Patent ID: 11966861
Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Field: IT methods for management (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 0:
1. An operation planning system that creates an operation plan for each of a plurality of vehicles that autonomously travel, wherein the plurality of vehicles include a rechargeable vehicle with a rechargeable battery as a travel energy source and a fuel vehicle which includes other than the rechargeable battery as the travel energy source, the operation planning system comprising:
a vehicle management device configured to manage operations of the plurality of vehicles;
an operation planning device comprising:
a communication unit configured to communicate with the vehicle management device;
a reception unit configured to receive request information including a departure location and a destination from a user terminal device of a user via the communication unit;
an operation determining unit configured to create an operation plan in response to the request information, wherein the operation plan includes an operation section and a charging section, wherein the charging section is a charging schedule which does not occur at a same time as the operation section of the operation plan;

wherein the operation determining unit includes
a section information deriving unit configured to derive the operation section of the operation plan based on the request information, wherein the operation section includes the departure point as a start point and the destination as an end point, and a scheduled travel distance from the start point to the end point, and
an acquisition unit configured to acquire a state of charge of the rechargeable battery which is mounted in the rechargeable vehicle, and

wherein the operation determining unit is configured to:
derive a state of charge shortage before the rechargeable vehicle starts the operation section, wherein the state of charge shortage is an estimated shortage of the rechargeable battery of the rechargeable vehicle to complete travel in the operation section, based on the acquired state of charge of the rechargeable vehicle, wherein the charge section allows the rechargeable battery to be charged an amount of the estimated shortage;
create the operation plan by allocating the rechargeable vehicle to the operation section, based on the rechargeable vehicle being able to be charged with the derived state of charge shortage before the operation of the rechargeable vehicle starts; and
create the operation plan by allocating the fuel vehicle, rather than the rechargeable vehicle, to the operation section, when the scheduled travel distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined distance;

wherein the operation planning device is configured to transmit the operation plan to the vehicle management device using the communication unit,
wherein the vehicle management device automatically communicates with an onboard vehicle device of each of the plurality of vehicles and controls the allocated rechargeable vehicle or the allocated fuel vehicle to automatically travel autonomously in accordance with the operation plan.