Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Automatic route guidance vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-27
2001-09-04
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Automatic route guidance vehicle
C701S001000, C701S096000, C701S301000, C318S587000, C180S168000, C340S903000, C342S455000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06285929
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processional travel control apparatus, which enables processional travel with a leading vehicle being driven by a driver and a plurality of vehicles automatically following the leading vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years when environmental problems have been highlighted, a technique for sharing electric vehicles within a certain area has been proposed to reduce problems of air pollution and traffic congestion. This type of technique for using shared vehicles requires a port (parking lot) for lending and returning the shared vehicles, and it is necessary to arrange a certain number of vehicles in each of these ports in respect to their utilization by users.
Generally, it is expected that ports for parking shared vehicles for this purpose will be provided in places where users converge, for example, in the vicinity of a station and the like. There is no problem if the usage time and usage frequency by the users are consistent in each port, however, if there is any variance, then there is a situation in which shared vehicles accumulate in a certain port. To solve this problem, a technique is proposed for arranging shared vehicles available for rent in appropriate ports as evenly as possible, whereby the vehicles are moved between ports by having a vehicle driven by a driver at the head of a procession and a plurality of driver-less vehicles following. (refer to Japanese Patent Application, First Publication No. Hei. 5-170008).
When travelling in a procession where succeeding vehicles follow a leading vehicle at the head, a system is used in which the succeeding vehicles follow the path of the leading vehicle. The leading vehicle sends vehicle speed, steering angle, vehicle position coordinates, direction, amount of torque required, brake pressure and the like, obtained from vehicle to vehicle communication, to the succeeding vehicles, and the succeeding vehicles follow the leading vehicle using the revised settings of the original vehicle's position and direction information obtained by radar.
Since the above-mentioned processional travel is used for moving shared vehicles between ports, it is necessary to receive information about the total number of vehicles and their sequence numbers in the procession, as communicated information from a control apparatus controlling the number of shared vehicles in a port, before travelling so as to form a procession. Accordingly, there is a problem in that it is impossible to form a procession outside a port (for example, on the travelling route between ports) where communicated information cannot be obtained from the control apparatus, or to cancel a procession, change the total number of vehicles and change the sequence numbers in the procession prior to travelling in a procession. Therefore, for example, in the case of collecting vehicles left in places other than at a port, travel in a procession cannot be performed.
Furthermore, there is a problem in that if a situation occurs where a vehicle in the procession needs to leave the procession while travelling in a procession, the number of vehicles in the procession cannot be changed after it has been formed, and the procession sequence cannot be modified while travelling in a procession.
Moreover, there is a problem in that, if procession cancellation, procession formation, change of the total number of vehicles and modification of the procession sequence numbers cannot be performed, it is impossible to rearrange the procession in an emergency stop in order to avoid danger or cope with a situation where the leading vehicle cannot move forward.
For example, if a location that the leading vehicle enters is under construction or has any obstacles, the vehicle cannot move forward further after it has entered, and inevitably has to move backward, a case with which the technique cannot cope. In this case where forward movement is impossible, since the procession is formed by a plurality of vehicles, it causes traffic congestion.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a processional travel control apparatus which enables safe travel in a procession and procession formation even outside of ports or the like.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a processional travel control apparatus that allows processional travel with a leading vehicle driven by a driver and a plurality of succeeding vehicles automatically following the leading vehicle, each of the vehicles (for example, the vehicle
1
-
1
of the embodiment in
FIG. 1
) is provided with: an input device for entering the total number of vehicles in a procession and the sequence number of each vehicle in the procession (for example, the input device
1
-
2
of the embodiment in FIG.
1
); a vehicle setting device for setting each vehicle as either a leading vehicle or a succeeding vehicle according to the sequence number of each vehicle in the procession as set by the input device (for example, the vehicle setting device
1
-
3
of the embodiment in FIG.
1
); and a vehicle travel control device for instructing each vehicle to travel in a procession according to the set sequence number in the procession (for example, the vehicle travel control device
1
-
4
of the embodiment in FIG.
1
).
By such a construction, it is possible to organize a formation of processions without defining a particular location.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the processional travel control apparatus that allows processional travel with a leading vehicle driven by a driver and a plurality of succeeding vehicles automatically following the leading vehicle according to the first aspect, comprises a reverse travel device for driving the procession backward by setting the last vehicle of the procession as a head vehicle, by using the input device, and having a driver drive the last vehicle with the other vehicles following the last vehicle (for example, the vehicle travel control device
1
-
4
and the operation device
1
-
5
of the embodiment in FIG.
1
).
Such a construction makes it possible, for example, in a situation where the leading vehicle enters a road under construction by mistake or enters a road with obstacles, to get out via the passage entered, by driving the procession backward with the last vehicle at the head.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the aforementioned reverse travel finishes, the input device of the processional travel control apparatus resets the authority of the head vehicle back to the head vehicle from the last vehicle so that normal travel in a procession is resumed.
Such a construction makes it possible to revert promptly to forward travel in a procession with the original leading vehicle at the head.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the processional travel control apparatus comprises a procession stop device for stopping travel in a procession when an abnormality occurs, by sending an abnormality signal to each succeeding vehicle from the last manned vehicle (for example, the vehicle travel control device
1
-
4
, the abnormality detecting switch
1
-
7
and the communication device
1
-
8
).
By forming such a construction, in a situation where the leading vehicle and, for example, one of the succeeding vehicles has an occupant, when the occupant in the succeeding vehicle recognizes a problem and issues an emergency instruction, the processional travel control apparatus enables the automatically driven succeeding vehicles to stop safely.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5257022 (1993-10-01), Irie
patent: 5304980 (1994-04-01), Maekawa
patent: 5648905 (1997-07-01), Izumi et al.
patent: 5710565 (1998-01-01), Shirai et al.
patent: 6138064 (2000-10-01), Matsumoto et al.
Arthur Gertrude
Blackman Williwm D.
Carrier Joseph P.
Carrier Blackman & Associates
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
LandOfFree
Processional travel control apparatus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Processional travel control apparatus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Processional travel control apparatus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2435468