On-vehicle vehicle guide apparatus, communication server system, and substitute vehicle guide system

• US 6,484,091 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2001
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Shibata, Makoto, Moribe, Nobuyuki, Yamaguchi, Tomonari
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tan
• Application Number:
  US09/875,920
• Publication Number:
  US 20020026281A1
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 701/208, 701/201, 701/210, 701/211, 455/456, 455/507, 455/517, 455/521, 340/990, 340/995, 340/438
• US Class Current: 701/208
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/202 Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

There is provided an alternative vehicle guiding system wherein a communication sever system receives a fault condition information from vehicles and also transmits the necessary information to the navigation system of an alternative vehicle in order to prevent the damage of loads by quickly guiding the alternative vehicle to the fault generating vehicle position and then realizing smooth transfer of remaining work to the alternative vehicle. The navigation system, fault monitoring means and vehicle communication means are respectively provided in the vehicles for transportation work and the center server system is also provided to transmit the vehicle distribution information to the vehicles. When a fault is generated in the vehicle, the communication server system receives the information from this vehicle and the navigation system of the alternative vehicle displays the transmitted information. Thereby, the alternative vehicle can always be distributed smoothly without any manual operation, the time required until the alternative vehicle arrives and the work transfer time can be shortened and adverse effect on the loads and successive load distribution work can be prevented.

Claims

1. A mobile vehicle guiding apparatus, comprising:

a navigation system including measuring means for obtaining a current vehicle position information, a map database storing map information and a display displaying characters and video information for visual recognition by a driver of the vehicle to collate the current vehicle position information obtained by said measuring means with the map information of said map database thereby to display the current position of the vehicle on said display together with a map of a peripheral area relative to the current vehicle position;

fault monitoring means for detecting information of a fault condition in the vehicle and notifying the fault condition information to the driver with an audio message and/or by a predetermined display that is visually recognizable by the driver; and

vehicle communication means for receiving information transmitted to the vehicle from an external side through a radio communication link and for transmitting, at least when a fault condition is detected, the information detected in the vehicle side, including current vehicle position information obtained by the measuring means of said navigation system and said vehicle fault condition information detected by said fault monitoring means, to the external side through the radio communication link, wherein the position information of at least a vehicle destination received by said vehicle communication means is collated with the map information of said map database and route information to the vehicle destination from the current vehicle position is displayed on said display area.

2. A communication server system to issue work instructions by transmitting a position information of relaying point and destination for transportation work to vehicle communication means of each vehicle through the radio communication link among a plurality of vehicles for transportation work based on a preset vehicle distribution information, wherein the position information of relaying point and destination for transportation work based on the vehicle distribution information is transmitted as the initial value to a plurality of vehicles, thereafter the information acquired in the vehicle side including a fault condition information from a certain vehicle is suddenly received, if it is determined by fault monitoring means that said vehicle cannot eliminate the fault condition, a relevant fault generating vehicle position and the relaying point and destination at which the fault generating vehicle does not yet arrive assigned to the fault generating vehicle are additionally assigned as the relaying point and/or destination of another predetermined vehicle and the added position information of relaying point and/or destination is transmitted to the vehicle communication means of said predetermined vehicle via the radio communication link.

3. An alternative vehicle guiding system comprising:

in each of a plurality of vehicles for transportation work, a mobile vehicle guiding apparatus, comprising;

a navigation system including measuring means for obtaining a current vehicle position information, a map database storing map information and a display to display characters and video information for visual recognition by a driver of the vehicle to collate the current vehicle position information obtained by said measuring means with the map information of said map database thereby to display the current position of the vehicle on said display together with a map of a peripheral area relative to the current vehicle position;

fault monitoring means for detecting information of a fault condition in the vehicle and notifying the fault condition information to the driver with an audio message and/or by a predetermined display that is visually recognizable by the driver; and

vehicle communication means for receiving information transmitted to the vehicle from an external side through a radio communication link and to transmit, at least when a fault condition is detected, the information detected in the vehicle side, including current vehicle position information obtained by the measuring means of said navigation system and said vehicle fault condition information detected by said fault monitoring means, to the external side through the radio communication link, wherein the position information of at least a vehicle destination received by said vehicle communication means is collated with the map information of said map database and route information to the vehicle destination from the current vehicle position is displayed on said display area; and

a communication server system issuing work instructions by transmitting a position information of relaying point and destination for transportation work to the vehicle communication means of each vehicle through the radio communication link among a plurality of vehicles for transportation work based on a preset vehicle distribution information, wherein the position information of relaying point and destination for transportation work based on the vehicle distribution information is transmitted as the initial value to a plurality of vehicles, thereafter the information acquired in the vehicle side including a fault condition information from a certain vehicle is suddenly received, if it is determined that said vehicle cannot eliminate the fault condition, a relevant fault generating vehicle position and the relaying point and destination at which the fault generating vehicle does not yet arrive assigned to the fault generating vehicle are additionally assigned as the relaying point and/or destination of another predetermined vehicle and the added position information of relaying point and/or destination is transmitted to the vehicle communication means of said predetermined vehicle via the radio communication link, wherein the communication server system receives the information acquired in the vehicle side including the fault condition information transmitted from the vehicle generating a fault condition in its loading room via said radio communication link and transmits the fault generating vehicle position and the position information, assigned to the fault generating vehicle, of the relaying point and destination at which the fault generating vehicle does not arrive to the vehicle communication means of the other predetermined vehicle via the radio communication link, and the navigation system of said predetermined vehicle acquires the position information of relaying point and destination from said communication server system received with said vehicle communication means, collates the relevant position information with the map information of said map database and displays the route information up to the destination from the current position of vehicle on said display area.

4. An alternative vehicle guiding system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said communication server system searches, a fault condition information is suddenly detected from a certain vehicle and a vehicle is requested in place of a fault generating vehicle, the route passing the fault generating vehicle position and the not-passing relaying point and destination assigned to the fault generating vehicle from the current positions of vehicles other than said fault generating vehicle and issues instruction to the predetermined vehicle among a plurality of vehicles which realizes the optimum route to add said fault generating vehicle position and the not-passing relaying point and destination assigned to the fault generating vehicle as the new relaying point and/or destination of said predetermined vehicle.

5. An alternative vehicle guiding system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the optimum route is obtained for the predetermined vehicle which can realize said optimum route by specifying said fault generating vehicle position and the not-passing relaying and destination assigned to the fault generating vehicle as the new points for vehicle to pass in addition to the not-passing relaying point and destination assigned to said vehicle and the information of said optimum route is notified to said predetermined vehicle.

6. An alternative vehicle guiding system as claimed in claim 4, wherein said communication server system searches the route passing the said fault generating vehicle position and not-passing relaying point and destination assigned to said fault generating vehicle from the current positions of vehicles other than said fault generating vehicle and determines whether a plurality of vehicles satisfy or not one or a plurality of restriction conditions in relation to the work assigned to said fault generating vehicle and also issues an instruction to the predetermined vehicle among a plurality of vehicles that satisfies said conditions for work and can realize the optimum route to add said fault generating vehicle position and not-passing relaying point and destination assigned to the fault generating vehicle as the new relaying point and/or destination.

7. An alternative vehicle guiding system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said radio communication link is the mobile telephone network and the mobile telephones are provided as the vehicle communication means of respective vehicles, if a fault is detected in the loading room in a certain vehicle, the mobile telephone of the relevant vehicle calls said communication server system to set up the link connection to automatically transmit the information acquired in the vehicle side including the fault condition information to the communication server system and also sets up the link connection by calling the mobile telephone of an alternative vehicle after said communication server system has determined the alternative vehicle in order to automatically transmit the additional position information of the relaying point and/or destination.

8. An alternative vehicle guiding system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said vehicle communication means transmits the information detected in the vehicle side including at least the current position information of the vehicle obtained with the measuring means of said navigation system and also including, if a fault condition is detected, the fault condition information of the vehicle obtained with said fault monitoring means to the external side as required via the radio communication link and said communication server system is waiting reception of a fault condition information from a certain vehicle while receiving said information detected in the vehicle side, when it is transmitted, from said vehicle communication means via the radio communication link to detect the running condition of each vehicle.