Intercity bus system based on modular vehicles
By introducing a dynamic optimization grouping and scheduling mechanism for modular vehicles into intercity transportation, the problem of insufficient flexibility in traditional intercity transportation has been solved, providing efficient and personalized point-to-point travel services and reducing operating costs and energy consumption.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510094370.4
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Patents(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-01-21
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-11
- Estimated Expiration
- 2045-01-21
Smart Images
Figure CN119905007B_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention belongs to the field of intelligent transportation, and in particular relates to an intercity bus system based on modular vehicles. Background Technology
[0002] Modular vehicles consist of one or more modular units, each with a certain passenger capacity. These vehicles can possess autonomous driving capabilities; all modular vehicles in this patent are capable of achieving the highest level of autonomous driving. The modular units can be separated and connected during operation, allowing for dynamic adjustments to vehicle formation and facilitating passenger transfers between different modular vehicles. A schematic diagram of the modular vehicle is shown below. Figure 1 As shown.
[0003] With the increasing demand for personalized travel, traditional intercity transportation modes, such as intercity railways, high-speed rail, and long-distance buses, suffer from insufficient flexibility, low convenience, and high transfer costs. There is a huge potential market demand for more flexible and efficient intercity transportation solutions, and building an intercity modular bus system based on modular vehicles could be an important solution.
[0004] Modular buses are currently mainly targeted at urban transportation, such as... Figure 2 As shown, the modular bus system in the city achieves dynamic capacity adjustment through the separation and connection of vehicle module units. These units can be reassembled and deassembled at stations, flexibly adjusting the number of trains based on passenger volume. The use of modular buses in the city can shorten stop times and waiting times, effectively avoid overcrowding during peak hours and excessive empty capacity during off-peak hours on conventional buses, and address uneven and asymmetrical travel demands.
[0005] However, urban travel demand is randomly distributed, with no clear traffic corridors. Origin and destination points may be far from modular bus routes and stops, making it difficult to provide truly point-to-point passenger transport. If urban modular bus systems operate point-to-point without significant traffic corridors, frequent module assembly and disassembly are required, disrupting road traffic, potentially exacerbating congestion, and resulting in poor operational efficiency. In contrast, intercity travel demand is more concentrated, with clear traffic corridors. Modular units do not require frequent assembly and disassembly, minimizing impact on road traffic. Furthermore, the relatively enclosed environment of highways facilitates the separation and connection of modular vehicle units for intercity travel. Summary of the Invention
[0006] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing an intercity bus system based on modular vehicles.
[0007] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution: an intercity bus system based on modular vehicles, the system comprising a modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem on urban roads, a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at highway entrance and exit control points, and a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at hub interchange control points;
[0008] The modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban road is used to select modular vehicles to pick up passengers at designated locations after passengers publish their travel needs on the travel service platform; to send passengers to the nearest highway entrance control point through modular vehicles; or to send passengers to their destinations in the city based on real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of vehicle and road conditions after modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway section and arrived at the highway exit control point.
[0009] The highway entrance and exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used to de-group multiple modular vehicles arriving at the highway entrance control point: modular vehicles with the same destination are combined, adjusted, and connected together to form modular vehicle groups, guiding passengers to complete the transfer between modular units according to the destination city, and preparing the modular vehicle group for departure after the empty modular units are de-grouped; or it can be used in conjunction with the modular public transport passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads to assign and reconnect passenger drop-off vehicles in the modular vehicle groups arriving at the highway exit control point according to the specific destination, and after the passenger transfer is completed, the modular units are de-grouped and the passenger drop-off task is implemented.
[0010] The hub interchange control point module vehicle optimization grouping subsystem is used to optimize the grouping of module vehicles after they arrive at the hub interchange control point of the city expressway.
[0011] Furthermore, the modular vehicle is composed of one or more modular units.
[0012] Furthermore, the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban roads is used to dispatch modular vehicles to pick up passengers at designated locations after passengers post their travel needs on the travel service platform; and to transport passengers to the nearest highway entrance control point via the modular vehicles, specifically:
[0013] When passengers post their travel needs on travel service platforms a Subsequently, the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban road network determines, based on the operating status of all modular vehicles in the road network, whether there are any unfilled modular vehicles M at passenger a's boarding point, and whether the travel demand of modular vehicles M is also r. aIf yes, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the city road dispatches modular vehicle M to pick up passenger a; otherwise, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the city road dispatches an unfilled modular vehicle M' to pick up passenger a according to the shortest path principle; after picking up passenger a, the modular vehicle carrying passenger a will take passenger a to the nearest highway entrance control point.
[0014] Furthermore, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the urban roads is used to transport passengers to their destinations within the city after the modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway and reached the highway exit control point, based on real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of vehicle and road conditions. Specifically:
[0015] After the modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway and reached the highway exit control point, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the urban road will assign each passenger to the corresponding modular unit. Then, modular units with the same destination will be combined into modular vehicles, which will then transport each passenger to their respective destination.
[0016] Furthermore, the highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used to reorganize multiple modular vehicles arriving at the highway entrance control point: modular vehicles with the same destination are combined, adjusted, and connected together to form modular vehicle groups, guiding passengers to complete the transfer between modular units according to their destination city, and completing the ungrouping of empty modular units to prepare for the departure of modular vehicle groups, specifically:
[0017] (b.1) The vehicle optimization grouping subsystem for highway entrance and exit control points is used to number N module vehicles that arrive at the same highway entrance control point in the same direction within a unit time τ, according to the order of their arrival time at the highway entrance control point.
[0018] (b.2) Then, each of the N modular vehicles is sequentially decompiled into a single modular unit. If there are multiple modular units in a modular vehicle, the decompilation completion time is obtained according to the order of the different modular units in the same modular vehicle. After decompilation is completed, all modular units are numbered according to the decompilation completion time of each modular unit.
[0019] (b.3) Then, based on the distance of the passenger's destination city in each module unit and the module unit number, all module units are connected in sequence to form a module vehicle group. Subsequently, all module units in the module vehicle group are renumbered in the order of their predecessors and successors.
[0020] (b.4) Determine the number of module units going to each city based on the summary of travel demand within a unit time τ;
[0021] (b.5) Based on the module unit number and the destination of each module unit, publish carriage information to guide passengers to the corresponding module unit;
[0022] (b.6) After the passengers have completed their journey, the empty module units in the modular vehicle group are separated from the modular vehicle group to obtain the decoupled modular vehicle group. The separated module units are waiting to be assigned other pick-up and drop-off tasks.
[0023] (b.7) After the modular vehicles have been decompiled, they are ready to depart and then head to their destination.
[0024] Furthermore, the highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used in conjunction with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads to assign and reconnect passengers in the modular vehicle group arriving at the highway exit control point according to their specific destinations. After completing the passenger transfer, the modular unit is decoupled and the passenger is dropped off. Specifically:
[0025] (c.1) The modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem at the highway entrance and exit control point, combined with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads, is designed for the modular vehicle grouping at the highway exit control point. First, the module units for picking up and dropping off passengers are sorted: based on the travel needs of all passengers in the modular vehicle group, the destinations in the city are statistically summarized, and the destinations in the city are sorted from farthest to nearest and numbered in sequence. Then, based on the number of passengers in the modular vehicle group and the capacity of each module unit, the number of module units going to each destination in the city is calculated.
[0026] (c.2) If the total number of module units going to various city destinations is greater than the total number of module units in the module vehicle formation, the number of module units that need to be added is calculated. Based on the shortest path principle, nearby vacant module units are added to the highway exit control point in advance. Then, the module vehicle formation and the added module units are connected to obtain the connected module vehicle formation. Then, all module units in the connected module vehicle formation are numbered sequentially.
[0027] If the total number of module units going to each city destination is less than the total number of module units in the module vehicle group, then all module units in the module vehicle group are numbered sequentially.
[0028] (c.3) After completing the numbering of the module units, based on the number of each module unit and the corresponding destination in the city, publish the carriage information to guide passengers to move to the corresponding module unit;
[0029] (c.4) Then all the modular units in the modular vehicle group are decoupled, and each modular unit will send passengers to a specific city destination.
[0030] Furthermore, the hub interchange control point module vehicle optimization and formation subsystem is used to optimize the formation of module vehicles after they arrive at the hub interchange control point of the transit city expressway, specifically as follows:
[0031] (d.1) The urban expressway hub interchange control point is divided into a front disassembly area and a reconnection area. When modular vehicles from different cities arrive at the front disassembly area of the expressway hub interchange control point in the same city within a unit time τ, the hub interchange control point modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem disassembles the corresponding modular units in all modular vehicle groups according to the different cities that can be reached through the expressway hub interchange control point, and ensures that the modular units going to the same city after disassembly remain connected.
[0032] (d.2) When modular vehicles from different cities arrive at the reconnection area of the highway hub interchange control point in the same city within a unit time τ, the hub interchange control point modular vehicle optimization reconnection subsystem merges and reconnects different modular units going to the same city according to their arrival time and the distance of the corresponding cities to form a modular vehicle group, and then the merged and reconnected different modular vehicle groups move towards the corresponding cities.
[0033] The beneficial effects of this invention are:
[0034] 1) The system can provide personalized and customized "point-to-point" travel services according to passengers' travel needs, reducing passengers' waiting time and transfer time, and improving passengers' travel experience;
[0035] 2) The system can adjust the configuration of module units and optimize the operation routes of module vehicles according to traffic demand, thereby reducing the empty load rate and optimizing the resource utilization of module units by dynamically optimizing vehicle formation;
[0036] 3) The system can reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions through optimized operation, making it environmentally friendly;
[0037] 4) This invention, through its intelligent, modular, and dynamic vehicle grouping and scheduling mechanism, can effectively improve passenger transport efficiency, reduce operating costs, and provide high-quality passenger services, while also taking into account the protection of the natural environment; these beneficial effects make this system have important application prospects and promotion value in the field of modern intelligent transportation. Attached Figure Description
[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a modular vehicle;
[0039] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of a modular public transport system within the city.
[0040] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of an intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles;
[0041] Figure 4 Workflow diagram of the vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem for highway entrance and exit control point modules at highway entrance control points;
[0042] Figure 5 Workflow diagram of the vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem for highway entrance and exit control points at highway exit control points;
[0043] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a highway interchange.
[0044] Figure 7 Workflow diagram for the vehicle optimization and formation subsystem of the hub interchange control point module;
[0045] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the intercity travel route from Hangzhou to Shanghai.
[0046] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the modular vehicle arriving at the Hangzhou toll station entrance in Example 2;
[0047] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the decompiled module unit in Example 2;
[0048] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the modular vehicle formation in Example 2;
[0049] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the modular vehicle formation after passenger transfer in Example 2;
[0050] Figure 13 This is a schematic diagram of the Qitang Hub Interchange area in Example 2;
[0051] Figure 14 This is a schematic diagram of the Tudian Hub Interchange area in Example 2;
[0052] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the Jiaxing Hub Interchange area in Example 2;
[0053] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the calculation of default values for module units. Detailed Implementation
[0054] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and not all embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.
[0055] Example 1
[0056] like Figure 3 As shown, the present invention provides an intercity bus system based on modular vehicles, which includes a modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem on urban roads, a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at highway entrance and exit control points, and a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at hub interchange control points.
[0057] The modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban road is used to select modular vehicles to pick up passengers at designated locations after passengers publish their travel needs on the travel service platform; to transport passengers to the nearest highway entrance control point through modular vehicles; or to transport passengers to their destinations in the city based on real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of vehicle and road conditions after modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway and reached the highway exit control point.
[0058] The modular vehicle is composed of one or more modular units.
[0059] The highway entrance and exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used to group multiple modular vehicles arriving at the highway entrance control point: it combines and connects modular vehicles with the same destination in the same direction to form modular vehicle groups, guides passengers to complete the transfer between modular units according to the destination city, and prepares the modular vehicle group for departure after the empty modular units are degrouped; or it is used to send passengers to their destination in the city based on real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of vehicle and road conditions after the modular vehicle group has completed the highway section and arrived at the highway exit control point.
[0060] The hub interchange control point module vehicle optimization grouping subsystem is used to optimize the grouping of module vehicles after they arrive at the hub interchange control point of the city expressway.
[0061] 2. Modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads
[0062] The modular public transport passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban roads mainly includes two tasks:
[0063] a.1) When a passenger publishes their travel request on the travel service platform, the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem on urban roads selects modular vehicles to pick up the passenger from their starting point. During the passenger pick-up and drop-off process, the optimal modular vehicle is dynamically dispatched based on real-time traffic conditions and passenger location to ensure that the pick-up task can be completed as quickly as possible. The modular vehicles then transport the passenger to the nearest highway entrance control point. Specifically:
[0064] When passenger A posts a travel request on a travel service platform... a Subsequently, the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban road network determines, based on the operating status of all modular vehicles in the road network, whether there are any unfilled modular vehicles M at passenger a's boarding point, and whether the travel demand of modular vehicles M is also r. a If yes, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the city road dispatches modular vehicle M to pick up passenger a; otherwise, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the city road dispatches an unfilled modular vehicle M' to pick up passenger a according to the shortest path principle; after picking up passenger a, the modular vehicle carrying passenger a will take passenger a to the nearest highway entrance control point.
[0065] a.2) Destination point drop-off task for modular vehicles after exiting the highway: After the modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway and reached the highway exit control point, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem on urban roads assigns the modular vehicles to transport passengers to their destinations within the city. This process also relies on the real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of vehicles and road conditions by the modular bus passenger transport subsystem on urban roads to ensure that passengers can arrive at their destinations as quickly and safely as possible. Specifically:
[0066] After the modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway and reached the highway exit control point, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the urban road will assign each passenger to the corresponding modular unit. Then, modular units with the same destination will be combined into modular vehicles, which will then transport each passenger to their respective destination.
[0067] For the same city, there are both departure and arrival points for passengers; that is, a highway entrance control point is also a highway exit control point. The departure and arrival points of passengers are randomly distributed in time and space.
[0068] Highway entrance and exit control points are important nodes for realizing dynamic optimization of vehicle and passenger formation. At these nodes, the task of optimizing the formation of modular vehicles within a certain time window is completed.
[0069] At highway entrance and exit control points, the modular vehicles have not yet entered the highway system and are traveling at a relatively slow speed, so passengers are allowed to move and transfer between vehicle modules. Therefore, a joint optimization of "modular vehicle grouping" and "passenger-module reconfiguration" is implemented at highway entrance and exit control points.
[0070] The highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used to de-group multiple modular vehicles arriving at the highway entrance / exit control point: modular vehicles with the same destination are combined, adjusted, and connected together to form modular vehicle groups, guiding passengers to complete transfers between modular units according to their destination city, and preparing for the departure of modular vehicle groups after de-grouping empty modular units. Specifically:
[0071] (b.1) Module vehicle arrival at highway entrance control point: The highway entrance control point module vehicle optimization grouping subsystem is used to number N module vehicles with the same destination and direction arriving at the same highway entrance control point within a unit time τ, based on the order of their arrival time. For example... Figure 4 As shown in the first row, within this unit time τ, N=5 modular vehicles enter the highway entrance control point of city A from different directions. The modular vehicles are numbered according to the order of their arrival at the highway entrance control point, resulting in modular vehicles G1, G2, G3, G4 and G5. Passengers in modular vehicle G2 go to city B, passengers in modular vehicles G3 and G5 go to city C, and passengers in modular vehicles G1 and G4 go to city D.
[0072] (b.2) Decomposing the arriving modular vehicles: Each of the N modular vehicles is then sequentially decomposed into a single modular unit. If a modular vehicle contains multiple modular units, the decomposition completion time is determined based on the order in which the different modular units are located within the same modular vehicle. After decomposition, all modular units are numbered according to their decomposition completion time. For example... Figure 4As shown in the second row, module vehicle G1 is first decompiled. Module vehicle G1 contains two module units. Based on the order of these two module units within module vehicle G1, the decompilation completion time of the preceding module unit is earlier than that of the following module unit. Therefore, the preceding module unit is numbered module unit M1, and the following module unit is numbered module unit M2. Next, module vehicle G2 is decompiled. Module vehicle G2 also contains two module units. Based on the order of these two module units within module vehicle G2, the decompilation completion time of the preceding module unit is earlier than that of the following module unit. The decompilation of the block unit is completed earlier than that of the next module unit. Therefore, the previous module unit is numbered as module unit M3, and the next module unit is numbered as module unit M4. Then, module vehicle G3 is decompiled. Since module vehicle G3 contains only one module unit, it is numbered as module unit M5. Then, module vehicle G4 is decompiled. Since module vehicle G4 contains only one module unit, it is numbered as module unit M6. Then, module vehicle G5 is decompiled. Since module vehicle G5 contains only one module unit, it is numbered as module unit M7.
[0073] (b.3) Modular Vehicle Coupling: Then, based on the distance of passengers' destination cities and the module unit number, all module units are sequentially connected to form a modular vehicle group. Subsequently, all module units within the modular vehicle group are renumbered according to their sequential order. For example... Figure 4 As shown in the third row, after forming a modular vehicle group, all modular units in the modular vehicle group are renumbered in sequential order as N1, N2, N3, N4, N5, N6 and N7.
[0074] (b.4) Determine the number of departure module units: Based on the summary of travel demand within a unit time τ, determine the number of module units going to each city. For example... Figure 4 As shown in the fourth row, based on the summary of travel demand within a unit time τ, the number of module units going to city D is determined to be 2, that is, the module units going to city D are module units N1 and N2; the number of module units going to city C is determined to be 1, that is, the module unit going to city C is module unit N3; and the number of module units going to city B is determined to be 1, that is, the module unit going to city B is module unit N4.
[0075] (b.5) Passenger transfer within the vehicle: Based on the module unit number and the destination of each module unit, the vehicle information is released to guide passengers to the corresponding module unit.
[0076] (b.6) Decoupling of Empty Module Units: After passengers have completed their journey, the empty module units in the modular vehicle group are separated from the group, resulting in a decoupling module vehicle group. The separated module units await allocation to other pick-up and drop-off tasks. For example... Figure 4 As shown in the fifth line, after the passengers have completed their journey, the empty module units in the modular vehicle formation are module units N5, N6, and N7. Subsequently, the empty module units N5, N6, and N7 are separated from the modular vehicle formation to obtain the de-formed modular vehicle formation. The empty module units N5, N6, and N7 are waiting to be assigned to other pick-up and drop-off tasks.
[0077] (b.7) Departure of modular vehicles: After decomposition, the modular vehicles are prepared for departure and then head to their destination.
[0078] The highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used in conjunction with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads to assign and reconnect passengers in the modular vehicle group arriving at the highway exit control point according to their specific destinations. After completing the passenger transfer, the modular unit is decoupled and the passenger is dropped off. Specifically,
[0079] (c.1) The highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem, combined with the urban road modular bus passenger transport subsystem, is used for the grouping of modular vehicles arriving at the highway exit control point, such as... Figure 5 As shown in the first row, modular vehicle train K arrives at the highway exit control point. Modular vehicle train K contains 5 modular units. First, the arrangement of the modular units for picking up and dropping off passengers is determined: based on the travel needs of all passengers in the modular vehicle train, the destinations within the city are statistically summarized and sorted from farthest to nearest, and then numbered sequentially. Subsequently, based on the number of passengers in the modular vehicle train and the capacity of each modular unit, the number of modular units going to each city destination is calculated. For example... Figure 5 As shown in the second line, the process of organizing the passenger pick-up and drop-off modules is first determined: based on the travel needs of all passengers in the module vehicle group, five destinations within the city are statistically summarized and sorted from farthest to nearest, and then numbered as city destinations D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5; then, based on the number of passengers in the module vehicle group and the capacity of each module unit, the number of module units going to each city destination is calculated, resulting in 1 module unit going to city destination D1, 2 module units going to city destination D2, 1 module unit going to city destination D3, 1 module unit going to city destination D4, and 1 module unit going to city destination D5.
[0080] (c.2) If the total number of module units going to various city destinations is greater than the total number of module units in the module vehicle formation, the number of module units that need to be added is calculated. Based on the shortest path principle, nearby vacant module units are added to the highway exit control point in advance. Then, the module vehicle formation and the added module units are connected to obtain the connected module vehicle formation. Then, all module units in the connected module vehicle formation are numbered sequentially.
[0081] If the total number of module units going to various city destinations is less than the total number of module units in the module vehicle group, then all module units in the module vehicle group are numbered sequentially.
[0082] like Figure 5 As shown in the second row, since the total number of module units going to various city destinations is 6, and the number of module units in module vehicle group K is 5, the calculated number of additional module units needed is 1 = 6 - 5. Following the shortest path principle, one nearby available module unit is pre-assigned to the highway exit control point. For example... Figure 5 As shown in the third row, all the module units in the connected modular vehicle group are numbered sequentially as module units U1, U2, U3, U4, U5 and U6.
[0083] (c.3) After numbering the module units, based on the number of each module unit and its corresponding city destination, publish carriage information to guide passengers to the appropriate module unit, such as... Figure 5 As shown in the fourth line of the middle section.
[0084] (c.4) Subsequently, all modular units in the modular vehicle group are decoupled, with each modular unit transporting passengers to a specific city destination, such as... Figure 5 As shown in the fifth line of the middle section.
[0085] The hub interchange control point module vehicle optimization formation subsystem is used to optimize the module vehicle formation after the module vehicle formation arrives at the hub interchange control point of the transit city expressway. Specifically:
[0086] Traffic flows from different directions merge and diverge at highway interchange control points, where multi-directional modular vehicle reconfiguration can be implemented. In the modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem at the interchange control point, traffic flow direction conversion is achieved through the de-grouping and reconnection of modular vehicles. Implementing collaborative optimization grouping of multi-directional modular vehicles allows for the sharing of basic modular vehicle units across multiple traffic flows, improving the utilization rate of modular units. A schematic diagram of a highway interchange is shown below. Figure 6 .
[0087] During vehicle formation optimization, the modular units are all located within the highway network at relatively high speeds, prohibiting passengers from moving or transferring between modular units at interchange control points. Therefore, highway interchange control points only adjust the positions of the vehicle units, i.e., optimize the modular vehicle formation.
[0088] Modular vehicle formations arrive at highway interchange control points: such as Figure 7 As shown, within a unit time τ, modular vehicle trains from different cities arrive at the highway hub interchange control point of any city. Passengers in modular vehicle trains from the same city may be going to different cities, and passengers in modular vehicle trains from different cities may be going to the same city.
[0089] (d.1) The urban expressway hub interchange control point is divided into a front disassembly area and a reconnection area. When modular vehicles from different cities arrive at the front disassembly area of the expressway hub interchange control point in the same city within a unit time τ, the hub interchange control point modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem disassembles the corresponding modular units in all modular vehicle groups according to the different cities that can be reached through the expressway hub interchange control point, and ensures that the modular units going to the same city after disassembly remain connected.
[0090] (d.2) When modular vehicles from different cities arrive at the reconnection area of the highway hub interchange control point in the same city within a unit time τ, the hub interchange control point modular vehicle optimization reconnection subsystem merges and reconnects different modular units going to the same city according to their arrival time and the distance of the corresponding cities to form a modular vehicle group, and then the merged and reconnected different modular vehicle groups move towards the corresponding cities.
[0091] Example 2
[0092] The following example of intercity travel between Hangzhou and Shanghai illustrates the intercity modular bus system. Let's assume we start from Hangzhou, such as... Figure 8 As shown, the route passes through Haining (Qitang Hub), Tongxiang (Tudian Hub), Jiaxing (Jiaxing Hub), and Pinghu (Jiaxing Hub) before reaching Shanghai.
[0093] The intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles includes a modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem on urban roads, a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at highway entrance and exit control points, and a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at hub interchange control points.
[0094] The modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads is used to dispatch modular vehicles to pick up passengers at designated locations after passengers post their travel needs on the travel service platform; and to transport passengers to the nearest highway entrance control point via the modular vehicles, specifically including the following sub-steps:
[0095] (1.1) Passenger a, located in the Qianjiang New City Civic Center of Hangzhou, posted a travel request r on a travel service platform. a Afterwards, they traveled from the Hangzhou Qianjiang New City Civic Center to the Shanghai Grand Theatre in Shanghai.
[0096] (1.2) The modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads determines, based on the operating status of all modular vehicles in the road network, whether there are any unfilled modular vehicles M at passenger a's boarding point and whether the travel demand of modular vehicles M is also r. a (Hangzhou Qianjiang New City Civic Center - Shanghai Grand Theatre), if so, dispatch module vehicle M to pick up passenger a; otherwise, select module vehicle M' without passengers to pick up passenger a according to the shortest path principle.
[0097] (1.3) The module vehicle that picks up passenger a will take passenger a to the nearest highway entrance control point. Then, the next task is to optimize the grouping of highway entrance and exit control points.
[0098] The highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and formation subsystem is used to de-group multiple modular vehicles arriving at the highway entrance / exit control point: modular vehicles with the same destination are combined, adjusted, and connected together to form modular vehicle formations, guiding passengers to complete the transfer between modular units according to their destination city, and preparing for the departure of modular vehicle formations after de-grouping empty modular units. Specifically, it includes the following sub-steps:
[0099] (2.1) Module vehicles arrive at the Hangzhou expressway entrance. Within a unit time τ, N module vehicles arriving at the same expressway entrance control point (Hangzhou toll station entrance) with the same destination in the same direction are numbered according to their arrival time at the expressway entrance control point. For example... Figure 9 As shown, modular vehicles G1, G2, G3, ..., G52 entered the highway entrance control point from different directions. Passengers in 4-train formations went to Tongxiang, passengers in 5-train formations went to Haining, passengers in 11-train formations went to Jiaxing, passengers in 2-train formations went to Pinghu, and passengers in 30-train formations went to Shanghai.
[0100] (2.2) Decomposition of Arriving Module Vehicles. Subsequently, each of the N module vehicles is sequentially decomposed into individual module units. If a module vehicle contains multiple module units, the decomposition completion time is determined based on the order in which the different module units are located within the same module vehicle. After decomposition, all module units are numbered according to their decomposition completion time. For example... Figure 10As shown, modular vehicles G1, G2, G3, ..., G52 are decompiled into modular vehicle units. Based on the decompilation completion time and the numbering rules of the sequential positions of the modules, modular units M1, M2, M3, ..., M70 are obtained.
[0101] (2.3) Modular vehicle coupling: Then, based on the distance of passengers' destination cities in each modular unit (from farthest to nearest: Shanghai, Pinghu, Jiaxing, Haining, Tongxiang) and the size of the modular unit's number, all modular units are sequentially connected to form a modular vehicle group. Subsequently, all modular units in the modular vehicle group are renumbered according to their sequential order. For example... Figure 11 Subsequently, the module units in the modular vehicle grouping were renumbered as N1, N2, N3, ... N70.
[0102] (2.4) Determine the number of departure module units: Based on the summary of travel demand within a unit time τ, determine the number of module units going to each city. For example... Figure 11 As shown, module units N1 and N2 go to Haining, module units N3, N4 and N5 go to Tongxiang, module units N6, N7, ..., N14 go to Jiaxing, module unit N15 goes to Pinghu, and module units N16, N17, ..., N32 go to Shanghai.
[0103] (2.5) Passenger Transfers Within the Train: Based on the module unit number and the destination of each module unit, the train information is disseminated to guide passengers to the corresponding module unit, such as... Figure 12 As shown.
[0104] (2.6) Decomposition of Empty Module Units: After the passengers have completed their movement, the empty module units (such as...) in the modular vehicle group are decomposed. Figure 12 As shown, the unloaded module units (module units N33, N34, ..., N70) are separated from the module vehicle group to obtain the module vehicle group after degrouping. The separated module units are waiting to be assigned other pick-up and drop-off tasks.
[0105] (2.7) Departure of modular vehicles: After the modular vehicles have been decoupled, they are ready to depart and then head to their destination.
[0106] The hub interchange control point module vehicle optimization formation subsystem is used to optimize the formation of module vehicles after they arrive at the hub interchange control point of the transit city expressway. Specifically, it includes the following sub-steps:
[0107] (3.1) In this embodiment, the route mainly passes through three urban expressway hub interchange control points: Qitang Interchange, Tudian Interchange, and Jiaxing Interchange. For example... Figure 13As shown, a modular vehicle formation consisting of modular units N1, N2, ..., N32, coming from the direction of Hangzhou, and a modular vehicle formation departing from Haining, arrive at the highway hub interchange control point (Qitang Hub) in the same city.
[0108] (3.2) Modular vehicle formations are de-formed at the Qitang Hub. Modular vehicle formations enter the front de-formation areas H1 and H2 of the Qitang Hub interchange area. Modular vehicle formations are de-formed according to the destination city, and it is ensured that modular units going to the same destination remain connected after de-formation. That is, modular units going to Haining are de-formed into one group, modular units going to Tongxiang are de-formed into one group, modular units going to Jiaxing are de-formed into one group, modular units going to Pinghu are de-formed into one group, and modular units going to Shanghai are de-formed into one group.
[0109] (3.3) Module vehicles merge and reconnect at Qitang Hub. In the reconnection area H' of Qitang Hub, module units from Hangzhou and Haining merge and reconnect according to their arrival time and the distance to their respective destination cities to form a module vehicle group. Then, the different module vehicles after merging and reconnecting are grouped and headed to the corresponding cities.
[0110] (3.4) Modular vehicle formations arrive at the Tudian Interchange (via Tongxiang). Modular vehicle formations coming from Hangzhou and Haining, as well as those departing from Tongxiang, enter the Tudian Interchange area of the expressway, such as... Figure 14 As shown.
[0111] (3.5) Modular vehicle formations are de-formed at the Tudian Hub. Modular vehicle formations enter the front de-formation areas I1 and I2 of the Tudian Hub interchange area. Modular vehicle formations are de-formed according to the destination city, and it is ensured that modular units going to the same destination remain connected after de-formation. That is, modular units going to Tongxiang are de-formed into one group, modular units going to Jiaxing are de-formed into one group, modular units going to Pinghu are de-formed into one group, and modular units going to Shanghai are de-formed into one group.
[0112] (3.6) Module vehicles merge and reconnect at Tudian Hub. In the reconnection area I' of Tudian Hub, module units coming from Hangzhou and Haining and departing from Tongxiang merge and reconnect according to their arrival time and the distance to their respective destination cities to form a module vehicle group. Then, the different module vehicles after merging and reconnecting are grouped and headed to the corresponding cities.
[0113] (3.7) Modular vehicle formations arrive at Jiaxing Hub (via Jiaxing and Pinghu). Modular vehicles arriving from Hangzhou, Haining, and Tongxiang, as well as those departing from Jiaxing and Pinghu, enter the Jiaxing Hub interchange area of the expressway, such as... Figure 15 As shown.
[0114] (3.8) Modular vehicle formations are de-formed at the Jiaxing Hub. Modular vehicle formations enter the de-formation areas J1, J2, and J3 at the front of the Jiaxing Hub interchange area. Modular vehicle formations are de-formed according to the destination city, and it is ensured that modular units going to the same destination remain connected after de-formation. That is, modular units going to Jiaxing are de-formed into one group, modular units going to Pinghu are de-formed into one group, and modular units going to Shanghai are de-formed into one group.
[0115] (3.9) Module vehicles merge and reconnect at Jiaxing Hub. In the reconnection area J' of Jiaxing Hub, module units coming from Hangzhou, Haining, and Tongxiang and departing from Jiaxing and Pinghu merge and reconnect according to their arrival time and the distance to their respective destination cities to form a module vehicle group. Then, the different module vehicles after merging and reconnecting are grouped and headed to the corresponding cities.
[0116] The highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used in conjunction with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads to assign and reconnect passengers in the modular vehicle group arriving at the highway exit control point according to their specific destinations. After completing the passenger transfer, the modular unit is decoupled and the passenger is dropped off. Specifically:
[0117] (4.1) The modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem at the highway entrance and exit control point, combined with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads, firstly determines the sorting of modular units for picking up and dropping off passengers for modular vehicle grouping K arriving at the highway exit control point (Shanghai Xinqiao Expressway Exit Control Point): based on the travel needs of all passengers in the modular vehicle group, the destinations in the city are statistically summarized: including Shanghai Grand Theatre, Siping Road, Shanghai Stadium, Jiading New City, Lujiazui, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, etc., and the destinations in the city are sorted from far to near and numbered in turn. Then, based on the number of passengers in the modular vehicle group and the capacity of each modular unit, the number of modular units going to each destination in the city is calculated.
[0118] (4.2) In this embodiment, as Figure 16 As shown, the total number of module units going to various city destinations is calculated to be 30, while the total number of module units in the module vehicle group is 19, with a default quantity of 11. The number of module units that need to be added is calculated, and based on the shortest path principle, nearby vacant module units are added in advance to the Shanghai Xinqiao Expressway exit control point.
[0119] (4.3) Subsequently, the modular vehicle group K and the additional modular units are connected to obtain the connected modular vehicle group. Then, all the modular units in the connected modular vehicle group are numbered sequentially as modular units N1, N2, ..., N30.
[0120] (4.4) After completing the numbering of the module units, based on the number of each module unit and the corresponding destination in the city, publish the carriage information to guide passengers to move to the corresponding module unit.
[0121] (4.5) Then all the modular units in the modular vehicle group are decoupled, and each modular unit will send passengers to a specific city destination.
[0122] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.
Claims
1. An intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles, characterized in that, The system includes an intercity bus system based on modular vehicles, including a modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem on urban roads, a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at highway entrance and exit control points, and a modular vehicle optimized formation subsystem at hub interchange control points. The modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban road is used to select modular vehicles to pick up passengers at designated locations after passengers publish their travel needs on the travel service platform; to send passengers to the nearest highway entrance control point through modular vehicles; or to send passengers to their destinations in the city based on real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of vehicle and road conditions after modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway section and arrived at the highway exit control point. The highway entrance / exit control point module vehicle optimization grouping subsystem is used to de-group multiple module vehicles arriving at the highway entrance / exit control point: combining, adjusting, and connecting module vehicles with the same destination in the same direction to form a module vehicle group, specifically: (b.1) The highway entrance / exit control point module vehicle optimization grouping subsystem is used to, within a unit time... Within, targeting the same highway entrance control point For modular vehicles with the same destination in the same direction, the modular vehicles are numbered according to the order in which they arrive at the highway entrance control point. (b.2) Subsequently, regarding Each module vehicle in the module vehicle is sequentially decompiled into a single module unit. If there are multiple module units in a module vehicle, the corresponding decompilation completion time is obtained according to the sequential position of different module units in the same module vehicle. After decompilation is completed, all module units are numbered according to the decompilation completion time of each module unit; (b.3) Then, based on the distance of the passenger's destination city in each module unit and the module unit number, all module units are connected in sequence to form a module vehicle group. Subsequently, all module units in the module vehicle group are renumbered in the order of their predecessors and successors. It guides passengers to complete the transfer between modular units according to the city of arrival, and prepares the modular vehicle formation for departure after the empty modular units are decoupled; or it is used in conjunction with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads to assign and reconnect passenger drop-off vehicles to passengers in the modular vehicle formation arriving at the highway exit control point according to their specific destination, and after the passengers' transfer is completed, the modular units are decoupled and the passenger drop-off task is implemented. The hub interchange control point module vehicle optimization grouping subsystem is used to optimize the grouping of module vehicles after they arrive at the hub interchange control point of the city expressway.
2. The intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The modular vehicle is composed of one or more modular units.
3. The intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban roads is used to dispatch modular vehicles to pick up passengers at designated locations after passengers post their travel needs on the travel service platform; the modular vehicles then transport the passengers to the nearest highway entrance control point, specifically: When passengers post their travel needs on travel service platforms a Subsequently, the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in the urban road network determines, based on the operating status of all modular vehicles in the road network, whether there are any unfilled modular vehicles M at passenger a's boarding point, and whether the travel demand of modular vehicles M is also r. a If yes, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the city road dispatches modular vehicle M to pick up passenger a; otherwise, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the city road dispatches an unfilled modular vehicle M' to pick up passenger a according to the shortest path principle; after picking up passenger a, the modular vehicle carrying passenger a will take passenger a to the nearest highway entrance control point.
4. The intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the urban roads is used to transport passengers to their destinations within the city after the modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway and reached the highway exit control point, based on real-time monitoring and optimized scheduling of vehicle and road conditions. Specifically: After the modular vehicles have completed their journey on the highway and reached the highway exit control point, the modular bus passenger transport subsystem in the urban road will assign each passenger to the corresponding modular unit. Then, modular units with the same destination will be combined into modular vehicles, which will then transport each passenger to their respective destination.
5. An intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and formation subsystem is used to de-group multiple modular vehicles arriving at the highway entrance / exit control point: modular vehicles with the same destination are combined, adjusted, and connected together to form modular vehicle formations, guiding passengers to complete transfers between modular units according to their destination city, and preparing for the departure of modular vehicle formations after de-grouping empty modular units. The subsystem also includes the following steps: (b.4) Based on unit time The system summarizes the travel demand within the region and determines the number of module units going to each city. (b.5) Based on the module unit number and the destination of each module unit, publish carriage information to guide passengers to the corresponding module unit; (b.6) After the passengers have completed their journey, the empty module units in the modular vehicle group are separated from the modular vehicle group to obtain the de-grouped modular vehicle group. The separated module units are waiting to be assigned other pick-up and drop-off tasks. (b.7) After the modular vehicles have been decompiled, they are ready to depart and then head to their destination.
6. An intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The highway entrance / exit control point modular vehicle optimization and grouping subsystem is used in conjunction with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads to assign and reconnect passengers in the modular vehicle group arriving at the highway exit control point according to their specific destinations. After completing the passenger transfer, the modular unit is decoupled and the passenger is dropped off. Specifically: (c.1) The modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem at the highway entrance and exit control point, combined with the modular bus passenger pick-up and drop-off subsystem in urban roads, is designed for the modular vehicle grouping at the highway exit control point. First, the module units for picking up and dropping off passengers are sorted: based on the travel needs of all passengers in the modular vehicle group, the destinations in the city are statistically summarized, and the destinations in the city are sorted from farthest to nearest and numbered in sequence. Then, based on the number of passengers in the modular vehicle group and the capacity of each module unit, the number of module units going to each destination in the city is calculated. (c.2) If the total number of module units going to various city destinations is greater than the total number of module units in the module vehicle group, the number of module units that need to be added is calculated, and the nearby vacant module units are added to the highway exit control point in advance according to the shortest path principle. The modular vehicles are then grouped together and the additional modular units are connected to obtain the connected modular vehicle group. Then, all the modular units in the connected modular vehicle group are numbered sequentially. If the total number of module units going to each city destination is less than the total number of module units in the module vehicle group, then all module units in the module vehicle group are numbered sequentially. (c.3) After completing the numbering of the module units, based on the number of each module unit and the corresponding destination in the city, publish the carriage information to guide passengers to move to the corresponding module unit; (c.4) Then all the modular units in the modular vehicle group are decoupled, and each modular unit will send passengers to a specific city destination.
7. An intercity public transport system based on modular vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hub interchange control point module vehicle optimization formation subsystem is used to optimize the module vehicle formation after the module vehicle formation arrives at the hub interchange control point of the transit city expressway. Specifically: (d.1) The control points of the urban expressway hub interchanges are divided into a front disassembly area and a reconnection area. When the unit time Within the area where modular vehicles from different cities arrive at the highway hub interchange control point in the same city, the hub interchange control point modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem decouples the corresponding modular units in all modular vehicle groups according to the different cities that can be reached through the highway hub interchange control point, and ensures that the modular units going to the same city after decoupling remain connected. (d.2) When the unit time Within the system, modular vehicles from different cities are grouped together and arrive at the reconnection area of the highway hub interchange control point in the same city. The hub interchange control point modular vehicle optimization grouping subsystem merges and reconnects different modular units heading to the same city according to their arrival time and the distance to the corresponding city to form a modular vehicle group. Then, the different modular vehicle groups after merging and reconnecting proceed to the corresponding city.