JP2002340571A - System and terminal for providing information, on- vehicle terminal, terminal and apparatus for dispatch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simply and easily acquire desired detailed and latest information, while a crew member on a vehicle is remains in the vehicle, in where one is staying during traveling or the like. SOLUTION: The information providing system is constituted by comprising an on-vehicle terminal, an information provision terminal which is installed in the passage place of the vehicle or in a drop-in destination and which has a short-range communication means and an information provision apparatus which is connected to a communication network, such as the Internet or the like. The on-vehicle terminal comprises a short-range communication means, a network communication means which can be connected to the communication network, a display means which can display information and an input operation means. The on-vehicle terminal can receive information provided by using the short-range communication means from the information provision terminal situated in the neighborhood; and when a desired item in the information is selected and designated, the on-vehicle terminal connects the information provision apparatus to the communication network by the network communication means, and acquires detailed information, regarding the desired item selected and designated from the information provision apparatus.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information providing system, an on-board terminal, an information providing terminal, a dispatching terminal, and a dispatching device, and more particularly to an on-board terminal mounted on a vehicle and moving with the vehicle. Passengers,
The present invention relates to a system capable of providing information in a suitable form to a user of a system at a place where a vehicle stops and improving a service and an apparatus used for the system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Information used by a vehicle user includes map information and traffic information, and a navigation device is known as a vehicle-mounted device that can use such information. The navigation device mainly includes map information, G
It is used as a route guidance device to a destination (destination) based on the current position information of the vehicle recognized by the PS system. In addition, a vehicle may be equipped with a wireless device that communicates with a road information reporting device located at a key point on the road, and road information may be obtained and reflected in navigation. Have been done.

[0003] In a taxi, a business communication call is made between a crew (driver) and an operator of a dispatch center using a taxi radio, so that the general situation of each vehicle can be grasped on the dispatch center side. It is possible.

[0004]

The conventional navigation device is effective for confirming the current position of a vehicle and for guiding a vehicle to a destination, but it is information unique to the destination.
It has been difficult to obtain detailed and up-to-date information that a passenger of the vehicle wants to use while staying in the vehicle. For example,
When considering traveling by car, it is difficult to obtain information such as the presence or absence of a parking lot at a target tourist destination and the empty state of a parking lot while staying in a car. In other words, if you want to use a parking lot where there is no feeling of land such as a travel destination, detailed map information that can display the position of the parking lot is often not included in the map information of navigation. , Which was inconvenient for travelers. Further, when the accommodation facility is suddenly used, it is difficult to obtain information on the accommodation facility while staying in the car. Therefore, in order to obtain information on accommodation facilities, it was necessary to go to an accommodation facility information center that provides such information.

[0005] Further, in dispatching a taxi, information such as the waiting state of the user at the taxi stand, the current position of the vehicle, and the estimated time required for dispatching the taxi are considered.
A system capable of providing a display service or the like to a user (waiting passenger) has not been established.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
The purpose is to enable the system that includes the in-vehicle terminal to present the latest information that is effective for the user of the system, thereby realizing a kind service for the user. is there. It is another object of the present invention to enable a passenger of a vehicle to easily and easily obtain desired detailed and latest information while staying in the vehicle. Another object of the present invention is to provide a useful display service to taxi users and to perform efficient dispatch control to improve service to the users. .

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to one representative invention of the present application, there is provided an information providing apparatus having a vehicle-mounted terminal and a short-distance communication means installed at a place where a vehicle passes or a stop-by place. A terminal and an information providing device connected to a communication network such as the Internet, and constitute an information providing system, the in-vehicle terminal is a short-range communication means, a network communication means connectable to the communication network, Display means capable of displaying information, and input operation means, wherein the in-vehicle terminal is capable of receiving information provided from a nearby information providing terminal using short-range communication means, By selecting and specifying a desired item in the information providing apparatus, the on-board terminal is connected to the information providing apparatus via the network by the network communication means, and As can be obtain detailed information regarding the desired item and the selected specified from configured.

In another representative invention according to the present invention, a vehicle-mounted terminal installed in a taxi, a vehicle allocation terminal installed in a taxi stand, and a vehicle allocation terminal and a vehicle allocation device capable of communicating with the vehicle allocation terminal include: The on-board terminal has position recognition means for acquiring the position information of the vehicle, and includes the identification information of the vehicle itself, the position information of the vehicle, and the presence / absence information of the passenger (real vehicle / vacant vehicle information). Is transmitted to the dispatching device, and the dispatching terminal is provided with display means capable of displaying information transmitted from the dispatching device.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system of the present embodiment is an example applied to a travel guidance system.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an in-vehicle terminal mounted on a vehicle, 2 denotes a travel guide terminal (information providing terminal) installed at a place where the vehicle passes or stops, and 3 denotes the latest information to the travel guide terminal 2. A travel guide device (information providing device) 4 for transmitting or providing detailed information related to information provided by the travel guide terminal 2, a tourist guide information providing device 4 for providing tourist guide information to the travel guide device 3, 5. Is an accommodation information providing device for providing accommodation information to the travel guide device 3, and 6 is a travel information device 3.
A souvenir information providing device that provides souvenir / special product information to the food and beverage information providing device that provides food and drink information to the travel guide device 3; a parking lot information providing device that provides parking lot information to the travel guide device 3; Reference numeral 9 denotes a mobile telephone base station connectable by the mobile telephone function of the in-vehicle terminal 1. Reference numeral 10 denotes a travel guide terminal 2, a travel guide device 3, each of the information providing devices 4 to 8, and the mobile telephone base station 9. It is a connected communication network (here, the Internet constructed including a telephone network).

Each travel guide terminal 2 and travel guide device 3
May be connected by the dedicated communication line 11. In addition, various information providing devices that provide information to the travel guide device 3 may be considered in addition to the above. For example, an information providing device that provides information on fruit picking in a farm or orchard, a zoo, or the like. An information providing device that provides information about botanical gardens and aquariums, an information providing device that provides information about cruising and fishing, an information providing device that provides information about theme parks and amusement parks, and information that provides information about festivals and events A providing device is conceivable.

An outline of the system shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The travel guide terminal 2 is installed at a key location where a vehicle of a traveler will drop in, such as a station in a tourist spot or the like, or a guide point on a main road. This travel guide terminal 2 includes general information (outline of sightseeing spots, guide map,
Summary information of specialty products, accommodation facilities, souvenir shops, etc.), and a means for transmitting such information, and a display means for displaying such information as necessary. If the in-vehicle terminal 1 is set to detect information transmitted from the travel guide terminal 2 and automatically receive the outgoing information, when the in-vehicle terminal 1 comes close to the travel guide terminal 2, the in-vehicle terminal 1 The terminal 1 receives and stores outgoing information from the travel guide terminal 2. The received information can be displayed on the display unit of the in-vehicle terminal 1, and when the received information is audio information, audio can be output from a speaker or the like. It is assumed that short-range wireless communication means is used for communication between the in-vehicle terminal 1 and the travel guide terminal 2.

Here, the outgoing information from the travel guide terminal 2 includes information (for example, a URL (Uniform Resource Link) for each detailed information) for obtaining detailed information related to the outgoing information.
ocators)). When the user instructs to obtain detailed information, the in-vehicle terminal 1 automatically accesses the site for each URL of the travel guidance device 3 via the Internet 10 based on the information included. And have a network connection. Thereby, for example, as the detailed information, detailed information of a certain accommodation facility (availability, presence / absence of a parking lot, information on how to get to the accommodation facility and a mark) is transmitted from the travel guide device 3 to the on-board terminal 1. Is available.

The travel guide device 3 stores detailed information related to information provided to the travel guide terminal 2 and has means for detecting that related detailed information has been requested. Extract the requested related information from the accumulated information,
The related detailed information is transmitted to the requesting in-vehicle terminal 1. The information provided by the travel guide device 3 is information obtained from each of the information providing devices 5 to 8 and the like, and the information is updated periodically so that the latest information is always provided. Here, each of the information providing devices 4 to 8 for providing information to the travel guide device 3 does not need to be limited to one, and a plurality of each may be provided.

In the above example, a plurality of URLs are used as information for obtaining detailed information related to the transmission information of the travel guide terminal 2. However, a single URL is used for the travel guide device 3. The allocation, the URL and the identifier of the detailed information for each file may be used as information for obtaining the detailed information.

As described above, in the system according to the present embodiment, first, the user obtains general information from the travel guide terminal 2 using the in-vehicle terminal 1, and then obtains detailed information of the information of interest by using the travel guide. It is obtained from the device 3.
The reason for this is that if the travel guide terminal 2 (information providing terminal) provides detailed information, a large amount of provided information needs to be stored in the travel guide terminal. This leads to an increase in the cost of the travel guide terminal 1 which needs to be installed in large numbers. Further, while the in-vehicle terminal 1 is in an area where short-range wireless communication with the travel guide terminal 2 is possible, the information items desired by the user are required. Must be selected to obtain detailed information, because this may cause traffic congestion. Therefore, only general information is provided from the travel guide terminal 2 to the in-vehicle terminal 1, and more detailed information is obtained via the Internet 10 from the travel guide device 3 which provides the detailed information exclusively.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle-mounted terminal 1. In FIG. 2, 21 is an operation unit, 22 is a display unit, 23 is a voice output unit, 24 is a short-range wireless communication unit as a short-range communication unit, 25 is a telephone line communication unit as a network communication unit, and 26 is a position recognition unit. Unit, 27 is a storage unit, and 28 is a control unit.

The control unit 28 controls the operation of the entire vehicle-mounted terminal 1 and arithmetic processing. When the display unit 22 is in the car navigation display mode, the position recognizing unit 26 outputs the GPS (Glob)
al Posioning Sestem) system, position information is acquired from GPS satellites, and the position information is appropriately processed by the control unit 28 and the map displayed on the display unit 22 (read from the storage unit 27). The map information is appropriately processed and displayed on the displayed map) as the current position of the vehicle and the running direction. The storage unit 27 stores map information, a user ID,
A user URL and the like are stored, and information received by the short-range wireless communication unit 24 and the telephone line communication unit 25 is stored. The operation unit 21 is used for performing various operations including an information obtaining operation, and is a remote control type, a unit including a plurality of keys installed near the display unit 22, or a touch panel type integrated with the display unit 22. An appropriate form such as a thing can be adopted. For the display unit 22, a flat color display device such as a liquid crystal display is used, for example, and the audio output unit 23 (speaker or earphone terminal) is provided at an appropriate location that is easy for a passenger to hear.

The short-range wireless communication unit 24 performs communication conforming to, for example, a wireless LAN using a second-generation low-power data communication system formulated by the Association of Radio Industries and Businesses. Communicates with the distance wireless communication unit. Note that the short-range wireless communication unit 24 may perform infrared communication (in this case, the travel guide terminal 2 also has a configuration including infrared communication means). The telephone line communication unit 25 has a telephone line connection / communication function, and is capable of communicating with various information processing devices on the Internet 10 and communicating with telephone terminals of a public line network. Here, communication with the travel guide device 3 is performed via the Internet 10.

The telephone line communication unit 25, storage means for storing information received by the short-range wireless communication unit 24 and the telephone line communication unit 25, display unit 22 or display means separate from the display unit 22, The operation unit 21 or an operation unit separate from the operation unit 21 may be separated from the main body of the vehicle-mounted terminal 1 so as to be used as a portable device. Alternatively, the mobile device serving as the separate terminal may be a mobile phone, and in this case, both the mobile phone and the in-vehicle terminal can perform short-range wireless communication so that information can be exchanged between the mobile phone and the in-vehicle terminal. Section may be provided. In this case,
It is also possible to exchange information with the travel guide terminal 2 in a short-range wireless communication unit provided in the mobile phone, and since the mobile phone is a mobile phone, it is connected to the travel guide device 3 and
It goes without saying that information can also be exchanged between them. Further, the mobile phone can be used as a remote control type operation unit of an in-vehicle terminal. Such a portable device serving as another terminal includes a short-range wireless communication unit 24 and a telephone line communication unit 25.
By storing the information received by the user, the information can be obtained and the information can be displayed even when the user is away from the vehicle, and the convenience is greatly improved. Furthermore, the mobile terminal can be used as a mobile terminal when traveling by means other than a vehicle, and the mobile terminal is provided with a position recognition unit 26 so that map information can be obtained from the map information providing device via the Internet 10. , It is possible to provide a navigation function for displaying the own position. In addition, the short-range wireless communication unit 2
The storage unit for storing the information received by the communication unit 4 or the telephone line communication unit 25 may be a removable storage medium, and this storage medium may be inserted into another information terminal so that the information can be used.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the travel guide terminal 2. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 31 denotes a display unit;
2 is a storage unit, 33 is a short-range wireless communication unit as a short-range communication unit, 34 is a telephone line communication unit as a network communication unit, 35 is a vehicle detection unit, and 36 is a control unit.

The control unit 36 controls the operation and calculation of the travel guide terminal 2 as a whole. The general information used by the unspecified number of users is stored in the storage unit 32. When the general information updated from the travel guide device 3 is received, the previous stored information is overwritten. The information is updated and stored in such a manner as to store the information. The display unit 32 is configured to display general information stored in the storage unit 31. The display unit 31 has a large-screen CRT so that a vehicle occupant can visually recognize the vehicle while riding on the vehicle. It is desirable to use a display or a large-screen LED matrix display device. The short-range wireless communication unit 33 is similar to the short-range wireless communication unit 24 of the vehicle-mounted terminal 1, communicates with the short-range wireless communication unit 24 of the vehicle-mounted terminal 1, and transmits general information stored in the storage unit 31 to the vehicle-mounted terminal. Send to terminal 1. Telephone line communication unit 3
4 is the same as the telephone line communication unit 25 of the in-vehicle terminal 1, communicates with the travel guide device 3 via the Internet 10, and receives information from the travel guide device 3.

The vehicle detecting section 35 detects whether or not a vehicle is present near the travel guide terminal 2 (detects whether or not the in-vehicle terminal 1 has entered the transmission / reception range of the short-range wireless communication section).
As a detection method, it emits infrared rays or radio waves and returns the emitted infrared rays or radio waves, or calculates the distance based on the values of the returned infrared rays or radio waves, and calculates the distance of the vehicle. Approach detection, or
A method of detecting a vehicle by image processing using a camera may be used. In the present embodiment, the vehicle detection unit 35
According to the detection result of above, the short-range wireless communication unit 33 is made to transmit only when the vehicle exists near the travel guide terminal 2,
In addition, the display unit 31 is caused to perform display.
The transmission by the short-range wireless communication unit 33 and the display unit 3
The display of 1 may be always performed.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the travel guide device 3. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 41 denotes an operation unit,
2 is a display unit, 43 is a storage unit, 44 is a telephone line communication unit, 4
5 is a control unit.

The control unit 45 controls the operation and calculation of the entire travel guide device 3. The operation unit 41 includes a keyboard device, a mouse, a touch panel, and the like, and takes in data from outside, manually inputs data, edits information to be provided to the travel guide terminal 2, and inputs a response instruction to a user request. Used for operations and the like. The display unit 42 is configured by a color CRT display, a liquid crystal display, or the like, and displays information to be provided to the travel guide terminal 2, detailed information related to this information, information received from the information providing devices 4 to 8 described above, and the like. It is supposed to be. Storage unit 4
3 includes the general information transmitted to the travel guide terminal 2 and detailed information related to each item of the general information (this is mainly provided from each of the information providing devices 4 to 8).
Are stored in association with each other, and the information for obtaining detailed information for each item of general information is also stored in association with each other.

The telephone line communication unit 44 is connected to the Internet 1
0, it communicates with the in-vehicle terminal 1, the travel guide terminal 2, and each of the information providing devices 4 to 8 to transmit and receive information. Then, when the telephone line communication unit 44 receives a distribution request for detailed information on a certain item of general information provided from the travel information terminal 2 from the in-vehicle terminal 1, the control unit 45 obtains the detailed information. For the above information and the URL of the in-vehicle terminal 1, read the corresponding detailed information from the storage unit 43, appropriately process this as needed, and, from the telephone line communication unit 44 through the Internet 10, The detailed information is transmitted to the in-vehicle terminal 1 which has requested the distribution.

The control unit 45 organizes the information requested by the user, for example, data such as the number of times of access to a certain accommodation facility or the presence or absence of an accommodation reservation by the user, and the usage status of the travel guide terminal 2 (the travel guide device 2). It also has a function of processing data such as time information of short-range wireless communication) and data such as the number of vehicles passing in the vicinity of the travel guide terminal 2 and the moving direction. The processed data is also stored in the storage unit 43. It is. With the data processed in this way, it is possible to grasp the user's movement status and the like, and it is also possible to give instructions to the accommodation facility for preparations, instructions for alleviating congestion in sightseeing spots, and the like. In other words, based on such data, the situation of a sightseeing spot or the like can be fed back to the travel guide terminal 2, and the user (traveler) can effectively utilize such information.

Next, the operation of the system (travel guide system) of the present embodiment will be described. The information obtaining step of the in-vehicle terminal 1 takes two steps as described above. First, in the first step, general information is obtained from the travel guide terminal 2. In the second stage, detailed information desired by the user is obtained from the travel guide device 3 from the general information obtained in the first stage. The detailed information and the general information are associated with each other as described above.

In the first stage, when the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle terminal 1 is located near the travel guide terminal 2 (enters the communicable range of the short-range wireless communication unit), the in-vehicle terminal 1
Obtains information transmitted from the travel information terminal 2. In this information acquisition, the travel guide terminal 2 monitors whether the vehicle is within a distance from which information can be obtained, and when the vehicle enters an area where information can be obtained, the travel guide terminal 2 transmits information. To be. That is, the information is transmitted when the in-vehicle terminal 1 mounted on the vehicle comes within a distance from which information in the case of using the second-generation low-power data communication system can be obtained.

Alternatively, the travel guide terminal 2 may indicate that it is the travel guide terminal 2 (for example, by displaying information to be transmitted on the display unit 31 of the travel guide terminal 2 or the like, It is made to visually recognize that it is the guide terminal 2, or it is displayed on the display unit 22 of the in-vehicle terminal 1 that the travel guide terminal 2 is nearby by a transmission signal from the travel guide terminal 2, or The voice output unit 23 of the terminal 1 is caused to output a voice indicating that the travel guide terminal 2 is nearby), and the user is made to recognize that the travel guide terminal 2 is present near the vehicle. The information may be obtained from the travel guide terminal 2 by appropriately operating the operation unit 21 of the in-vehicle terminal 1 based on the user. In this case, the in-vehicle terminal 1 sends an information request signal to the travel guide terminal 2 so that the travel guide terminal 2 transmits information in response to the request signal, or the travel guide terminal 2 always transmits information. Then, the transmission information is obtained by operating the vehicle-mounted terminal 1.

The transmission and reception of this information is, as described above,
Short-range wireless communication unit 24 of in-vehicle terminal 1 and travel guide terminal 2
The general information transmitted by the short-range wireless communication unit 33 and transmitted from the travel guide terminal 2 is received and acquired by the vehicle-mounted terminal 1. When general information is obtained by a user operation, for example, an operation such as pressing an information obtaining button of the operation unit 21 of the in-vehicle terminal 1 is performed. The general information obtained by the in-vehicle terminal 1 is displayed on the display unit 22. If a part of the obtained general information is audio information, this is the audio output unit 2
3 is output as voice. The obtained general information is stored in the storage unit 27, and is read out and made available later. Thus, the in-vehicle terminal 1 first obtains general information.

In the second stage, the user selects an item desired to obtain detailed information from the general information obtained as described above by operating the operation unit 21 of the vehicle-mounted terminal 1.
decide. Thereby, the control unit 28 of the in-vehicle terminal 1 uses the information added to obtain the above-described detailed information corresponding to the selected / specified item in the general information (obtain the detailed information). Information for accessing the travel guide device 3 and information for requesting detailed information related to the item selected from the general information).
Is connected to the travel guide device 3 through the network. When a network connection is established from the in-vehicle terminal 1, the travel guide device 3
Receives the information transmitted from the in-vehicle terminal 1 by the telephone line communication unit 44, the control unit 45 of the travel guide device 3 recognizes this information, and stores the detailed information requested from this information from the storage unit 43. Read it out and call it
4 to the in-vehicle terminal 1 via the Internet 10. Depending on the requested content, it may not be possible to automatically read the data from the storage unit 43. In such a case, the requested content is displayed on the display unit 42, and the operation unit 41 operates according to the content. To organize and send information.
Thus, the in-vehicle terminal 1 obtains detailed information related to the selected / designated item.

FIG. 5 shows the general information received and acquired by the on-board terminal 1 from the travel guide terminal 2 on the display unit 22 of the on-board terminal 1.
Shows a screen example displayed here, where the position of a tourist attraction, an accommodation facility, and an outline of a souvenir shop are shown. The user interactively interacts with the display screen to select an item with the pointer 51 using the up / down / left / right selection keys of the operation unit 21 or the like. Then, by pressing the enter key in this state, a request to obtain detailed information related to the selected item is automatically transmitted from the in-vehicle terminal 1 to the travel guidance device 3.

FIG. 6 shows the detailed information acquired and received by the on-board terminal 1 from the travel guide device 3 on the display unit 22 of the on-board terminal 1.
5 shows an example of the screen, in which "Hotel C" is selected and designated as an item on the display screen of FIG. 5, and the detailed information on the acquired "Hotel C" is displayed. . In the display screen of FIG. 6,
The detailed information on “Hotel C” includes the address, telephone number, availability, accommodation fee, parking lot information, and “Hotel C”
And the guide map up to are displayed. On the display screen of FIG. 6, it is also possible to make an accommodation reservation for “Hotel C”. By selecting an accommodation reservation item with the pointer 51 and operating the enter key, “Hotel C” is selected.
Is configured to be able to make a reservation for “hotel C” or “hotel C” directly via the travel guidance device 3.

As described above, the user who has boarded the vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle terminal 1 can use the display of the general information as shown in FIG. You can get the latest and detailed information you want to use with simple and easy operation while staying in the car. Therefore, even when traveling by car without prior knowledge of a sightseeing spot (destination) and without a sightseeing guide, etc., it is possible to easily obtain necessary information at the travel destination, and user convenience is greatly improved.

Here, it is assumed that a business operator providing information to the vehicle-mounted terminal 1 using the above-described travel guide terminal 2 and travel guide device 3 provides the information for profit. At this time, a company that provides information using the travel guide terminal 2 and the travel guide device 3 has commissioned information distribution as a price for the information provision service. A bill is charged from a trader, a souvenir shop having the souvenir information providing device 6, a restaurant having the eating and drinking information providing device 7, and the like. The billing method is that the travel guide device 3 notifies the accommodation information providing device 5, the souvenir information providing device 6, the food and beverage information providing device 7 and the like of the billing amount, and thereby, the business providing information is It is conceivable that a company entrusted with information distribution pays by Internet settlement. The charging fee may be calculated by an arbitrary method such as a fixed amount charging, a charging according to the access frequency, a basic charging and a charging according to the access frequency.

The information providing system of the present embodiment described above is a travel guidance system in which the information providing terminal is the travel guide terminal 2 and the information providing device is the travel guide device 3. Information providing terminal including an information providing terminal for providing general summary information and an information providing device for providing detailed information include a guide system for a large shopping mall, a guide system for an amusement park, in addition to a travel guide system. For example, various modifications are possible.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The information providing system of the present embodiment is an example applied to a taxi information providing system.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 71 denotes an on-board terminal installed in a taxi, 72 denotes a dispatch terminal installed at a taxi stand (a taxi stand in front of a station or a hotel), and 73 denotes a dispatch control room of a taxi company. A vehicle dispatching device, 74 is a traffic information providing device that provides traffic information to the vehicle dispatching device 73, 75 is a contact terminal with which the vehicle distributing device 73 can communicate, and 9 is a mobile phone function of the vehicle-mounted terminal 1. A possible mobile telephone base station 10 is a communication network (here, a telephone network is connected) to which a vehicle allocation terminal 72, a vehicle allocation device 73, a traffic information providing device 74, a contact terminal 75, and a mobile telephone base station 9 are connected. Internet built to include).

An outline of the present system will be described. In-vehicle terminal 7
1 has a position recognition unit for acquiring position information of the own vehicle, and an actual / empty vehicle detection unit for detecting information on the actual vehicle / empty vehicle (information on the presence or absence of a passenger), and includes identification information of the own vehicle and positional information of the own vehicle. And the passenger presence / absence information are transmitted to the vehicle allocation device 73. Communication between the in-vehicle terminal 71 and the vehicle allocation device 73 is performed by net communication via the Internet 10 or taxi radio.

The vehicle dispatching terminal 72 has a vehicle dispatching device 7 on its display.
3 can be displayed, and when there is no waiting vehicle (vacant vehicle) at the taxi stand where the dispatching terminal 72 is installed, information on the estimated waiting time is displayed on the display unit. It has become. In addition, the dispatch terminal 7
2 has a waiting passenger detection unit for recognizing the situation of waiting passengers at the taxi stand, and a waiting vehicle detection unit for recognizing the situation of waiting vehicles at the taxi stand. Send to Also,
On the display unit of the dispatching terminal 72, it is possible to display a reservation screen on which the waiting passenger can interactively input the destination and the number of passengers. This reservation information is transmitted to the dispatching device 73, At 73, the nearest empty vehicle is instructed to go directly to the taxi stand.

The vehicle allocation device 73 acquires the position of each vehicle, the actual vehicle / vacant vehicle status, and the status of each taxi stand where the vehicle allocation terminal is installed, collectively displays them on the display unit, and controls the vehicle allocation (vehicle allocation). Control) is performed efficiently.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle-mounted terminal 71. In FIG. 8, components equivalent to those in the vehicle-mounted terminal 1 of FIG. Is omitted to avoid duplication.

In FIG. 8, reference numeral 81 denotes a taxi radio communication unit having an encode / decode function and capable of transmitting and receiving digital data. Reference numeral 82 denotes an actual / empty vehicle detection unit for detecting information on actual / empty vehicles (passenger presence / absence information). In addition, the actual / empty vehicle detection unit 82 recognizes the presence or absence of a passenger by detecting the operation / stop state of the taxi meter.

When the vehicle is at the taxi stand, the on-board terminal 71 communicates with the dispatch terminal 72 by the short-range wireless communication unit 24 or the taxi wireless communication unit 81 as necessary. The vehicle-mounted terminal 71 communicates with the vehicle allocation device 73 through the Internet 10 by the taxi wireless communication unit 81 or the telephone line communication unit 25, and the vehicle-mounted terminal 71 provides the vehicle allocation device 73 with its own identification information and the position of the vehicle. Information and information on the presence or absence of a passenger are transmitted, and the vehicle allocation device 73 transmits to the in-vehicle terminal 71 an instruction of a vehicle allocation destination where a waiting passenger is present, guidance information of a vehicle allocation destination, road congestion information, and the like.

Further, when there is a passenger, the in-vehicle terminal 71 communicates with the contact terminal 75 of the destination designated by the passenger via the Internet 10 by the telephone line communication unit 25 as necessary, and is scheduled to arrive. Send information such as time. As described above, when the passenger wants to contact the destination, the vehicle-mounted terminal 71 can contact the contact terminal 75. If the vehicle-mounted terminal 71 can communicate with the destination and the estimated arrival time (traffic information) This is provided from the vehicle allocation device 73) and information such as the number of people can be notified.
Ready to accept passengers. In particular, when the contact information is an accommodation facility or a restaurant, this information can be effectively used. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the dispatching terminal 72. In FIG. The same components as those in the terminal 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted to avoid duplication.

In FIG. 9, reference numeral 91 denotes an operation unit for waiting passengers at a taxi stand to operate, and 92 denotes a control unit.
A taxi wireless communication unit 93 having an encode / decode function and capable of transmitting and receiving digital data; 93, a waiting passenger detection unit for detecting the status of waiting passengers at the taxi stand;
Reference numeral 4 denotes a waiting vehicle detection unit that detects a situation of a waiting vehicle (an empty vehicle waiting for a passenger) at a taxi stand.

The waiting passenger detection unit 93 grasps the presence or absence of waiting passengers and the approximate number of waiting passengers by performing image processing of human body detection means using infrared rays or images taken by a camera. The waiting vehicle detection unit 93 grasps the presence or absence of a waiting vehicle and the approximate number of waiting vehicles by performing image processing on an image captured by a camera. The detected status of the waiting passenger and the status of the waiting vehicle are transmitted to the dispatching device 73 by the telephone line communication unit 34 through the Internet 10 or by the taxi wireless communication unit 92. Note that the detection unit 93,
When a camera is used for the vehicle 94, the image itself captured by the camera can be transmitted to the dispatching device 73 as the status of the waiting passenger or the status of the waiting vehicle. , The situation of the taxi stand can be grasped accurately.

The on-board terminal 71 is located at the taxi stand.
If there is a vehicle equipped with, the crew of this vehicle,
The status of a waiting passenger or the status of a waiting vehicle may be transmitted from the on-board terminal 71 to the dispatch terminal 72.

The storage unit 32 of the dispatching terminal 91 stores map information, taxi fare information, and information transmitted from the dispatching device 73, and the information transmitted from the dispatching device 73 is always updated with the latest information. It is to be remembered.

Various screens can be displayed on the display section 31 of the dispatching terminal 72. One of the display modes is as follows.
There is an estimated waiting time display screen that is displayed when there is no waiting vehicle at the taxi stand where the dispatching terminal 72 is installed. The screen of the predicted waiting time display is automatically switched and displayed when there is no vehicle at the taxi stand and only waiting passengers are present, and the position of the vehicle heading to the taxi stand, the predicted waiting time, and the surrounding roads are displayed. The situation (these data are distributed from the vehicle allocation device 73) is displayed. With such a display of the estimated waiting time, the waiting passenger at the taxi stand can know how long to wait, so that the annoyance is not increased.

The display mode of the display unit 31 of the dispatching terminal 72 has a reservation screen on which a waiting passenger can interactively input a destination and the number of passengers. This reservation screen is called up by the waiting passenger operating the operation unit 91 as appropriate, and the reservation information input by the waiting passenger is transmitted to the dispatcher via the Internet 10 by the telephone line communication unit 34 or by the taxi wireless communication unit 92. 73. The dispatcher 73 receiving the reservation information sends a reply as to whether or not it is possible to dispatch to the taxi stand within a predetermined time, and information on the estimated waiting time. The information is transmitted to the dispatching terminal 72 by the unit, and the display unit 31 of the dispatching terminal 72 displays the response information from the dispatching device 73. The reservation by the dispatching terminal 72 allows the waiting passenger to call a taxi to the taxi stand without knowing the contact information of the taxi company, and also knows the estimated waiting time. The user's convenience is greatly improved.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the vehicle dispatching device 73. In FIG. 10, components equivalent to those in the travel guide device 3 of FIG. The explanation is omitted to avoid duplication.

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 101 denotes an encoding /
This is a taxi wireless communication unit having a decoding function and capable of transmitting and receiving digital data.

The storage unit 43 of the vehicle allocation device 73 stores map information including a three-dimensional image of a main building or a main road, information periodically transmitted from each vehicle-mounted terminal 71 (identification information of each vehicle-mounted terminal, Location information of each in-vehicle terminal, presence / absence information of passengers)
And information periodically transmitted from each dispatching terminal 72 (status of waiting passengers at each taxi stand, status of waiting vehicles), traffic information obtained at appropriate timing from the traffic information providing device 74, and the like are stored. The information from each in-vehicle terminal 71, the information from each dispatching terminal 72, and the information from the traffic information providing device 74 are always updated with the latest information and stored.

The display section 42 of the vehicle allocation device 73 displays the position and identification symbol of each running vehicle and the actual / empty vehicle status.
It is also displayed on the map, and the actual vehicle / vacant vehicle status is shown in different colors. The display unit 42 of the dispatching device 73 displays the location of each dispatching terminal 72 (taxi stand) together with the traveling vehicle information, and displays the location of each dispatching terminal 7.
The status of the taxi stand where 2 is installed is displayed, for example, in the form of a list. Then, the operator (distribution control personnel) of the dispatching device 73 refers to the display content displayed on the display unit 42 and controls the most efficient dispatching (distribution control).
To a vacant vehicle running or a waiting vehicle waiting at a taxi stand, via the Internet 10 by the taxi wireless communication unit 101 or the telephone line communication unit 34.
A dispatch command (destination command) is transmitted. In addition, the vehicle allocation device 7
The control unit 45 also performs a process of automatically calculating vehicles that can be dispatched to the taxi rank where each dispatching terminal 72 is installed, based on information from the traveling vehicles.

Next, the operation of the system (taxi information providing system) of the present embodiment will be described.

First, a case will be described in which there is no waiting vehicle at the taxi stand where the dispatching terminal 72 is installed, and only waiting passengers waiting for the vehicle (taxi). Dispatch terminal 7
When it is recognized that there is only a waiting passenger at the taxi stand based on the transmission information from 2, the display unit 42 of the dispatching device 73
Is displayed along with the identification symbols of vehicles that can be allocated at this time at this taxi stand. The operator (distribution control person) of the vehicle allocation device 73 selects a vehicle to be allocated to the taxi stand from the display contents of the display unit 42, and instructs the in-vehicle terminal 71 of the selected vehicle to go directly to the taxi stand. And the traffic information (congestion information, road construction information, etc.) from the current position of the vehicle to which the command was given to the taxi stand is also transmitted. In-vehicle terminal 7 of the vehicle receiving this
1 displays the received information on the display unit 22 and outputs the dispatch command from the dispatch device 73 by the sound output unit 23 as necessary. Then, the crew (driver) of the vehicle that has received the dispatch instruction transmits from the vehicle-mounted terminal 71 to the dispatch apparatus 73 that the dispatch instruction has been accepted.

Further, the dispatching device 73 calculates the time required for the vehicle to which the dispatch instruction is given to arrive at the taxi stand from the current position of the vehicle to which the dispatch instruction is given, the distance to the taxi stand, and the road conditions. This is set as the estimated waiting time and transmitted to the dispatch terminal 72 of the taxi stand, and in addition, the current position information and the identification information of the vehicle heading for the taxi stand in response to the dispatch instruction are transmitted.
In response to this, the dispatching terminal 72 displays the current position of the vehicle heading to the taxi stand on the map on the display unit 31, and also displays the estimated waiting time and the surrounding road conditions. FIG. 11 shows the vehicle allocation terminal 72 in this manner.
Is a screen example of the predicted waiting time display displayed on the display unit 31 of FIG. 3. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the car A and the car B are heading for the taxi stand, and the predicted waiting times are xx respectively.
And yy minutes.

Next, a case where there are no waiting passengers but only waiting vehicles at the taxi stand where the dispatching terminal 72 is installed will be described. Also in this case, the dispatching device 73 is connected to the dispatching terminal 7.
From the transmission information from 2, it is recognized that there is only a waiting vehicle at the taxi stand. The vehicle allocation device 73 recognizes the vehicle number (identification symbol) of the vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted terminal 71 at the taxi stand where there are no waiting passengers by transmitting information from the vehicle-mounted terminal 71 or the vehicle allocation terminal 72. Number of waiting vehicles at the taxi rank,
Considers past usage record, current time, weather information, status of other taxi ranks, arrival time to other taxi ranks, road conditions, working time information of crew members of each vehicle, etc. according to the time zone at the taxi stand Then, it is determined whether or not the vehicle at the taxi stand having only the waiting vehicle should be dispatched to another location. When it is determined that there is a vehicle to be dispatched at another location, the operator (distribution control person) of the dispatching device 73 gives information on the dispatch destination (destination) and the dispatch instruction to the in-vehicle terminal 71 of the selected vehicle. The traffic information (congestion information, road construction information, etc.) from the current position of the vehicle to the dispatch destination is transmitted.

Next, a case where a waiting passenger and a waiting vehicle are present at the taxi stand where the dispatching terminal 72 is installed will be described. In this case as well, the dispatching device 73 recognizes from the transmission information from the dispatching terminal 72 that there are both waiting passengers and waiting vehicles at the taxi stand. In this case, the vehicle dispatching device 7
The third operator (distribution control person) recognizes the change in the number of waiting passengers and the change in the number of waiting vehicles at the taxi stand on the display screen of the display unit 42 in real time. Then, it is determined that the number of waiting passengers is overwhelmingly larger than the number of waiting vehicles at the taxi stand, and there is a vehicle that can be allocated to the taxi stand is a traveling vehicle or a vehicle at another taxi stand. In addition, the operator (distribution control personnel) of the vehicle allocation device 73 instructs the in-vehicle terminal 71 of the vehicle selected as a vehicle to be allocated to the taxi stand, and the taxi from the current position of the vehicle that has issued the vehicle allocation instruction. Transmit traffic information to the platform (congestion information, road construction information, etc.).

FIG. 12 shows an example of a display screen of the display section 42 of the vehicle allocation device 73. A map is displayed on the display unit 42 so as to be scrollable and can be enlarged / reduced. On the currently displayed map, the position and identification symbol of each running vehicle, the actual vehicle / vacant vehicle status, and each vehicle allocation terminal 72 ( The position of the taxi stand is displayed, and the vehicle (vehicle-mounted terminal 71) and the taxi stand (vehicle allocation terminal 72) are displayed with different display symbols and colors, and the actual vehicle / vacant vehicle status is also displayed with different colors. Has become. In addition, the status of the taxi stand where each dispatching terminal 72 is installed is displayed on the display unit 42, that is,
The number of waiting vehicles and their identification symbols, the status of waiting passengers (here, the presence or absence of waiting passengers, but it is also possible to use the number of waiting passengers), and the identification symbols of vehicles that can be allocated to the taxi stand , Displayed in the form of a list.

Thus, the operator (distribution control staff) of the dispatching device 73 can check the display contents displayed on the display section 42, the past use results according to the time zone at each taxi stand, and the current Considering information such as time, weather information, road conditions, arrival time from one taxi stand to another taxi stand, and working time information for crew members of each vehicle, the most efficient dispatch control (distribution control) is considered. It can be carried out.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention, information unique to a destination and detailed and up-to-date information that a passenger of a vehicle wants to use can be operated easily and easily while staying in a vehicle. The user's convenience is greatly improved. In addition, it is possible to provide useful display services to taxi users and to perform efficient vehicle allocation control to improve service to the users. In general, in a system including an in-vehicle terminal, it is possible to present the latest information that is effective for the user of the system, thereby realizing a service that is kind to the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an in-vehicle terminal in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a travel guide terminal in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the travel guidance device in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a display unit of the vehicle-mounted terminal in the information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing another example of the display screen of the display unit of the in-vehicle terminal in the information providing system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an information providing system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle-mounted terminal in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle allocation terminal in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicle allocation device in FIG. 7;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a display screen of a display unit of a dispatching terminal in the information providing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a display screen of a display unit of a vehicle allocation device in the information providing system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 In-vehicle terminal 2 Travel guidance terminal (information provision terminal) 3 Travel guidance device (information provision device) 4 Sightseeing guidance information provision device 5 Accommodation information provision device 6 Souvenir information provision device 7 Food and drink information provision device 8 Parking information provision device 9 Move Body phone base station 10 Communication network (Internet) 21 Operation unit 22 Display unit 23 Audio output unit 24 Short-range wireless communication unit 25 Telephone line communication unit 26 Position recognition unit 27 Storage unit 28 Control unit 31 Display unit 32 Storage unit 33 Short distance Wireless communication unit 34 Telephone line communication unit 35 Vehicle detection unit 36 Control unit 41 Operation unit 42 Display unit 43 Storage unit 44 Telephone line communication unit 45 Control unit 71 In-vehicle terminal 72 Dispatch terminal 73 Dispatch device 74 Traffic information providing device 75 Contact terminal 81 Taxi wireless communication unit 82 Actual vehicle / vacant vehicle detection unit 91 Operation unit 92 Taxi wireless communication unit 93 Waiting passenger detection unit 94 Waiting vehicle detection unit 101 Taxi wireless communication unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat II (Reference) H04Q 7/20 H04Q 7/04 Z 7/38 H04B 7/26 109M (72) Inventor Makoto Katashigishi Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 292 Yoshidacho Hitachi Media Digital Media Development Division F-term (reference) 2C032 HB05 HB25 HC08 HC13 HC27 HC31 HD03 HD17 HD18 2F029 AA02 AB07 AB13 AC02 AC13 AC14 AC18 5H180 AA01 AA14 BB02 BB04 BB05 EE10 FF23FF25FF25FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF 5K067 AA21 BB02 BB21 DD51 EE02 EE13 EE16 FF02 FF03 JJ53

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. An information providing terminal having a short-range communication means installed at a place where a vehicle passes or a stopover, and an information providing device connected to a communication network such as the Internet. An on-board terminal comprising: a short-range communication unit; a network communication unit connectable to the communication network; a display unit capable of displaying information; and an input operation unit. The terminal can receive information provided from an information providing terminal located in the vicinity using short-range communication means, and by selecting and specifying a desired item in this information,
The information providing system, wherein the in-vehicle terminal is connected to the information providing device via the network by the network communication means, and is capable of acquiring detailed information on the selected and designated desired item from the information providing device. 2. The information according to claim 1, wherein the data of each item of the information provided from the information providing terminal includes information for obtaining detailed information on each item from the information providing device. An information providing system characterized in that: 3. The information providing terminal according to claim 1, wherein the information providing terminal and the information providing device are connected via a communication network, and the information provided by the information providing terminal is information supplied from the information providing device. An information providing system characterized by being updated by: 4. A short-range communication means for communicating with an information providing terminal installed at a passing place or a stopover of a vehicle; a display means capable of displaying information obtained from the information providing terminal; An input operation unit capable of performing an operation interactively with a display screen; a network communication unit capable of communicating with an information providing apparatus on a communication network such as the Internet; and An in-vehicle terminal, comprising: a means for connecting to an information providing apparatus storing detailed information on the selected and designated desired item in accordance with the selection and designation of the desired item by using the network communication means. 5. The storage unit according to claim 4, wherein the storage unit is capable of storing information obtained from the information providing terminal and / or detailed information obtained from the information providing device, the network communication unit, a display unit, and an input unit. An in-vehicle terminal, wherein an integrated device with an operation unit is configured to be portable separately from a vehicle. 6. An information providing terminal installed at a passing place or a stopover of a vehicle, comprising: vehicle detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a vehicle in a predetermined area; and an in-vehicle terminal mounted on a vehicle in the predetermined area. A short-range communication unit for performing communication; and a unit for providing information to the on-board terminal by the short-range communication unit. The data of each item of information to be provided to the on-board terminal includes details regarding each item. An information providing terminal characterized by including information for obtaining information via the Internet. 7. An information providing terminal installed at a place where a vehicle passes or a stopover provides information to an in-vehicle terminal located near the information providing terminal. An information distribution system having an information providing device that receives a request for providing detailed information on a desired item in the information via a communication network, and distributes the detailed information to the in-vehicle terminal via the communication network. As a price for an information service provided by the information distribution device to the in-vehicle terminal, a fee is charged to a subcontracting company in order to charge a company subcontracting information distribution to the information distribution device. An information providing system comprising means for notifying the user. 8. An information providing system comprising: a vehicle-mounted terminal installed in a taxi; a vehicle allocation terminal installed in a taxi stand; and a vehicle allocation device capable of communicating with the vehicle-mounted terminal and the vehicle allocation terminal. The in-vehicle terminal has position recognition means for acquiring the position information of the own vehicle, and transmits the identification information of the own vehicle, the position information of the own vehicle, and the presence / absence information of the passenger (real vehicle / vacant vehicle information) to the vehicle allocation device. An information providing system, wherein the dispatching terminal includes a display unit capable of displaying information transmitted from the dispatching device. 9. The display device of the dispatching terminal according to claim 8, wherein the display device of the dispatching terminal can display information of the estimated waiting time when there is no waiting vehicle at the taxi stand where the dispatching terminal is installed. An information providing system characterized by: 10. The information providing system according to claim 8, wherein the dispatching terminal has means for detecting a situation of a waiting passenger at a taxi stand, and transmits the situation of the waiting passenger to the dispatching device. . 11. The information providing system according to claim 8, wherein the dispatching terminal has means for detecting a situation of a waiting vehicle at a taxi stand, and transmits the situation of the waiting vehicle to the dispatching device. . 12. The information providing system according to claim 8, wherein the display means of the dispatching terminal is capable of displaying a reservation screen on which a waiting passenger can interactively input. 13. The vehicle dispatching device according to claim 8, wherein the dispatching device acquires a position of each vehicle, an actual vehicle / vacant vehicle status, and a status of each taxi stand where the dispatching terminal is installed, and displays these on a display unit. An information providing system characterized in that it can be displayed. 14. The vehicle distributing apparatus, the vehicle distributing terminal, and the vehicle distributing terminal according to claim 8, wherein the vehicle distributing terminal, the vehicle distributing terminal, and the vehicle distributing terminal can communicate with each other by a short-distance communication unit, a communication network such as the Internet, or a taxi radio. An information providing system characterized in that the terminal can communicate with a communication network such as the Internet or a taxi radio. 15. An in-vehicle terminal installed in a taxi, comprising: a position recognition means for acquiring position information of the own vehicle; an actual / empty vehicle detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a passenger; An in-vehicle terminal, comprising: communication means for transmitting and receiving information, and transmitting, to the vehicle allocation device, identification information of the vehicle, position information of the vehicle, and information on the presence or absence of a passenger (actual vehicle / vacant vehicle information). 16. The on-vehicle terminal according to claim 15, wherein said actual / empty vehicle detecting means detects a state of a taxi meter. 17. A distributing terminal installed at a taxi stand, a communication means for exchanging information with a distributing device that grasps the status of each vehicle, and information transmitted from the distributing device. And a means for detecting the status of waiting passengers at the taxi stand. 18. The dispatch terminal according to claim 17, further comprising means for detecting a situation of a waiting vehicle at a taxi stand. 19. The dispatch terminal according to claim 17, wherein the display means is capable of displaying a reservation screen on which a waiting passenger can interactively input. 20. A vehicle allocation device for controlling the allocation of taxis, comprising: vehicle status recognition means for ascertaining the status of each vehicle based on communication information from each vehicle equipped with an in-vehicle terminal; Taxi stand status recognition means for ascertaining the status of each taxi stand based on the communication status from the dispatching terminal, road information recognition means for recognizing road information based on communication information from a traffic management center, and the like. And a display processing means for displaying on the display means.