Vehicle interference prevention device

Claim 2

1 . A vehicle interference prevention device for preventing interference among vehicles where a plurality of vehicles are travelling over a travel route, wherein each of the plurality of vehicles comprises: measuring means for measuring a position of its own vehicle; communication means for exchanging with other vehicles, in a wireless communications format, position information indicating the position of its own vehicle, as measured by the measuring means; estimating means for estimating a likelihood of interference between its own vehicle and other vehicle on the basis of position information for the other vehicle received via the communication means, time information indicating a reception time at which the position information is received, and the position information for its own vehicle; and control means for performing a preset control routine in the event that interference is predicted by the estimating means, so as to avoid interference with the other vehicle.

Claim 3

2 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 1 , wherein the communication means comprises: means for transmitting and receiving vis-a-vis other vehicles, in a wireless communications format, position information indicating vehicle position, as measured by its own measuring means, and time information indicating a time of measurement of the vehicle position or time information indicating a time of transmission of the position information; and the estimating means comprises: means for estimating the likelihood of interference between its own vehicle and other vehicle on the basis of the position information for the other vehicle received via the transmitting/receiving means, the time information for either the measurement time or the transmission time, and the position information for its own vehicle.

Claim 4

3 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the estimating means comprises: first estimating means for estimating, on the basis of the position information and the time information for other vehicle received via the communication means, a future position of the other vehicle at a point in time coming a predetermined time interval after the time, or a range of movement of the other vehicle; second estimating means for estimating from its current position on the basis of position information for its own vehicle a future position of its own vehicle at a point in time coming a predetermined time interval later, or a range of movement of its own vehicle; and decision means for deciding if the future position or range of movement of the other vehicle estimated by the first estimating means overlaps the current position or future position of its own vehicle estimated by the second estimating means.

Claim 5

4 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to any of claims 1 , 2 , or 3 , wherein each of the plurality of vehicles further comprises processing means that, during power-on of its own vehicle, notifies other vehicle that its own vehicle has started up, and in the event that no response to the notification is received by its own communication means, makes a determination that the communication means of the other vehicle is not functioning normally, and places its own vehicle in standby mode at its current position.

Claim 6

5 . A vehicle interference prevention device having an unmanned vehicle comprising vehicle position-measuring means for measuring a position of its own vehicle and traveling over a travel route based on predetermined instruction data, a first manned vehicle having position-measuring means for measuring a position of its own vehicle, and a second manned vehicle traveling over the travel route guided by the first manned vehicle; wherein the unmanned vehicle and the first manned vehicle each comprises communication means for transmitting and receiving predetermined information among themselves; the first manned vehicle transmits to the unmanned vehicle via the communication means a mode which is either a guiding mode wherein the second manned vehicle is guided, or a non-guiding mode wherein the second manned vehicle is not guided; and transmits to the unmanned vehicle via the communication means position information indicating the vehicle position determined by the position-measuring means; and the unmanned vehicle, in the event that the mode received via the communication means is the non-guiding mode, is controlled, on the basis of the position information from the first manned vehicle, in such a way as to avoid entering an area of a given range that includes a current position of the first manned vehicle; whereas in the case of the guiding mode, it is controlled, on the basis of the position information from the first manned vehicle, in such a way as to avoid entering the current position of the first manned vehicle and an area of a given range lying to a rear of the first manned vehicle.

Claim 7

5 . A vehicle interference prevention device having an unmanned vehicle comprising vehicle position-measuring means for measuring a position of its own vehicle and traveling over a travel route based on predetermined instruction data, a first manned vehicle having position-measuring means for measuring a position of its own vehicle, and a second manned vehicle traveling over the travel route guided by the first manned vehicle; wherein the unmanned vehicle and the first manned vehicle each comprises communication means for transmitting and receiving predetermined information among themselves; the first manned vehicle transmits to the unmanned vehicle via the communication means a mode which is either a guiding mode wherein the second manned vehicle is guided, or a non-guiding mode wherein the second manned vehicle is not guided; and transmits to the unmanned vehicle via the communication means position information indicating the vehicle position determined by the position-measuring means; and the unmanned vehicle, in the event that the mode received via the communication means is the non-guiding mode, is controlled, on the basis of the position information from the first manned vehicle, in such a way as to avoid entering an area of a given range that includes a current position of the first manned vehicle; whereas in the case of the guiding mode, it is controlled, on the basis of the position information from the first manned vehicle, in such a way as to avoid entering the current position of the first manned vehicle and an area of a given range lying to a rear of the first manned vehicle.

Claim 8

6 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 5 , further comprising a monitoring station having transmitting/receiving means for transmitting and receiving predetermined information to and from the unmanned vehicle and the first manned vehicle; and the monitoring station further comprises means for transmitting to the unmanned vehicle via the transmitting/receiving means instruction data designating as a permissible travel range over which travel is permitted an area on the travel route such that the most recent position of the unmanned vehicle, based on the position information measured by the vehicle position-measuring means and received via the transmitting/receiving means, does not interfere with a predicted range of motion for the first manned vehicle, as calculated on the basis of the most recent position information for the first manned vehicle received via the transmitting/receiving means.

Claim 9

7 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 6 , wherein the transmitting means, in the event that the first manned vehicle is currently in the guiding mode, excludes from the permissible travel range a predicted range for the second manned vehicle that is obtained on the basis of the position information for the second manned vehicle based on the position information for the first manned vehicle, and transmits to the unmanned vehicle instruction data designating an area of this range as a new permissible travel range.

Claim 10

8 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 5 , wherein the unmanned vehicle comprises: measuring means for measuring the position of its own vehicle; decision means for deciding, on the basis of the position information from the first manned vehicle received from the communication means and position information indicating the position of its own vehicle as measured by the measuring means, whether its own vehicle poses interference with the first manned vehicle or with an area of a predetermined range extending from the position of the manned vehicle; and control means that, in the event that the decision means decides that interference is present, halts or decelerates its own vehicle.

Claim 11

9 . A vehicle interference prevention device for preventing interference among a plurality of vehicles, including at least one manned vehicle, as they travel along a travel route, wherein each of the plurality of vehicles comprises: measuring means for measuring a position of its own vehicle; and communication means for exchanging with other vehicles position information indicating the vehicle position measured by the measuring means; and the manned vehicle comprises: processing means for calculating relative positional relationship of its own vehicle and other vehicle on the basis of position information for the other vehicle received via the communication means, and position information for its own vehicle; and notifying means for notifying predetermined information depending on the relative positional relationship calculated by the processing means.

Claim 12

9 . A vehicle interference prevention device for preventing interference among a plurality of vehicles, including at least one manned vehicle, as they travel along a travel route, wherein each of the plurality of vehicles comprises: measuring means for measuring a position of its own vehicle; and communication means for exchanging with other vehicles position information indicating the vehicle position measured by the measuring means; and the manned vehicle comprises: processing means for calculating relative positional relationship of its own vehicle and other vehicle on the basis of position information for the other vehicle received via the communication means, and position information for its own vehicle; and notifying means for notifying predetermined information depending on the relative positional relationship calculated by the processing means.

Claim 13

10 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 9 , wherein the notifying means comprises display means for visually displaying the relative positional relationship.

Claim 14

11 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 9 or 10 , wherein the notifying means provides a warning in the event that the relative positional relationship is such that its own vehicle and the other vehicle are in close proximity and interfering.

Claim 15

12 . The vehicle interference prevention device according to claim 9 , wherein the plurality of vehicles further comprises: transmitting/receiving means for exchanging with other vehicle time information indicating either of a time at which the vehicle position was measured by the measuring means of its own vehicle, or a time at which position information indicating this vehicle position was transmitted; and all of the manned vehicles including at least one manned vehicle further comprise: range estimating means for estimating, on the basis of position information for other vehicle received via its own communication means, and either time information for this position information indicating the time at which the position information was received by the communication means, or the time information having been transmitted by the other vehicle, a range of movement of other vehicle from a position based on the position information to another position at a point in time coming after a predetermined time interval has passed; and display means for displaying the relative positional relationship calculated by the processing means, and for displaying the range of movement estimated by the range estimating means for the other vehicle in the positional relationship.