Vehicle travel route control system

• US 6,484,078 B1
• Filed: 10/24/2000
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Kageyama, Masato
• Primary Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gibson, Eric M
• Application Number:
  US09/694,685
• Time in Patent Office: 756 Days
• Field of Search: 701/25, 701/23, 701/26, 701/50, 701/24, 701/117, 340/989, 340/988
• US Class Current: 701/25
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0297 by controlling means in a control room
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

Working efficiency is improved without wasted activity of vehicles by enabling prompt change of a travel route at a time when it becomes necessary to change the travel route of a vehicle. A monitor station changes a worksite towards which a vehicle should travel from a worksite 60a to a worksite 60a′ on the basis of a result of monitoring current positions of a plurality of vehicles and current status of a plurality of worksites. At the same time, the monitor station provides data for the travel route from the current positions of the vehicles to the changed worksite 60a to the vehicles. Upon receiving the data for the travel route from the monitor station, the vehicles then travel along the travel route from their current positions to the changed worksite 60a′.

Claims

1. A vehicle travel route control system applied to a case where a plurality of vehicles travel towards a plurality of worksites and perform works at the plurality of worksites, comprising:

a monitor station for changing a worksite to which the vehicles should travel and providing directly to the vehicles data for a travel route from current positions of the vehicles to the changed worksite on the basis of a result from monitoring the current positions of the plurality of vehicles and current status of the plurality of worksites; and

vehicles having position measuring devices for measuring the current positions of the vehicles, providing the current positions of the vehicles measured by the position measuring devices to the monitor station and, traveling along the travel route from their current positions to the changed worksite when the data for the changed travel route are provided from the monitor station while the vehicles are on any of the travel route of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle control system, according to claim 1, wherein the monitor station changes the worksite to which the vehicles should travel so as to maximize a working efficiency at the plurality of worksites.

3. The vehicle control system, according to claim 1, wherein the monitor station selects a travel route with a shortest travel time in a case where there is a plurality of travel routes from the current positions of the vehicles to the changed worksite.

4. A vehicle travel route control system comprising:

a monitor station for changing a travel route that a vehicle should travel when the vehicle is traveling along a scheduled travel route toward a worksite and providing data for the changed travel route to the vehicle; and

a vehicle for turning at an intersection of the scheduled travel route onto the changed travel route and traveling along the changed travel route when the data for the travel route are provided by the monitor station,

wherein, when the travel route is changed, the vehicle or the monitor station determines whether to travel along the scheduled travel route or the changed travel route after the intersection based on a distance from a current position of the vehicle on the scheduled travel route to the intersection; and

wherein the vehicle is an unmanned vehicle having a position measuring device for measuring a current position of the vehicle, which provides the current position of the vehicle measured by the position measuring device to the monitor and travels according to a result of the determination.

5. A vehicle control system applied to a case where a plurality of vehicles travel towards a worksite and the plurality of vehicles perform works in sequence at the worksite, comprising:

a monitor station for providing to the vehicles data for a travel route to the worksite to which the vehicles should travel and data for a travel speed; and

vehicles which, when the data for the travel route and the data for the travel speed are provided from the monitor station, travel along the travel route from their current positions to the worksite at the travel speed;

wherein the monitor station estimates a waiting time until the work begins for each vehicle based on a relationship between the current positions of the plurality of vehicles and a location of the worksite, and provides the data for the travel speed to each vehicle so as to be able to begin the work in an optimum waiting time based on a result of this estimate.

6. The vehicle control system, according to claim 5, wherein the monitor station finds an order of arrival at the worksite and an arrival time from the current position until arrival at the worksite for each vehicle, based on the relationship between the current positions of the plurality of vehicles and the location of the worksite, estimates a waiting time until the work begins for each vehicle, based on the order of arrival and the arrival time thus found and a working time required for one vehicle at the worksite;

and generates data for the travel speed for each vehicle based on a result of this estimate so that the vehicles can arrive at the worksite in an optimum arrival time and can begin the work in the optimum waiting time.