JP3386979B2 - Bus location system - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a bus location system for notifying a user waiting for a route bus at a bus stop of the bus operation status. The present invention relates to a bus location system for notifying a waiting user of a bus arrival status. 2. Description of the Related Art At a stop of a route bus, the destination of the bus passing through the stop and the estimated time of passage are displayed (or affixed) on a display pole or the like. The user can know the destination and arrival time of the bus from the displayed contents. However, the bus may not arrive at the scheduled time due to traffic congestion on the route, etc., and the user is waiting for the bus with anxiety, such as when the desired bus arrives or has already passed. That is the fact. In order to eliminate such anxiety of the user, a signal transmission system is laid along the bus route, and furthermore, a sensor for detecting the position of the running bus at every moment is provided. The signal is taken into the large computer of the control center via the transmission system, the display device of the stop is controlled from the bus position and the bus schedule, and the destination and arrival time of the bus arriving next to the user waiting at the stop are reported to the user. Has been proposed. [0004] However, in the conventional guide system described above, a signal transmission line must be laid along a complicated bus route, and the position of the bus is detected every moment. It requires sensors and a large-scale computer for processing those signals, and requires large-scale equipment, which makes it difficult to put into practical use. An object of the present invention is to provide a bus location system capable of notifying a user waiting at a stop of necessary information with a simple facility configuration. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle which is installed on a bus operating on an operation route according to a predetermined schedule, and specifies a destination and an operation time of the bus. A transmitter that transmits a code signal, and a receiver that is installed at a stop secured at a predetermined position on the operation route and receives a radio signal from the transmitter,
A display for displaying a scheduled passage time of the bus, and control means for changing a display state of the display in response to reception of the vehicle code signal when the bus arrives near a stop. A process of determining that the bus has passed the stop because the change in the electric field intensity according to the distance between the bus and the stop has changed from an increasing trend to a decreasing trend. A display device for changing the display state of the display when the processing means determines that the vehicle has passed through the bus. According to such a bus location system, a vehicle code signal is transmitted from a transmitter mounted on a bus and received by a receiver of a stop post installed at a stop, and a control means displays a display based on the received signal. Controls the display content of. The display can distinguish between a state far from the bus stop, a state approaching the bus stop, and a state passing the bus stop, and performs different displays according to each state. In particular, when the bus has passed, the processing means provided on the side of the bus stop indicates that the change in the received electric field strength when the bus is approaching tends to increase and the received electric field when the bus passes, without the driver's operation. Since the change in the intensity indicates a decreasing tendency, the passage of the bus can be clearly distinguished and displayed. This makes it possible to effectively provide necessary information to a user waiting at a stop with a simple system configuration. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a bus location system according to the present invention. Reference numeral 10 denotes a route bus, on which the transmitter 20 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is mounted. As the transmitter 20, for example, a specific low-output wireless modem having a transmission output of 10 mW and not requiring a license from an administrative authority is used. The communication distance of this wireless modem is about several hundred meters to 1 km in a place with good visibility, and the practicality when used in the system of the present invention is sufficient. Reference numeral 30 denotes a stop post, which is provided for each stop provided along the operation route of the route bus 10. The stop post 30 is provided with a main body 31 having a box-shaped and waterproof structure at an upper portion thereof, and is attached to an upper portion of a pole-like leg portion 32. A liquid crystal display and L
A display 33 using an ED matrix display is provided, a solar panel 40 (solar cell) is mounted on an upper surface thereof, and a rod-type receiving antenna 34 is erected. FIG. 2 shows the structure of the transmitter 20, on which a transmitting antenna 21 is provided upright (or in front of a bus,
Further, a keyboard 22 for a driver or an administrator to input a vehicle code and an input data display unit 23 for checking the input data are provided. From the keyboard 22, the destination of the bus and the operation time (that is, a vehicle-specific code specified by the time of departure from the first stop) are input, and the contents are not changed until the bus arrives at the end point. Absent. A power switch 24 for turning on / off the power supply to the transmitter 20 is provided on a side surface of the transmitter 20. Also,
A power cord 25 is connected to receive power from a battery (not shown) mounted on the route bus 10. 3 and 4 show details of the stop post 30, FIG. 3 is a front view, and FIG. 4 is a side view. As shown in FIG. 3, a display 33 is provided in front of the main body 31 of the stop post 30, and displays an estimated time of passage for each destination of the route bus 10 passing through the stop. This display 3
The display form of the time displayed in 3 changes in three modes. The three states are, for example, “lighting state”,
"Flashing state" and "light-out state". If the number indicating the scheduled passing time is in the “lighting state”, it indicates that the route bus 10 at the scheduled time has not yet come to this stop, and the “blinking state” indicates that it is approaching the stop, The "light-out state" indicates that the bus has already passed the stop or is not scheduled to operate. The display state of the number of the expected passage time on the display 35 is controlled by the controller 50. Below the display 33, a human body detection sensor 36 is provided on the surface of the main body 31.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 4, in a main body 31, a receiver 37 for receiving a signal from the transmitter 20, a controller 50 for controlling each electronic device provided in the main body 31, and a power supply therefor are provided. A storage battery 38 serving as a source is provided. The use of the storage battery 38 as a power source eliminates the necessity of drawing work from a power pole of a power company, and makes it possible to arrange a stop post at a desired position. The storage battery 38 is charged by the solar panel 40 when it is bright in the daytime, so that it is not necessary to replace the battery. Reference numeral 39 denotes an external connection terminal connected to the controller 50, which is used when the administrator retrieves data as necessary. FIG. 5 shows a detailed configuration of the controller 50. The controller 50 includes an external memory 51, a CPU 52, a ROM 53,
It is a microcomputer (hereinafter, referred to as “microcomputer”) provided with each of the RAM 54, the voice memory 55, and the operation table 56. The controller 50 has a CPU 52 as a core, and other components are connected to the CPU 52.
Each of the display 33, the human body detection sensor 36, the receiver 37, the storage battery 39, and the speaker 57 is connected. Controller 5
0 specifies the route bus 10 from the vehicle code signal received by the receiver 37, and controls the display 33 that displays the scheduled passage time of the route bus 10. User stops at post 30
Is detected by the human body detection sensor 36, the controller 50 turns on the display 33. When no user is in front of the stop post 30, the display 33 is turned off to prevent the storage battery 38 from being wasted. Further, the controller 50 measures the intensity of radio waves transmitted from the same bus over time, and at the time when the intensity becomes strongest,
It is determined that the bus has passed the stop, and the display of the number of the estimated time of passage is turned off. The controller 50 has a clock function, and when the passage of the route bus 10 is determined, the “vehicle code” and the “passing time” of the route bus 10 are stored in the external memory 51 as a pair. FIG. 6 shows a table of data stored in the external memory 51. This table stores half a year's worth of time passing one stop. The contents of this table can be taken out to an external device via the external external connection terminal 39. Next, the operation of the system of the present invention will be described. When the route bus 10 departs from the starting point, a predetermined vehicle code is set in the transmitter 20. During operation of the bus, the power switch 24 is in the ON state, and a radio wave carrying a bus code signal is transmitted from the transmission antenna 21 at a predetermined cycle. Stop Post 30
Is initialized every day at an appropriate time before the first bus arrives, and the operation schedule table 56 in the controller 50 is updated. FIG. 7 shows an initial state of the operation schedule table 56. The operation schedule table 56 includes items such as a vehicle code, a destination / scheduled time, an operation flag, a distance flag, and a passage flag. The meaning of each flag in the operation schedule table 56 is as follows. Operation flag: "1" indicates that the bus of "vehicle code" is operated, and "0" indicates that the bus is not operated. Distance flag: indicates the distance between the stop post 30 and the route bus 10, "1" indicates a state where the bus is approaching within a predetermined distance from the stop, and "0" indicates that the bus is shorter than the predetermined distance. Also indicates that it is far away. Passage flag: "1" indicates that the bus has not yet passed the stop, and "0" indicates that the bus has passed the stop. Here, for example, when the operation flag is operated on different schedules on weekdays and holidays, the controller 50 determines the weekday or holiday at the time of initial setting and sets the flag. The initially set operation flag is not changed until the next day's initial setting. When the operation flag is set, the display of the estimated passage time is maintained in a lighting state determined by a combination of the flags until the distance flag and the passage flag described later are changed. FIG. 8 shows the processing on the receiving side. The processing on the receiving side is performed by the controller 50 provided in the stop post 30. When the route bus 10 approaches the stop, the route bus 1
The receiver 37 receives the radio signal from 0, and the controller 50 starts the processing of FIG. First, the received electric field strength is measured (step 81). When it is determined that the received electric field strength is equal to or higher than the threshold value higher than the noise level (step 82), the "vehicle code" in the received signal is confirmed as a valid received signal (step 83). From the confirmed "vehicle code", it is determined whether the bus is a bus scheduled to be operated today (step 84). If it is included in today's operation schedule, after performing the approach process of the bus (step 85), the passing process of the route bus 10 (step 86) is performed, and the status process of the display 33 (step 87) is further performed. Execute and all the processing ends.
Normally, an up-bound bus and a down-bound bus pass on a road on which a route bus stop is installed, so that the stop post 30 receives radio signals from both directions of the bus. However, since only the vehicle code of a one-way bus going up or down is registered in the operation schedule table 56, even if a radio signal from a bus that is not registered is received, step 8 is executed.
The processing of 5, 86 and 87 is not performed. FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the distance x from the stop to the route bus 10 and the received electric field strength V. Route bus 10
Since the received electric field strength becomes stronger as the vehicle approaches the stop post 30, the electric field intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the route bus 10 becomes smaller than the threshold value, with the electric field intensity v1 when approaching the predetermined distance x1 from the stop as a threshold. When it becomes larger, the distance flag is changed from "0" to "1". That is, when the distance flag is “0”, the bus is far from the stop, and when the distance flag is “1”, the bus has come close to the stop. FIG. 10 shows "bus approach processing" in FIG.
Details of (the processing of step 85) will be described. First, it is determined whether the passing flag of the bus approaching the stop is “1” or “0” (step 101). If the passage flag is "1", that is, if the bus has not passed through the stop, it is determined whether the received electric field strength is equal to or higher than v1 (step 102). If the received electric field strength is equal to or higher than v1, it is determined that the bus is approaching the stop (step 10).
3) Then, the distance flag is changed from "0" to "1" (step 104). Pass flag is “0” in step 101
If it is determined that the process is completed, the process ends. FIG.
As in the case of 0, this approach process is performed only for the bus approaching the stop, and no process is performed for the bus that has passed the stop. FIG. 11 shows "bus passing processing" in FIG.
Details of (the processing of step 86) will be described. FIG. 12 shows the time between the bus and the stop and the electric field strength at the stop when the time when the vehicle arrives at the stop is defined as tc. FIG.
In FIG. 12, the passage processing of (1) utilizes the fact that the change over time of the received electric field strength at the stop becomes the maximum at the time point tc when the train is closest to the stop (the bus stops at the stop), as shown in FIG. First, it is determined whether or not the bus has already passed based on the passing flag (step 111). If the bus has not passed, the electric field strength is measured a predetermined number of times (here, 50 points) at intervals of 20 m / sec (step 111). 112).
Next, an average of the measured values for each of a plurality of points (here, five points) is sequentially calculated (step 113), and the statistics of the deviation of each average are calculated (step 114). Then
It is determined whether the deviation statistic by this calculation is positive or negative (step 1).
15). If the deviation statistic is positive, it is determined that the route bus 10 is approaching the stop (step 117). On the other hand, if the deviation statistic is negative, it is determined that the bus has passed the stop (step 116), and the passage flag is changed from "1" to "0" (step 118). in this way,
The provision of the means for detecting the passage of the bus at the stop post 30 makes it possible to separately display the bus approaching the stop and the bus that has already passed. The state process of the display 33 (the process of step 87) shown in FIG. 8 is performed according to the combination of the flags shown in the table of FIG. Although there are eight combinations of the operation flag, the distance flag, and the passage flag, the combinations that actually occur are four (case 1 to case 4) shown in FIG. In FIG. 13, “Case 1” is for a bus that is not scheduled to run on that day, and the display of the scheduled passage time is “off”. In “Case 2”, the bus is scheduled to be operated, but the bus is far away from the stop, and the time display is “lit”. "Case 3"
Indicates that the bus is approaching the stop, and the time display is in a "flashing" state. “Case 4” indicates that the bus has passed the stop, and the time display is “off”. FIG. 14 shows the contents displayed on the display 33 at about 7:10 at a certain stop. The hatched portion of the display frame of the estimated passing time has its display turned off, indicating that the bus has already passed this stop. The flashing time display ("7:15" for the station in this example) indicates that the bus will arrive at the stop soon. In this way, a bus that passes the first stop at a certain time (for example, vehicle code “M33”)
The number “15” of “1”, destination “station”, scheduled passage time “6:15”) changes from a lighting state to a blinking state when a bus approaches, and changes to a light-off state when the bus passes.
The stop posts 30 of each stop have the same configuration and display form except for the scheduled passage time. When the bus approaches and passes the stop, the display of the estimated passing time changes as described above. Therefore, a user waiting for a bus at a bus stop will be able to distinguish between buses that are scheduled to operate, buses that are still far from the bus stop, buses that are close to the bus stop, buses that have already passed, etc. You can know from. In the above description, the embodiment in which the arrival of the route bus 10 is performed by changing the display of the display unit 33 has been described. In the previous example, in addition to the "blinking display", as shown in FIG. Also, it is possible to provide a speaker 57 to notify the destination and expected time of passage of the blinking bus by voice. In this case, the number of times of notification or the time interval of notification can be set, and the notification can be made by voice several times from the blinking state to the passage of the bus. The display of the display 33 may be changed to a display color instead of a change of the lighting state of "lit", "blinking", and "extinguished". In addition, stop post 30
When there is no user in the vicinity of the controller, the controller 50 may stop supplying power to the display 33 to reduce the consumption of the storage battery 38. In addition, 100
Where there is a V pole, power can be supplied from this line. In this case, it is necessary to newly provide a power supply circuit for obtaining a DC power output. The external memory 51 has a route bus 10
Is stored over a period of time, so that it can be used at the next timetable revision. Further, the display 33 displays the estimated time of passing through the bus, but instead of the time display, another display,
For example, it is also possible to display advertisements, various kinds of guidance, and the like. As described above, according to the present invention, information is transmitted from the transmitter mounted on the bus, received by the stop post installed at the stop, and transmitted to the stop post based on the reception result. The display on the display provided is controlled by the controller.In particular, when the bus has passed, the processing means provided on the stop side does not perform the operation by the driver, and the reception electric field strength at the time of approaching the bus is reduced. The change shows an increasing trend,
Since the change in the received electric field strength when passing through the bus shows a decreasing trend, it is possible to clearly distinguish and display the passage of the bus, and whether the bus is approaching the stop to the user,
Notification of whether or not the vehicle has already passed can be achieved with a simple system configuration, and the service to bus users can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a bus location system according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the transmitter of FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a detailed configuration of the stop post of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a side view of the stop post of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a controller of FIG. 4; 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a table configuration of data stored in the external memory of FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial state of an operation schedule table. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing processing on the receiving side. FIG. 9 is a characteristic diagram showing a relationship between a distance from a stop to a route bus and a received electric field intensity. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing details of “bus approach processing” in FIG. 8; FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of a “bus passing process” in FIG. 8; FIG. 12 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the time between the bus and the stop and the electric field intensity at the stop when the time when the vehicle arrives at the stop is defined as tc. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a combination case of a flag and a display state in the state processing of the display device. FIG. 14 is a screen diagram showing display contents of a display device at a certain stop at a certain time zone. [Description of Signs] 10 Route bus 20 Transmitter 22 Keyboard 23 Input data display 30 Stop post 33 Display 36 Human body detection sensor 37 Receiver 38 Storage battery 40 Solar panel 50 Controller 51 External memory 52 CPU 53 ROM 55 Voice memory 56 Operation table 57 Speaker

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-263798 (JP, A) JP-A-1-194000 (JP, A) JP-A-8-305996 (JP, A) JP-A-8- 161292 (JP, A) JP-A 2-146684 (JP, U) JP-A 3-121498 (JP, U) (58) Fields studied (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G08G 1/127 G09D 1 / 00 E01F 9/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims 1] A transmitter installed on a bus operating an operation route according to a predetermined schedule, and transmitting a vehicle code signal for specifying a destination and an operation time of the bus, A receiver installed at a stop secured at a predetermined position on the operation route, a receiver for receiving a radio signal from the transmitter, an indicator for displaying an estimated time of passage of the bus, and a bus for the bus Providing a stop post provided with each of the control means for changing the display state of the indicator in response to the reception of the vehicle code signal due to the arrival near, the control means, between the bus and the stop Since the change in the electric field strength according to the distance has changed from an increasing trend to a decreasing trend, a processing device is provided for determining that the bus has passed the stop, and the processing means determines whether the bus has passed. Bus location system, characterized in that during the to further modify the display state of the indicator.