JP2021077390A - Passenger monitoring system, and automatic driving system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a passenger monitoring system and an automatic driving system which can easily and exactly monitor a state of a passenger in a vehicle.SOLUTION: A passenger monitoring system 1 comprises: a floor sensor 11 which is installed on a floor of a vehicle which a passenger boards to detect legs of the passenger; a seating sensor 16 which is installed on a seat provided in the vehicle to detect presence/absence of seating of the passenger; and a monitoring part 12 which monitors a state of the passenger in the vehicle. The monitoring part 12 monitors the state of the passenger in the vehicle by using data regarding the legs of the passenger detected by the floor sensor 11 and seating data of the passenger detected by the seating sensor 16.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a passenger monitoring system and an automatic driving system.

In recent years, it has become important to monitor passengers in vehicles for safe operation in transportation such as buses and railways. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique relating to a monitoring system capable of efficiently monitoring with a small number of cameras according to a congestion situation in a monitoring area.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-69022

In the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, a surveillance camera is installed in the vehicle to monitor the inside of the vehicle. Since the surveillance camera has a blind spot, when using the surveillance camera, it is necessary to use a plurality of surveillance cameras so that the blind spot does not occur. However, when the state of passengers in the vehicle is monitored by using a plurality of surveillance cameras, it is necessary to perform image processing on the images of the plurality of surveillance cameras, which causes a problem that the image processing becomes complicated. Further, for example, when the inside of the vehicle is crowded, the passenger's face may be hidden by other passengers, and the passenger's image may not be properly acquired. In such a case, there is a problem that passengers cannot be monitored accurately.

In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a passenger monitoring system and an automatic driving system capable of easily and accurately monitoring the state of passengers in a vehicle.

The passenger monitoring system according to one aspect of the present invention is installed on the floor of a vehicle on which a passenger is boarding, and uses a floor sensor that detects the passenger's foot and data on the passenger's foot detected by the floor sensor. A monitoring unit for monitoring the state of the passengers in the vehicle is provided.

The automatic driving system according to one aspect of the present invention includes the above-mentioned passenger monitoring system and an automatic driving device for automatically driving the vehicle, and the automatic driving device is the passenger's acquired from the monitoring unit. The state is used to automatically drive the vehicle.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a passenger monitoring system and an automatic driving system capable of easily and accurately monitoring the state of passengers in a vehicle.

It is a block diagram which shows the passenger monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the passenger monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 1 is applied to a bus. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of a passenger monitoring system. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of a passenger monitoring system. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of a passenger monitoring system. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of a passenger monitoring system. It is a block diagram which shows the passenger monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating the case where the passenger monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 2 is applied to a bus. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of a passenger monitoring system. It is a figure for demonstrating operation of a passenger monitoring system. It is a block diagram which shows the passenger monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 3. It is a block diagram which shows the passenger monitoring system which concerns on Embodiment 4. It is a block diagram which shows the automatic operation system which concerns on Embodiment 5. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation of an automatic driving system. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation of an automatic driving system. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the case where the information about a congestion situation is generated. It is a top view which shows an example of the floor sensor used in this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the detection cell included in the floor sensor shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which pressure is applied to the detection cell shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram including a floor sensor and a seating sensor. It is a timing chart which shows the drive waveform of the circuit including the floor sensor and the seating sensor shown in FIG.

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a passenger monitoring system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the passenger monitoring system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a floor sensor 11, a monitoring unit 12, a notification unit 13, and a communication unit 14. The passenger monitoring system 1 according to the present embodiment is a system that is installed in a vehicle that is a means of transportation such as a bus or a railroad to monitor the state of passengers. Hereinafter, the case where the passenger monitoring system 1 is applied to a bus will be described as an example, but the present invention can be similarly applied to other means of transportation.

The floor sensor 11 shown in FIG. 1 is installed on the floor of the vehicle on which the passenger is boarding, and detects the passenger's foot (sole). The floor sensor 11 is configured to be able to detect the applied pressure when the passenger's foot (sole) is in contact with the floor sensor 11, and is configured to be able to detect the position of the passenger's foot over time. For example, the floor sensor 11 can be configured by using a floor sensor in which a plurality of detection cells are arranged in a matrix, a pressure sensor using a pressure sensitive element, a pressure sensor using a capacitance, and the like. A configuration example of the floor sensor 11 will be described in detail in the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a case where the passenger monitoring system according to the present embodiment is applied to a bus. As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle (bus) 100 has a driver's seat 110 and an exit 113 in front, and an entrance 112 is arranged in the center. A plurality of seats 111 are provided inside the vehicle 100. Floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 are provided on the floor of the vehicle 100. The floor sensor 11_1 is arranged in front of the center of the vehicle 100, and the floor sensor 11_2 is arranged in the rear of the vehicle 100. The arrangement of the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and in the present embodiment, the floor sensors may be installed so as to have an arrangement / shape other than that shown in FIG. For example, when the floor of the vehicle 100 is flat without a step, the floor sensor 11_1 and the floor sensor 11_2 may be provided integrally. Further, in this specification, the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 are collectively referred to as the floor sensor 11. The same applies to other codes.

Further, in the vehicle (bus) 100 shown in FIG. 2, an example is shown in which the exit 113 is arranged in front and the entrance 112 is arranged in the center, but the entrance and exit of the vehicle (bus) are shown in FIG. The configuration may be the reverse of 2. Specifically, the entrance may be arranged in the front and the exit may be arranged in the center. Further, the entrance / exit to the vehicle (bus) may be used as one entrance / exit, and the entrance / exit may be used as both the entrance / exit.

The monitoring unit 12 shown in FIG. 1 monitors the state of passengers in the vehicle 100 by using the data on the feet of the passengers detected by the floor sensor 11. The monitoring unit 12 supplies data regarding the monitoring result (passenger status) to the notification unit 13 and the communication unit 14. For example, the monitoring unit 12 can monitor the state of the passenger in the vehicle 100 by performing a predetermined process (algorithm process) on the data related to the passenger's foot detected by the floor sensor 11.

The notification unit 13 notifies the passengers of information according to the monitoring result of the monitoring unit 12. Here, the information according to the monitoring result is, for example, information (warning) regarding the safety of passengers. The notification unit 13 is configured to notify passengers of information using at least one of visual and auditory senses, and can be configured by using, for example, a display or a speaker. For example, the notification unit 13 can visually notify passengers of information by displaying character information on a display, blinking lights in a vehicle, or turning on a warning light. In addition, the notification unit 13 can notify passengers of information through hearing by issuing a warning sound or a voice guidance (warning message) from the speaker. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the notification unit 13 is configured by using a display. In this case, the notification unit 13 (display) is preferably arranged at a position where passengers can easily see it, such as in front of the vehicle 100. Further, in the vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 2, a speaker may be further provided as a notification unit.

The communication unit 14 shown in FIG. 1 is a device for wirelessly transmitting information regarding the state of passengers in the vehicle 100 to the outside. For example, when the operation status of the vehicle 100 is collectively managed by the management center, the passenger status can be grasped in real time at the management center by wirelessly transmitting information on the passenger status from the communication unit 14 to the management center. be able to.

In the passenger monitoring system 1 according to the present embodiment, the notification unit 13 and the communication unit 14 may be omitted as appropriate.

Next, the operation of the passenger monitoring system 1 (operation of the monitoring unit 12) according to the present embodiment will be described. The monitoring unit 12 can estimate the number of passengers in the vehicle 100 based on the number of passengers' feet detected by the floor sensor 11. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the passenger monitoring system, and is a diagram for explaining the operation when the number of passengers is estimated based on the number of feet of the passengers.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a passenger is standing in the vehicle 100, the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 detect the feet of the standing passenger. Specifically, the floor sensor 11_1 detects the right foot 21a and the left foot 21b of the passenger 21, respectively. The monitoring unit 12 determines whether or not the data of the passenger's right foot 21a and left foot 21b detected by the floor sensor 11_1 are the feet of the same person, and if it is determined that they are the feet of the same person, these feet. (Right foot 21a and left foot 21b) are paired and counted as one passenger 21. The same processing can be applied to the legs of the other passengers shown in FIG.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the number of passengers detected by the floor sensor 11_1 is 4, the number of passengers detected by the floor sensor 11_2 is 2, and a total of 6 passengers are standing in the vehicle 100. Can be determined.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 may obtain the number of passengers standing on the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 by dividing the total number of passengers' feet detected by the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 by 2. .. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the total number of passenger feet detected by the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 is 12, and by dividing the total number 12 by 2, the passenger stands on the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2. The number of passengers (12/2 = 6) can be calculated. When this method is used, it is not necessary to determine whether or not the feet are of the same person (that is, pairing processing), so that the arithmetic processing in the monitoring unit 12 can be simplified. In order to use this method, it is a prerequisite that the passengers are stopped.

For example, assuming that the total number of seats 111 provided in the vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 3 is 25 and passengers are always seated when the seats 111 are vacant, the number of passengers in the vehicle 100 is seated. Since the number of people who are standing is 25 and the number of people who are standing is 6, it can be estimated that there are 31 people in total.

Here, a part of the seat 111 of the vehicle 100 is often a priority seat, and some passengers do not sit even if the seat 111 is vacant. Therefore, when the passenger is standing in the vehicle 100 Even so, not all seats 111 are necessarily filled. Therefore, the monitoring unit 12 may estimate the number of passengers on the assumption that about 80% (20 seats) of the total number of seats 111 (25 seats) are seated. In this case, the number of passengers in the vehicle 100 is estimated to be 26 in total because the number of seated passengers is 20 (25 x 0.8 = 20) and the number of standing passengers is 6. it can. The ratio of seated passengers to the total number of seats 111 (80% in the above example) can be appropriately set according to the operating time zone of the vehicle 100, the operating area, and the like.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 may estimate the number of passengers in the vehicle 100 by using the difference between the number of passengers passing through the entrance 112 of the vehicle 100 and the number of passengers passing through the exit 113. Specifically, the monitoring unit 12 uses the difference between the number of pairs of passenger feet that have passed through the entrance 112 of the vehicle 100 and the number of pairs of feet of passengers that have passed through the exit 113, in the vehicle 100. You may estimate the number of passengers in. In this case, the floor sensor 11 only needs to be configured to be able to detect the feet of passengers at least at the entrance 112 and the exit 113 of the vehicle 100. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the floor sensor 11 has a floor sensor at the entrance 112. 11_3 may be installed, and the floor sensor 11_4 may be installed at the exit 113.

Here, the shape of the passenger's foot detected by the floor sensor 11 differs depending on the type of shoes (sneakers, business shoes, high heels, etc.) worn by the passenger. For example, the monitoring unit 12 prepares in advance a database in which the type of shoes and the shape of the sole (the shape of the passenger's foot) are associated with each other, and collates with this database to determine whether or not the foot is a passenger's foot. May be determined.

Further, by preparing a database on passenger attributes in advance and collating with this database, attributes such as children or adults, men or women may be determined based on the size and type of passenger shoes. In addition, by preparing a database of shapes such as wheelchair tires and canes and collating it with this database, we will recognize passengers with disabilities and alert the driver and other passengers. You may.

Further, when the floor sensor 11 detects the movement of the passenger's foot, the monitoring unit 12 may determine that the passenger has moved in the vehicle 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the foot of the passenger 25 moves after detecting the foot of the passenger 25 (the passenger in the first position is indicated by the passenger 25_1) (the position of the passenger after the movement is indicated by the passenger 25_1). , The monitoring unit 12 can determine that the passenger 25 has moved in the vehicle 100. At this time, the monitoring unit 12 can determine whether or not the passenger 25 has moved by tracking the movement of the foot of the passenger 25 over time. For example, when the direction of the foot of the passenger 25_1 is specified and the foot of the passenger 25_2 is detected in the same direction as this direction, it can be determined that the passenger 25 has moved from the position of the passenger 25_1 to the position of the passenger 25_2.

For example, the notification unit 13 may display a warning for calling attention to the passengers when the monitoring unit 12 determines that the passengers have moved. Further, a notification unit (not shown) may be separately provided in the driver's seat 110 to notify the driver when a passenger is moving in the vehicle 100. For example, the driver may suspend departure if there are passengers moving in the vehicle 100. That is, the driver may depart after confirming that there are no passengers moving in the vehicle 100. Further, a speaker may be provided as the notification unit 13, and an in-house announcement promoting the safety of passengers may be played from the speaker.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 can determine that the vehicle 100 is violently shaken when the number of steps of the passengers detected by the floor sensor 11 in a unit time is equal to or more than a predetermined number of times. Specifically, the monitoring unit 12 monitors the state of the passenger's feet over time using the floor sensor 11. Then, when the vehicle 100 shakes violently, the standing passengers step on the spot, so that the number of steps detected by the floor sensor 11 increases. The monitoring unit 12 can determine the shaking state of the vehicle 100 by monitoring the number of steps. The monitoring unit 12 specifies, for example, the direction of the passenger's foot, detects the same passenger's foot regardless of the specified direction (that is, in all directions), and the movement distance of the foot is short. It can be determined that the passenger is stepping on the spot.

Further, when the floor sensor 11 detects at least one of the passenger's hands, knees, and buttocks, the monitoring unit 12 can determine that the passenger has fallen. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when the floor sensor 11_1 detects the buttocks 32 and the hands 33a and 33b of the passenger 35, the monitoring unit 12 can determine that the passenger has fallen.

More specifically, when the monitoring unit 12 detects the feet 31a and 31b of the passenger 35 by the floor sensor 11_1 and then detects at least one of the buttocks 32 and the hands 33a and 33b of the passenger, it monitors. The unit 12 can determine that the passenger has fallen. For example, when the passenger 35 falls backward, the buttocks 32 and the hands 33a and 33b of the passenger can be detected (see FIG. 6). On the other hand, when the passenger 35 falls forward, the passenger's hand (in this case, the passenger's knee may be detected) can be detected.

In addition to these, the monitoring unit 12 can monitor the state of the passengers in the vehicle 100 by using the data on the passengers' feet detected by the floor sensor 11.

As described above, in the invention according to the present embodiment, the feet of passengers are detected by using the floor sensor 11 installed on the floor of the vehicle. Then, the monitoring unit 12 monitors the state of the passenger in the vehicle by performing a predetermined process (algorithm process) on the data related to the passenger's foot detected by the floor sensor 11. As described above, in the invention according to the present embodiment, since the passenger condition is monitored by using the floor sensor 11, the passenger condition in the vehicle can be easily and accurately monitored.

That is, since the surveillance camera is not used in the invention according to the present embodiment, there is no need to perform image processing, and the passenger's face is hidden by other passengers when the inside of the vehicle is crowded. There is no problem that the image of the above cannot be acquired properly. Further, there is no problem that the image of the passenger cannot be properly acquired at night when the inside of the vehicle is dark. Further, when passing through the tunnel, the change in brightness of the light in the vehicle becomes large, but in such a case, there is no problem that the image of the passenger cannot be properly acquired. Therefore, according to the invention according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a passenger monitoring system capable of easily and accurately monitoring the state of passengers in a vehicle.

<Embodiment 2>
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a passenger monitoring system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the passenger monitoring system 2 according to the present embodiment includes a floor sensor 11, a seating sensor 16, a monitoring unit 12, a notification unit 13, and a communication unit 14. The passenger monitoring system 2 according to the present embodiment is different from the passenger monitoring system 1 described in the first embodiment in that it includes a seating sensor 16. Since the other configurations and operations are the same as those of the passenger monitoring system 1 described in the first embodiment, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted. Further, the present embodiment can be appropriately combined with the first embodiment, and the same effects as those described in the first embodiment can be obtained.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a case where the passenger monitoring system according to the present embodiment is applied to a bus. As shown in FIG. 8, in the present embodiment, the seating sensor 16 is provided in each of the plurality of seats 111 provided inside the vehicle (bus) 101. Other configurations and operations are the same as the configurations and operations of the vehicle 100 shown in FIG.

The seating sensor 16 is a sensor that detects that the passenger is seated in the seat 111, in other words, a sensor that detects whether or not the passenger is seated. The seating sensor 16 can be configured by using a switch element such as a membrane switch. For example, the switch element is a switch element that becomes conductive when the passenger sits down and becomes non-conductive when the passenger stands up. Further, the seating sensor 16 may be configured by using the capacitance sensor.

In the passenger monitoring system 2 according to the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 obtains data on the passenger's feet detected by the floor sensor 11 and passenger seating data (presence or absence of seating) detected by the seating sensor 16. It is used to monitor the condition of passengers in the vehicle. For example, the monitoring unit 12 performs a predetermined process (algorithm process) on the data related to the passenger's feet detected by the floor sensor 11 and the passenger's seating data (presence or absence of seating) detected by the seating sensor 16. Therefore, the state of passengers in the vehicle 100 can be monitored.

For example, the monitoring unit 12 may estimate the number of passengers in the vehicle by adding the number of passengers detected by the floor sensor 11 and the number of seated passengers detected by the seating sensor 16. Good. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the passenger monitoring system, and is a diagram based on the number of passengers detected by the floor sensor 11 and the number of seated passengers detected by the seating sensor 16. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation in the case of estimating.

As shown in FIG. 9, when a passenger is standing in the vehicle 101, the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 detect the feet 21a and 21b of the standing passenger. The monitoring unit 12 estimates the number of passengers standing on the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 based on the passenger feet 21a and 21b detected by the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2. Since the method of estimating the number of passengers standing on the floor sensors 11_1 and 11_2 has been described in the first embodiment, duplicated description will be omitted.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, the number of passengers detected by the floor sensor 11_1 is two, the number of passengers detected by the floor sensor 11_2 is one, and a total of three passengers are standing in the vehicle 101. Can be estimated.

Further, each of the seats 111 of the vehicle 101 shown in FIG. 9 is provided with a seating sensor 16. By using the seating sensor 16, the number of passengers seated in the seat 111 can be accurately calculated. In FIG. 9, the seat 111 on which the passenger is seated is indicated by a solid ellipse 41. That is, in the vehicle 101 shown in FIG. 9, the total number of seats 111 is 25, and passengers are seated in 20 of them. Therefore, the number of passengers in the vehicle 101 shown in FIG. 9 can be estimated to be 23 in total because the number of passengers sitting is 20 and the number of standing passengers is 3.

When the seating sensor 16 is provided on the seat 111 in this way, the number of passengers seated on the seat 111 can be accurately obtained. Therefore, the number of passengers in the vehicle 101 can be accurately obtained.

Further, when the seating sensor 16 detects the standing of the passenger, the monitoring unit 12 may determine that the passenger has moved in the vehicle 101. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the seating sensor 16 detects that the passenger has stood up (the standing passenger is indicated by the broken line ellipse 42), the monitoring unit 12 states that the passenger stood up (moved) in the vehicle 101. Can be determined.

Further, as described in the first embodiment, when the floor sensor 11 detects the movement of the passenger's foot, the monitoring unit 12 can determine that the passenger has moved in the vehicle 101. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, when the foot of the passenger 25 moves after detecting the foot of the passenger 25 (the passenger in the first position is indicated by the passenger 25_1) (the position of the passenger after the movement is indicated by the passenger 25_1). , The monitoring unit 12 can determine that the passenger 25 has moved in the vehicle 101.

That is, when the floor sensor 11 detects the movement of the passenger's foot and / or the seating sensor 16 detects the standing of the passenger, the monitoring unit 12 can determine that the passenger has moved in the vehicle. .. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect that the passenger has moved in the vehicle.

Further, by using the passenger movement data, it is possible to determine whether the passenger is seated in the seat 111 or whether the luggage is placed on the seat 111, so that the number of passengers in the vehicle 101 can be obtained more accurately. be able to.

<Embodiment 3>
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a passenger monitoring system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 11, the passenger monitoring system 3 according to the present embodiment includes a floor sensor 11, a seating sensor 16, an acceleration sensor 17, a monitoring unit 12, a notification unit 13, and a communication unit 14. The passenger monitoring system 3 according to the present embodiment is different from the passenger monitoring system 2 described in the second embodiment in that it includes an acceleration sensor 17. Since the other configurations and operations are the same as those of the passenger monitoring systems 1 and 2 described in the first and second embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals and duplicate description is omitted. .. Further, the present embodiment can be appropriately combined with the first and second embodiments, and the same effects as those described in the first and second embodiments can be obtained.

The acceleration sensor 17 is attached to the vehicle and can acquire information on the acceleration of the vehicle. The monitoring unit 12 further uses the vehicle acceleration data acquired from the acceleration sensor 17 in addition to the passenger foot data detected by the floor sensor 11 and the passenger seating data detected by the seating sensor 16, and the vehicle It is possible to monitor the condition of passengers inside. As described above, the passenger monitoring system 3 according to the present embodiment further uses the acceleration data of the vehicle acquired from the acceleration sensor 17, so that the state of the passengers in the vehicle can be monitored more accurately.

For example, when the acceleration data acquired by the acceleration sensor 17 indicates that the vehicle is stopped, and the monitoring unit 12 detects the movement of the passenger by at least one of the floor sensor 11 and the seating sensor 16. , You may warn the driver not to start the vehicle.

For example, when the acceleration sensor 17 detects that the vehicle has stopped suddenly and the information from the floor sensor 11 indicates that the passenger has fallen, the monitoring unit 12 asks the driver to confirm the safety of the passenger. You may send a message to.

For example, when the acceleration sensor 17 detects that the vehicle has stopped suddenly and the information from the floor sensor 11 indicates that the passenger has fallen, the monitoring unit 12 issues a warning to call the passenger's attention. It may be displayed on the notification unit 13 (display), or an announcement to call attention may be output from the notification unit 13 (speaker).

For example, when the acceleration sensor 17 detects that the vehicle is shaking and the number of steps of the passengers detected by the floor sensor 11 increases to a predetermined number or more, the monitoring unit 12 of the vehicle It may be determined that the shaking is severe. In this case, a warning for calling attention to passengers may be displayed on the notification unit 13 (display), or a warning announcement may be output from the notification unit 13 (speaker).

The above example is an example, and the passenger monitoring system according to the present embodiment can perform various monitoring by using the acceleration data of the vehicle acquired from the acceleration sensor 17.

<Embodiment 4>
Next, Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing a passenger monitoring system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the passenger monitoring system 4 according to the present embodiment includes a floor sensor 11, a seating sensor 16, an acceleration sensor 17, a position acquisition unit 18, a monitoring unit 12, a notification unit 13, and a communication unit 14. .. The passenger monitoring system 4 according to the present embodiment is different from the passenger monitoring system 3 described in the third embodiment in that it includes a position acquisition unit 18. Since the other configurations and operations are the same as those of the passenger monitoring systems 1 to 3 described in the first to third embodiments, the same components are designated by the same reference numerals and duplicate description is omitted. .. Further, the present embodiment can be appropriately combined with the first to third embodiments, and the same effects as those described in the first to third embodiments can be obtained.

The position acquisition unit 18 is attached to the vehicle and acquires information on the current position of the vehicle. The position acquisition unit 18 can be configured by using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System), an inertial navigation system, or the like. The monitoring unit 12 can identify the current position of the vehicle by acquiring the position information of the vehicle from the position acquisition unit 18.

For example, the monitoring unit 12 registers in advance information about a point where passengers step on frequently (that is, a point where shaking is severe) in a database (memory). Then, when the current position of the vehicle acquired from the position acquisition unit 18 approaches the registration point (that is, the point where the shaking is severe), a warning for calling attention to the passengers is displayed on the notification unit 13 (display). , A warning announcement may be output from the notification unit 13 (speaker).

For example, the user may register information about a point where passengers step on frequently (that is, a point where shaking is severe) in a database (memory) in advance.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 can determine that the vehicle shakes violently when the number of steps of the passengers detected by the floor sensor 11 in a unit time is equal to or more than a predetermined number of times. The monitoring unit 12 may register the position information (acquired from the position acquisition unit 18) of the vehicle when it is determined that the shaking is severe in the database (memory). Further, the monitoring unit 12 detects that the passenger has fallen using the information from the floor sensor 11, and registers the vehicle position information (acquired from the position acquisition unit 18) when the passenger has fallen in the database (memory). You may. By repeating such processing, the information of the point where the shaking is severe can be accumulated in the database of the monitoring unit 12.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 detects that there are standing passengers by the floor sensor 11, and when the vehicle is in a position in front of a sharp curve, the monitoring unit 12 issues a warning to alert the passengers (display). ), Or an announcement to call attention may be output from the notification unit 13 (speaker). For example, the monitoring unit 12 can grasp that the vehicle is in the position before the sharp curve by using the vehicle position information and the map information acquired from the position acquisition unit 18.

The above example is an example, and the passenger monitoring system according to the present embodiment can perform various monitoring and alerting by using the position information of the vehicle acquired from the position acquisition unit 18. In the present embodiment, the seating sensor 16 and the acceleration sensor 17 may be omitted as appropriate.

<Embodiment 5>
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fifth embodiment, the automatic driving system including the passenger monitoring system described in the first to fourth embodiments will be described. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an automatic driving system according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 13, the automatic driving system 5 according to the present embodiment includes a floor sensor 11, a seating sensor 16, an acceleration sensor 17, a monitoring unit 12, an automatic driving device 19, and a communication unit 14. The configuration of the passenger monitoring system, that is, the configuration of the floor sensor 11, the monitoring unit 12, the communication unit 14, the seating sensor 16, and the acceleration sensor 17 is the same as the configuration described in the first to fourth embodiments, and thus overlaps. The explanation given is omitted.

The automatic driving device 19 is a device for automatically driving a vehicle. In the present embodiment, the automatic driving device 19 is configured to automatically drive the vehicle by using the state of the passengers acquired from the monitoring unit 12 in addition to various information of the vehicle.

14 and 15 are flowcharts for explaining the operation of the automatic driving system according to the present embodiment. For example, when the monitoring unit 12 determines that a passenger is moving in the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped, the automatic driving device 19 controls the vehicle so that the vehicle continues in the stopped state. You may.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, when the vehicle is stopped (step S1), the monitoring unit 12 determines whether or not the passenger is moving in the vehicle (step S2). Then, when the monitoring unit 12 determines that there are no passengers moving in the vehicle (step S2: No), the automatic driving device 19 departs the vehicle (step S4). On the other hand, when the monitoring unit 12 determines that there are passengers moving in the vehicle (step S2: Yes), the automatic driving device 19 maintains the vehicle in a stopped state (step S3). That is, when there are passengers moving in the vehicle, the automatic driving device 19 determines that it is dangerous to start the vehicle and maintains the state in which the vehicle is stopped.

Further, the automatic driving device 19 may maintain the state in which the operation of the vehicle is stopped when the monitoring unit determines that the passenger has fallen in the vehicle when the vehicle suddenly stops. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 15, when the vehicle suddenly stops (step S11), the monitoring unit 12 determines whether or not there is a passenger who has fallen in the vehicle (step S12). Then, when the monitoring unit 12 determines that there are no passengers who have fallen in the vehicle (step S12: No), the automatic driving device 19 resumes the operation of the vehicle (step S14). On the other hand, when the monitoring unit 12 determines that there is a passenger who has fallen in the vehicle (step S12: Yes), the automatic driving device 19 maintains the vehicle in a stopped state (step S13). That is, when there is a passenger who has fallen in the vehicle, the automatic driving device 19 determines that it is dangerous to start the vehicle and maintains the state in which the vehicle is stopped. In this case, for example, information that there is a passenger who has fallen may be wirelessly transmitted to the management center using the communication unit 14. The management center can arrange ambulances, etc. when information is sent that there are passengers who have fallen.

Further, as described in the fourth embodiment, the information regarding the points where the passengers frequently step on (that is, the points where the shaking is severe) may be registered in advance in the database (memory) of the monitoring unit 12. In this case, the automatic driving device 19 can adjust the automatic driving control program by using the information about the point where the shaking is severe, and can carry out the automatic driving according to the actual road condition.

The example of the automatic operation is an example, and the automatic operation system according to the present embodiment can carry out various automatic operations by using the monitoring result in the monitoring unit 12.

<Embodiment 6>
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the sixth embodiment, a case where the monitoring result in the monitoring unit 12 described in the first to fifth embodiments, that is, the result of monitoring the state of passengers in the vehicles 100 and 101 is utilized will be described.

The monitoring unit 12 included in the passenger monitoring system can monitor the state of passengers in the vehicles 100 and 101 by using the information acquired by the floor sensor 11 and the seating sensor 16. For example, the monitoring unit 12 may generate information on the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 as a monitoring result (information on the passenger status) by using the information acquired by at least one of the floor sensor 11 and the seating sensor 16. ..

For example, the monitoring results in the monitoring unit 12 may be collectively managed by the management center (not shown). In this case, the communication unit 14 (for example, see FIG. 1) wirelessly transmits information on the passenger status to the management center. Can be sent. As a result, the passenger status can be grasped in real time at the management center.

For example, the management center may be configured so that the monitoring results can be acquired from the monitoring units 12 mounted on each of the plurality of vehicles 100 and 101. With such a configuration, the state of passengers in a plurality of vehicles 100 and 101 can be collectively monitored at the management center.

For example, the management center transmits information on the congestion status of vehicles 100 and 101 to the bus stop where the vehicles 100 and 101 are scheduled to arrive next, and displays information on the congestion status of vehicles 100 and 101 on the display unit of the bus stop. It may be. In this way, by displaying the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 scheduled to arrive at the bus stop on the display unit of the bus stop, it is possible to notify the waiting passengers of the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 in advance.

For example, the information regarding the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 may be the number of vacant seats of the vehicles 100 and 101 (that is, the number of seats in which passengers are not seated). The number of vacant seats in the vehicles 100 and 101 can be detected by using the seating sensor 16.

Further, for example, the information (monitoring result) regarding the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 may be the number of passengers who can board the vehicles 100 and 101. The number of passengers who can board the vehicles 100 and 101 can be detected by using the floor sensor 11. For example, by using the number of passengers' feet detected by the floor sensor 11, the number of passengers who can get on the vehicles 100 and 101 can be estimated. Further, the number of passengers who can get on the vehicles 100 and 101 may be estimated based on the area where the floor sensor 11 detects the pressure. In this case, the larger the area where the floor sensor 11 detects the pressure, the smaller the number of passengers who can board. Further, in addition to the floor sensor 11, the seating sensor 16 may be used to estimate the number of passengers who can board the vehicles 100 and 101.

In the present embodiment, the monitoring unit 12 of the vehicles 100 and 101 directly (that is, without going through the management center) at the stop where the vehicles 100 and 101 are scheduled to arrive next, and the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101. May be configured to send information about.

When the management center collectively manages the passenger states of the plurality of vehicles 100 and 101, the management center provides information on the congestion status of the respective vehicles 100 and 101 for the respective vehicles 100 and 101. May be sent. As a result, each of the vehicles 100 and 101 can grasp the congestion status of the route on which each vehicle is operating in real time. For example, when the route on which the vehicle is operating is a return route, the management center can transmit information on the congestion status to the vehicle, so that the congestion status when the vehicle is in return operation can be grasped in real time. In addition, by transmitting the future congestion forecast to the vehicle from the management center, it is possible to provide the passengers in the vehicle with the information on the congestion forecast of the returning vehicle.

In addition, the monitoring unit 12 may accumulate data on the number of passengers getting on and off at a plurality of stops. In this case as well, the number of passengers data of the plurality of vehicles 100 and 101 may be transmitted from the monitoring unit 12 to the management center, and the data on the number of passengers getting on and off may be collectively accumulated in the management center.

For example, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) may predict the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 by using the accumulated data on the number of passengers at a plurality of stops. In addition, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) may use the passenger number data accumulated in this way to predict the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 between the predetermined stops (predetermined section).

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining an example when the passenger monitoring system according to the present embodiment generates information regarding a congestion situation. In the example shown in FIG. 16, the case where the vehicle (bus) stops in the order of stops A, B, C, D ... is shown, and the boarding prediction, the disembarking prediction, and the number of passengers between each stop are shown. Shows the forecast.

As shown in FIG. 16, since the bus stop A is the first bus stop, the number of people getting off the bus is 0 and the number of people getting on the bus is 5. At this time, the number of passengers between the bus stop A and the bus stop B is estimated to be five. At stop B, the boarding forecast is 15 people and the disembarking forecast is 2 people. The estimated number of passengers between stop B and stop C is 18. At stop C, the number of passengers is 13 and the number of passengers is 3. The estimated number of passengers between stop C and stop D is 28. At stop D, the number of passengers is predicted to be 3 and the number of passengers to be disembarked is 10. The estimated number of passengers between stop D and the next stop is 21.

In this way, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) accumulates the passenger number data at the plurality of stops A, B, C, D ..., And the past passenger number data at the accumulated multiple stops. By using, it is possible to predict the number of passengers, the number of passengers getting off at each of the stops A, B, C, D ..., And the number of passengers between each stop. By using the prediction model created in this way, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) can predict the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 scheduled to arrive at each stop. In addition, the prediction model (see FIG. 16) generated by the monitoring unit 12 (management center) can also be used when creating a vehicle operation plan, such as reorganizing routes and examining the increase or decrease in the number of flights. For example, such an operation plan may be automatically created by using a system for generating an operation plan.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) may further accumulate data on the number of passengers getting on and off at a plurality of stops in association with at least one of the time zone, the day of the week, the date, and the weather. In this case, the congestion status of the vehicle can be predicted by using the number of passengers data accumulated in association with at least one of the time zone, the day of the week, the date, and the weather. In this way, by accumulating the number of passengers data in association with at least one of the time zone, the day of the week, the date, and the weather, it is possible to improve the accuracy of predicting the congestion status of the vehicle. For example, it is possible to predict the congestion status of vehicles in relation to the time zone, day of the week, date, and weather, such as congestion in the morning hours, congestion on Fridays, congestion in April, and congestion on rainy days. Therefore, the accuracy of prediction can be improved.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) may continuously monitor the state of passengers in the vehicles 100 and 101 and monitor the state of the route operated by the vehicles 100 and 101 in real time. By monitoring in real time in this way, it is possible to quickly respond when an abnormality occurs in the managed route. For example, when it is detected that the number of passengers is large in a specific section, it is possible to take measures such as increasing the number of flights in that section.

In addition, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) predicts the number of passengers in a specific section using the above-mentioned accumulated number of passengers data, and if the predicted number of passengers is large, the number of passengers in that section is increased. You may.

For example, when the vehicle is equipped with the automatic driving system 5 (see FIG. 13 and the fifth embodiment), the management center may issue an instruction to increase the number of flights of the vehicle to the automatic driving system 5. As a result, the number of flights can be increased quickly.

For example, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) may be connected to an external network. By connecting the monitoring unit 12 (management center) to the external network in this way, information on the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 can be distributed to the user terminal via the external network. For example, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) can deliver the real-time congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 and the prediction result of the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 to the user terminal. The user can check the congestion status of the vehicles 100 and 101 from the application or the website of the user terminal.

Further, the monitoring unit 12 (management center) may display information on the waiting time of the vehicles 100 and 101 arriving at each stop on the display unit of each stop. Further, the monitoring unit 12 may distribute information on such a waiting time to the user terminal via an external network.

<Embodiment 7>
Next, Embodiment 7 of the present invention will be described. In the seventh embodiment, a specific configuration of the floor sensor (floor sensor) used in the passenger monitoring system described in the first to fourth embodiments and the automatic driving system described in the fifth embodiment will be described. The configuration of the floor sensor described below is an example, and in the present invention, a floor sensor having a configuration other than the following may be used.

FIG. 17 is a top view showing an example of the floor sensor used in the present invention. FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a detection cell included in the floor sensor shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 17, in the floor sensor 200, a plurality of detection cells 210 are arranged in a matrix in the row direction and the column direction. FIG. 17 shows an example in which the detection cells 210 having 8 rows × 10 columns are provided, but in the floor sensor 200 used in the present invention, the number of detection cells 210 provided in the row direction and the column direction can be arbitrarily determined. Can be done.

As shown in FIG. 18, the detection cell 210 is formed on the substrate 211. The board 211 can be configured by using a rigid board such as a printed wiring board. Lower electrodes 212 and 213 arranged so as to be close to each other are arranged on the upper surface of the substrate 211. As the material of the lower electrodes 212 and 213, for example, a metal material such as copper or aluminum or a carbon-based material such as carbon black or graphite can be used. The lower electrodes 212 and 213 may be formed on the substrate 211 using, for example, a printing process. Further, for example, a film on which the lower electrodes 212 and 213 are printed may be attached to the substrate 211 to form the film. A drive voltage is supplied to the lower electrode 212 via a transistor (see FIG. 20).

A film 215 is arranged on the upper part of the substrate 211. A spacer 217 is provided between the substrate 211 and the film 215. The spacers 217 are arranged on both sides of the detection cell 210 in the row direction (in other words, on both sides of the lower electrodes 212 and 213). By providing the spacer 217, the substrate 211 and the film 215 can be arranged apart from each other. Further, an upper electrode 214 is formed on the lower surface of the film 215. The upper electrode 214 is arranged so as to face the lower electrodes 212 and 213.

As shown in FIG. 17, the film 215 is arranged so as to cover the plurality of detection cells 210 formed on the substrate 211. Further, the upper electrode 214 is arranged so as to extend in a line shape over a plurality of detection cells 210 arranged in the row direction. For example, the upper electrode 214 can be formed by attaching a conductive tape to the lower surface of the film 215. For example, aluminum tape or copper tape can be used for the upper electrode 214. Further, the upper electrode 214 may be formed on the film 215 by using a printing process. Similarly, the spacer 217 may be arranged so as to extend in a line across a plurality of detection cells 210 arranged in the row direction.

As shown in FIG. 19, the floor sensor 200 is configured to detect pressure by contacting the upper electrode 214 with the lower electrodes 212 and 213 when stress F1 is applied to the upper surface of each detection cell 210. Has been done. That is, in each detection cell 210, when the transistor supplies the driving voltage to the lower electrode 212, the film 215 is displaced in the direction approaching the substrate 211, and the upper electrode 214 comes into contact with the lower electrodes 212 and 213. The lower electrodes 212 and 213 are configured to detect the pressure when they are in a conductive state.

FIG. 20 is a circuit diagram including a floor sensor and a seating sensor. As shown in FIG. 20, each detection cell 210 of the floor sensor 200 includes a transistor Tr and lower electrodes 212 and 213. Further, each of the seating sensors 16_0 to 16_7 (collectively referred to as a seating sensor 16) includes a transistor Tr and electrodes 91 and 92. Similar to the detection cell 210, the seating sensor 16 detects seating when the electrode 91 and the electrode 92 are in a conductive state. In addition, in this specification, when a transistor is generically shown, it is described as a transistor Tr.

Focusing on the circuit of the detection cell 210, the transistor Tr00 is connected between the power supply line DL0 and the lower electrode 212, and the gate is connected to the gate wiring GL0. The same applies to the connection of other transistors. The power supply lines DL0 to DL9 supply a drive voltage to the lower electrode 212 of each detection cell 210. Each power supply line DL0 to DL9 is connected to a voltage supply source (not shown).

Further, each of the detection wirings SL0 to SL9 connects the lower electrodes 213 provided by the detection cells 210 arranged in the same row direction to each other. Each detection wiring SL0 to SL9 is connected to the detection circuit 222.

Focusing on the circuit of the seating sensor 16_0, the transistor Tr100 is connected between the power supply line DL100 and the electrode 91, and the gate is connected to the gate wiring GL0. The same applies to the connection of other transistors. The power supply line DL100 supplies a drive voltage to the electrodes 91 of the respective seating sensors 16_0 to 16_7. The power supply line DL100 is connected to a voltage supply source (not shown).

Further, the detection wiring SL100 connects the electrodes 92 of the seating sensors 16_0 to 16_7 arranged in the same row direction to each other. The detection wiring SL100 is connected to the detection circuit 222.

The gate wirings GL0 to GL7 are connected to the gates of a plurality of transistors Tr arranged in the same row direction. For example, the gate wiring GL0 is connected to the gate of the transistors Tr00 to Tr09 of the detection cell 210 arranged in the first row and the gate of the transistor Tr100 of the seating sensor 16_0. Further, the gate wiring GL1 is connected to the gates of the transistors Tr10 to Tr19 of the detection cell 210 arranged in the second row and the gates of the transistors Tr101 of the seating sensor 16_1. The same applies to other gate wiring. The gate wirings GL0 to GL7 are connected to the shift register 221. The shift register 221 supplies a gate drive signal to each of the gate wirings GL0 to GL7.

The shift register 221 sends a gate drive signal to each of the gate wirings GL0 to GL7 so that a plurality of transistors arranged in the same row direction are driven at the same timing and the plurality of transistors are driven in order in the column direction. Supply. As described above, in the present embodiment, the gate of the transistor Tr of the detection cell 210 and the gate of the transistor Tr of the seating sensor 16 are connected by a common gate wiring GL and driven by a common gate signal. Therefore, the floor sensor 200 and the seating sensor 16 can be driven by using the same circuit.

FIG. 21 is a timing chart showing a drive waveform of a circuit including the floor sensor and the seating sensor shown in FIG. A clock signal CLK is supplied to the shift register 221 shown in FIG. 20, and a high-level gate drive signal is sequentially supplied to the respective gate wirings GL0 to GL7 in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 21, a high-level gate drive signal is supplied from the shift register 221 to the gate wiring GL0 at the timing t1. As a result, the transistors Tr00 to Tr09 of the detection cell 210 in the first row and the transistor Tr100 of the seating sensor 16_0 are turned on, and the driving voltage is applied to the lower electrode 212 of the detection cell 210 in the first row and the electrode 91 of the seating sensor 16_0. Is supplied. As a result, the detection cell 210 in the first row and the seating sensor 16_0 are activated.

In this state, when stress F1 is applied to the detection cell 210 (see FIG. 19) and the upper electrode 214 comes into contact with the lower electrode 212 and 213, the lower electrode 212 and the lower electrode 213 become conductive and are pressed. A drive voltage is supplied to the detection wires SL0 to SL9 corresponding to the cells 210, and the voltage of the detection wires SL0 to SL9 rises.

Further, when a passenger is seated in the seat provided with the seating sensor 16_0, the electrode 91 and the electrode 92 are in a conductive state, a drive voltage is supplied to the detection wiring SL100, and the voltage of the detection wiring SL100 rises. ..

The detection circuit 222 has a detection cell 210 that detects pressure based on the voltage of the detection wirings SL0 to SL9 and the detection wiring SL100 and information about the transistor Tr that the shift register 221 is driving, and a seating that detects seating. Identify the sensor 16. That is, the detection circuit 222 identifies the positions of the rows of the detection cells 210 that have detected the pressure and the seating sensor 16 that has detected the seating by specifying the detection wirings SL0 to SL9 and the detection wiring SL100 for which the voltage has risen. be able to. Further, the detection circuit 222 acquires the information of the gate wirings GL0 to GL7 to which the shift register 221 supplies the high-level gate drive signal at this time, so that the position of the row of the detection cell 210 in which the pressure is detected and the position of the row of the detection cell 210 The seating sensor 16 that has detected the seating can be specified. At the timing t1, since the high-level gate drive signal is supplied to the gate wiring GL0, the detection cell 210 in the first row and the seating sensor 16_0 are specified. In this way, the detection circuit 222 can identify the position of the detection cell 210 that has detected the pressure and the seating sensor 16.

After that, at the timing t2 shown in FIG. 8, the shift register 221 supplies a high-level gate drive signal to the gate wiring GL1. As a result, the transistors Tr10 to Tr19 of the detection cell 210 in the second row and the transistors Tr101 of the seating sensor 16_1 are turned on, and the driving voltage is applied to the lower electrode 212 of the detection cell 210 in the second row and the electrode 91 of the seating sensor 16_1. Is supplied. As a result, the detection cell 210 in the second row and the seating sensor 16_1 are activated.

After that, similarly, at timings t3 to t8, high-level gate drive signals are sequentially supplied to the gate wirings GL0 to GL7, and at each timing, the detection cells 210 in the 3rd to 8th rows and the seating sensors 16_2 to 16_7 It becomes active.

The shift register 221 supplies the high-level gate drive signal to the gate wiring GL0 again at the timing t9 after supplying the high-level gate drive signal to the gate wiring GL7. As a result, the detection cell 210 and the seating sensor 16_0 in the first row are activated again. After that, similarly, the shift register 221 supplies a high-level gate drive signal to each of the gate wirings GL0 to GL7 in order in synchronization with the clock signal CLK.

In the circuit shown in FIG. 20, as an example, a circuit for driving the detection cell 210 (floor sensor 200) having 8 rows × 10 columns is shown, but the circuit for driving the detection cell 210 is the number of detection cells 210. It can be changed as appropriate. For example, by changing the number of gate wiring GLs, the number of rows of the detection cell 210 to be driven can be changed. Further, by changing the number of the power supply line DL and the detection wiring SL, the number of columns of the detection cell 210 to be driven can be changed.

Further, in the circuit shown in FIG. 20, as an example, a circuit for driving the seating sensors 16_0 to 16_7 having 8 rows × 1 column is shown, but the circuit for driving the seating sensor 16 depends on the number of seating sensors 16. Can be changed as appropriate. For example, by changing the number of gate wiring GLs, the number of rows of the seating sensor 16 to be driven can be changed. Further, by changing the number of the power supply line DL and the detection wiring SL, the number of rows of the seating sensor 16 to be driven can be changed. Due to the configuration of the circuit shown in FIG. 20, the number of gate wiring GLs for driving the detection cell 210 is preferably equal to or larger than the number of gate wiring GLs for driving the seating sensor 16.

In the above, in order to explain the circuit shown in FIG. 20, the seating sensor 16 is expressed as "the number of rows" and "the number of columns", but the seating sensor 16 is actually installed in each of the seats 111 of the vehicle 101. (See FIG. 8). Specifically, the electrodes 91 and 92 of the seating sensor 16 and a switch for switching between conduction and non-conduction thereof are installed as the seating sensor 16 in each seat 111. Further, by adding a circuit (transistor) that electrically conducts the electrode 91 and the electrode 92, the detection unit of the seating sensor 16 can be configured by using a sensor of another type such as a capacitance sensor. ..

When the passenger monitoring system includes an acceleration sensor (see FIGS. 11 and 13), acceleration data may be acquired from the acceleration sensor in synchronization with the clock signal CLK supplied to the shift register 221. That is, in this case, acceleration data can be acquired from the acceleration sensor at each of the timings t1 to t8 in FIG.

Although the present invention has been described above in accordance with the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and is within the scope of the claimed invention within the scope of the claims of the present application. Of course, it includes various modifications, modifications, and combinations that can be made by a person skilled in the art.

1, 2, 3, 4 Passenger monitoring system 5 Automatic operation system 11, 11_1 to 11_4 Floor sensor 12 Monitoring unit 13 Notification unit 14 Communication unit 16, 16_0 to 16_7 Seating sensor 17 Accelerometer 18 Position acquisition unit 19 Automatic operation device 21 Passengers 21a Right foot 21b Left foot 25, 25_1, 25_1 Passenger 31a, 31b Foot 32 Gluteal 33a, 33b Hand 35 Passenger 41, 42 Elliptical 91, 92 Electrode 100, 101 Vehicle (bus)
110 Driver's seat 111 Seat 112 Entrance 113 Exit 200 Floor sensor 210 Detection cell 211 Board 212, 213 Lower electrode 214 Upper electrode 215 Film 217 Spacer 221 Shift register 222 Detection circuit

Claims (22)

A floor sensor installed on the floor of the vehicle on which the passenger is boarding to detect the passenger's foot, and
A monitoring unit for monitoring the state of the passenger in the vehicle by using the data on the foot of the passenger detected by the floor sensor is provided.
Passenger monitoring system. The passenger monitoring system is installed in a seat provided in the vehicle and further includes a seating sensor for detecting the presence or absence of seating of the passenger.
The monitoring unit monitors the state of the passenger in the vehicle by using the data regarding the passenger's foot detected by the floor sensor and the seating data of the passenger detected by the seating sensor.
The passenger monitoring system according to claim 1. The passenger monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the monitoring unit estimates the number of passengers in the vehicle based on the number of feet of the passengers detected by the floor sensor. The floor sensor is configured to be able to detect the passenger's foot at least at the entrance and exit of the vehicle.
The monitoring unit estimates the number of passengers in the vehicle by using the difference between the number of passengers passing through the entrance and the number of passengers passing through the exit.
The passenger monitoring system according to claim 3. The monitoring unit estimates the number of passengers in the vehicle by adding the number of the passengers detected by the floor sensor and the number of the seated passengers detected by the seating sensor. The passenger monitoring system according to claim 2. The passenger monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the floor sensor detects the movement of the passenger's foot, the monitoring unit determines that the passenger has moved in the vehicle. When the floor sensor detects the movement of the passenger's foot and / or the seating sensor detects the standing of the passenger, the monitoring unit determines that the passenger has moved in the vehicle. The passenger monitoring system according to claim 2. The monitoring unit determines that the vehicle shakes violently when the number of steps of the passenger detected by the floor sensor in a unit time is equal to or more than a predetermined number of times, according to any one of claims 1 to 7. The passenger monitoring system described. The passenger according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein when the floor sensor detects at least one of the passenger's hands, knees, and buttocks, the monitoring unit determines that the passenger has fallen. Monitoring system. The passenger monitoring system further includes a notification unit for notifying passengers of information using at least one of visual and auditory.
The notification unit notifies the passenger of information according to the monitoring result in the monitoring unit.
The passenger monitoring system according to any one of claims 6 to 9. The vehicle is further provided with a position acquisition unit for acquiring the position information of the vehicle.
The monitoring unit registers information about a point where a passenger frequently steps on the database in advance, and when the current position of the vehicle acquired from the position acquisition unit approaches the registered point, the passenger is notified. A warning for calling attention is output from the notification unit.
The passenger monitoring system according to claim 10. The passenger monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising a communication unit for wirelessly transmitting information on the state of the passenger in the vehicle to the outside. The vehicle is equipped with an acceleration sensor
The monitoring unit further uses the acceleration data of the vehicle acquired from the acceleration sensor to monitor the state of the passenger in the vehicle.
The passenger monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 12. The passenger monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the monitoring unit uses information acquired from at least one of the floor sensor and the seating sensor to generate information regarding the congestion status of the vehicle. .. The passenger monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the monitoring unit is configured to be capable of accumulating data on the number of passengers getting on and off at a plurality of stops. The passenger monitoring system according to claim 15, wherein the congestion status of the vehicle is predicted by using the accumulated passenger number data at the plurality of stops. The monitoring unit is further configured to be able to accumulate data on the number of passengers getting on and off at the plurality of stops in association with at least one of a time zone, a day of the week, a date, and the weather.
The congestion situation of the vehicle is predicted by using the number of passengers data accumulated in association with at least one of the time zone, the day of the week, the date, and the weather.
The passenger monitoring system according to claim 15. The passenger monitoring system according to claim 16 or 17, wherein a prediction model is generated using the predicted vehicle congestion status, and an operation plan for the vehicle is created using the prediction model. The passenger monitoring according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the monitoring unit is connected to a network and is configured to be able to distribute information on a congestion status of the vehicle to a user terminal via the network. system. The passenger monitoring system according to any one of claims 1 to 19.
It is equipped with an automatic driving device for automatically driving the vehicle.
The automatic driving device performs automatic driving of the vehicle by using the state of the passenger acquired from the monitoring unit.
Autonomous driving system. 20. The automatic driving device continues the state in which the vehicle is stopped when the monitoring unit determines that the passenger is moving in the vehicle when the vehicle is stopped. The automatic driving system described in. The automatic driving device according to claim 20 or 21, wherein when the monitoring unit determines that the passenger has fallen in the vehicle when the vehicle suddenly stops, the automatic driving device maintains the state in which the vehicle is stopped. Automatic driving system.

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