JPH0215120B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a route bus operation information collection system, and in particular, route bus operation information such as passing by each stop (hereinafter referred to as a bus stop) of a route bus. Alternatively, the present invention relates to an operation information collection device that collects arrival time (hereinafter collectively referred to as arrival time), number of passengers getting on and off, and the like.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, as urban development progresses and residential areas near cities are consolidated, many route buses are now operating regularly. This rapid urbanization in the suburbs has led to an increase in traffic volume, and in order to operate route buses, it has become necessary to accurately grasp the arrival time of route buses at each stop and the number of passengers getting on and off at each stop. Ta. In particular, it is important to accurately understand the length of travel time depending on the amount of passengers getting on and off during the morning commute to school, when leaving school in the evening, and when commuters return home, as well as the length of travel time depending on the traffic volume. It is required from above to do it well.

Conventionally, the collection of information on the operation of route buses, such as the arrival time, number of passengers, and number of passengers getting off at each bus stop, has been left solely to humans. For example, methods have been adopted in which information is collected by having a conductor or the like ride along with the bus, or by having the driver (in the case of a one-man bus) record information for each stop.

However, the former method has the disadvantage that it is difficult to collect information over a wide range over a long period of time, and the latter method imposes excessive labor on the driver and poses a danger to driving. In addition, if the driver neglects to collect information at even one stop (for example, if the driver does not record passing at one stop because there are no passengers getting on or off), the system becomes unusable and sufficient data must be collected. It had the disadvantage that it could not be done. As a result, when organizing bus schedules, the number of samples was too small, making it impossible to manage schedules in line with actual circumstances.

Furthermore, a system that automatically measures and records the number of passengers getting on and off the train is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 50-8564.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, according to the publication, bus stop identification is based on an announcement machine operated by the driver when he or she approaches the bus stop. Therefore, if the driver forgets to press the switch on the announcement machine,
The collected data will contain errors, and as mentioned above, there is a risk that the data will have no value.

Additionally, according to the bulletin, arrival time data is generated manually, and comprehensive operation information that takes travel time into account cannot be obtained, making it difficult to manage timetables in line with actual circumstances. There is a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide an operation information collection device that can automatically collect comprehensive operation information of route buses.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an on-board device 100 and a ground device 20, as shown in FIG.
0, the in-vehicle device 100 includes an information processing means 101
, communication means 102, vehicle speed detection means 103,
The ground device 200 includes a timekeeping means 104 and a passenger detection means 105, and the ground device 200 includes a sensor computer 2
01 and a communication means 202, the on-vehicle device 100 and the ground device 200 can communicate with each other through the communication means 102 and 202, respectively, and the information processing means 101 of the on-vehicle device 100 includes:
The output signals of the vehicle speed detection means 103, the time measurement means 104, and the passenger detection means 105 are inputted to detect the travel distance from a predetermined stop, and this detected distance is calculated as the pre-stored inter-stop distance. 1, it is determined that the stop corresponding to that distance has been reached, and the time at that time is stored as the arrival time in correspondence with the stop number, and the number of passengers getting on and off is counted and stored in correspondence with the stop number. and the information processing means 10 of the in-vehicle device 100
1 inputs and stores distance information between stops transmitted from the ground device 200 when leaving the parking lot, and transmits operation information including the arrival time and the number of passengers getting on and off to the ground device 200 when entering the parking lot. and the center computer 20 of the ground equipment 200
1, distance information between stops is stored, and when a command including a route bus identification signal is input,
The route bus operation information collection device selects and transmits the distance information corresponding to the identification signal to the on-vehicle device 100, and receives and stores the operation information.

Note that the above-mentioned ground equipment 200 is installed in a first place such as a garage.
A first specific wireless signal is sent to a specific area of may be sent.

Further, the ground device 200 may be installed in a second place such as a garage.
A second specific wireless signal is sent to a specific area of It can be started.

[Effect]

With this configuration, distance information is stored in the information processing means 101 of the vehicle-mounted device 100 from the ground device 200 in response to a command given by the driver or the like when leaving the garage, for example. On-vehicle device 10 after leaving the garage
0, operation information including arrival time and number of passengers getting on and off is automatically collected and stored in correspondence with the stop.

For example, the collected operation information is transmitted to the ground equipment 2 based on a command given by the driver when entering the parking lot.
00 is stored.

In this way, comprehensive operation information can be automatically and reliably collected during route bus operation without the driver's intervention, and the above objective is achieved.

In addition, according to the method in which the driver issues a command based on a signal that detects that the route bus has entered the first or second specific area,
Everything will be automated.

〔Example〕

Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows an overall conceptual configuration diagram of a route bus operation information collection device to which the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, an on-board antenna 51 and an on-vehicle device 52 are installed on the route bus 5, and these correspond to the on-vehicle device 100 in FIG. In addition, a center computer 1 is installed at the office, traffic lights 21, 22, roadside antennas 31,
32 are installed, and these correspond to the ground equipment 200 in FIG. The center computer 1 controls communications such as sending distance information L ₁ to Ln between stops to the route bus 5 before the bus departs, and receiving collected operation information when the bus arrives; It processes received data.
Further, traffic lights 21 and 22 provided at the exit and entrance of the bus office (departure station) are designed to instruct the route bus 5 to proceed or stop. This traffic light 2
1 and 22 are controlled by the center computer 1. Further, the roadside antenna 31 is an antenna for transmitting inter-stop distance information and the like from the center computer 1 to the route bus 5. Also, road antenna 3
2 is an antenna for receiving operation information transmitted when the route bus 5 arrives. These antennas 31 and 32 are formed, for example, by winding a conductive wire around a ferrite core.

The center computer 1 receives the distance information L ₁ ~
Ln is memorized. The center computer 1 also includes a wireless communication means that cooperates with the roadside antennas 31 and 32, and is capable of communicating information (data) with the on-vehicle device 52.

Communication between the center computer 1 and the route bus 5 uses inductive wireless communication using magnetic field coupling as described above, and the route bus 5 is located directly under the roadside antennas 31 and 32 in the communication area. Data is exchanged when the vehicle is stored in 41 and 42.

Further, in FIG. 1, the reference points BS1 to BSn are bus stops, and the distance information L _{1 from the reference point of the bus office, for example, the communication area 41, to the first bus stop BS1, the distance information L 1} from the first bus stop BS1 to the second bus stop BS1, bus stop BS2
Distance information L ₃ to Ln between each bus stop is set in advance, such as distance information L ₂ to.

In collecting such route bus operation information,
The on-vehicle device 52 counts and records the number of passengers getting on and off at each bus stop BS1 to BSn, and records the time of arrival at the stop.
When recording this, it is necessary to judge each bus stop. Possible ways to do this include, for example, having the crew press a switch and making a decision based on the input of the switch, or installing a switch on the entrance/exit door and opening and closing the switch to determine whether the crew has arrived at the stop. If the user forgets to press the switch, the subsequent data becomes completely meaningless, and the latter has the disadvantage that it cannot be used at all when the bus passes through a bus stop with no passengers getting on or off.

Therefore, in this embodiment, distance information L ₁ to Ln between bus stops is given in advance to the on-vehicle device 52 as described below, and the positions of the stops are determined based on the distance. There are usually about 100 stops on a bus route, and the interval between bus stops is, for example, about 200m to 600m in Tokyo. now,
When the bus stop interval is displayed in units of 4m, 1 byte (8
(bit), it is possible to express up to about 1000 m. Therefore, the maximum amount of total information that should be transmitted from the ground to the onboard device 52 on the route bus 5 is:
If the number of stops is 200, then 1 (byte/stop) x 200 = about 200 (byte).

Next, a method of transmitting distance information L ₁ to Ln between bus stops from the ground-based center computer 1 to the on-vehicle device 52 will be described.

First, when leaving the parking lot, the route bus 5 follows the red light indicated by the traffic light 21, stops within the communication area 41, and receives distance information _L1 to Ln from the center computer 1 on the ground side. According to the example above, the amount of information regarding this distance is 200 bytes, or 1600 bytes.
It is about a bit. Here, if the information transmission rate is, for example, 2400 bits/second, the communication time for distance information transmission is required to be 0.67 seconds or more. For this reason, the center computer 1 controls the traffic light 21 to temporarily stop the route bus 5, and after confirming that the communication has been completed without error, controls the traffic light 21 to cause the bus to start.
The control timing and communication procedure of this traffic light 21 are shown in FIG. Normally, as shown in FIG. (equivalent to ) is being sent intermittently. When the route bus 5 enters the communication area 41, the on-vehicle device 52 detects the trigger signal Tr, and in response, as shown in FIG. The number NL is sent to the center computer 1. On the other hand, the center computer 1 that receives the transmission from the on-vehicle device 52 transmits distance information L ₁ to Ln between the bus stops corresponding to the route number NL. EOD in FIG. 2B is a code indicating the end of information. Further, the on-vehicle device 52 confirms that the information from the center computer 1 has been accurately received without errors, and transmits confirmation data DC of a certain code to the ground as shown in FIG. 2C. On the ground side, after confirming the reception of this confirmation data DC, the traffic light 21 is switched to green as shown in FIG. 2A, and the route bus 5 is started. If an error occurs during the above communication procedure, the error is recovered as follows. That is, when an error is detected on the ground side, the trigger signal Tr is sent again and the onboard device 52
urge. Conversely, the distance information L ₁ ~ on the in-vehicle device 52 side
If an error is found in Ln, the on-vehicle device 52 transmits the vehicle number NB and route number NL data again.

The above is from the center computer 1 to the in-vehicle device 5.
2 is an explanation of the procedure for transmitting distance information L ₁ to Ln regarding the position of each bus stop. Next, the communication means and procedure for transmitting the operation information collected by the on-vehicle device 52 to the ground-side center computer 1 will be explained. The data collected by the on-vehicle device 52 includes the number of passengers, number of passengers getting off, and arrival time at each stop. The number of passengers getting on and off the train is counted in units of one person and is expressed in 8 bits.

Furthermore, the arrival time is recorded as the time required to travel between each bus stop in minutes, and 8 bits are used for this recording. Therefore, 24 bits, or 3 bytes, of data are collected at each bus stop BS1 to BSn. Here, if the maximum number of bus stops is 200, a maximum of 600 bytes of information will be transmitted to the center computer 1 on the ground side. If the code transmission speed between the onboard vehicle and the ground is 2400 bits/second, the communication time will take more than 2 seconds. For this reason, the center computer 1 controls the traffic light 22 to maintain reliability of communication, as in the case of leaving the route bus 5. That is, a trigger signal (a second specific area) modulated with a logical value of 1 indicating the existence of a communication area (corresponding to a second specific area) 42 on the entrance side is transmitted from a roadside antenna 32 installed on the entrance side of a business office. Tr (corresponding to a radio signal) is intermittently transmitted as shown in FIG. 3B. The in-vehicle device 52 that has detected the trigger signal Tr shown in FIG. 3B,
The operation information collected so far is transmitted to the center computer 1. The other steps are the same as those described with reference to FIG.

Next, the in-vehicle device 52 will be explained in detail using FIG. 4.

As shown in the figure, a microprocessor unit (hereinafter referred to as MPU) 520 and a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM) 521
A read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM) 522, an input/output port (hereinafter referred to as I/O) 523, and an interface 524 are connected by a bus line. This corresponds to the information processing means 101 in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, an input/output switching circuit 527 is connected to the on-board antenna 51 via a transformer 528, and a modulation circuit 52 is connected to the input/output switching circuit 527.
5 and an output circuit 526, and a high frequency circuit 529 and a demodulation circuit 530, which correspond to the communication means 102 in FIG. The modulation circuit 525 and the high frequency circuit 529 are connected to the interface 5.
24 to the MPU 520.

On the other hand, the I/O 523 includes the vehicle speed detection means 103.
Pickup coil 531 and magnet 532 forming
However, the entrance door switch 533 and the exit door switch 534, the photoelectric conversion elements 535 and 536 forming the passenger detection means 105, and the timer 537 and the crystal oscillator forming the timekeeping means 104.
Xtal is connected to each. Note that a light source 538 is provided opposite the photoelectric conversion elements 535 and 536.

Further, the MPU 520 operates according to a program stored in the ROM 522.

The on-board antenna 51 of the on-vehicle device 52 configured as described above detects distance information L ₁ to Ln between bus stops, which is modulated and transmitted from the ground, at the exit of a business office, etc. The signal passes through the output switching circuit 527, is band-limited and amplified by the high frequency circuit 529, and is demodulated into the original baseband signal by the demodulation circuit 530. This signal is subjected to serial-to-parallel conversion and error detection in the interface circuit 524. After that MPU520
The data is stored in the RAM 521 through the process. Note that the transformer 528 is intended for balanced/unbalanced conversion and impedance conversion.

Furthermore, the vehicle-mounted device 52 shown in FIG. 4 detects the position of each bus stop from the distance information L ₁ to Ln given from the ground, but for this purpose it is necessary to detect its own travel distance. The vehicle speed is detected by a pickup coil 531 and a magnet 532. This magnet 532 is attached with north and south poles arranged along the rotational direction of a rotating body such as a wheel shaft or a speedometer cable. This results in
A number of pulses are generated in the pickup coil 531 in proportion to the vehicle speed. This number of vehicle speed pulses is
By counting with the MPU 520, the distance traveled by the vehicle can be determined. Detection pulse is input/output port 523
The signal is input to the MPU 520 through the MPU 520. The entrance door switch 533 and the exit door switch 534 are switches provided at the entrance door and the exit door, respectively, and are turned on and off in response to opening and closing of the doors. These switches 533 and 534 are for bus stops BS1 to BSn.
This is to correct the position of the vehicle, and as mentioned above, even if accurate distance information is given from the ground, deviations in the actual route of the vehicle and tire wear due to the aforementioned vehicle speed pulse may occur. This is to prevent errors, etc., from accumulating large amounts near the end of the route. The MPU 520 is connected to the entrance door switch 533 and the exit door switch 53.
4 pulses are distance information between given bus stops
When the point is input within a certain error with respect to _L1 to Ln, that point is determined to be a bus stop, and the vehicle speed pulse counter is reset. The reset point is then used as the starting point to the next bus stop.

Further, the counting of the number of passengers getting on and off is performed by the MPU 520 using as input the output signals of the photoelectric conversion elements 535 and 536 illuminated by the light source 538. That is, when the passenger gets on and off the photoelectric conversion element 535, 5
36 and the light source 538, the MPU 520 counts the pulses generated by blocking the optical path between the light source 538 and the light source 538. The number of passengers getting on and off is counted for each bus stop and is stored in the RAM through the input port 523.
521 and stored. Also, the time when route bus 5 arrived at the bus stop is determined by the crystal oscillator Xtal.
is detected by the functions of the timer 537 and MPU 520. That is, the travel time between bus stops is measured in units of one minute by a timer 537 whose source oscillation is the crystal oscillator Xtal. This timer 537 is read by the MPU 520 each time the bus arrives at or passes each bus stop, and is stored in the RAM 521 as the arrival time, at the same time the timer 537 is reset.

The operation information regarding each bus stop collected as described above is transmitted to the center computer 1 at the entrance of the office according to the procedure described above. At this time, the data stored in the RAM 521 is modulated in a modulation circuit 525, further amplified in an output circuit 526, and guided to the antenna 51 via an input/output switching circuit 527 and a transformer 528.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, comprehensive operation information of route buses can be reliably collected in an automated manner.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the invention.

Components in the figure that are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 are the same parts and have the same functions. This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in that an auxiliary storage device 540 is connected to the MPU 520 via an interface 539, and a switch 541 is connected to the I/O 523. .

This auxiliary storage device 540 is suitably a readable/writable device such as a magnetic tape device or a magnetic disk device.

The purpose of this embodiment is to handle and store a large amount of operation information, and is particularly suitable for an operation mode in which a vehicle leaves a parking lot, repeatedly travels on a limited route, and then enters the parking lot. Therefore, when there is a change in a new route or system, or a change in the preceding route, the driver must input the switch 541, or the switch 541 can also be used as a changeover switch for the subtitle device that indicates the destination. Then, the MPU 520 is notified.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, a large amount of data regarding route bus operations can be collected.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, comprehensive operation information of route buses can be automatically collected.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a traffic information collection device to which the present invention is applied, Figure 2 is a diagram explaining the communication procedure at the exit of a route bus at a business office, etc., and Figure 3 is a diagram showing a route bus at a business office, etc. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the in-vehicle device of the operation information collection device according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the present invention. 1... Center computer, 5... Route bus, 2
1, 22...Traffic light, 31, 32...Road antenna,
41, 42...Communication area, 51...Vehicle antenna,
52...In-vehicle device, 520...MPU, 521...
RAM, 524...I/F, 525...Modulation circuit, 5
26... Output circuit, 527... Input/output switching circuit, 52
8...Transformer, 529...High frequency circuit, 530...Demodulation circuit, 531...Pickup coil, 532...
Magnet, 535, 536...Photoelectric conversion element, 537...
Timer, 538...Light source, BS1~BSN...Bus stop.
100... Vehicle-mounted device, 101... Information processing means, 10
2... Communication means, 103... Vehicle speed detection means, 104...
Timing means, 105... Passenger detection means, 200... Ground equipment, 201... Center computer, 202...
means of communication.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A route bus operation information collection device having an on-vehicle device 100 and a ground device 200, wherein the on-vehicle device 100 includes an information processing means 101.
, communication means 102, vehicle speed detection means 103,
The ground device 200 includes a timer 104 and a passenger detector 105, and the ground device 200
01 and a communication means 202, the on-vehicle device 100 and the ground device 200 can communicate with each other through the communication means 102 and 202, respectively, and the information processing means 101 of the on-vehicle device 100 includes:
The output signals of the vehicle speed detection means 103, the time measurement means 104, and the passenger detection means 105 are inputted to detect the travel distance from a predetermined stop, and this detected distance is calculated as the pre-stored inter-stop distance. 1, it is determined that the stop corresponding to that distance has been reached, and the time at that time is stored as the arrival time in correspondence with the stop number, and the number of passengers getting on and off is counted and stored in correspondence with the stop number. and the information processing means 10 of the in-vehicle device 100
1 inputs and stores distance information between stops transmitted from the ground device 200 when leaving the parking lot, and transmits operation information including the arrival time and the number of passengers getting on and off to the ground device 200 when entering the parking lot. and the center computer 20 of the ground equipment 200
1, distance information between stops is stored, and when a command including a route bus identification signal is input,
A route bus operation information collection device that selects and transmits distance information corresponding to the identification signal to the on-vehicle device 100, and receives and stores the operation information. 2. The ground device 200 transmits a first specific radio signal targeting a first specific area such as a garage, and when the in-vehicle device 100 receives the first specific radio signal, The route bus operation information collection device according to claim 1, which determines that the bus has left the parking lot and transmits a command including the identification signal. 3. The ground device 200 transmits a second specific radio signal targeting a second specific area such as a garage, and when the in-vehicle device 100 receives the second specific radio signal, 3. The route bus operation information collection device according to claim 2, wherein the route bus operation information collection device determines that the bus is in storage and starts storing the operation information.