of a travel-permitted segment that is a segment, for which a travel permit has been given to the first-type haulage vehicle, on a travel route on which the first-type haulage vehicle travels, a stop position of the first-type haulage vehicle, a travel speed of the first-type haulage vehicle, a travel or start permit for the first-type haulage vehicle, a display stop, and refueling timing.

14. The driving assistance terminal device according to claim 12, wherein:

the control command value conversion unit converts the control command value to at least one of image data indicating the contents of the control command value, blinking light, and a voice indicating the contents.

15. The driving assistance terminal device according to claim 12, further comprising:

a priority determination unit that determines a priority at which the control command value is to be provided to the operator,

wherein the control command value conversion unit converts the control command value that has been determined as having highest priority by the priority determination unit.

16. A driving assistance program for allowing an operator to perform driving according to operations management by a fleet operations server that performs operations management of a second-type haulage vehicle having an autonomous traveling function, said driving assistance program allowing a computer to execute:

a step of receiving, from the fleet operations management server, a control command value consisting of a control command value of a same kind as a control command value, which a travel control unit mounted on the second-type haulage vehicle uses for autonomous travel control and which is used for allowing a vehicle, which is driven by the operator, to travel according to operations management by the fleet operations management server;

a step of converting the received control command value to associated perceivable data with reference to the conversion dictionary information in which the control command value and perceivable data, which allows the operator to recognize contents of the control command value, are associated with each other; and

a notification unit that provides the converted perceivable data to the operator.

19. A second-type haulage vehicle in which an autonomous traveling function is applied to a first-type haulage vehicle driven by an operator to travel, comprising:

an external sensor device that detects a front obstacle of the own vehicle,

a terminal-side communication control unit that receives, from a fleet operations management server which performs operations management of the first-type haulage vehicle and second-type haulage vehicle, a control command value, which a travel control unit mounted on the second-type haulage vehicle uses for autonomous travel control, via a wireless communication network,

the travel control unit that performs the autonomous travel control based on the control command value,

a driving assistance unit that converts to perceivable data that allows an operator, who rides the second-type haulage vehicle, to recognize contents of the control command value,

a notification unit that provides the converted perceivable data to the operator who rides the second-type haulage vehicle, and an output destination switching unit that switches an output destination of the control command value to the travel control unit or the driving assistance unit; and

the driving assistance unit includes;

a conversion dictionary storage unit with conversion dictionary information stored therein, said conversion dictionary information including the control command value and perceivable data associated with each other, and

a control command value conversion unit that converts the control command value, which the terminal-side communication control unit has received, to the associated perceivable data with reference to the conversion dictionary information.