JP2014032615A - Bus information acquisition system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bus information acquisition system by which a destination of a bus can be easily acquired.SOLUTION: A user photographs a license plate of a bus 3 by a portable terminal 2, and transmits plate information acquired from the photographed image to a server 4. The server 4 invokes use information of the bus 3 corresponding to the plate information including information to a destination, and replies to the portable terminal 2. The portable terminal 2 displays the use information replied from the server 4 on a portable display unit 23.

Description

  The present invention relates to a bus information acquisition system for acquiring a bus destination and the like.

  With the widespread use of mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablet terminals, it has become possible to easily perform transit searches such as timetables, usage routes, and transit routes of public transportation (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-262349 A

  However, there is a problem that it is difficult to easily obtain usage information such as the destination of the bus that stops at the bus stop, the operation route, the departure time, the required time, the fare, and matters related to the boarding / exiting method.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a bus information acquisition system that can easily acquire a bus destination by using a portable terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal.

  The present invention is a bus information acquisition system for acquiring bus information having a mobile terminal and a server, wherein the mobile terminal is a number attached to the bus and representing plate information including an automobile registration number. A camera unit for photographing a plate, a mobile communication unit that communicates with the server via a wireless communication line, a display unit, a mobile control unit that controls the camera unit, the mobile communication unit, and the display unit; The server includes a server communication unit that communicates with the portable terminal via the wireless communication line, and usage information including at least a destination of each bus corresponding to the plate information of each bus. Each of the stored server storage units, the server communication unit, and a server control unit that controls the server storage unit, the portable control unit of the portable terminal is an image captured by the camera unit The plate information based on or the image is transmitted to the server using the portable communication unit, and the server control unit of the server is (1) the plate information or the image using the server communication unit. (2) Call the usage information of the bus corresponding to the received plate information or the plate information obtained from the received image from the server storage unit, and (3) call the usage information Transmitting to the portable terminal using the server communication unit, the portable control unit of the portable terminal receives the usage information using the portable communication unit, and displays the received usage information on the display unit The bus information acquisition system.

  According to the bus information acquisition system of the present invention, a user having a mobile terminal can easily acquire the destination of the bus simply by photographing the bus license plate with the mobile terminal.

It is explanatory drawing of the bus information acquisition system which shows one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of a portable terminal. It is a block diagram of a bus. It is a block diagram of a server. It is a front view of a license plate. It is a front view of the state which photoed the bus with the portable terminal. It is a front view of the state which displayed usage information on the portable terminal. It is a flowchart of a bus information acquisition system.

  Hereinafter, a bus information acquisition system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

(1) Configuration of Bus Information Acquisition System 1 First, the configuration of the bus information acquisition system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a bus information acquisition system 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bus information acquisition system 1 includes a mobile terminal 2, a plurality of buses 3, and a server 4 that a user has. The user acquires usage information of the bus 3 by photographing the license plate 30 of the bus 3 to be used from now on using the mobile terminal 2.

(2) Mobile terminal 2
The mobile terminal 2 is, for example, a smartphone or a tablet terminal. As shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal 2 includes a mobile control unit 21 inside the main body, a camera unit 22 on the back of the main body, and a camera on the main body surface. An operation unit 24 including a display unit 23 such as a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL display device that displays information acquired by the unit 22, a touch panel provided on the display unit 23, and buttons provided on the lower body of the mobile terminal 2. A speaker 25 at the upper surface of the main body, a microphone 26 at the lower surface of the main body, a 3G line inside the main body, a portable communication unit 27 for communicating via a wireless communication line such as a wireless LAN, a GPS 28, and a portable storage unit 29 Yes.

  In order to use the bus information acquisition system 1, the user downloads the application of the bus information acquisition system 1 from the server 4 to the portable terminal 2 and installs it in the portable storage unit 29.

(3) Bus 3
The bus 3 is a bus provided for the automobile transportation business, and includes a bus control unit 31, a bus storage unit 32, a GPS 33, a bus communication unit 34, and an LED destination indicator 35 as shown in FIG. In addition, license plates 30 are attached to the front and rear surfaces of the body of the bus 3 in accordance with the provisions of the Road Transport Vehicle Law (Act No. 185 of June 1, 1951). The license plate 30 includes a car registration number defined by the car registration regulations (Ministry of Transport Ordinance No. 7 of February 20, 1945). That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the license plate 30 displays a place name 301 indicating the location of the base of the use of the car, a classification number 302 according to the type and use of the car, whether or not to use it for the car transportation business, etc. Hiragana to be displayed, or Roman numerals 303 and four-digit Arabic numerals 304 are displayed. Hereinafter, the place name 301, the classification number 302, the hiragana, or the Roman letters 303 and the Arabic numerals 304 described on the license plate 30 are collectively referred to as “plate information”. Note that this plate information represents an automobile registration number and is not given redundantly, so that one bus 3 can be specified from a plurality of buses. The bus storage unit 32 of the bus 3 stores the plate information of the bus 3 described in the license plate 30 as unique information for individually identifying the bus 3 used by the bus information acquisition system 1.

  The GPS 33 specifies the real-time current position of the bus 3.

  The bus control unit 31 transmits the plate information stored in the bus storage unit 32 and the current position specified by the GPS 33 to the server 4 in real time via the wireless communication line using the bus communication unit 34.

(4) Server 4
As shown in FIG. 4, the server 4 includes a server control unit 41, a server storage unit 42, a clock unit 43, and a server communication unit 44 for communicating with the mobile terminal 2 and the bus 3.

  The server storage unit 42 includes plate information of all the buses 3 operated by the bus company that provides the bus information system 1, operation routes corresponding to the plate information, operation routes including destinations, operation times, and stops. Information necessary for bus transportation services, such as fare, boarding / exiting methods, and available tickets, is stored, and which plate information bus 3 is operated on which route every day (hereinafter, This information is collectively referred to as “usage information” of the bus 3). In addition, the “service route” means a route from the departure point of the bus 3 to the destination, and the “service route” means an operation route of all the buses 3 operated by the bus operator. . The server storage unit 42 also stores an application of the bus information acquisition system 1 used in the mobile terminal 2 described above.

  When the server control unit 41 receives the plate information photographed from the portable terminal 2, the server control unit 41 calls the usage information of the bus 3 corresponding to the plate information from the server storage unit 42.

  The clock unit 43 keeps the current time.

(5) Usage Method of Bus Information Acquisition System 1 Next, a method in which the user who has the portable terminal 2 uses the bus information acquisition system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6 to 8.

  First, the bus control units 31 of all the buses 3 that are in operation transmit the plate information stored in the bus storage unit 32 and the current position acquired by the GPS 33 to the server 4 in real time by the bus communication unit 34, respectively. (Indicated as “a” in FIG. 1).

  Then, in order for the user to go from a certain departure point (eg, “X station”) to a destination (eg, “Y park”), the ABC bus company “X station” to “Z complex” A case of getting on the bus 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  In step S1, the user starts an application for using the bus information acquisition system 1 of the portable terminal 2, sets “Y park” as a destination, and proceeds to step S2. Note that the destination does not necessarily have to be set.

  In step S2, the user approaches the bus 3 that stops at the stop of the X station, and as shown in FIG. 6, the user takes a picture of the license plate 30 of the bus 3 to be boarded using the camera unit 22 of the portable terminal 2. (In FIG. 1, "a" and "b" are displayed). Then, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S <b> 3, the portable control unit 21 of the portable terminal 2 recognizes the plate information from the image of the license plate 30 photographed by the camera unit 22. As the image recognition method, for example, an image recognition method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-262349, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-307643, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-141487, or the like is performed. Then, the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S4, the portable control unit 21 transmits the image-recognized plate information to the server 4 using the portable communication unit 27 (indicated as “b” in FIG. 1). Then, the process proceeds to step S5.

  In step S <b> 5, the server communication unit 44 of the server 4 receives plate information from the mobile terminal 2. Then, the process proceeds to step S6.

  In step S <b> 6, the server control unit 41 calls the usage information corresponding to the received plate information from the server storage unit 42. Then, the process proceeds to step S7. At this time, the server control unit 41 determines whether the bus 3 having the plate information photographed by the user is stopped based on the current time measured by the clock unit 43 and the current position transmitted by the bus 3, or according to the operation time. The operation status of whether the vehicle is operating or delayed is also added to the usage information. For example, an operation state such as “Waiting for scheduled departure” when the vehicle is stopped at a fixed time, and “n minutes delayed” when the vehicle is delayed is added.

  In step S7, the server control unit 41 of the server 4 uses the server communication unit 44 to transmit the usage information (hereinafter, the usage information includes an operation state) to the mobile terminal 2 (in FIG. 1, “c ”). Then, the process proceeds to step S8.

  In step S <b> 8, the mobile communication unit 27 of the mobile terminal 2 receives usage information from the server 4. Then, the process proceeds to step S9.

  In step S <b> 9, the mobile control unit 21 displays the received usage information on the display unit 23. In this case, the image is displayed as shown in FIG. The usage information to be displayed includes the departure time at station X (shown as “9:46 departure” in the figure), the name of the bus operator (shown as “ABC bus” in the figure), and the bus route number ( It is the destination (displayed as “Z housing complex” in the figure), the current bus 3 operation state (displayed as “waiting for scheduled departure” in the figure). Further, a tap button is displayed on the display unit 23 so that information such as a route to the user's destination “Y Park”, estimated arrival time, and other information can be continuously confirmed. If the bus 3 is a bus that does not pass through the destination, a message such as “This bus is not a bus that goes to the destination” is displayed instead of the operation state to prevent erroneous boarding.

(6) Effect According to the present embodiment, the mobile terminal 2 can display the departure time and destination of the bus 3 on the display unit 23 only by photographing the license plate 30 of the bus 3 that the user wants to get on. Information necessary to use 3 can be easily obtained. Thus, the user can quickly determine whether or not to get on the bus based on the usage information.

  In addition, since the plate information including the car registration number that does not duplicate the number is used as information for individually identifying the plurality of buses 3, all the buses in Japan are taken into the framework of the bus operator. It is also possible to provide comprehensive guidance.

  In addition, if the destination is set first, if the bus 3 is a bus that does not pass through the destination, a message such as “This bus is not a bus that goes to the destination” is displayed instead of the operation state. And prevent erroneous boarding.

(7) Modification 1
In the above embodiment, the operation information is acquired using the license plate 30 of the bus 3. In addition to this, plate information may also be displayed on the side surface of the vehicle body of the bus 3 or in the vehicle so that usage information can be acquired even if the user shoots the display.

(8) Modification 2
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the utilization information of the bus | bath 3 which can be acquired was only an ABC bus company, it is not restricted to this, The utilization information of the bus | bath 3 which several bus operators operate each is integrated and a server is integrated. 4 may be stored.

(9) Modification 3
Moreover, in the said embodiment, the portable control part 21 of the portable terminal 2 image-recognized plate information from the image of the number plate 30 image | photographed with the camera part 22. FIG. However, since this image recognition processing may take time, the mobile terminal 2 may transmit the image of the license plate 30 to the server 4 and the server 4 may recognize the plate information from the received image. .

(10) Modification 4
In addition, a function of transmitting plate information as an optical signal as a visible light communication function is added to the LED destination indicators 35 installed on the front, side, and rear of the vehicle body of the bus 3. By photographing the destination indicator 35, the optical signal may be received, and the plate information may be acquired by the mobile terminal 2.

  In this case, the LED destination indicator 35 is a plurality of LEDs provided in a lattice shape, and in addition to the function of displaying the destination, all the LEDs among the plurality of LEDs or at a specific position. Some LEDs are blinked in a short time, and plate information is transmitted as an optical signal. Visible light communication is described in Japanese Patent No. 4836838, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-130725, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-85784, and the like.

(11) Modification 5
In addition, since the portable terminal 2 supports multilingual languages such as English, Chinese, and Korean other than Japanese, foreign tourists can easily obtain bus use information in their native language.

(12) Others Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Bus information acquisition system, 2 ... Portable terminal, 3 ... Bus, 4 ... Server, 21 ... Portable control part, 22 ... Camera part, 23 ... Display part, 24 ... operation unit, 25 ... speaker, 26 ... microphone, 27 ... mobile communication unit, 28 ... GPS, 29 ... mobile storage unit, 30 ... license plate, 31. ..Bus control unit, 32 ... Bus storage unit, 33 ... GPS, 34 ... Bus communication unit, 35 ... LED destination indicator, 41 ... Server control unit, 42 ... Server Storage unit, 43 ... Clock unit, 44 ... Server communication unit, 301 ... Place name, 302 ... Classification number, 303 ... Hiragana or Roman letter, 304 ... Arabic numeral

Claims (5)

A bus information acquisition system having a portable terminal and a server for acquiring bus information,
The portable terminal is
A camera unit for photographing a license plate attached to the bus and representing plate information including an automobile registration number;
A mobile communication unit that communicates with the server via a wireless communication line;
A display unit;
A portable control unit for controlling the camera unit, the portable communication unit, and the display unit;
Have
The server
A server communication unit that communicates with the mobile terminal via the wireless communication line;
In correspondence with the plate information of each bus, a server storage unit that stores usage information including at least the destination of each bus;
A server control unit that controls the server communication unit and the server storage unit;
Have
The portable control unit of the portable terminal transmits plate information based on an image photographed by the camera unit or the image to the server using the portable communication unit,
The server control unit of the server receives (1) the plate information or the image using the server communication unit, and (2) the plate information received from the received image. Calling the bus usage information corresponding to the plate information from the server storage unit, (3) transmitting the called usage information to the mobile terminal using the server communication unit,
The portable control unit of the portable terminal receives the usage information using the portable communication unit, and displays the received usage information on the display unit.
Bus information acquisition system. The portable control unit recognizes the plate information based on the captured image;
The bus information acquisition system according to claim 1. The server control unit recognizes the plate information based on the received image.
The bus information acquisition system according to claim 1. Each bus is
A bus storage unit for storing the plate information;
A bus communication unit that communicates with the server via a wireless communication line;
GPS to obtain the current position of the bus;
A bus control unit that transmits the plate information and the current position in real time using the bus communication unit;
Each with
The server storage unit also stores the operation route and operation time of each bus corresponding to the plate information of each bus,
The server communication unit receives the plate information and the current position from each bus,
The server control unit (1) counts the current time, (2) calls the operation route and the operation time corresponding to the plate information received from the bus from the server storage unit, and (3) from the bus Based on the received plate information and the current location, the called operation route and the operation time, and the current time being timed, the current operation state of the bus is obtained, and (4) the obtained operation state is obtained. Include in the usage information,
The bus information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. LED destination indicators are installed on the front, side or rear of the bus body,
The LED destination indicator transmits the plate information by visible light communication,
The camera unit of the mobile terminal receives the plate information by visible light communication;
The bus information acquisition system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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