JP2002117487A - Guide information providing device for use of mobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide necessary information to a user using a mobile with a simple structure. SOLUTION: The present position of a regular route bus is specified, and a database for regular route bus operation data is renewed (steps 400-404). According to a request for the guide from a starting point to an arrival point with a minimum waiting time in a bus stop, the corresponding operation route and bus stop are retrieved (steps 406 and 408). When a plurality of results is present, a bus station with minimum waiting time is selected after the waiting time of the user in the bus stop of each operation route is calculated (steps 410-414), and the bus stop with minimum waiting time is guided to the user (step 418). Accordingly, in conformation to the telephone inquiry from the user, the bus stop with minimum waiting time can be guided to the user.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for providing information on use of a mobile object, and more particularly, to information on use of a mobile object which provides information on the operation of a mobile object that can pass or stop at a stop. Related to the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A moving body such as a route bus or a tour bus travels by raising and lowering a user at a stop according to an operation plan such as a predetermined operation route. For this reason, a timetable such as the arrival time and arrival interval of the moving object is displayed at the stop. Since the traveling of the moving object changes depending on the passenger's elevating and lowering conditions, traffic conditions, and the like, the arrival time of the moving object at each stop may be accelerated or delayed.

Therefore, a bus location system has been proposed which informs a user waiting for arrival at a stop of necessary information. However, in order for a user to recognize the arrival of a bus that he / she wants to get on, he or she must go to the stop. Must. For this reason, when the user goes to the stop, it may be after the bus has already departed, or it may take a long time until the bus arrives.

In order to solve this problem, there has been proposed a bus approach information display method capable of obtaining bus approach information without going to a stop (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-185197).
Reference). In this technique, the approach of the bus is presented to the user while grasping the position of the bus.

[0005]

However, when there are a plurality of bus operation routes or a plurality of bus stops on the route that the user intends to move to the destination, which bus route is used, which bus stop is used, It was difficult and bothersome to determine whether to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a mobile body use guide information providing apparatus capable of providing a user using a mobile body with necessary information with a simple configuration. .

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an apparatus for providing guidance on use of a moving object which transmits from a moving object capable of passing or stopping at a stop on a predetermined operation route. Receiving means for receiving a plurality of moving object information related to the position of the moving object, computing means for obtaining operation information on the operation of each moving object based on the received moving object information, a starting point for the movement of the user, and Receiving means for receiving an inquiry about an arrival point, deriving means for finding the operation route and the nearest stop capable of reaching the destination from the starting point received by the receiving means, and derivation results of the operation information and the deriving means Providing means for deriving and providing guidance information on the nearest stop and operation route to the departure point where the waiting time of the user is the shortest, based on
It has.

A moving body traveling on an operation route passes or stops at a stop on the operation route. This moving body includes vehicles that transport passengers such as buses and taxis, and more specifically, buses that operate on predetermined routes such as route buses and circuit buses, and within a predetermined route or range such as a shared taxi. There is a vehicle that carries a certain user or an unspecified number of users.
In order to reach the destination without waiting for the arrival of the moving body, for example, a user such as a passenger must determine which operation route should be used to travel from which stop to which stop. You may want to check.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a plurality of receiving means receives moving body information from a moving body. The mobile unit transmits the mobile unit information regularly or constantly. The moving body information is information relating to the position of the moving body, and includes information relating to the operation of the moving body, such as the identification code of the moving body, the time, the position itself, the average speed of the moving body, the passenger status, and the like. The calculating means obtains operation information on the operation of each mobile unit based on the received mobile unit information. The operation information relates to a moving object traveling on an operation route, and is information necessary for grasping the position and status of the moving object on the operating operation route. For example, the position and speed of the moving object on the operation route,
There is traffic congestion information of the surroundings. Here, the receiving means receives an inquiry about the starting point and the arrival point regarding the movement of the user. This inquiry is a moving range from the starting point to the destination point desired by the user. If an operation route exists in or near this movement range, the moving body can be used.

[0010] The deriving means obtains an operation route and a nearest stop from the starting point received by the receiving means to the destination. The nearest stops include a stop at each of the starting point and the arrival point. As a result, it is possible to derive a stop at the start point and a stop at the end point for using an operation route that can move in the movement range desired by the user.
The providing means first derives guidance information on a stop and an operation route nearest to the starting point where the waiting time of the user is the shortest, based on the operation information and the derivation result of the deriving means.
That is, since the operation information is obtained, the moving body on the operation route can be grasped, and the stop of the operation route with the shortest waiting time can be derived from the grasp result and the desired operation route. This makes it possible to derive guidance information that minimizes the waiting time of the user even when there are a plurality of operation routes and stops. Then, the providing means provides the derived guide information. As a result, it is possible to provide the user with a response to the inquiry about the starting point and the destination about the user's movement, which is a request from the user. As a result, it is possible for the user to travel to the destination with a minimum waiting time for the moving body at the nearest stop without going to the stop.

[0011] The arithmetic means can obtain position information relating to a current position of the moving body as the operation information. As moving body information from the moving body, for example, if moving body information including information indicating the current position of the moving body is received from the moving body, position information on the current position of the moving body can be obtained by the arithmetic means, The current position of the moving object can be specified.

[0012] Further, the calculation means can obtain, as the operation information, information about an estimated time of arrival of the moving body at a stop. If position information on the current position of the moving object can be obtained, the position on the operation route can be determined. As a result, the distance to an arbitrary stop can be obtained, and the time required for traveling at that distance can be obtained based on, for example, an average hourly speed or a standard traveling speed. The time required for traveling the distance determined in this way corresponds to the time until arrival, so that the estimated time of arrival can be obtained from the current time.

[0013] The mobile unit transmitting the mobile unit information may be a public transportation vehicle capable of moving passengers.
Although public transportation vehicles often travel on predetermined operation routes, they may pass on roads with high versatility and high distribution (congestion degree). In this case, passengers and other passengers who wish to use this public transportation vehicle can easily check how they are currently operating (where they are, how many passengers they carry, etc.) The convenience can be improved.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a bus location guidance system. This bus location guidance system continuously detects the position of the own vehicle by the route bus itself, grasps the position of the route bus on the center side, and guides the user to the route bus and stop of the optimal operation route. Is what you do.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a conceptual configuration of a bus location guidance system 10 according to the present embodiment. Bus location guidance system 1 of the present embodiment
At 0, the route bus 12 on which the in-vehicle device 30 is mounted travels according to a predetermined operation route 14. A plurality of (here, four) stops BS1, BS2, BS3, and BS4 for elevating and lowering passengers are defined on the operation route 14. In the bus location guidance system 10, an operation route 15 is defined in addition to the operation route 14. The route bus 12 on which the vehicle-mounted device 30 is mounted also runs on the operation route 15 similarly to the operation route 14. On this operation route 15, a plurality of passengers (here,
5 stops) BS1, BS4, BS5, BS6, B
S7 is defined. The service route 14 and the service route 15 have the stop stations BS1 and BS4 defined as common stop stations.

The route bus 12 includes a route bus communication device 40.
And a vehicle-mounted device 30 connected to the GPS 41 (details will be described later). The route bus communication device 40 is for communicating information outside the route bus. GPS41,
This is for receiving signals from the GPS satellites 20A, 20B, and 20C to detect its own position. The onboard unit 30 mounted on the route bus 12 includes a GPS satellite 20A,
Its own position (current position) is specified by the GPS signals from 20B and 20C, and transmitted outside the route bus by communication.

In the vicinity of the stops of these operation routes 14 and 15 (in the present embodiment, near the stops BS3 and BS5), there is a living space 18 where a user who can use the route bus 12 as a passenger lives. positioned. A telephone 18A is installed in the living space 18.

In the bus location guidance system 10 of the present embodiment, an operation management center 19 for managing the operation of the route bus 12 running on the operation route is installed. The operation management center 19 receives information sent from the route bus, constantly grasps the current position of the route bus, and constantly monitors the current position. That is, the operation management center 19 is provided with the vehicle-mounted device 30 mounted on the route bus 12.
Information can be exchanged between The operation management center 19 may be configured to receive signals from the GPS satellites 20A, 20B, and 20C in order to correct a GPS signal having an error.

The operation management center 19 manages the position data of the route bus transmitted by wireless communication of the route bus to create a position database of the route bus, or displays the route bus on a display device installed in the operation management center. It is configured to monitor the position of a route bus. The operation management center can receive inquiries from outside (for example, homes), and can guide the operation status of the route bus corresponding to the inquiries, and can guide available service routes and available stops.

Next, an on-vehicle device mounted on the route bus 12 will be described. The in-vehicle device according to the present embodiment has a configuration that enables the own vehicle position detecting device to grasp the own vehicle position and to transmit the current position data by wirelessly communicating with the operation management center 19. I have.

As shown in FIG. 2, the on-vehicle units 30 mounted on the route bus 12 are connected to the CPU 3 via a bus line 37 so that commands and data can be transmitted and received.
3, RAM 34, ROM 35, and input / output ports (I /
O) An apparatus main body 32 composed of a microcomputer consisting of 36 is provided. The RAM 34 is a backup ram, and backs up (stores) the stored information even when the power is turned off. The input / output port 36 has a floppy (registered trademark) disk FD.
Are connected to a floppy dusk unit FDU which can be inserted and withdrawn. The ROM 35 stores a processing routine and various data described below.

The various data and processing routines to be described later can be read from and written to the FD using the FDU.
Therefore, a processing routine to be described later may be recorded in the FD in advance without being stored in the ROM 35, and the processing program recorded in the FD may be executed via the FDU. Also, a large-capacity storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk device is connected to the device main body 32, and the processing program recorded in the FD is stored (installed) in the large-capacity storage device (not shown) and executed. Is also good. As a recording medium, an optical disk such as a CD-ROM, MD, MO
When using these, a CD-ROM device, an MD device, an MO device, a DVD device, or the like may be used instead of the FDU.

The input / output port 36 is connected to a GPS 41 to which a GPS antenna 41A is connected.
The route bus communication device 40 is connected. GPS41
Is the GPS from the GPS satellites 20A, 20B, 20C
This is for specifying the position of the own route bus 12 by a signal. The route bus communication device 40 is for communicating or providing information to the ground side by communication, and employs a wireless communication device. An example of the wireless communication device is a mobile communication device such as a telephone line communication. That is, as the route bus communication device 40, a mobile communication device such as a mobile phone or an in-vehicle phone device can be used.
Wireless communication (data communication and conversation via a telephone line) can be made possible between the vehicle and a telephone device outside the vehicle via the on-vehicle device 30. The route bus communication device 40 of the present embodiment employs a mobile communication device, and can be switched between a call mode for making a call and a data communication mode for performing data communication.

A navigation device 45 is connected to the input / output port 36. The navigation device 45 includes a map database 45A that stores map information and audio information for providing route assistance information with video and audio to the driver. Although not shown, an information providing device that provides video and audio to the driver is provided near the driver's seat so as to enable optimal monitoring for the driver.

The input / output port 36 is provided with a display device 42 for providing information of characters and images to passengers in the route bus 12 and a speaker 44A for providing audio information. The speaker device including the device 44 is connected. On the display device 42, information on a stop, such as the name of a stop to be stopped next, and information urging attention such as a sudden stop are displayed. In addition, the speaker device also provides information about a stop and information for calling attention to sudden stop or the like by voice information.

A vehicle behavior sensor 46 is connected to the input / output port 36. This vehicle behavior sensor 4
6 is a sensor for detecting the behavior of the route bus,
It is provided as needed. Examples include a vehicle height sensor, a yaw rate sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and a traveling pulse sensor. The running pulse sensor detects a running distance by a pulse signal generated by rotation of a tire or the like. In addition, a gyro for specifying its own position by autonomous navigation can be used as the vehicle behavior sensor 46. In addition, as the vehicle behavior sensor 46, V
A sensor for receiving ICS information can also be used.

As shown in FIG. 3, a management control device 90 is installed in the operation management center 19, and the management control devices 90 are connected by bus lines 97 so that commands and data can be exchanged. CPU 93, RA
M94, ROM 95, and input / output port (I / O) 96
Device 9 composed of a microcomputer comprising
2 is provided. The RAM 94 is a backup ram, and backs up (stores) the stored information even when the power is turned off. I / O port 9
6, a floppy disk unit FDU to which a floppy disk FD can be inserted and withdrawn can be connected. Note that the ROM 95 stores a processing routine and various data described below.

The operation control center communication device 19A is connected to the input / output port 96. The operation management center communication device 19A is for communicating with the route bus 12, and a wireless communication device is employed in the present embodiment. Thereby, the communication device 19A for the operation management center
, Wireless communication (data communication or conversation via a telephone line) with a communication device installed on the route bus 12 can be made possible.

The input / output port 96 is connected to a display device 98 for displaying information such as the operation status of a route bus and the status of a stop at the operation management center 19. Note that a configuration in which a speaker device including a voice device provided with a speaker for providing voice information in the operation management center 19 may be connected.

Next, the operation of the bus location guidance system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, a signal (information) transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 30 mounted on the route bus 12 is transmitted to the operation management center 19.

First, the vehicle-mounted device 3 mounted on the route bus 12
The operation of 0 will be described. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the vehicle-mounted device 30 transmits a control signal for setting the route bus communication device 40 to the data communication mode when the power is turned on. It is assumed that route guidance along the operation route 14 is displayed on the navigation device. That is, the operation route 14 is set in the navigation device 45 in advance.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the on-vehicle device 30 attached to the route bus 12, the following interrupt processing is executed every predetermined time (for example, every one minute), and the GPS satellites 20A to 20C by the GPS 41 in step 100. From the local bus 12
Is calculated (for example, latitude and longitude).

The self-position coordinates calculated by the GPS 41 are sent to the navigation device 45, and correspond to the map on the next step 102. That is,
In the navigation device 45, a map database 45A
Is read, and where the current position (position coordinates) of the received route bus 12 is located on the operation route 14 on the map, the current position data of the route bus 12 is obtained. The current position data is returned to the apparatus main body 32, and the current position of the route bus 12 is displayed on the map data for navigation displayed on the display device 42, and can be presented to the driver.

In the next step 104, the current position data is transmitted to the operation management center 19. The transmission in step 104 is performed by the route bus communication device 40 in the data communication mode.

It is preferable to read the running state such as the current time and the vehicle speed in accordance with the current position of the route bus. For example, it is possible to detect and read the traveling state of the vehicle such as the traveling distance and the vehicle speed of the vehicle. As a result, the route bus 12 uses the GPS 41 of the onboard device 30 mounted thereon,
The vehicle position can be detected at regular intervals (time or distance) that are substantially continuous.

Further, the current position (for example, latitude and longitude) of the route bus 12 may be transmitted as data without associating the detected position of the route bus with the map.

The data transmitted from the route bus includes:
The passenger status may include that the passenger is fully packed. This data may be processed so as to be included when an instruction switch or the like is pressed when the driver is in an emergency state, or another emergency signal may be used. For example, an ABS operation signal, a VSC operation signal, or the like may be used.

Next, the operation of the operation management center 19 for receiving a signal from the route bus 12 will be described. In the present embodiment, the operation management center 19 receives the information sent from the route bus, constantly grasps the current position of the route bus, constantly monitors the current position, and provides guidance in response to an inquiry from the user. Or something to do. Further, the operation management center 19 can create a database of route bus operation data, and can perform route bus operation management, create a dispatch plan when a demand occurs, create an operation plan, and the like.

As shown in FIG. 5, the management controller 90 installed in the operation management center 19 executes the following interrupt processing every predetermined time (for example, one second or one minute). It is determined whether or not the signal transmitted from T.12 has been received. If no signal has been received, the result in step 400 is NO, and the process proceeds to step 406.
On the other hand, when the signal is received, the result in step 400 is affirmative, and in the next step 402, the data grasp processing from the route bus 12 is executed. The received signal includes position information for specifying the position of the route bus 12 (including a route bus ID for identifying the route bus).
In the next step 402, the position information is grasped by reading, and the process proceeds to the next step 404, where the current position of the route bus 12 that has received the signal is specified, and the database of the route bus operation data is updated.

That is, in step 402, the current position of the route bus 12 is calculated based on the position information from the route bus 12. In step 402, the traveling speed and time can be obtained. In addition, it is possible to grasp the riding state (for example, full capacity) of the route bus 12.

With the above processing, the current position of each of the route buses running on the operation route can be ascertained.

In step 406, it is determined whether or not there is an inquiry from the user. In this step 406, it is determined whether or not the user has accessed the operation management center 19 with the telephone 18A. In this case, the inquiry from the user is a request for guidance from the position where the inquiry was made by the user or the starting point desired by the user to the arrival point desired by the user. This request includes a request that minimizes the waiting time for waiting for the route bus 12 at the stop. If a negative determination is made in step 406, the present routine is terminated as it is, and if a positive determination is made, the process proceeds to step 408.

Step 408 is a process of searching for an operation route and a stop for guidance in response to an inquiry from the user. In this step 408, first, a start point and an arrival point of the inquiry from the user are grasped. These departure points and arrival points do not need to match the routes and stops of the route bus. That is, an operation route that passes through the vicinity of each of the grasped start point and arrival point is derived.

The processing in step 408 is described with reference to FIG.
In the following description, an example will be described in which the user uses the telephone 18A to set the facility 16 as the end point starting from the living space 18 and requesting guidance of a route bus and a stop with the shortest waiting time at the stop. First, an operation route of a route bus is selected within a range from a position where a user inquires or a starting point desired by the user to an arrival point desired by the user. This selection may be made by searching the route bus operation data database for the existence of an operation route passing near the departure point and the arrival point. In the example of FIG. 1, the operation route 14 and the operation route 15 are selected.

Next, the range in which the user moves on the route bus 12 of the operation route is obtained. This is to seek stops for getting on and off. That is, the starting point grasped is the user's living space 18, and it is necessary to move to the stop. In the example of FIG.
In, the nearest stop BS3 based on the movement range W1 is determined, and in the operation route 15, the nearest stop BS5 based on the movement range W2 is determined. Further, as the arrival point, a stop BS1 closest to the facility 16 in the moving range W3 is required. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 1, at step 408, the operation route 14 with the stop BS3-BS1 and the operation route 15 with the stop BS5-BS1 are obtained.

In the next step 410, step 408
It is determined whether or not there are a plurality of operation routes and stops searched in. If there are a plurality of search results, the result is affirmative in step 410, and the process proceeds to step 412 to calculate a waiting time for the user to wait for the route bus 12 at a stop of each operation route or a different stop of the same operation route. The process of step 412 refers to the database of route bus operation data for each route, and determines the standard route bus 12 based on the distance between the stop where the user gets on and the current position of the route bus 12 to arrive from now. The estimated arrival time is determined in consideration of the speed, and the estimated arrival time is set as the waiting time.

The calculation of the waiting time in step 412 can include the time from the starting point of the user to the arrival at the stop. In other words, in general, the user travels on foot to the stop on foot, so convert the distance on foot to the standard walking speed to obtain the travel time, and subtract the travel time from the estimated arrival time obtained above. , The waiting time can be obtained and set.

When the calculation of each of the plurality of waiting times is completed in step 412, in the next step 414, a stop having the minimum waiting time is selected. In this selection, a combination of an operation route and a stop may be selected.
When the selection of the stop with the minimum waiting time is completed, in the next step 418, the stop with the minimum waiting time is guided.
This guidance may include the estimated arrival time of the route bus. In addition, route bus 1 of plural service routes at the same stop
Since it is conceivable that the vehicle 2 stops, it is preferable that the guidance includes an operation route.

On the other hand, if there is only one search result in response to the inquiry from the user, the result of the determination in step 410 is NO, and the flow proceeds to step 416. The waiting time is calculated, and the process proceeds to step 418.

When there is no search result in the above step 408, another process can be performed such that there is no corresponding operation route or an operation route of another route bus is prompted.

As described above, the bus location guidance system according to the present embodiment grasps the operation status of a route bus and provides optimal guidance in response to inquiries from users, thereby providing convenience for users. Is increasing the character. That is, based on the own vehicle position data detected by the route bus, the operation status of the route bus (bus position, estimated arrival time, etc.) is grasped, and the operation route (route) and the stop corresponding to the inquiry from the user are determined. By searching, it is possible to select an operation route and a stop where the waiting time at the stop is the shortest. This makes it possible to provide guidance for a stop where the waiting time is minimum at the stop in response to a telephone inquiry from the user.

According to the present embodiment, the on-vehicle device provided on the route bus has a self-vehicle position grasping function (GPS), which can be executed in a detailed unit of about a second or a meter at a fixed time or a fixed traveling distance. The location of route buses can be grasped. Therefore, even if there is an operation interval with the route bus that has run before, it is not necessary to consider this. That is, the travel time to the stop can be easily predicted from the change in the travel speed or the travel time for each section. For example, a stop at a red light can be easily determined by comparing the current position of the route bus with the traffic signal on the map, the position of the intersection, and the duration of the speed reduction, and can be reflected in the prediction of the traveling time. Become.

Therefore, the user does not have to go to the bus stop to obtain the route bus operation information or wait for the bus to arrive at the bus stop. And other operating information, and can go to a bus stop when a route bus arrives.

Although the above description has been given of the case where the satellite navigation using the position detection of the route bus is used, the present invention is not limited to this, and any position detecting device may be used. As an example of this position detection device, there is one based on inertial navigation using a gyro or the like, and a position can be specified from a traveling distance or an azimuth.

The processing of step 400 in FIG. 4 corresponds to the processing realized by the receiving means of the present invention.
A part of the processing of 2 and 404 corresponds to the processing realized by the arithmetic means of the present invention. Further, the processing of step 408 corresponds to the processing realized by the deriving means of the present invention, and a part of the processing of steps 410 to 418 corresponds to the processing realized by the providing means of the present invention.

[Second Embodiment] In this embodiment, it is possible to move from the position where the user makes an inquiry or the starting point desired by the user to the arrival point desired by the user in the shortest arrival time. The present invention is applied to realize guidance. In this embodiment, since the configuration is substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment, the same portions are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, the interruption processing shown in FIG. 6 is executed at predetermined time intervals (for example, one second or one minute) in the management control device 90 installed in the operation management center 19. The difference between the processing of FIG. 6 and the processing of FIG. 5 is that step 430 of FIG. 6 is executed for step 406 of FIG. 5 and that steps 412 to 418 of FIG.
Steps 432 to 436 are executed.

First, the current position of the route bus 12 is specified by the signal from the route bus 12 and the database of the route bus operation data is updated (steps 400 to 40).
4).

At step 430, it is determined whether or not there is an inquiry from the user. In this step 430, it is determined whether or not the user has accessed the operation management center 19 with the telephone 18A. In this case, the inquiry from the user is a request for guidance from the position where the inquiry was made or the starting point desired by the user to the arrival point desired by the user. A guidance request for the route bus 12 (stop) which has the fastest arrival time at the ground is included.

Next, an operation route and a stop for guidance in response to an inquiry from the user are searched (step 40).
8) If there is only one search result (No at step 410), the arrival time at the destination or the arrival time at the nearest stop is calculated for the operation route and the stop of the search result (step 416). In this case, the waiting time for the user to wait for the route bus 12 at the stop may be calculated.

When there are a plurality of search results (step 41)
(Yes at 0), the process proceeds to step 432, and the estimated time of arrival at the destination is calculated. This destination may be a stop. This process refers to a database of route bus operation data for each operation route, specifies a stop where the user gets on and a stop where the user gets off when using the running route bus 12, and determines the distance between them. The distance from the current position of the arriving route bus 12 to the stop where the user gets on is obtained. Then, in consideration of the standard speed of the route bus 12, the arrival time of the stop at which the user gets off is predicted. The prediction result of k is set as a destination arrival prediction time.

The calculation of the estimated arrival time at the destination at step 432 includes the time from the departure point of the user to the stop at which the user should get on the train and the time from the stop at which the user should get off to the destination at the destination. Can be. In other words, since the user generally moves to the stop on foot, the distance on foot is converted to the standard walking speed to obtain the travel time, and the user moves to the estimated destination arrival time calculated above. By adding the time, the required time can be obtained and set as the estimated destination arrival time calculation.

At a stop on each service route or at a different stop on the same service route, it is possible to calculate the waiting time for the user to wait for the route bus 12 at the stop where the user should board. This means that the speed of the standard route bus 12 is considered from the distance between the stop where the user gets on and the current position of the route bus 12 arriving, by referring to the route bus operation data database for each route. Then, an estimated arrival time is obtained, and the estimated arrival time is set as a waiting time.

When the calculation of each of the plurality of estimated destination arrival times is completed in step 432, in the next step 434, a stop at the minimum estimated destination arrival time is selected. In this selection, a combination of an operation route and a stop may be selected. When the selection of the stop with the minimum estimated destination arrival time is completed, in the next step 436, a stop at which the minimum estimated destination arrival time, that is, the estimated estimated time of arrival at the destination, is guided. This guidance may include the waiting time of the route bus. In addition, since the route bus 12 of a plurality of operation routes may stop at the same stop, it is preferable that the guidance includes the operation route.

As described above, in the bus location guidance system according to the present embodiment, the operation status of the route bus (bus position,
(Estimated arrival time, etc.) and search for operation routes (routes) and stops corresponding to inquiries from users, and select operation routes and stops that require the shortest time to the destination. . Thus, it is possible to provide guidance for a stop at which the arrival time of the destination is the shortest in response to a telephone inquiry from the user.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention, the operation route and the nearest stop which can be reached from the starting point to the destination are obtained by the deriving means, and the operation information and the deriving means are derived by the providing means. Based on the result, guidance information on the nearest stop and operation route is derived and provided to the starting point where the waiting time of the user is the shortest, so inquiries about the starting point and the arrival point regarding the user's movement requested by the user There is an effect that an answer to the question can be easily provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a bus location guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle-mounted device mounted on a route bus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a management control device provided in an operation management center.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of an on-vehicle device mounted on a route bus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process flow of the management control device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing flow of a management control device according to a second embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Bus location guidance system 12 Route bus 14 Operation route 15 Operation route 16 Facilities 18 Living space 18A Telephone 19 Operation management center 19A Communication device for operation management center 30 Onboard unit 40 Communication device for route bus 41 GPS

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Nishimura 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Toyota Motor Corporation F-term (reference) 5H180 AA06 AA16 AA24 BB05 BB13 BB15 EE05 FF05 FF13 FF17 FF25 FF32 5K067 AA34 BB03 BB04 BB26 BB36 DD17 DD52 DD54 EE02 EE16 FF03 FF05 FF23 FF25 HH05 HH21 HH22 JJ52 JJ56 JJ63

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Receiving means for receiving a plurality of pieces of moving object information related to the position of a moving object transmitted from a moving object capable of passing or stopping at a stop on a predetermined operation route, and the received moving object Calculating means for obtaining operation information relating to the operation of each mobile unit based on the information; receiving means for receiving an inquiry about a starting point and a destination point relating to the movement of the user; and reaching from the starting point to the destination point received by the receiving means. Deriving means for finding the possible operation route and the nearest stop, based on the operation information and the derivation result of the deriving means,
Providing means for deriving and providing guidance information on a stop and an operation route nearest to the departure point where the waiting time of the user is the shortest; 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the calculation unit obtains position information relating to a current position of the moving body as the operation information. 3. The operation means according to claim 1, wherein the operation information includes:
3. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein expected arrival time information of the moving body at a stop is obtained. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving body is a public transportation vehicle capable of moving passengers.