# US 12,111,167 B2 · Server device, operation management system, program, vehicle, and operation management method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,111,167 B2 - Document ID: US12111167B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/718,322 - Filed: 2022-04-12 - Published: 2022-12-29 - Granted: 2024-10-08 - Earliest claimed: 2021-06-23 - Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Yu Nagata; Kazutaka Kimura; Tomokazu Maya; Tsuyoshi Nishioka; Takaharu Tateishi; Yuki Yamashita - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12111167B2 ## CPC - G01C 21/3438: {Rendezvous; Ride sharing} - G01C 21/3484: {Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles} - G01C 21/343: {Calculating itineraries (travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047)} - G01C 21/3605: {Destination input or retrieval} - G01C 21/3661: {Guidance output on an external device, e.g. car radio} - G06Q 10/0283: {for travel seating} - G06Q 30/0207: Discounts or incentives, e.g. coupons or rebates - G06Q 50/40: Business processes related to the transportation industry (shipping G06Q10/083) - G08G 1/202: {Dispatching vehicles on the basis of a location, e.g. taxi dispatching} - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) ## Abstract A server device includes a communication unit and a control unit that send and receives information to and from another device via the communication unit. The control unit receives, from a plurality of terminal devices, information indicating a boarding point at which a user of each of the terminal devices desires to board a vehicle, sends, to the vehicle, information for causing the vehicle to travel along a route via a nearby region of each of a plurality of the boarding points while satisfying a predetermined condition, and notifies the terminal devices of the route. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A server device, comprising: a communication unit configured to communicate with a plurality of terminal devices and a vehicle; and a control unit configured to receive, through the communication unit from the plurality of terminal devices, information indicating a plurality of boarding points at which a user of each of the plurality of terminal devices requested to board the vehicle, determine a route via a nearby region of each of the plurality of boarding points, wherein the route satisfies a predetermined condition, and among the plurality of boarding points, a boarding point that is separated by at least a predetermined distance from other boarding points is excluded from the route, send, through the communication unit, to the vehicle, operation information for causing the vehicle to travel along the route, notify the plurality of terminal devices of the route, and execute a process of giving an incentive to the user who moved from the excluded boarding point to, among the plurality of boarding points, one of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point to board the vehicle. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The server device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to execute the process of giving the incentive corresponding to a distance from the excluded boarding point to the route. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The server device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that when the vehicle moves at a predetermined speed, the vehicle passes through the nearby region of each of the plurality of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point in the shortest time. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The server device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that the vehicle passes through the nearby region of each of the plurality of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point in the shortest distance. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The server device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to send guidance information for guiding the user from each of the plurality of boarding points to the route to each of the plurality of terminal devices corresponding to the plurality of boarding points. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The server device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is configured to receive further information on an allowable range of the nearby region of each of the plurality of boarding points from the plurality of terminal devices, and determine the route in consideration of the allowable range. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The server device according to claim 1, wherein the route is not via the plurality of boarding points. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) An operation management system, comprising: a vehicle, and the server device according to claim 1. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program that is executed by a computer to cause the computer to operate as the server device according to claim 1. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The server device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to, for the user at each of the plurality of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point, set, on the route, a corresponding boarding execution point for the user to board the vehicle, calculate a first distance from the boarding point the user is at to the corresponding boarding execution point, and determine the incentive to the user based on the first distance. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The server device according to claim 10, wherein the control unit is further configured to, for the user at the excluded boarding point, set, on the route, a boarding execution point for the user to board the vehicle, calculate a second distance from the excluded boarding point to the boarding execution point, and determine the incentive to the user at the excluded boarding point based on the second distance, wherein the incentive to the user at the excluded boarding point is weighted more than the incentive to the user at each of the boarding points other than the excluded boarding point. ### Claim 12 A vehicle, comprising: a communication unit configured to communicate with a server device, wherein the server device is configured to receive, from a plurality of terminal devices, information indicating a plurality of boarding points at which a user of each of the plurality of terminal devices requested to board the vehicle; and a control unit configured to receive, through the communication unit, from the server device, operation information on a route via a nearby region of each of a plurality of boarding points, wherein the route satisfies a predetermined condition, and output an instruction for causing the vehicle to travel along the route, wherein the server device is configured to determine the route, wherein among the plurality of boarding points, a boarding point that is separated by at least a predetermined distance from other boarding points is excluded from the route, and execute a process of giving an incentive to the user who moved from the excluded boarding point to, among the plurality of boarding points, one of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point to board the vehicle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The vehicle according to claim 12, wherein the route is not via the plurality of boarding points. ### Claim 14 An operation management method of a vehicle by a system including a server device and the vehicle communicating with the server device, the method comprising: receiving, by the server device from a plurality of terminal devices, information indicating a plurality of boarding points at which a user of each of the plurality of terminal devices requested to board the vehicle; determining, by the server device, a route via a nearby region of each of the plurality of boarding points, wherein the route satisfies a predetermined condition, and among the plurality of boarding points, a boarding point that is separated by at least a predetermined distance from other boarding points is excluded from the route, sending, by the server device to the vehicle, operation information for causing the vehicle to travel along the route; notifying, by the server device, the plurality of terminal devices of the route; causing the vehicle to move along the route based on the information sent from the server device; and executing, by the server device, a process of giving an incentive to the user who moved from the excluded boarding point to, among the plurality of boarding points, one of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point to board the vehicle. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The operation management method according to claim 14, wherein the server device executes the process of giving the incentive corresponding to a distance from the excluded boarding point to the route. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The operation management method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that when the vehicle moves at a predetermined speed, the vehicle passes through the nearby regions of each of the plurality of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point in the shortest time. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The operation management method according to claim 14, wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that the vehicle passes through the nearby region of each of the plurality of boarding points other than the excluded boarding point in the shortest distance. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The operation management method according to claim 14, further comprising: sending, by the server device, guidance information for guiding the user from each of the plurality of boarding points to the route to each of the plurality of terminal devices corresponding to the plurality of boarding points. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The operation management method according to claim 14, further comprising: receiving, by the server device, further information on an allowable range of the nearby region of each of the plurality of boarding points from the plurality of terminal devices, and determining, by the server device, the route in consideration of the allowable range. ### Claim 20 (depends on 14) The operation management method according to claim 14, wherein the route is not via the plurality of boarding points.