US 11,235,786 B2Granted

Vehicle allocation apparatus and vehicle allocation method

AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsNobuhide Kamata, Yasuo Uehara, Nozomu Hatta, Shunsuke Tanimori

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Abstract

The vehicle allocation apparatus includes a vehicle assignment unit that assigns a self-driving vehicle to a vehicle dispatch request including ride location information indicating a ride location of a prospective passenger wishing for dispatch of the self-driving vehicle, a travel instruction unit that instructs, through a communication unit, the assigned self-driving vehicle to move via the ride location, and a ride confirmation unit that acquires, from the assigned self-driving vehicle, ride information indicating whether the prospective passenger has ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle after arrival of the assigned self-driving vehicle at the ride location. Before a predetermined vehicle re-allocation grace time passes after receiving the ride information indicating that the prospective passenger has not ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle, the vehicle assignment unit assigns a self-driving vehicle other than the assigned self-driving vehicle to a vehicle dispatch request from other than the prospective passenger.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A vehicle allocation apparatus comprising:

a communication unit configured to be communicable with a self-driving vehicle;
and,
processing circuitry, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to:
upon receiving a vehicle dispatch request including ride location information indicating a ride location of a prospective passenger wishing for dispatch of the self-driving vehicle, assign the self-driving vehicle to the vehicle dispatch request;
instruct the assigned self-driving vehicle to move to the ride location via the communication unit;
acquire, from the assigned self-driving vehicle via the communication unit, ride information indicating whether the prospective passenger has ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle after arrival of the assigned self-driving vehicle at the ride location;
after receiving the ride information indicating that the prospective passenger has not ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle and before a predetermined vehicle re-allocation grace time passes, assign a self-driving vehicle other than the assigned self-driving vehicle to a second vehicle dispatch request from a second prospective passenger other than the prospective passenger;
upon receiving a vehicle re-dispatch request from the prospective passenger before the vehicle re-allocation grace time passes after acquiring the ride information indicating that the prospective passenger has not ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle, re-assign the assigned self-driving vehicle to the vehicle re-dispatch request;
and
upon receiving the vehicle re-dispatch request, notify, via the communication unit, a terminal carried by an existing passenger already riding in the assigned self-driving vehicle that a running route is changed so as to travel to the ride location again.

7 more elements

A vehicle allocation method for allocating a self-driving vehicle by using a vehicle allocation apparatus, comprising:

upon receiving a vehicle dispatch request including ride location information indicating a ride location of a prospective passenger wishing for dispatch of the self-driving vehicle, the vehicle allocation apparatus assigning a self-driving vehicle to the vehicle dispatch request;
the vehicle allocation apparatus instructing, via a communication unit configured to be communicable with the self-driving vehicle, the assigned self-driving vehicle to move to the ride location;
before a predetermined ride waiting time passes after arrival of the assigned self-driving vehicle at the ride location, the vehicle allocation apparatus acquiring, from the assigned self-driving vehicle and via the communication unit, ride information indicating whether the prospective passenger has ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle;
before a predetermined vehicle re-allocation grace time passes after receiving the ride information indicating that the prospective passenger has not ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle, the vehicle allocation apparatus assigning a self-driving vehicle other than the assigned self-driving vehicle to a second vehicle dispatch request from a second prospective passenger other than the prospective passenger;
upon receiving a vehicle re-dispatch request from the prospective passenger before a vehicle re-allocation grace time passes after acquiring the ride information indicating that the prospective passenger has not ridden in the assigned self-driving vehicle, the vehicle allocation apparatus re-assigning the assigned self-driving vehicle to the vehicle re-dispatch request;
upon receiving the vehicle re-dispatch request, the vehicle allocation apparatus notifying, through the communication unit, a terminal carried by an existing passenger already riding in the assigned self-driving vehicle that a running route is changed so as to travel to the ride location again.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/749,264Filed 22 Jan 2020
Priority: JP JP2019-01044524 Jan 2019
Published: US 2020/0239032 A130 Jul 2020
Granted: 1 Feb 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

B60W 60/00253
Specially adapted for specific operations: taxi operations
G08G 1/202
Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles: dispatching vehicles…
G05D 1/0212
Specially adapted to land vehicles: with means for defining a desired trajectory
G05D 1/0276
Specially adapted to land vehicles: using signals provided by a source external to the vehicle