EP4722073A1

EP4722073A1 - Car control device

Info

Publication number: EP4722073A1
Application number: EP24815042.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Shinichiro Ishikawa
Original assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Current assignee: Hitachi Ltd
Priority date: 2023-05-31
Filing date: 2024-04-23
Publication date: 2026-04-08
Also published as: JPWO2024247557A1; WO2024247557A1

Abstract

Included are: a plurality of sensor units that detect an external or internal condition of each vehicle of a train; an abnormality detecting unit that detects abnormality in the train, on the basis of detection outputs from the sensor units; a door identifying unit that identifies, when abnormality of the train is detected, whether each door belongs to an area where passengers in the train can get off safely, on the basis of a detection output of the sensor unit that detects the external condition of the vehicles; a storage unit that stores information on a plurality of evacuation routes in a manner associated with positions along a travelling route of the train; a determining unit that determines, when the train stops due to abnormality in the train, whether there is any evacuation route connected from a specific door, among pieces of wayside information, at the position where the train has stopped; and a plurality of display units that display information including a determination result of the determining unit, in each of the vehicles. When a positive determination result is obtained by the determining unit, the evacuation route connected from the specific door is extracted from the wayside information, and evacuation guidance information including an image of the evacuation route thus extracted and an image of the specific door is output to each of the display units, and each of the display units displays the image of the evacuation route and the image of the specific door, on the basis of the evacuation guidance information.

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vehicle control device provided onboard a vehicle such as a car of a railway.

Background Art

In the railway industry, a shortage of crew members due to the mass retirement of workers in the baby boomer generation and ups and downs in the number of past recruits has been a problem. A decrease in fare revenues due to a decrease in the number of passengers resultant of the promotion of telecommuting also has recently become a problem. One effective means for solving these problems is to operate trains with limited crew members by improving efficiency. One example of an effective way to achieve this objective is to enable one personnel to operate a train with a long consist, and automation or the like of tasks conventionally performed by crew members has already been implemented. One example is using videos and images captured by cameras that are installed inside and outside the vehicle, in the operation. For example, currently being practiced is a method for capturing images of the outside of a vehicle using cameras installed outside the vehicle, particularly, those installed near the passenger doors, and displaying the images captured by the cameras on a monitor inside the cab, so that a crew member can open and close the doors safely by checking the monitor. By using this method, the train driver can open and close doors, although the doors have been conventionally opened and closed by a conductor, so that a conductor-less train operation becomes possible. Furthermore, cameras installed inside the vehicles are used for the prevention of crimes and troubles among the passengers. Such use of cameras renders patrols of the conductor unnecessary, and enables the train operation only by the driver.
However, if any event that obstructs the operation of the train occurs during the operation with one crew member, the one crew member needs to handle the situation by him/herself, and therefore, technical developments for addressing this issue are also currently underway. For example, as described in PTL 1 listed below, there is a control device that detects the occurrence of a disaster, at the time of the occurrence of one, reads a database containing a method for handling the situation, and urges the passengers to evacuate. Furthermore, there is an information reporting system that transmits, in case of an accident, image data accumulated in a data recording device to a command center, as disclosed in PTL 2. In addition, there is a detection system that automatically transmits information to the ground when a fire is detected in a train, with information such as a train number added thereto, as disclosed in PTL 3.

Citation List

Patent Literatures

PTL 1: JP 2011-255821 A
PTL 2: JP 2004-314784 A
PTL 3: JP H04-193675 A

Summary of Invention

Technical Problem

The technique disclosed in PTL 1 has a problem that this technique only urges passengers to evacuate when a disaster occurs, and fails to identify or to instruct a specific evacuation route. Furthermore, the techniques disclosed in PTL 2 and PTL 3 only notify the ground of the occurrence of an accident or a fire, together with additional information such as image data, and there is a problem that an instruction for evacuation for crew members and passengers cannot be issued.
An object of the present invention is to identify and to display an evacuation route for passengers in a train, when some abnormality occurs in the train.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized in including: a plurality of sensor units that are disposed in a plurality of vehicles forming a train, and detect an external condition or internal condition of the vehicles; an abnormality detecting unit that detects abnormality in the train based on a detection output from at least one of the plurality of sensor units; a door identifying unit that identifies, when abnormality of the train is detected by the abnormality detecting unit, whether any of the vehicles has a door belonging to an area where a passenger of the train is allowed to get off safely, based on a detection output of a sensor unit detecting the external condition of the vehicles of the train, among the plurality of sensor units; a storage unit that stores wayside information on a plurality of evacuation routes extending along a travelling route of the train, in a manner associated with positions along the travelling route of the train; a determining unit that determines, when the abnormality detecting unit detects abnormality in the train and the train stops, whether the wayside information includes any evacuation route connected from a specific door identified by the door identifying unit; and a plurality of display units that display information including a determination result of the determining unit, inside each of the vehicles, in which, when a positive determination result is obtained in the determination, the determining unit extracts the evacuation route connected from the specific door from the wayside information, generates evacuation guidance information including an image of the evacuation route thus extracted and an image of the specific door, and outputs the evacuation guidance information to the plurality of display units; and the plurality of display units display, upon receiving the evacuation guidance information, the image of the evacuation route and the image of the specific door, based on the evacuation guidance information thus received.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to identify and to display an evacuation route for passengers of a train, in case of abnormality of the train.

Brief Description of Drawings

[FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a first door identifying method performed by a door identifying unit included in the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a second door identifying method performed by the door identifying unit included in the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a third door identifying method performed by the door identifying unit included in the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[FIG. 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing performed by the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
[FIG. 6] FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Description of Embodiments

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

[First Embodiment]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle control device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, this vehicle control device 10 is provided onboard a train 20 including a plurality of vehicles, and is a device for controlling various on-board devices (none of which is illustrated) such as a vehicle information control device and a signaling device disposed on the train 20, and is includes, for example, a computer (not illustrated) including a processor, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, an input device, an output device, and a communication device.
The processor is configured using a central processing unit (CPU) or a micro-processing unit (MPU), for example.
The main storage device is a device that stores therein a computer program and data, and is a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), or a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, for example.
Examples of the auxiliary storage device include a hard disk drive, a solid-state drive (SSD), a reader/writer device for a recording medium such as an optical storage medium (e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a storage system, an integrated circuit card (IC) card or a secure digital (SD) memory card, a storage area of a cloud server, or the like. Computer programs and data stored in the auxiliary storage device are read into the main storage device, as required.
Examples of the input device include a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a card reader, and a voice input device. Examples of the output device include a screen display device (such as a liquid crystal monitor, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a graphic card), an audio output device (such as a speaker), and a printing device.
The communication device is a wired or wireless communication interface that implements communication with another device over communication means such as a LAN or the Internet. Examples of the communication device include a network interface card (NIC), a wireless communication module, a universal serial bus (USB) module, and a serial communication module. In FIG. 1, components and the like that are not directly related to selection of a door that is mainly used for evacuation guidance are omitted.
The vehicle control device 10 includes a sensor unit 100, an abnormality detecting unit 101, a door identifying unit 102, a passenger identifying unit 103, a determining unit 104, a display unit 105, an announcement unit 106, a transmitting/receiving unit 107, and a storage unit 108. At this time, each of the sensor unit 100, the display unit 105, and the announcement unit 106 is provided in plurality, and the sensor units 100, the display units 105, and the announcement units 106 are distributed across a plurality of vehicles (not illustrated) forming the train 20.
Each of the plurality of sensor units 100 distributed across the respective vehicles includes a device that detects the condition of the outside or inside of the vehicle corresponding thereto such as a camera (an external image-capturing camera or an internal image-capturing camera) generating an image by capturing an image of a subject. At this time, some of the plurality of sensor units 100 are installed outside the vehicle at positions such as ends (ends in the longitudinal direction) or a middle part of each vehicle, and the other sensor units 100 are installed inside the vehicle, at positions where the interior of the vehicle is visible, e.g., near respective doors inside the vehicle. Each of the sensor units 100 transmits information of an image (still image or moving image) obtained by capturing an image of an object (subject) outside or inside the vehicle, to the abnormality detecting unit 101, the door identifying unit 102, and the passenger identifying unit 103, as information of an external image or an internal image.
The abnormality detecting unit 101 detects abnormality of the train 20 on the basis of a detection output from at least one of the plurality of sensor units 100. For example, the abnormality detecting unit 101 detects the presence of abnormality in the train 20 on the basis of the information of images received from the sensor units 101. Upon detecting abnormality from an external image, such as a disaster or an accident including a collision with an automobile, a fallen tree, or a fallen rock, or a wayside fire, or detecting abnormality from an internal image, such as the presence of a suspicious person or a suspicious object, or an abnormality such as a situation in which passengers have been locked up inside the train for a long time due to a trouble in the transportation, a weather condition, or the like, as an event for guiding the passengers in each of the vehicles to evacuate outside of the vehicle, the abnormality detecting unit 101 stops the train 20, and outputs abnormality detection information to the determining unit 104.
When the train 20 stops, the door identifying unit 102 identifies whether each door is in an area where passengers can get off safely, on the basis of detection outputs received from the sensor units 101, e.g., on the basis of information of images of the outside of the vehicles (external images), among the information of images captured by the cameras, and outputs information related to the identified door to the determining unit 104, as door identification information. The area where passengers can get off safely herein means an area having no obstacles such as a pole for overhead lines, a bridge, or a tunnel, viewing the outside from a viewpoint at a door at the position where the train 20 has stopped. Examples of such an area include areas where the door is not near a pole of overhead lines, where the door is not on the bridge, or the door is not inside the tunnel.
The passenger identifying unit 103 identifies whether the population of the passengers is concentrated near each door, whether there is any passenger who should be preferentially guided for evacuation near the door, or whether there is a dense crowd of passengers near the door, on the basis of detection outputs received from the sensor units 100, e.g. the information of images of the inside of the vehicle (internal image), among the information of images captured by the cameras, for example, and outputs information related to the identified passengers to the determining unit 104, as passenger identification information. At this time, in the processing of the internal image, the passenger identifying unit 103 can obtain the concentration or the crowd density with passengers near the door, as a ratio of the volume of a target area, that is, the volume of the space near the door inside the vehicle, with respect to the volume of the space occupied by the passengers near the door, for example. Also in the processing of the internal image, the passenger identifying unit 103 can estimate the age groups of the passengers by comparing an image of each of the passengers with sample images each representing the features of an age group, and identify the passengers to be preferentially guided for evacuation (e.g., elderly passengers, pregnant passengers, passengers with small children, or passengers with disabilities) from the estimation result.
The determining unit 104 determines a door and an evacuation route to be used for evacuation guidance for passengers, the evacuation route being a route to be followed by the passengers after getting off the vehicles of the train 20, on the basis of the wayside information stored in the storage unit 108, the abnormality detection information received from the abnormality detecting unit 101, the door identification information received from the door identifying unit 102, and the passenger identification information received from the passenger identifying unit 103, and outputs information including the determination result to the display unit 105, the announcement unit 106, and the transmitting/receiving unit 107.
The storage unit 108 stores therein wayside information for a plurality of evacuation routes, including information of at least one of vacant lands and structures (e.g., railroad crossings, tunnels, iron bridges, and poles for overhead lines) beside the rails along the travelling route of the train 20 (the route followed by the train 20 between stations), in a manner associated with positions of the train 20 along the travelling route.
At this time, the determining unit 104 determines, when the abnormality detecting unit 101 detects abnormality in the train 20 and the train 20 stops, for example, whether there is any evacuation route connected from a specific door identified by the door identifying unit 102, in a piece of wayside information corresponding to the position where the train 20 has stopped, among the pieces of wayside information. If the determination result obtained in this determination is positive, the determining unit 104 extracts the evacuation route connected from the specific door identified by the door identifying unit 102, from a plurality of evacuation routes belonging to the piece of wayside information, and outputs evacuation guidance information including an image of the evacuation route thus extracted and an image of the specific door, to the plurality of display units 105 and the plurality of announcement units 106.
Each of the display units 105 has a liquid crystal display, for example. Upon receiving the evacuation guidance information (information related to the door to be used for evacuation guidance for passengers, and information regarding the evacuation route to be followed by the passengers after getting off the train), as information indicating the determination result input from the determining unit 104, each of the display units 105 generates an evacuation guidance image (an image including the door to be used for evacuation guidance for passengers and an evacuation route to be followed by the passengers after getting off the train) from the input evacuation guidance information, and displays the generated evacuation guidance image on the screen of the liquid crystal display.
Each of the announcement units 106 has a speaker, for example, and interprets the information including the determination result from the determining unit 104, generates an audio signal in accordance with the determination result, and converts the generated audio signal into voice. For example, upon receiving an input of evacuation guidance information, as the information including the determination result from the determining unit 104, each of the announcement units 106 interprets the received evacuation guidance information, generates an evacuation guidance audio signal including an audio signal for guiding passengers to use a specific door (an audio signal for identifying the door that the passenger should use) and an audio signal for guiding the passenger to the evacuation route, and converts the generated evacuation guidance audio signals into a voice.
At this time, for example, a voice (such as a voice for identifying the door to be used by the passengers, among doors in the vehicles) related to a door to be used for evacuation guidance for passengers and a voice related to the evacuation route to be followed by the passengers after getting off the vehicle (such as a voice designating the location of the evacuation route to be used by the passengers, a voice instructing the direction in which the passengers are to follow, and a voice identifying the place to meet after the passengers evacuate) are output from the speaker of each of the announcement units 106. With this, using images and a voice, crew members and passengers can be notified of the door to be used for evacuation guidance for passengers, and of the evacuation route for the passengers after getting off the vehicle.
The transmitting/receiving unit 107 transmits information including the determination result input from the determining unit 104, to the ground command center 200, and receives information such as an instruction from the ground command center 200 and a deterrence status of other trains. Note that, to the transmitting/receiving unit 107, audio equipment such as a microphone and a speaker installed in a crew room is connected. At this time, the crew members can communicate with ground command center 200 by voice, using the microphone and the speaker.
Note that the abnormality detecting unit 101, the door identifying unit 102, the passenger identifying unit 103, and the determining unit 104 in the vehicle control device 10 can exert their respective functions, with an abnormality detection program, a door identifying program, a passenger identifying program, and a determination program being stored in the auxiliary storage device as computer programs, by causing a processor to read these programs from the auxiliary storage device, loading the read programs onto the main storage device, and executing the programs.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a first door identifying method performed by the door identifying unit in the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the door identifying unit 102 processes images of the outside of the vehicles (external images), among the pieces of information of the images received from the sensor units 100, in a manner associated with each door, and determines whether there is any obstacle in the area outside of the vehicles, from the viewpoint of the door at the position the vehicle 20 has stopped. That is, when the train 20 stops, the door identifying unit 102 processes the external images received from the sensor units 100, in a manner associated with each of the doors, and identifies, from the processing result, whether such a door is in an area where the passengers can get off safely. At this time, the door identifying unit 102 processes the external images, being the images input from the sensor units 100 and representing the images outside of vehicles 30, 40, and 50, in a manner associated with each of the doors, and identifies, from the processing result, whether each one of doors 31, 32, and 33 of the vehicle 30, doors 41, 42, and 43 of the vehicle 40, and the doors 51, 52, and 53 of the vehicle 50 is in the area corresponding to a door position where the passengers can get off safely.
For example, when there are some external images 61 including the poles for overhead lines, which are external images including obstacles, in the external images corresponding to the positions of the door 31 of the vehicle 30, the door 41 of the vehicle 40, and the door 51 of the vehicle 50, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 31, 41, and 51 as doors belonging to areas A1 that has poles for overhead lines and are not at door positions where passengers can get off safely. When the external images corresponding to the positions of the doors 32 and 33 of the vehicle 30 and the doors 52 and 53 of the vehicle 50 do not include any poles for overhead lines as obstacles, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 32, 33, 52, and 53 as doors belonging to areas A2 corresponding to door positions where passengers can get off safely. By contrast, when there is an external image 62 including a railroad crossing but there are no poles for overhead lines as obstacles, among the external images corresponding to the doors 42 and 43 of the vehicle 40, because the railroad crossing aids the evacuation to the outer side of the railroad, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 42 and 43 as doors belonging to an area A3 that has a railroad crossing and belonging to an area A4 that corresponds to a door position where the passengers can get off safely.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining a second door identifying method performed by the door identifying unit in the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the door identifying unit 102 processes images of the outside of the vehicles (external images), among the pieces of information of the images received from the sensor units 100, in a manner associated with each door, and determines whether there is any obstacle in the area outside of the vehicles, from the viewpoint of the door at the position the train 20 has stopped. That is, when the train 20 stops, the door identifying unit 102 processes the external images received from the sensor units 100, in a manner associated with each of the doors, and identifies, from the processing result, whether such a door is in an area where the passengers can get off safely. At this time, the door identifying unit 102 processes the external images, being the images input from the sensor units 100 and representing the images outside of vehicles 30, 40, and 50, in a manner associated with each of the doors, and identifies, from the processing result, whether each one of doors 31, 32, and 33 of the vehicle 30, doors 41, 42, and 43 of the vehicle 40, and the doors 51, 52, and 53 of the vehicle 50 is in the area corresponding to a door position where the passengers can get off safely.
For example, when there is an external image 63 including an image of a bridge or an image of an area near a bridge, which is an external image including an obstacle, among the external images corresponding to the positions of the doors 31 and 32 of the vehicle 30, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 31 and 32 as the doors belonging to an area A5 that has a bridge or the like and that does not correspond to a door position where passengers can get off safely. Furthermore, when there is an external image 64 including an image of a tunnel or an image of an area near a tunnel, which is an external image including an obstacle, among the external images corresponding to the positions of the doors 51, 52, and 53 of the vehicle 50, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 51, 52, and 53 as the doors belonging to an area A7 that has a tunnel or the like, and that does not correspond to a door position where passengers can get off safely.
When the external images corresponding to the positions of the door 33 of the vehicle 30 and the doors 41, 42, and 43 of the vehicle 40 do not have such images 63, 64, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 33, 41, 42, and 43, as doors belonging to an area A6 corresponding to the door position where passengers can get off safely. By contrast, when external images corresponding to the door 33 of the vehicle 30 and the doors 41, 42, and 43 of the vehicle 40 include an image inside of a bridge or inside of a tunnel, the door identifying unit 102 can identify the door 33, the doors 41, 42, and 43 as doors belonging to the area A6 corresponding to a door position where passengers can get off safely, only provided that an evacuation route is ensured on the bridge or inside the tunnel even with the entire vehicles 30 to 50 located on the bridge or inside the tunnel. When no evacuation route is ensured on the bridge or inside the tunnel with the entire vehicles 30 to 50 positioned on the bridge or inside the tunnel, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the door 33 and the doors 41, 42, and 43 as doors belonging to an area not corresponding to a door position where passengers can get off safely.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining a third door identifying method performed by the door identifying unit in the vehicle control device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, the door identifying unit 102 processes images of the inside of the vehicle (internal images), among the pieces of information of the images received from the sensor units 101, in a manner associated with each door, and determines whether there is any concentration of the passengers in the area inside of the vehicle, from the viewpoint of the door at the position the vehicle 20 has stopped. That is, when the train 20 stops, the door identifying unit 102 processes the internal images received from the sensor units 100, in a manner associated with each of the doors, and identifies, from the processing result, whether such a door is a door that can be unlocked safely. At this time, the door identifying unit 102 processes the internal images, being the images input from the sensor units 100 and representing the images inside of vehicles 30, 40, and 50, in a manner associated with each of the doors, and identifies, from the processing result, whether each of doors 31, 32, and 33 of the vehicle 30, doors 41, 42, and 43 of the vehicle 40, and doors 51, 52, and 53 of the vehicle 50 is a door that can be unlocked safely (in the area corresponding to a door position where the passengers can get off safely).
For example, when the internal images corresponding to positions of the doors 31, 32, and 33 of the vehicle 30 include an internal image 71 including a concentration of the passengers, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 31, 32, and 33 as doors belonging to an area A8 where it is difficult to unlock the doors safely, due to the concentration of the passengers. In addition, when the internal images corresponding to the positions of the doors 42 and 43 of the vehicle 40 include an internal image 72 with a passenger to be preferentially guided for evacuation, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 42 and 43 as doors belonging to an area A9 with passengers to be preferentially guided for evacuation. Furthermore, when the internal images corresponding to the positions of the doors 51 and 52 of the vehicle 50 include an internal image 73 including a door near which there is a dense crowd, among the doors to be safely unlocked, the door identifying unit 102 identifies the doors 51 and 52 as doors belonging to an area A10 including a door near which there is a dense crowd, among the doors to be safely unlocked.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining processing performed by the vehicle control device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, the door identifying unit 102 collects door identification information corresponding to each of the doors, and determines whether each of the doors of the train 20 is in an area where passengers can get off safely, on the basis of the collected door identification information (S301). At this time, the door identifying unit 102 collects the door identification information identified for the doors 31 to 33, 41 to 43, and 51 to 53 of the vehicles 30, 40, and 50 forming the train 20, and determines whether at least one of the doors of the vehicles 30, 40, and 50 is a door in an area where passengers can get off safely.
If it is determined, in step S301, that at least one of the doors of the vehicles 30, 40, and 50 is a door in an area where passengers can get off safely (Yes), the door identifying unit 102 receives an input of the passenger identification information from the passenger identifying unit 103, and determines whether there is any door near which there is no concentration of the passengers so that the passengers can safely unlock (among the doors in areas where the passengers can get off safely), on the basis of the received passenger identification information and information of the internal images received from the sensor units 100 (S302).
If it is determined, in step S302, that there are any doors that can be safely unlocked by the passengers (Yes), the door identifying unit 102 determines whether there is anyone (any passenger) to be preferentially guided for evacuation near the doors that can be safely unlocked by the passengers, based on the passenger identification information and the information of the internal images (S303).
If it is determined, in step S303, that there is someone (passenger) preferentially to be guided for evacuation near the doors that can be safely unlocked by the passengers (Yes), the door identifying unit 102 selects a door near such a person (passenger) to be preferentially guided for evacuation, on the basis of the passenger identification information and the information of the internal images, as the door to be used for evacuation guidance (S304), and then ends the processing in this routine.
If it is determined, in step S303, that there is no one (passenger) to be preferentially guided for evacuation near the doors that can be safely unlocked by the passengers (No), the door identifying unit 102 determines whether there is any door near which there is a dense crowd, among the doors that can be safely unlocked by the passengers, on the basis of the passenger identification information and the information of the internal images (S305).
If it is determined, in step S305, that there is a door near which there is a dense crowd, among the doors that can be safely unlocked by the passengers (Yes), the door identifying unit 102 selects a door near which there is a dense crowd, as the door to be used for evacuation guidance (S306), and then ends the processing in this routine.
If it is determined, in step S305, that there is no door near which there is a dense crowd, among the doors that can be safely unlocked by the passengers (No), the door identifying unit 102 selects the door closest to the evacuation site (e.g., the nearest station), as the door to be used for evacuation guidance (S307), and then ends the processing in this routine.
If it is determined, in step S302, that there is no door that can be safely unlocked by the passengers (No), the door identifying unit 102 outputs information indicating a negative determination result to the determining unit 104. At this time, the determining unit 104 executes processing for communicating with the ground command center 200 via the transmitting/receiving unit 107 (processing of transmitting and receiving information related to an evacuation guidance method) (S308), and then ends the processing in this routine. At this time, a crew member communicates with the ground command center 107 using a microphone or a speaker connected to the transmitting/receiving unit 107, and checks for the evacuation guidance method for safely guiding the passengers.
If it is determined, in step S301, that at least one of the doors of the vehicles 30, 40, and 50 is not a door in an area where passengers can get off safely (No), that is, if it is determined that none of the doors of the vehicles 30, 40, and 50 are doors in an area where the passengers can get off safely (No), the door identifying unit 102 outputs information indicating a negative determination result to the determining unit 104. At this time, the determining unit 104 executes processing for communicating with the ground command center 200 via the transmitting/receiving unit 107 (processing of transmitting and receiving information related to an evacuation guidance method) (S309), and then ends the processing in this routine. At this time, a crew member communicates with the ground command center 107 using a microphone or a speaker connected to the transmitting/receiving unit 107, and checks for the evacuation guidance method for safely guiding the passengers.
According to the embodiment, when there is any abnormality in the train 20, it is possible to identify and to display an evacuation route for the passengers in the train. Furthermore, according to this embodiment, when a disaster, an accident, or the like occurs in the train 20 and evacuation guidance for passengers to the outside of the vehicle is required, it is possible to provide evacuation guidance for passengers quickly and safely without waiting for the crew members to completely finish checking the situation inside and outside the vehicles and reporting to the ground command center 200. That is, it is possible to notify the crew members and the passengers of the door to be used for evacuation guidance for passengers and an evacuation route to be followed by the passengers after getting off the vehicle, using an image and a voice.

[Second Embodiment]

In this embodiment, a driving device is mounted on a vehicle control device, and other configurations are the same as those according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle control device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the vehicle control device 10 includes a driving device 109, and the determining unit 104 is connected to the driving device 109.
When the train 20 is an electric train, the driving device 109 includes an inverter converter device, a motor device, and a braking device. When the train is a diesel train, the driving device includes a diesel engine and a braking device. The driving device 109 is disposed in one of the vehicles 30 to 50, and performs inching for moving the train 20 to a designated position, in response to a driving command from the determining unit 104.
At this time, when the door identification information indicates that there is no door available for safe evacuation guidance in the train 20, the determining unit 104 calculates a target travel distance from the current position of the train 20 (where the train 20 has stopped) to an area where there is a door available for safe evacuation guidance, on the basis of the external images, under a condition that an inching command is received from a crew member or the ground command center 200, and then outputs a driving command to the driving device 109. When the train 20 is caused to travel by being driven by the driving device 109, the determining unit 104 measures the distance by which the train 20 has traveled, on the basis of the external images, subtracts the distance by which the train 20 has traveled, from a target travel distance, and outputs a stop command to the driving device 109 to stop the train 20 when the difference between the target travel distance and the distance by which the train has traveled becomes zero. Note that the target travel distance may be calculated and the movement of the train 20 may be started and stopped on the side of the driving device.
According to the embodiment, when there is no door enabling guidance for safe evacuation on the train 20, by causing the driving device 109 to inch the train 20, it is possible to move (drive) the train 20 to an area where at least one door can be used for safe evacuation guidance.
Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and includes various modifications thereof. For example, the door identifying unit 102, the passenger identifying unit 103, and the determining unit 104 may be integrated, and the integrated determining unit 104 may be configured to execute the processing of the door identifying unit 102 and the processing of the passenger identifying unit 103. The embodiments have been described above in detail to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described above. Furthermore, a part of the configuration according to one embodiment may be replaced with a configuration according to another embodiment, and a configuration according to another embodiment may be added to the configuration of the one embodiment. In addition, another configuration may be added to, deleted from, and replaced with a part of the configuration according to each of the embodiments.
In addition, some or all of the configurations, functions, processing units, processing means or the like explained above may be implemented as hardware, through designing of an integrated circuit, for example. In addition, each of the configurations, the functions, and the like described above may be implemented as software by causing a processor to parse and to execute a program that implements the functions. Information such as a program, a table, and a file for implementing the functions may be stored in a storage device such as a memory, a hard disk, and a solid-state drive (SSD), or a recording medium such as an integrated circuit (IC) card, a secure digital (SD) card, and a digital versatile disc (DVD).
Furthermore, control lines and information lines presented are those considered to be necessary for the explanation, and are not necessarily the representations of all of the control lines and the information lines in the product. In reality, it may be considered that almost all of the configurations are connected to one another.

Reference Signs List

10: vehicle control device
20: vehicle
100: sensor unit
101: abnormality detecting unit
102: door identifying unit
103: passenger identifying unit
104: determining unit
105: display unit
106: announcement unit
107: transmitting/receiving unit
108: storage unit
109: driving device
200: ground command center

Claims

A vehicle control device comprising:
a plurality of sensor units that are disposed in a plurality of vehicles forming a train, and detect an external condition or internal condition of the vehicles;

an abnormality detecting unit that detects abnormality in the train based on a detection output from at least one of the plurality of sensor units;

a door identifying unit that identifies, when abnormality of the train is detected by the abnormality detecting unit, whether any of the vehicles has a door belonging to an area where a passenger of the train is allowed to get off safely, based on a detection output of a sensor unit detecting the external condition of the vehicles of the train, among the plurality of sensor units; and

a storage unit that stores wayside information on a plurality of evacuation routes extending along a travelling route of the train, in a manner associated with positions along the travelling route of the train;

a determining unit that determines, when the abnormality detecting unit detects abnormality in the train and the train stops, whether the wayside information includes any evacuation route connected from a specific door identified by the door identifying unit; and

a plurality of display units that display information including a determination result of the determining unit, inside each of the vehicles, wherein

when a positive determination result is obtained in the determination,

the determining unit extracts the evacuation route connected from the specific door from the wayside information, generates evacuation guidance information including an image of the evacuation route thus extracted and an image of the specific door, and outputs the evacuation guidance information to the plurality of display units, and

the plurality of display units display, upon receiving the evacuation guidance information, the image of the evacuation route and the image of the specific door, based on the evacuation guidance information thus received.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising a driving device that moves the train to a designated position, wherein
the determining unit is configured to, when a negative determination result is obtained in the determination, calculate a target travel distance from a position where the train has stopped to an area making a door available for safe evacuation guidance, under a condition that an inching command is received, based on detection outputs of the sensor units, output a driving command to the driving device, measure a travelling distance traveled by the train by being driven by the driving device based on detection outputs of the sensor units, and output a stop command to the driving device to stop the train when a difference between the travelling distance measured in measurement and the target travel distance becomes zero.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of announcement units that interpret information including a determination result of the determining unit, generates an audio signal in accordance with an interpretation, converts a generated audio signal into a voice, and makes an announcement in each of the vehicles, wherein
the plurality of announcement units are configured to, when the evacuation guidance information is received from the determining unit, interpret received evacuation guidance information, generate an evacuation guidance audio signal including an audio signal for providing a guidance for using the specific door to the passenger, and an audio signal for guiding the passenger to the evacuation route, convert a generated evacuation guidance audio signal into a voice, and make an announcement in each of the vehicles.
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, further comprising a passenger identifying unit that identifies, when the abnormality detecting unit detects abnormality of the train, at least one of a concentration of passengers, a crowd density of the passengers, and presence of a person who is to be preferentially guided for evacuation, based on a detection output of a sensor unit that detects an internal condition of vehicles of the train, among the plurality of sensor units, and
the door identifying unit is configured to: collect door identification information indicating a result of identifying each of the doors; determine whether at least one of the doors is a door in an area where the passenger is allowed to get off safely based on the collected door identification information; determine, when a positive determination result is obtained in this first determination, whether there is any door that does not have any concentration of passengers and that is safely unlockable by the passenger based on a concentration of the passengers identified by the passenger identifying unit and based on a detection output of a sensor unit that detects the internal condition of the vehicles of the train, among the plurality of sensor units, respectively; and determine, when a positive determination result is obtained in this second determination, whether there is any person to be preferentially guided for evacuation near a door that is safely unlockable by the passenger, based on the presence of the person to be preferentially guided for evacuation, the presence being identified by the passenger identifying unit, and identify, when a positive determination result is obtained in this third determination, a door close to the person to be preferentially guided for evacuation, among the doors, as a door to be used for evacuation guidance.
The vehicle control device according to claim 4, wherein the door identifying unit is configured to determine, when a negative determination result is obtained in the third determination, whether there is a door with a dense crowd near the door, among the doors that are safely unlockable by the passenger, based on the crowd density of the passengers, the crowd density being identified by the passenger identifying unit, and identify, when a positive determination result is obtained in this fourth determination, a door with a dense crowd near the door that is safely unlockable by the passenger as a door to be used for the evacuation guidance, and identifies, when a negative determination result is obtained in the fourth determination, a door closest to an evacuation site, among the doors, as a door to be used for evacuation guidance.
The vehicle control device according to claim 5, further comprising a transmitting/receiving unit configured to transmit or receive information to or from the determining unit and the ground command center, wherein
the determining unit transmits and receives information on an evacuation guidance method to and from the ground command center via the transmitting/receiving unit, under a condition that a negative determination result is received from the door identifying unit, as a determination result of the first determination or a determination result of the second determination.