JP7586069B2 - Passenger counting system and operation control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a passenger counting system and an operation management system.

In recent years, it has become important for public transport such as buses and trains to monitor passengers inside the vehicle and to accurately count the number of passengers on board in order to ensure safe operation. Patent Document 1 discloses technology relating to a surveillance system that can efficiently monitor with a small number of cameras depending on the congestion situation in the surveillance area.

JP 2012-69022 A

As mentioned above, in recent years, it has become important for transportation facilities such as buses and trains to accurately count the number of passengers on board the transportation facility. In particular, in transportation facilities that have introduced automated driving systems, it is necessary to accurately count the number of passengers on board the transportation facility.

However, when a vehicle accelerates or decelerates, goes around a curve, or travels on a rough road, the vehicle may sway significantly. When the vehicle sways significantly in this way, the bodies of the passengers on board may also sway. Furthermore, the passengers on board may change their posture while on board. When the passengers' bodies sway or change their posture in this way, there is a problem in that it is not possible to accurately calculate the number of passengers on board the vehicle.

In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to provide a passenger counting system and an operation management system that can accurately determine the number of passengers on board a vehicle.

A passenger number counting system according to one aspect of the present invention includes a passenger detection sensor that detects passengers aboard a vehicle, a travel section determination unit that determines the section on which the vehicle has traveled, and a passenger number determination unit that determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle in a specified travel section based on the detection result of the passenger detection sensor and the determination result of the travel section determination unit, and the passenger number determination unit determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle based on the detection frequency of the number of passengers in the specified travel section.

The operation management system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of vehicles, each equipped with the above-mentioned passenger number counting system, and a remote management unit that remotely manages the plurality of vehicles, and is configured so that each of the passenger number counting systems installed in each of the vehicles can transmit information regarding the number of passengers aboard each of the vehicles to the remote management unit.

The present invention provides a passenger counting system and a traffic management system that can accurately determine the number of passengers on board a vehicle.

1 is a block diagram for explaining a passenger number counting system according to an embodiment. 4 is a graph for explaining the operation of the passenger number counting system according to the embodiment. 4 is a table for explaining the operation of the passenger number counting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a passenger detection sensor. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a passenger detection sensor. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a passenger detection sensor. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a passenger detection sensor. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a passenger detection sensor. FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a traffic control system according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Fig. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a passenger number counting system according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the passenger number counting system 1 according to the embodiment includes a passenger detection sensor 11, a running section determination unit 12, and a passenger number determination unit 13. The passenger number counting system 1 according to the embodiment is a system that is installed in a vehicle, which is a means of transportation such as a bus or a train, and counts the number of passengers aboard the vehicle.

The passenger detection sensor 11 is a sensor that detects passengers aboard the vehicle. For example, the passenger detection sensor 11 is a seating sensor that is installed in a seat of the vehicle and detects whether or not a passenger is seated. The seating sensor can be configured using, for example, a capacitance sensor. The seating sensor may also be configured using a switching element such as a membrane switch. For example, the switching element is a switching element that is in a conductive state when a passenger is seated and is in a non-conductive state when the passenger stands up. A detailed configuration example of the seating sensor will be described later.

The passenger detection sensor 11 may also be a camera capable of detecting passengers in the vehicle. When using a camera, it is preferable to place the camera in a position in the vehicle where seated passengers are not obscured by standing passengers. Multiple cameras may be used as the passenger detection sensor 11.

The passenger detection sensor 11 may also be a floor sensor that is installed on the floor of the vehicle and detects the feet (soles) of passengers. The floor sensor detects passengers in the vehicle by detecting the pressure applied when the passenger's feet (soles) come into contact with the floor sensor. For example, the floor sensor can be configured using a floor sensor in which multiple detection cells are arranged in a matrix, a pressure sensor using a pressure-sensitive element, a pressure sensor using capacitance, etc.

In addition, in this embodiment, the passenger detection sensor 11 may be configured by combining at least two of the seating sensor, camera, and floor sensor described above. For example, the number of passengers determined using a camera may be corrected using a seating sensor or a floor sensor.

The travel section determination unit 12 determines the section on which the vehicle has traveled. For example, if the vehicle is a bus, the section on which the vehicle has traveled is the section from a bus stop to the next bus stop. For example, if the vehicle is a train, the section on which the vehicle has traveled is the section from a station to the next station. In other words, the section on which the vehicle has traveled is the section from the position where passengers board and disembark from the vehicle to the position where the next passenger boards and disembarks from the vehicle.

For example, the travel section determination unit 12 may determine the section on which the vehicle has traveled using at least one of the detection results of a position sensor (GPS: Global Positioning System) that detects the position of the vehicle, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, and a gyro sensor that detects the orientation of the vehicle. For example, a predetermined threshold may be set in advance for each of the position sensor, acceleration sensor, and gyro sensor, and the vehicle may be detected as having started to move when each sensor exceeds the set threshold.

The travel section determination unit 12 may also determine the section on which the vehicle has traveled using the detection results of a door opening/closing detection sensor that detects the opening and closing of the vehicle doors. In other words, the position at which the door opening/closing detection sensor detects the opening and closing of the vehicle doors corresponds to the position where passengers get on and off the vehicle (bus stops or stations). Therefore, the travel section determination unit 12 can determine that the section on which the vehicle has traveled is the section from the position at which the door opening/closing detection sensor detects the opening and closing of the vehicle doors to the next position at which the door opening/closing detection sensor detects the opening and closing of the vehicle doors.

In addition, since the routes and boarding and alighting locations (stations, bus stops) of transportation facilities such as buses and trains are determined in advance, the travel section determination unit 12 may determine the section on which the vehicle has traveled by using the vehicle's route and boarding and alighting locations that are set in advance and the vehicle's current position.

The passenger number determination unit 13 determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle in a specified driving section based on the detection results of the passenger detection sensor 11 and the determination results of the driving section determination unit 12. At this time, the passenger number determination unit 13 determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle based on the detection frequency of the number of passengers in the specified driving section.

Specifically, the passenger number determination unit 13 calculates the number of passengers at a predetermined time interval using the detection results of the passenger detection sensor 11, and tally up the calculated number of passengers for each predetermined running section. The passenger number determination unit 13 then determines the most frequently calculated number of passengers in a predetermined running section as the number of passengers in the predetermined running section.

Figure 2 is a graph for explaining the operation of the passenger number counting system according to this embodiment, and is a graph for explaining the processing of the passenger number determination unit 13. In the graph shown in Figure 2, the horizontal axis indicates time, and the vertical axis indicates the number of passengers calculated by the passenger number determination unit 13 using the detection results of the passenger detection sensor 11.

In other words, in the graph shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal axis represents the time the vehicle has traveled, and the travel sections A to C on the horizontal axis correspond to the travel sections A to C on which the vehicle has traveled, respectively. The vertical axis represents the value (number of passengers) calculated by the passenger number determination unit 13 at a predetermined time interval using the detection results of the passenger detection sensor 11. Here, the predetermined time interval corresponds to the interval at which the passenger number determination unit 13 updates the number of passengers using the detection results of the passenger detection sensor 11, and can be set arbitrarily by the user. For example, the predetermined time interval may be an interval of several seconds, or an interval of several minutes.

As shown in FIG. 2, the passenger number determination unit 13 calculates the number of passengers 20 times in driving section A, calculates the number of passengers 25 times in driving section B, and calculates the number of passengers 33 times in driving section C. Here, the number of times that the passenger number determination unit 13 calculates the number of passengers corresponds to the driving time of the vehicle. In other words, the more times that the passenger number determination unit 13 calculates the number of passengers, the longer the driving time of the vehicle in the driving section. Conversely, the fewer times that the passenger number determination unit 13 calculates the number of passengers, the shorter the driving time of the vehicle in the driving section.

In this embodiment, the passenger number determination unit 13 counts the number of passengers calculated for each time interval using the detection results of the passenger detection sensor 11 for each travel section A to C. Then, the number of passengers that is calculated most frequently in travel sections A to C is determined to be the number of passengers in travel sections A to C.

To explain this more specifically using travel section A, as shown in FIG. 3, there are 20 pieces of passenger count data for travel section A, of which the frequency (frequency) of the data with the detected number of people being "1 person" is 4, the frequency (frequency) of the data with the detected number of people being "2 people" is 10, and the frequency (frequency) of the data with the detected number of people being "3 people" is 6. Therefore, the passenger count determination unit 13 determines that the most frequently detected number of people, "2 people," in travel section A is the number of passengers in travel section A. The number of passengers can be determined in a similar manner for travel sections B and C.

The passenger count determination unit 13 may exclude data from situations where the passenger's body is inferred to be unstable, such as when approaching a curve, braking suddenly, or experiencing a lot of vibration, based on detection data from the position sensor, acceleration sensor, and gyro sensor.

In this way, the passenger counting system according to this embodiment determines the number of passengers in a vehicle based on the frequency of detection of the number of passengers in a specified travel section. Therefore, it is possible to provide a passenger counting system that can accurately determine the number of passengers in a vehicle.

That is, as mentioned above, in recent years, it has become important for transportation facilities such as buses and trains to accurately count the number of passengers on the transportation facilities. In particular, in transportation facilities that have introduced automated driving systems, it is necessary to accurately count the number of passengers on the transportation facilities.

However, when a vehicle accelerates or decelerates, goes around a curve, or travels on a rough road, the vehicle may sway significantly. When the vehicle sways significantly in this way, the bodies of the passengers on board may also sway. Furthermore, the passengers on board may change their posture while on board. When the passengers' bodies sway or change their posture in this way, there is a problem in that it is not possible to accurately determine the number of passengers on board the vehicle.

In contrast, the passenger counting system according to this embodiment determines the number of passengers in the vehicle based on the frequency of detection of the number of passengers in a specified travel section. Therefore, even if the number of passengers detected by the passenger detection sensor 11 fluctuates due to passengers' bodies swaying while traveling or changing their posture while on board, the number of passengers in the vehicle can be accurately determined.

Next, an example of the configuration of the passenger detection sensor provided in the passenger number counting system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 7. Figs. 4 to 7 explain the case where seating sensors 11a, 11b, and 11_1 to 11_4 are used as the passenger detection sensor 11.

The seating sensors 11a and 11b shown in FIG. 4 are disposed at the intended seating positions 22a and 22b of the seat 20, one each. The seating sensor 11a detects the presence of a passenger when the passenger sits at the intended seating position 22a. Similarly, the seating sensor 11b detects the presence of a passenger when the passenger sits at the intended seating position 22b. The seating sensors 11a and 11b can be configured using, for example, a capacitance sensor. The seating sensors 11a and 11b may also be configured using a switch element such as a membrane switch. For example, the switch element is a switch element that is in a conductive state when a person sits and is in a non-conductive state when the person stands up.

The seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 shown in FIG. 5 are provided on a seat that can accommodate at least two people and are configured to detect people seated on the seat 20. As shown in FIG. 5, the seat 20 can accommodate at least two people (two people can sit in the example shown in FIG. 5), and the multiple seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 are arranged to be spaced apart along the length of the seat 20 and to use two or more seating sensors to detect one person. In other words, the multiple seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 are arranged along the length of the seat 20 so that the number of seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 is at least twice the number of people (capacity) that can be seated on the seat 20 (in the case shown in FIG. 5, the capacity is 2 people x 2 = 4).

In the example shown in FIG. 5, two people can sit on the seat 20 (i.e., the seating capacity is two people), and the seating positions of the two people when they are seated on the seat 20 are shown as intended seating positions 22_1 and 22_2. Two seating sensors are provided at each of the intended seating positions 22_1 and 22_2. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the number of people that can sit on the seat 20 is two, and four seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 are arranged in a line in the longitudinal direction of the seat 20. In this case, two seating sensors 11_1 and 11_2 are arranged at the intended seating position 22_1, and two seating sensors 11_3 and 11_4 are arranged at the intended seating position 22_2. The seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 can be configured using, for example, capacitance sensors. The seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 may also be configured using switch elements such as membrane switches.

The passenger number determination unit 13 counts the number of passengers seated in the seats 20 based on the detection results of the multiple seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4. In this embodiment, the passenger number determination unit 13 determines that one person is seated when two adjacent seating sensors detect seating. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the passenger number determination unit 13 determines that a passenger 24 is seated at the intended seating position 22_2 when two adjacent seating sensors, seating sensor 11_3 and seating sensor 11_4, detect seating.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the two central seating sensors 11_2 and 11_3 (two adjacent seating sensors) among the four seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 provided on the seat 20 detect seating, the passenger count determination unit 13 determines that one person 25 is seated across the two intended seating positions 22_1 and 22_2.

In other words, in the seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 shown in Figures 5 to 7, two seating sensors 11_1 and 11_2 are arranged at the intended seating position 22_1, and two seating sensors 11_3 and 11_4 are arranged at the intended seating position 22_2. Also, the seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 are arranged so that two or more seating sensors are used to detect one person. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, even if a passenger 25 sits across the two intended seating positions 22_1 and 22_2, one passenger 25 can be detected using the two seating sensors 11_2 and 11_3.

For example, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 4, seating sensors 11a and 11b are arranged at each of the intended seating positions 22a and 22b of seat 20. In the case of such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, when passenger 26 sits across from seat 22a to seat 22b, the two seating sensors 11a and 11b may detect passenger 26 sitting, resulting in a false detection that two people are seated when there is actually only one passenger 26 sitting.

In contrast, in the configuration example shown in Figures 5 to 7, two seating sensors 11_1 and 11_2 are arranged at intended seating position 22_1, and two seating sensors 11_3 and 11_4 are arranged at intended seating position 22_2. Also, the seating sensors 11_1 to 11_4 are arranged so that two or more seating sensors are used to detect one person. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7, even if a person 25 sits across the two intended seating positions 22_1 and 22_2, the person sitting in the seat can be accurately detected.

Next, the traffic control system according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining the traffic control system according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the traffic control system 2 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of vehicles 30a-30c each equipped with the passenger number counting systems 1a-1c according to this embodiment described above, and a remote management unit 31 that remotely manages the plurality of vehicles 30a-30c.

Each of the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c mounted on each of the vehicles 30a to 30c is configured to be able to transmit information regarding the number of passengers aboard each of the vehicles 30a to 30c to the remote management unit 31. For example, each of the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c can wirelessly transmit the number of passengers in a specific travel section of each of the vehicles 30a to 30c to the remote management unit 31 in real time.

The remote management unit 31 may determine the vehicle operation schedule using information on the number of passengers received from each of the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c. If the number of passengers on the vehicle 30a is greater than a predetermined number, the remote management unit 31 may determine that the route a on which the vehicle 30a is traveling is congested, and increase the number of vehicles 30a traveling on the route a. For example, if the number of passengers on a specific traveling section a included in the route a of the vehicle 30a is greater than a predetermined number, the remote management unit 31 may increase the number of vehicles 30a traveling on the traveling section a of the vehicle 30a. If the number of passengers on the vehicle 30a is less than a predetermined number, the remote management unit 31 may determine that the route a on which the vehicle 30a is traveling is empty, and reduce the number of vehicles 30a traveling on the route a. Such a decision to increase or reduce the number of services may be made in real time by the remote management unit 31, and may be utilized when creating an operation plan for the vehicles 30a to 30c. When the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c according to the present embodiment are used, the number of passengers on board the vehicle can be accurately determined, and therefore operation plans can be created accurately. Furthermore, information regarding the number of passengers received from each of the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c may be used when determining the usefulness of a location for establishing a bus stop.

The remote management unit 31 may also set the fare for the vehicle using information on the number of passengers received from each of the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c. If the number of passengers on the vehicle 30a is greater than a predetermined number, the remote management unit 31 may determine that the route a on which the vehicle 30a is traveling is congested and set a higher fare for the vehicle 30a traveling on route a. For example, if the number of passengers on a specific travel section a included in the route a of the vehicle 30a is greater than a predetermined number, the remote management unit 31 may set a higher fare for the travel section a of the vehicle 30a. If the number of passengers on the vehicle 30a is less than a predetermined number, the remote management unit 31 may determine that the route a on which the vehicle 30a is traveling is empty and set a lower fare for the vehicle 30a traveling on route a. Such fare setting may be performed in real time by the remote management unit 31, or may be utilized when creating an operation plan for the vehicles 30a to 30c. When the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c according to the present embodiment are used, the number of passengers on board the vehicle can be accurately determined, and therefore fares can be set accurately. Furthermore, the information on the number of passengers received from each of the passenger counting systems 1a to 1c may be used to determine the calculation of rental fees for facilities around bus stops according to the number of passengers getting on and off at the bus stops.

The remote management unit 31 may also generate information on the congestion status of each of the vehicles 30a-30c using information on the number of passengers received from each of the passenger counting systems 1a-1c, and provide the information on the congestion status to a user. For example, the remote management unit 31 may be connected to an external network, and information on the congestion status of the vehicles 30a-30c may be distributed to a user terminal via the external network. For example, the remote management unit 31 may distribute the real-time congestion status of the vehicles 30a-30c to the user terminal. The user can check the congestion status of the vehicles 30a-30c from an application or website on the user terminal.

In addition, in this embodiment, the vehicles 30a to 30c may be equipped with an automatic driving system. In this case, the operation management of each of the vehicles 30a to 30c may be performed using the remote management unit 31.

The present invention has been described above in accordance with the above embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and of course includes various modifications, alterations, and combinations that a person skilled in the art could make within the scope of the invention of the claims of this patent application.

1 Passenger number counting system 2 Operation management system 11 Passenger detection sensors 11a, 11b, 11_1 to 11_4 Seat sensor 12 Travel section determination unit 13 Passenger number determination unit 20 Seats 22a, 22b, 22_1, 22_2 Planned seating positions 24, 25, 26 Passengers

Claims (10)

A passenger detection sensor that detects passengers in the vehicle;
a travel section determination unit for determining a section along which the vehicle has traveled;
a passenger number determination unit that determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle in a predetermined traveling section based on the detection result of the passenger detection sensor and the determination result of the traveling section determination unit,
The passenger number determination unit is configured to determine the number of passengers riding in the vehicle based on a detection frequency of the number of passengers in the predetermined traveling section,
the passenger detection sensor is a seating sensor that is installed in a seat of the vehicle and detects whether the passenger is seated,
The seating sensor is provided in a plurality of seats on which at least two persons can be seated,
The plurality of seating sensors are arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other in a longitudinal direction of the seat, and so that two or more seating sensors are used to detect one person;
the passenger number determination unit counts the number of passengers as one when two adjacent seating sensors detect seating, and determines the number of passengers seated in the vehicle seats based on a detection frequency of the number of passengers in the predetermined traveling section.
Passenger people counting system. The passenger number determination unit,
Calculating the number of passengers at predetermined time intervals using the detection results of the passenger detection sensor;
tallying up the calculated number of passengers for each of the predetermined travel sections;
determining the number of passengers in the predetermined travel section that is the most frequent among the calculated number of passengers in the predetermined travel section as the number of passengers in the predetermined travel section;
2. The passenger people counting system of claim 1. 2. The passenger number counting system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of seating sensors are arranged so that the number of seating sensors is at least twice the number of people that can be seated on the seat is aligned in the longitudinal direction of the seat. When the seating positions of two people seated on the seat are defined as intended seating positions, two seating sensors are provided at each intended seating position,
The passenger number counting system according to claim 1, wherein the passenger number determination unit counts that one person is seated across two of the intended seating positions when two central seating sensors out of four seating sensors provided on the seat detect a person sitting. The passenger number counting system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the passenger detection sensor is a camera capable of detecting passengers riding in the vehicle. A passenger detection sensor that detects passengers in the vehicle;
a travel section determination unit for determining a section along which the vehicle has traveled;
a passenger number determination unit that determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle in a predetermined traveling section based on the detection result of the passenger detection sensor and the determination result of the traveling section determination unit,
the travel section determination unit determines a section in which the vehicle has traveled by using at least one detection result of a position sensor that detects a position of the vehicle, an acceleration sensor that detects an acceleration of the vehicle, and a gyro sensor that detects an orientation of the vehicle;
The passenger number determination unit determines the number of passengers riding in the vehicle based on a detection frequency of the number of passengers in the predetermined traveling section.
Passenger people counting system. A passenger detection sensor that detects passengers in the vehicle;
a travel section determination unit for determining a section along which the vehicle has traveled;
a passenger number determination unit that determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle in a predetermined traveling section based on the detection result of the passenger detection sensor and the determination result of the traveling section determination unit,
The travel section determination unit determines a section in which the vehicle has traveled by using a detection result of a door opening/closing detection sensor that detects opening and closing of a door of the vehicle ,
The passenger number determination unit determines the number of passengers riding in the vehicle based on a detection frequency of the number of passengers in the predetermined traveling section.
Passenger people counting system. A plurality of vehicles, each of which is equipped with the passenger counting system according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ;
a remote management unit that remotely manages the plurality of vehicles,
The passenger counting system mounted on each of the vehicles is configured to transmit information regarding the number of passengers riding in each of the vehicles to the remote management unit.
Traffic management system. 9. The traffic management system according to claim 8, wherein the remote management unit is configured to generate information regarding a congestion state of each of the vehicles using information regarding the number of passengers received from each of the passenger counting systems, and to provide the information regarding the congestion state to a user. A passenger detection sensor that detects passengers in the vehicle;
a travel section determination unit for determining a section along which the vehicle has traveled;
a plurality of vehicles each equipped with a passenger number counting system including a passenger number determination unit that determines the number of passengers aboard the vehicle in a predetermined traveling section based on the detection result of the passenger detection sensor and the determination result of the traveling section determination unit;
a remote management unit that remotely manages the plurality of vehicles,
The passenger number determination unit determines the number of passengers riding in the vehicle based on a detection frequency of the number of passengers in the predetermined traveling section,
The passenger counting system mounted on each of the vehicles is configured to transmit information regarding the number of passengers riding in each of the vehicles to the remote management unit,
the remote management unit determines an operation schedule for the vehicle using information regarding the number of passengers received from each of the passenger counting systems;
Traffic management system.

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