JP2013200540A - Card for flagging taxi and indicating boarding position - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that, when a person who is standing by roadside to take a taxi puts his or her hand up, waves his or her hand, or talks to a driver of a running taxi approaching him or her to indicate his or her desire to take the taxi and a boarding position to the taxi driver, there is a risk that delay in the driver's judgment for such conventional means may cause a traffic accident because sunshine condition, a distance, traffic condition, a crowd, and the like may make it difficult for the driver to find the person or the indication of the desire to ride may be indistinct.SOLUTION: A card for flagging a taxi and indicating a boarding position is obtained by providing two recursive visible-ray reflecting sheets on one surface of a flat card in positions off a peripheral edge part of the card separately from each other. A user uses the card to reflect light from a head light of a taxi toward a driver of the taxi, whereby a signal of his or her desire to take the taxi and the boarding position is informed to the driver.

Description

  [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a means for transmitting a request for boarding and a boarding position to a taxi driver who is approaching while driving on the road.

Conventionally, there are the following means for a taxi user (hereinafter referred to as a user) to convey a ride request and a boarding position to an approaching taxi driver while traveling:
・ Raise your hand toward the driver.
・ Shake your hand toward the driver.
・ Call out to the driver.

The above means have the following obstacles:
(1) If the user's behavior is not clear, the driver takes time to determine whether or not the person wants to get on.
(2) When the difference in brightness between the user's figure and the background is insufficient, the taxi driver is difficult to find the user.
(3) In each of the above conditions (1) and (2), the greater the distance between the user and the taxi, the more time is required for the driver to determine the passenger's desire to board.
(4) The higher the taxi driving speed, the narrower the driver's field of view and the narrower the area where users can be found.
(5) The driver is less likely to find the user in the second lane than in the first lane on the left side of the taxi traveling direction.
(6) Even when the distance between the user and the taxi is about 20 meters, it may take time for the driver to determine that the customer is a passenger depending on the lighting around the position where the user stands and the degree of congestion. In this case, since the distance and time allowance is small, a traffic accident is likely to occur during the operation of the taxi until the stop.
(7) The voice that the user makes to the driver is easily erased by the driving sound of taxis and the noise of surrounding vehicles.

  The present invention is intended to solve the problems of the above-mentioned conventional means, and a user standing on a sidewalk or a shoulder of a taxi driver approaches a taxi driver and a boarding position at a distance. The purpose is to provide a tool that makes it easy to confirm.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides two recursive visible light reflectors on one surface of a flat card in a state where they are separated from each other and away from the peripheral edge of the card. Is.

  The second problem-solving means is the above-described first problem-solving means, wherein the card can be folded in half, and the card surface that is invisible when the card is completely folded in half is 1 on each side of the folding line. A sheet of retroreflective visible light reflector is provided.

  Further, the third problem solving means is the above first problem solving means, wherein the card can be folded in two, and the card surface that is invisible when the card is completely folded in two is symmetric with respect to the folding line. Thus, two circular or elliptical recursive visible light reflectors are provided.

  The operation of the first problem solving means is as follows. If the taxi headlights are lit at night or in bad weather, the user standing on the sidewalk or on the shoulder will see two recursive visible light reflectors for the approaching taxi headlamps. If the card surface is placed over the card, that is, when the card surface is held perpendicular to the light from the headlamp, the two recursive visible light reflectors on the card The incident light from each is sent in the direction of the headlamp as reflected light parallel to the incident light. When the reflected light enters the eyes of the taxi driver, the driver can firmly recognize the shapes of the two reflectors. If the signal generated by the shape of these two reflectors is recognized in advance by the taxi user and the taxi sales company as a signal indicating the ride request and the boarding position, The driver can recognize that there is a user indicating that he / she wants to get on the vehicle at the position where the signal is generated. The shape of the retro-reflective visible light reflector is easy to recognize because of the high brightness contrast between these reflectors and the parts of the card surface where these reflectors are not covered by these reflectors. is there. In addition to the brightness contrast between the card surface and the reflective material surface, the brightness contrast between the reflective material surface and the user's background is also important. Furthermore, by providing two retroreflective materials on the card surface, two recursive reflectors are used so that the driver's recognition of the signal is less likely to be disturbed by the various retrovisible visible light reflectors in the background of the user. The shape and arrangement of the reflective reflectors were made easier to devise. Further, in the daytime when the headlamp is not used, the driver recognizes a signal generated by the shape of the two reflectors based on the contrast between the color of the recursive visible light reflector and the color of the card surface. When using headlights during the day, it is the same as using cards at night.

  In addition to the action of the first problem solving means, the action of the second problem solving means makes it easy to carry the tool of the present invention, and breaks or damages the two retroreflective members during carrying. It is also possible to protect from.

  In addition to the action of the first and second problem solving means, the action of the third problem solving means includes two circular reflectors or two elliptical reflectors that are symmetric with respect to the folding line. By recognizing both eyes of humans and animals, signal recognition is facilitated.

  Furthermore, as a function common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, a user may be able to move a signal emitted from the card of the present invention. That is, unlike a reflected light beam generated by a retroreflecting material fixed at a specific location, a user can easily generate a signal indicating human movement using these problem solving means. For example, if the user spreads the palm of one hand and gently holds the card with each fingertip to hold the card, attaches the upper arm to the torso and moves the forearm in a large or small arc, the driver Can easily detect the presence of a human on the card.

  Further, as a function common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, the signal emitted from the card of the present invention is a specific signal that the user who wants to ride points the card at night or in bad weather. It uses light rays from the headlight of the taxi, and does not reflect light such as headlights of other automobiles or outdoor lighting toward the specific taxi. Also, the retroreflective visible light reflector of the card does not require a power source. Since no battery or storage battery is required, it can be expected to be applied as a powerful signal generator that can be easily used in a disaster. By the way, taxis are one of the means of public transportation, and drivers are expected to take the lead in saving lives.

  As described above, the taxi ride request / boarding position display card according to the present invention allows the user standing on the sidewalk or the shoulder to easily approach the taxi driver approaching and ride position even at a distance. It is a tool that clearly shows it so that it can be confirmed.

  By using the first, second, and third problem solving means, the user can clearly see the user's desire to get on the vehicle by holding a card that is easily noticeable toward the taxi driver. Can reliably determine the user's boarding desire and the boarding position at the same time.

  Common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, but perpendicular to the light from the taxi headlamp when the user approaches the two recursive visible light reflector surfaces of the card In this way, the user can specify a taxi and indicate the desire to ride. The reason for using a recursive visible light reflector is that it is necessary to reflect the light from the headlight of a particular taxi toward the taxi driver. From the viewpoint of the taxi driver, the card presented by the user is a means of clearly revealing the user who wants to use the vehicle within the range illuminated by the headlight of the vehicle.

  Although common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, the reflected light of the two reflectors that retroreflects the light of the taxi headlamps at night or in a dark place due to weather or other conditions It appears to the driver as a clear signal in the background as a signal indicating the user's desire to board and the boarding position. Since the driver can easily determine the user's desire to board and the position of the boarding in a short time, a time margin is generated as compared with the case where these determinations are troublesome. Thanks to this, the driver can safely drive the taxi to the boarding position with more careful consideration than before and after, left and right vehicles and passersby.

  Although common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, the contrast due to the difference in reflectance with respect to incident light between the card reflector and the remaining card ground, and the card reflector, Contrast due to the difference in color with the rest of the card is important. By ensuring sufficient contrast on the surface of the card by the remaining portion of the card, it is possible to emit a signal from the card without being greatly affected by the surrounding situation of the place where the card is used. Furthermore, if the user holds the card so that it is directly in front of the body, it is possible to reliably avoid influences such as background lighting.

  Although common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, the card does not use a power source and does not emit light by itself. By using retroreflection, unnecessary light is not reflected to the periphery.

  Although common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, a taxi driver can easily find a person who wants to use a distant person at night, in the rain, and in the evening, compared to the conventional method. How far it can be confirmed will be described in detail in an embodiment of the third problem solving means.

  Although common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, if the size of the card that fits in the palm is adopted, the card is held in the palm and the card is slowly drawn in a slight arc in the horizontal direction. Convenient to shake. This is an ergonomic operation that does not cause fatigue, and the visibility of the card to the driver can be greatly increased by moving the reflected light from the reflector.

  Although common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, a taxi is called by phone on the surface of the card where no reflective material is provided and the remaining portion of the surface provided with the reflective material. You can print the phone number of a taxi company, write personal information of the card user, and so on. The card can also be used to display the customer's waiting position for the driver when calling a taxi over the phone or the Internet.

Although common to the first, second, and third problem solving means, by designing the shape of the two reflectors, that is, the type, size, color, shape, and arrangement of the reflectors, It can also be a signal to request a taxi company, union, group, etc. In addition, a display indicating that a taxi of a specific taxi company is desired can be displayed on one side of the card, and a display requesting a taxi of an unspecified taxi company can be displayed on the other side.

  The second problem solving means folds the card in two so that the card can be easily carried. Obviously, the larger the reflective surface, the more noticeable it is, but the portability of the card is also important. When using a card, the folded card is unfolded and the surface with the reflective material is returned to a substantially flat surface. Note that folding the card so that the surface with the reflective material is on the inside helps to protect the reflective material when carrying.

  The third problem solving means provides the card design with an effect of recognizing the presence of human eyes. In addition to displaying the user's taxi request and the location of the taxi, the person who seeks help in the event of an emergency, such as a natural disaster, is useful for showing the presence to the rescuer. Reflects the projected visible light, not the sound, in parallel and in the opposite direction to the projection direction, so the survival of people seeking help by reflecting the visible light from helicopters, searchlights, flashlights, etc. And its position can be clearly shown to the rescuer.

  As detailed above, while easing taxi drivers, one of the public transportation systems, at the same time, further improving the usability of taxis for users, This is an urgent issue in an advancing society, and the present invention can be utilized for that purpose.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view seen from a surface provided with two circular recursive visible light reflectors in a state where the card of the embodiment is opened in a plane.

  Two general business card size cards and a card with the long sides combined can be folded in two along the long side, so that one side of the card is symmetrical with the fold line Two circular recursive visible light reflectors were placed. The ground color of the card is white and the color of the reflector is yellow.

Using the above card, the visibility of the card when the user uses the card and the visibility of the user raising his hand from a car running on a general road were compared. Visibility changes due to various causes such as sunlight, skylight, reflected light, artificial lighting, and rain, depending on the weather, time, and location. It can also be visually recognized by the distance between the user and the car (driver), the car's running speed, the driving lane (whether it is the first lane or the second lane on the left side in the direction of travel), and the lighting direction of the car headlamp. Sex is affected. The visibility was compared in a place with a large amount of traffic for daytime, dim evening, night, and rain, and the following results were obtained. The visibility was judged by the driver at the following four levels.
Looks particularly good (AA), looks good (A), looks somehow (B), doesn't look (C)

(1) When driving at 30km / h in the daytime, the headlamp (downward) was turned on in the first lane. When the distance between the driver and the applicant was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was A. When the distance was 50 m, the card was A and the hand raised was B. Visibility increased from A to AA when the card was shaken, and B was raised when the hand was raised and waved.

(2) When driving at 50 km / h in the daytime, the headlamp (downward) was turned on in the first lane, and when the distance was 20 m, the card was A and the raised hand was B. Shaking the card resulted in AA, raising the hand and shaking the hand was B. When the distance was 50 m, the card was B and the hand was C. Shake the card to A and raise the hand to shake the hand.

(3) In the evening, the headlight (downward) was lit in the first lane when driving at a speed of 30km / h from dim to dark, and when the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to A. When the distance was 50 m, the card was A and the hand was C. Shaking the card was AA, raising the hand and shaking the hand was B. When the distance was 100 m, the card was B and the hand was C. Shake the card to A, raise the hand and wave to C.

(4) In the evening, the headlight (downward) was lit in the first lane when driving at 50km / h from dim to darkness. When the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to B. When the distance was 50 m, the card was B and the hand was C. Shake the card to A, raise the hand and wave to C. When the distance was 100 m, the card was B and the hand was C. Shake the card to A, raise the hand and wave to C.

(3) In the evening, the headlight (downward) was lit in the second lane when driving at 40km / h from dim to dark, and when the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to A. When the distance was 50 m, the card was A and the hand was C. Shake the card to A and raise the hand to shake the hand. When the distance was 100 m, the card was B and the hand was C. B was raised when the card was shaken, and C was raised when the hand was raised.

(4) In the evening, the headlight (downward) was lit in the second lane when driving at 50km / h from dim to darkness. When the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to A. When the distance was 50 m, the card was A and the hand was C. Shake the card to A and raise the hand to shake the hand. When the distance was 100 m, the card was C and the hand raised was C. B was raised when the card was shaken, and C was raised when the hand was raised.

(5) At night, when driving at 30km / h, the headlamp (downward) was turned on in the first lane. When the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to A. When the distance was 50 m, the card was A and the hand was C. Shake the card to AA, raise the hand and wave it to A. When the distance was 100 m, the card was B and the hand was C. Shake the card to A, raise the hand and wave to C.

(5) At night, when driving at 50km / h, the headlamp (downward) was turned on in the first lane. When the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to B. When the distance was 50 m, the card was B and the hand was C. Shake the card to A, raise the hand and wave to C. When the distance was 100 m, the card was B and the hand was C. B was raised when the card was shaken, and C was raised when the hand was raised.

(5) At night, when driving at 30km / h, the headlamp (downward) was turned on in the second lane. When the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to A. When the distance was 50 m, the card was A and the hand was C. Shake the card to A and raise the hand to shake the hand. When the distance was 100 m, the card was B and the hand was C. B was raised when the card was shaken, and C was raised when the hand was raised.

(5) At night, when driving at 50km / h, the headlight (downward) was turned on in the second lane. When the distance was 20m, the card was AA and the raised hand was B. Raised hand and waved to A. When the distance was 50 m, the card was A and the hand was C. Shake the card to A and raise the hand to shake the hand. When the distance was 100 m, the card was C and the hand raised was C. B was raised when the card was shaken, and C was raised when the hand was raised.

  (6) In addition to daytime, evening, and nighttime, the effect of using the card was investigated in case of rain. It was AA at a distance of 20 m, A at 50 m, and B at 100 m in the evening, rainy weather, the first lane, and 30 km / h. In the second lane, 40 km / h, it was AA at 20 m, B at 50 m, B or C at 100 m. It was AA at 20 m, A at 50 m, and B at 100 m at night, rainy weather, the first lane, and 30 km / h. In the second lane, at 40km / h, it was AA at 20m, B at 50m, and B at 100m.

  (7) At night, when the conditions were the best, the maximum distance that the card could be seen was confirmed with the car stopped. When the headlamp was lowered, it was 125 m when only the card was presented, and 150 m when the card was shaken. On the other hand, it was 20m by raising his hand and 30m by shaking his hand. When the headlight was turned upward, the card was 350 m, and when the card was shaken, it was 450 m to 500 m. Raised hand was 60m and waving hand was 80m. In the case of rainy weather at night, with the headlamp lowered, it was 95 m when the card was presented alone, and 120 m when the card was shaken. When the headlamp was turned up, it was 305 m when the card was presented alone and 350 m to 400 m when the card was shaken. These data are limited by the length of the road with good visibility. If a longer, better-looking road could be used, the maximum viewable distance of the card would be even longer.

  To summarize the visibility of this embodiment, the card user's visibility to the driver is in four stages: particularly good (AA), good (A), somehow visible (B), and invisible (C). In the evaluation, it becomes one step or two steps higher than when raising a hand. When a card is shaken, the visibility is often increased by one step rather than just presenting it. When the card is used, the user is surely visually recognized under various conditions up to a distance of 100 m. However, the daytime data is up to 50m. Compared with the case of using a card, the visibility of the raised hand is generally low. At 30 km and 50 km per hour in the daytime, it cannot be seen at a distance of 50 m with a raised hand alone (C), but it can be seen somehow by shaking the hand (B). In the evening and at night, at a distance of 100 m, even if a hand is raised or shaken, it is not visually recognized. In summary, by using the card of this embodiment under various conditions in the evening and at night, the user's visibility to the taxi driver is a distance of 50 m, which is the distance that can be seen by waving with a raised hand. Doubled to 100m.

  In Japan, there are few taxi stands where taxis can wait. Especially in urban areas, there are few places where taxis legally park and wait for customers. Taxi drivers have been running for a long time looking for customers, and have been nervous about the harsh traffic conditions. That is, it is necessary to secure the front, rear, left and right safety of the own vehicle while looking for the customer. In addition, the traditional habit of stopping a taxi with a hand is often delayed and unclear, reflecting the psychology of customers who are wondering whether to use a taxi. The driver is troubled by the ambiguity of the expected behavior of the customer, and the driver is distracted by measures to stop the vehicle, leading to an accident. The high rate of taxi accidents is well known.

  With the aging of the population of the Japanese people, taxis that can provide door-to-door transport services while being public transport are important, and it is important to reduce the labor burden of the drivers who support them. The present invention provides a means by which a customer can clearly specify a taxi ride request and a boarding position, and is one of social system solutions to the above problem.

1 card 2 circular recursive visible light reflector 3 card ground 4 fold line

Claims (3)

  A taxi ride request / boarding position display card in which two recursive visible light reflectors are separated from each other and at a position away from the peripheral edge of the card on one surface of a flat card.   The taxi ride request / riding according to claim 1, wherein the card can be folded in half, and one recursive visible light reflector is provided on each side of the fold line on the surface which is invisible when the card is completely folded in half. Position display card.   Claims wherein the card can be folded in half, and two circular or elliptical recursive visible light reflectors are provided on the surface which is invisible when the card is completely folded in half so as to be symmetric with respect to the fold line. Taxi ride request / boarding position display card as described in 1.

Images