System for detecting position of movable body

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a system for detecting a position of a movable body capable of reducing installation and maintenance costs and reducing power consumption.CONSTITUTION: The present invention comprises: a plurality of receivers installed along a travel path of a railway vehicle; an information processing device; a vibration generator, an energy storage unit and an information processing device installed in the railway vehicle. The vibration generator generates electricity from vibrations during travel of the railway vehicle, and the energy storage unit is charged by voltage generated by the vibration generator each time the vibration generator generates electricity. When the power stored in the energy storage unit reaches a predetermined amount, a transmitter is made ready for operation by the voltage generated by the energy storage unit and transmits an identification number wirelessly. The information processing device counts the number of times the identification number is received, determines a travel distance travelled by the railway vehicle on the travel path on the basis of the number of times the identification number is received, and determines a position of the railway vehicle on the travel path from this travel distance.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile object position detection system for detecting the position of a mobile object, particularly the position of a mobile object on a predetermined route. [Background technology]

[0002] A train operation control center that controls train operations manages train operations by detecting the position of each of multiple trains in motion.

[0003] In this case, the position of moving objects such as aircraft and ships is detected by satellite positioning. However, in the case of automobiles and trains, it is assumed that they will travel through tunnels where radio waves from satellites are blocked, and positioning is not performed while traveling through such tunnels, so the accuracy of position detection decreases.

[0004] Therefore, in order to detect the position of a moving body, a mobile body position detection system has been proposed in which multiple fixed wireless devices are installed at intervals along the route the moving body is traveling, and wireless devices are installed at the front and rear of the moving body, and the area in which the moving body is located is detected based on the reception level of the radio signal transmitted by the wireless device of the moving body when received by each fixed wireless device (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] In such a mobile object position detection system, the reception levels of the wireless signals transmitted from the front wireless device of the mobile object and received by each fixed wireless device are compared, and the fixed wireless device with the highest reception level (first fixed wireless device) is identified. Furthermore, the reception levels of the wireless signals transmitted from the rear wireless device of the mobile object are compared, and the fixed wireless device with the highest reception level (second fixed wireless device) is identified. As a result, the section on the travel route sandwiched between the first fixed wireless device and the second fixed wireless device is detected as the section in which the mobile object exists. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-81257 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] As mentioned above, in the mobile object position detection system described in Patent Document 1, the section enclosed by a pair of adjacent fixed wireless devices among multiple fixed wireless devices installed along the travel route becomes the smallest unit for representing the position of the mobile object.

[0008] Therefore, in order to accurately detect the position of a moving body, the intervals between the fixed radio units must be narrowed, which requires an increased number of fixed radio units, resulting in high installation costs and subsequent maintenance costs.

[0009] In addition, since the transmitted radio waves must reach at least two fixed radio units installed along the travel route from the radio unit installed on the mobile object, the transmission power is relatively high and power consumption is large.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a mobile object position detection system that can reduce installation and maintenance costs and power consumption. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The mobile object position detection system of the present invention comprises a plurality of receivers installed along the travel path of a railway vehicle, an information processing device connected to the plurality of receivers, a vibration generator installed on the railway vehicle and generating electricity from vibrations while the railway vehicle is traveling, a power storage unit installed on the railway vehicle and charged with the generated voltage each time the vibration generator generates electricity, and a transmitter installed on the railway vehicle and becomes operable by the voltage generated by the power storage unit when the power stored in the power storage unit reaches a predetermined amount, and wirelessly transmits an identification number that identifies the railway vehicle, wherein a receiver among the plurality of receivers that receives the identification number wirelessly transmitted by the transmitter transmits the received identification number to the information processing device, and the information processing device counts the number of times that the identification number has been received, calculates the distance traveled by the railway vehicle along the travel path based on the number of times it is received, and calculates the position of the railway vehicle on the travel path from the distance traveled. Effect of the Invention

[0012] In the present invention, each time a railway vehicle is subjected to a predetermined number of vibrations generated at rail joints on the travel route, a transmitter installed on the railway vehicle wirelessly transmits an identification number for identifying the railway vehicle. At this time, the number of times the identification number is received is counted by receivers installed at each base station, the travel distance of the railway vehicle is calculated based on the number of receptions, and the position of the railway vehicle on the travel route is detected based on the travel distance.

[0013] This makes it possible to accurately detect the current running position of a railway vehicle without relying on the number of receivers that receive radio waves transmitted from the railway vehicle, thereby reducing the cost of installing the receivers and the maintenance cost of the receivers installed at each base.

[0014] Furthermore, since the transmitter of the railcar only needs to intermittently transmit the identification number for identifying each railcar, high transmission speed is not required. This allows the transmitter to adopt a communication method that enables long-distance communication with low power consumption, making it possible to operate the transmitter only by generating power from the vibration of the car body.

[0015] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the position of a railway vehicle while reducing the installation and maintenance costs of the receiver and the power consumption. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a moving object position detection system 100. [Diagram 2] 1 is a diagram showing an example of the installation positions of a vibration power generator 10, a power storage unit 15, and a transmitter 20 on a bogie 200 of a railway vehicle RC. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the installation positions of a receiver 30 and an information processing device 40 installed in a station building ST_1. [Figure 4] 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data map stored in a storage unit of an information processing device 40. FIG. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure for a position detection process. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a mobile object position detection system 100 that detects the position of a railroad vehicle as a mobile object.

[0018] 1, the moving object position detection system 100 includes a vibration power generator 10, a power storage unit 15, and a transmitter 20 installed on the railway vehicle RC, and a receiver 30 installed in each of the stations ST_1 to ST_n where the railway vehicle RC stops. In the moving object position detection system 100, an information processing device 40 is further installed in at least one base station among the stations ST_1 to ST_n, for example, the station ST_1. Each of the receivers 30 installed in the stations ST_1 to ST_n and the information processing device 40 are connected via a network NW such as the Internet or a wide area network (WAN).

[0019] The vibration power generator 10, the power storage unit 15 and the transmitter 20 are attached to, for example, a bogie of a railway car RC.

[0020] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the installation positions of the vibration power generator 10, the power storage unit 15, and the transmitter 20 on a bogie 200 of a railway vehicle RC.

[0021] 2, the bogie 200 includes a bogie frame 201, an axle box 203 through which the axles of the wheels 202 pass, and an axle box support 204 that supports the axle box 203 on the bogie frame 201. Here, the vibration power generator 10 is installed in the axle box 203, and the power storage unit 15 and the transmitter 20 are installed in the bogie frame 201.

[0022] The vibration power generator 10 generates electricity from the vertical vibration of the axle box 203. That is, the vibration power generator 10 generates electricity in response to vertical vibrations that occur while the railway vehicle RC is traveling along the travel path, particularly the up-and-down vibrations that occur each time the railway vehicle RC passes a rail joint, and supplies the generated voltage to the power storage unit 15. Note that the length of the rail joint varies depending on the temperature, and the magnitude of the up-and-down vibrations that occur in the railway vehicle RC changes accordingly, but the vibration power generator 10 is configured so that the power-generating vibrator does not vibrate above a predetermined magnitude, and generates a constant generated voltage regardless of the magnitude of the vibration.

[0023] The power storage unit 15 is charged by the generated voltage every time the vibration power generator 10 supplies the generated voltage, and accumulates the electric charge. The power storage unit 15 generates a voltage based on the accumulated electric charge as a power supply voltage and supplies this to the transmitter 20. Each time the vibration power generator 10 generates electric power a predetermined number of times, the electric power accumulated in the power storage unit 15 reaches a predetermined amount that enables one transmission operation by the transmitter 20.

[0024] When the power from the power supply voltage supplied from the power storage unit 15 reaches a predetermined amount, the transmitter 20 becomes capable of transmitting using the power supply voltage and wirelessly transmits the identification number for identifying the railway vehicle RC only once. Note that the transmission operation by the transmitter 20 consumes the charge stored in the power storage unit 15, and the stored power decreases.

[0025] The transmitter 20 performs the wireless transmission by adopting a communication method that enables long-distance communication with low power consumption, such as LPWA (Low Power Wide Area-network). This allows the radio wave representing the above-mentioned identification number to reach the receiver 30 installed in the nearest station building, even while the railway vehicle RC is traveling between stations.

[0026] When a receiver 30 installed in each of the station buildings ST_1 to ST_n receives an identification number wirelessly transmitted from a transmitter 20 installed in a railway car RC, the receiver 30 supplies the identification number to an information processing device 40 via a network NW.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the installation positions of a receiver 30 and an information processing device 40 installed in a station building ST_1.

[0028] 3, the receiver 30 is attached to the top of a pillar PS supporting the roof of a station building, for example. The information processing device 40 is installed in an operation control building BL built on the platform PF, and is connected to the receiver 30 via a wiring L1.

[0029] The information processing device 40 includes a storage unit in which a data map representing the number of receptions, the current running distance, and running route information is stored in association with an identification number representing each railway vehicle RC, as shown in Fig. 4. The running route information is information representing each base such as a starting point (e.g., a warehouse) and a station building included in the route traveled by the railway vehicle RC, and the route length (total rail length) between each of the adjacent bases.

[0030] Furthermore, the storage unit of the information processing device 40 stores a program for carrying out position detection processing.

[0031] The information processing device 40 executes a position detection process in accordance with the program stored in the storage unit each time it receives an identification number from the receiver 30. When the same identification number is received from two or more receivers 30 at approximately the same time, the information processing device 40 processes this as one reception. By executing this position detection process, the information processing device 40 detects the position of each of the multiple railcars RC that are running, and displays, for example, the position of each railcar RC on the running route.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a program for carrying out the above-mentioned position detection process.

[0033] In Fig. 5, first, the information processing device 40 increments the number of receptions corresponding to the received identification number in the data map shown in Fig. 4 by 1 (step S11). That is, the information processing device 40 counts the number of times that the identification number is received for each identification number. The number of receptions stored in the data map is reset to zero immediately before the start of the first operation each day or after the end of the final operation, as necessary. Alternatively, it is reset to zero for each railway vehicle when it passes through a specific station building.

[0034] Next, based on the number of times of reception incremented by 1 in this manner, information processing device 40 determines the current traveling distance of railway vehicle RC, which is represented by the identification number corresponding to the number of times of reception (step S12).

[0035] That is, the track on which the railway vehicle RC runs is made up of an array of rails, each of which has a specified length. At this time, the vibration generator 10 installed on the railway vehicle RC generates electricity every time the railway vehicle RC passes over a rail joint, and when the number of times that electricity is generated reaches a predetermined number, charge is accumulated in the power storage unit 15 to an extent that a single transmission by the transmitter 20 is possible. Therefore, once the number of vibrations of the vibration generator 10 required for one transmission operation by the transmitter 20 (predetermined number) is determined, the distance traveled by the railway vehicle RC at the time when the transmitter 20 transmits the identification number is calculated as follows: Length of one rail x number of vibrations It can be calculated as follows.

[0036] For example, if the length of one rail is the standard 25 meters, and the power required for one transmission by the transmitter 20 is the power generated by the vibration power generator 10 with 10 vibrations, the transmitter 20 will transmit the identification number once every 250 meters that the railway vehicle RC travels. In this case, if the number of times the identification number shown in FIG. 4 is received is, for example, 30 times, this means that the railway vehicle RC has traveled 7.5 kilometers from the starting point (e.g., a warehouse). In other words, the travel distance up to the present time of the railway vehicle RC corresponding to that identification number is obtained. Then, the information processing device 40 updates the travel distance described in the data map shown in FIG. 4 to this obtained travel distance.

[0037] Next, the information processing device 40 compares this travel distance with travel route information stored in the data map shown in FIG. 4 to determine the current travel position of the railway vehicle RC corresponding to the received identification number (step S13).

[0038] For example, if the traveling distance from the starting point (e.g., a warehouse) of the railway vehicle RC corresponding to the received identification number is 7.5 kilometers, and the traveling route information stored in the data map indicates that the route length (total rail length) from the starting point to the first station building is 5 kilometers, the current traveling position of the railway vehicle RC is determined to be a position on the rails 2.5 kilometers away from the first station building.

[0039] That is, based on travel route information representing multiple bases on a travel route including the starting point of the railway vehicle RC and each of the route lengths between adjacent bases among the multiple bases, the information processing device 40 determines a position from one of the multiple bases at a point that is the travel distance away from the starting point as a position on the travel route of the railway vehicle RC.

[0040] In this way, the moving object position detection system 100 can accurately detect the current running position of the railway vehicle RC, regardless of the number of receivers 30 that receive radio waves transmitted from the railway vehicle RC. This makes it possible to reduce the installation costs of the receivers 30 and the maintenance costs of the receivers 30 installed at each base point.

[0041] Furthermore, according to the moving object position detection system 100, the transmitter 20 of the railway vehicle RC only needs to intermittently transmit an identification number for identifying each railway vehicle RC, so no high transmission speed is required. This enables wireless transmission using a communication method that enables long-distance communication with low power consumption, such as LPWA, so that the transmitter 20 can be operated by generating electricity from vibrations that occur when the railway vehicle RC passes over a rail joint and storing the electricity.

[0042] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect the position of a railway vehicle while reducing the installation and maintenance costs of the receiver 20 and the power consumption.

[0043] In the above embodiment, the position of the railway vehicle RC is detected by an information processing device 40 installed in the station building ST_1 and the position is displayed, but this information processing device 40 may also be installed in the railway vehicle RC so that it is possible to monitor not only its own position but also the positions of other railway vehicles within the railway vehicle RC.

[0044] In addition, in the above embodiment, when the number of times power is generated by the vibration power generator 10 reaches a predetermined number, power is stored in the power storage unit 15 to an extent that the transmitter 20 can perform one transmission, but in order to set such a state, the power of the optimal generated voltage to be supplied to the power storage unit 15 may be determined by calibration. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 10. Vibration generator 15 Storage section 20 Transmitter 30 Receiver 40 Information processing device 100 Mobile location detection system

Claims

1. A plurality of receivers; an information processing device connected to the plurality of receivers; a vibration power generator that is installed in a railway vehicle and generates power by using vibrations that occur while the railway vehicle is traveling on a travel path; a power storage unit that is installed in the railway vehicle and is charged by the generated voltage every time the vibration power generator generates power; a transmitter that is installed in the railway vehicle, that becomes operable by a voltage generated in the power storage unit when the power stored in the power storage unit reaches a predetermined amount, and that wirelessly transmits an identification number that identifies the railway vehicle, A receiver that receives the identification number wirelessly transmitted by the transmitter among the plurality of receivers transmits the received identification number to the information processing device; The information processing device counts the number of times the identification number is received, calculates the distance traveled by the railway vehicle along the travel route based on the number of times the identification number is received, and calculates the position of the railway vehicle on the travel route from the distance traveled.

2. the information processing device includes a storage unit configured to store travel route information representing a plurality of bases on the travel route including a starting point of the rail vehicle and each of route lengths between adjacent bases among the plurality of bases; 2. The mobile object position detection system according to claim 1, wherein the position of the railway vehicle from one of the plurality of bases is determined as a position on the travel route based on the travel route information and the travel distance.

3. 2. The moving body position detection system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration power generator generates power by vibration of the railroad vehicle in a vertical direction.

4. the vibration power generator is installed in an axle box through which an axle of a wheel of the railway vehicle passes, 4. The mobile object position detection system according to claim 3, wherein the transmitter and the power storage unit are installed in a bogie of the railcar.

5. Each of the plurality of bases is a station building, 2. A mobile object position detection system according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of receivers is installed in each of said plurality of station buildings.

6. the vibration power generator generates electricity in response to vibrations that occur each time the railway vehicle passes through a rail joint; the power storage unit is configured such that the stored power reaches the predetermined amount each time the vibration power generator generates power a predetermined number of times, The mobile body position detection system of any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the information processing device calculates the traveling distance by multiplying the number of times of reception by the length of one rail on which the railway vehicle runs.

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