Device, system, and method for generating communication environment model

Abstract

To provide a technique that can generate a communication environment model for appropriately evaluating wireless communication quality by taking into account shield arrangement patterns, based on operation plans of moving objects that may become moving shields, constraint conditions related to movement, and the like.SOLUTION: A communication environment model generating device is a device that generates a communication environment model, which is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of moving shields, and includes a moving shield arrangement pattern generating unit that obtains, as input, position information, movement route information, and constraint information related to movement of a moving object loaded with a communication terminal, which is an evaluation target for wireless communication quality, and moving objects that may become the moving shields, and generates a moving shield arrangement pattern, which is an arrangement pattern that may occur for the moving shields.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for generating a communication environment model. [Background technology]

[0002] In a wireless communication system, in order to properly evaluate the quality of wireless communication between a wireless base station and a wireless terminal (hereinafter also referred to as "wireless communication quality"), it is essential to identify and evaluate the wireless communication quality taking into account the effects of reflection, obstruction, diffraction, etc. caused by obstacles present in the propagation environment in which the wireless communication is carried out.

[0003] As one of such techniques, a technique is known that determines wireless communication quality by taking into consideration the influence of moving obstacles present in the wireless communication propagation environment (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-063929 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, information on communication quality affected by obstructions and obstructions, etc. is acquired from a communication terminal equipped in a moving object and stored in a terrestrial server, and when a moving obstruction is placed in a similar arrangement pattern, wireless communication quality is estimated based on the information stored in the terrestrial server. Therefore, when estimating and evaluating wireless communication quality using the technology described in Patent Document 1, it is not possible to take into account the effects of reflection, obstruction, diffraction, etc. caused by moving obstructions, for which information on communication quality and obstructions, etc. is not stored in advance in the terrestrial server, and it is difficult to appropriately evaluate wireless communication quality.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a technology capable of generating a communication environment model for appropriately evaluating wireless communication quality, taking into account obstacle placement patterns based on operation plans of mobile objects that may become moving obstacles, movement constraints, etc. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The communication environment model generating device according to the present invention is a device that generates a communication environment model, which is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of moving obstacles, and has a moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit that receives as input position information, movement route information, and movement constraint information of a moving body carrying a communication terminal whose wireless communication quality is to be evaluated and a moving body that may become a moving obstacle, and generates a moving obstacle arrangement pattern, which is an arrangement pattern that may arise for the moving obstacle.

[0008] In addition, the communication environment model generation system according to the present invention is a system that generates a communication environment model, which is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of moving obstacles, and includes a communication environment model generation device that generates the communication environment model, and a wireless communication quality evaluation device that evaluates wireless communication quality using the generated communication environment model.The communication environment model generation device has a moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation unit that receives as input position information, movement route information, and movement constraint information of a moving body carrying a communication terminal whose wireless communication quality is to be evaluated, and a moving body that may be a moving obstacle, and generates a moving obstacle arrangement pattern, which is an arrangement pattern that may occur for the moving obstacle.

[0009] Other problems and solutions disclosed in the present application will be made clear in the description of the preferred embodiment and the drawings. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to generate a communication environment model for appropriately evaluating wireless communication quality by taking into account obstacle placement patterns based on operation plans of mobile objects that may become moving obstacles and constraints on movement, etc. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of functional blocks of the communication environment model generating device. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a communication environment model generating device. [Diagram 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system including a communication environment model generation system according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a communication environment model generation process. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a replacement plan list. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration of a vehicle information list. [Figure 7] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a route information list. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a line information list. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a track circuit information list. [Figure 11] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a moving obstruction arrangement pattern generation process. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a moving obstacle arrangement pattern. [Figure 13] 13 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a generation result display process. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a GUI display screen of the communication environment model generating system. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a wireless communication quality evaluation process. [Figure 16]FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system including a communication environment model generation system according to another embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] In the following description, an "interface unit" may refer to one or more interface devices. The one or more interface devices may be at least one of the following: One or more I / O (Input / Output) interface devices. The I / O (Input / Output) interface devices are interface devices to at least one of the I / O devices and a remote display computer. The I / O interface device to the display computer may be a communications interface device. The at least one I / O device may be a user interface device, e.g., either an input interface device such as a keyboard and pointing device, or an output interface device such as a display device. One or more communication interface devices. The one or more communication interface devices may be one or more homogeneous communication interface devices (e.g., one or more NICs (Network Interface Cards)) or two or more heterogeneous communication interface devices (e.g., a NIC and an HBA (Host Bus Adapter)).

[0013] In the following description, a "memory" refers to one or more memory devices, which are an example of one or more storage devices, and may typically be a primary storage device. At least one memory device in the memory may be a volatile memory device or a non-volatile memory device.

[0014] In the following description, an "auxiliary storage device" may be one or more auxiliary storage devices, which are an example of one or more storage devices. The auxiliary storage device may typically be a non-volatile storage device (e.g., a persistent storage device), and more specifically, may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a non-volatile memory express (NVME) drive, or a storage class memory (SCM).

[0015] In the following description, the "storage device" may be at least a memory including a memory and an auxiliary storage device.

[0016] In the following description, a "processor" may be one or more processor devices. The at least one processor device may typically be a microprocessor device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also include other types of processor devices such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The at least one processor device may be a single-core or multi-core. The at least one processor device may be a processor core. The at least one processor device may also be a broader processor device such as a circuit that is a collection of gate arrays written in a hardware description language that performs part or all of the processing (e.g., a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD), or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)).

[0017] In the following description, functions may be described using the expression "xxx unit", but the functions may be realized by one or more computer programs (hereinafter also simply referred to as "programs") being executed by a processor, or by one or more hardware circuits (e.g., FPGA or ASIC), or by a combination thereof. When a function is realized by a program being executed by a processor, the function may be at least a part of the processor, since the specified processing is performed using a storage device and / or an interface device, etc., as appropriate. Processing described with a function as the subject may be processing performed by a processor or a device having the processor. A program may be installed from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution computer or a computer-readable recording medium (e.g., a non-transitory recording medium). The description of each function is an example, and multiple functions may be combined into one function, or one function may be divided into multiple functions.

[0018] In the following description, information that provides an output for an input may be described using expressions such as "yyy table", but the information may be a table of any data structure, or may be a neural network that generates an output for an input, or a learning model such as a genetic algorithm or random forest. In other words, to indicate that the information does not depend on the data structure, the "yyy table" may be expressed as "yyy information". In the following description, the configuration of each table is an example, and one table may be divided into two or more tables, or all or part of two or more tables may be one table.

[0019] In the following description, a process may be described with a "program" as the subject, but the process described with a program as the subject may be a process performed by a processor or a device having the processor. Two or more programs may be realized as one program, and one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0020] Furthermore, in the following description, the "communication environment model generation system" may be a system (e.g., a cloud computing system) realized on a group of physical computing resources (e.g., a cloud platform), or a system (e.g., an on-premise system) composed of one or more physical computers. When the communication environment model generation system "displays" the display information, it may mean displaying the display information on a display device possessed by the computer, or the computer may transmit the display information to a display computer (in the latter case, the display information is displayed by the display computer).

[0021] Various embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0022] In the following description, the same or similar components will be denoted by common reference symbols, and redundant description may be omitted.

[0023] In addition, when there are multiple elements having the same or similar functions, the multiple elements may be described by using the same reference numerals with different subscripts in order to distinguish between them. On the other hand, when there is no need to distinguish between the multiple elements, the subscripts may be omitted.

[0024] <Configuration Example of Communication Environment Model Generation System 100> First, a configuration example of a communication environment model generating system 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0025] 1 and 2 are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of a communication environment model generating device 101 constituting a communication environment model generating system 100. Of these, Fig. 1 shows an example of functional blocks of the communication environment model generating device 101, and Fig. 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the communication environment model generating device 101. Also, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system including the communication environment model generating system 100 according to this embodiment.

[0026] (Example of the configuration of a communication environment model generation system) The communication environment model generation system 100 of this embodiment is a computer system capable of generating a wireless communication environment model for evaluating the wireless communication quality of wireless communication performed between a wireless base station and a wireless terminal in a wireless communication system operating in a railway depot environment, taking into account the effects of reflection, obstruction, diffraction, etc. caused by moving obstacles present in the propagation environment of the wireless communication, and is realized by multiple computer devices or server devices each having the respective configurations described below.

[0027] 2-3, this communication environment model generation system 100 includes at least one communication environment model generation device 101 as a component. The communication environment model generation device 101 is a device that generates the above-mentioned wireless communication environment model based on various information (102, 103, 104, 105, 106) such as position information of a moving object that may be a moving obstruction and restriction information related to the movement of the moving object (described in detail later). These various information are acquired, for example, from a database stored in an external server device connected to each other via a network 200 so as to be able to communicate data with each other.

[0028] 2-3, the communication environment model generating system 100 includes, as a component, one wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 connected to the communication environment model generating device 101 so as to be able to perform data communication. The wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 is a device that acquires the communication environment model generated by the communication environment model generating device 101 and evaluates wireless communication quality based on the communication environment model. Specifically, the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 performs wireless quality evaluation while considering the influence of the presence of other railway vehicles other than the evaluation target vehicle as moving shields arranged based on an arrangement pattern generated by a moving shield arrangement pattern generating unit 108, which will be described later, while moving the position of the evaluation target vehicle, i.e., the position of the wireless terminal, based on a movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated by an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107, which will be described later. Data representing the wireless communication quality evaluated by the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 is recorded as a wireless communication quality evaluation result 113 in a database stored in an external server device connected to each other so as to be able to perform data communication via the network 200, for example.

[0029] The communication environment model generating device 101 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 are connected to each other via an appropriate communication network (hereinafter also simply referred to as "network") 200 such as the Internet or a dedicated line so as to be able to communicate data with each other, thereby collectively constituting a communication environment model generating system 100. Note that the communication environment model generating device 101 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 are connected to the network 200 by wires via well-known communication devices (not shown), but may also be connected wirelessly.

[0030] 2 and 3, in the wireless communication system, a line design device 112 may be connected to the communication environment model generating device 101 and / or the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 via a network 200 so as to be capable of data communication. The line design device 112 is a device that performs an evaluation of the validity of the layout of ground wireless stations and an inspection of the influence of moving obstructions based on a wireless communication quality evaluation result 113 at each position of the evaluation target vehicle obtained by the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111, and outputs the result as the wireless communication quality evaluation result 113. In this case, the line design device 112 and the network 200 are connected by wire via a well-known communication device (not shown), but may be connected wirelessly. In this case, the communication environment model generating system 100 may further include the line design device 112 as a component.

[0031] Furthermore, user terminals (not shown) such as laptop PCs, tablets, smartphones, etc. owned by operators who are users of the communication environment model generation system 100 may be connected to the communication environment model generation device 101 and wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 constituting this communication environment model generation system 100 so as to be able to communicate data with each other via an appropriate network 200 such as the Internet or a dedicated line. In this case, each user terminal and the network 200 may be connected wirelessly or by wire.

[0032] Further, other computer devices, server devices, etc. (hereinafter also referred to as "other devices") may be connected to the communication environment model generating device 101 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 constituting this communication environment model generating system 100 so as to be capable of data communication via the network 200. In this case, the other devices and the network 200 may be connected by wire or wirelessly via well-known communication equipment (not shown).

[0033] 1 to 3, the communication environment model generating device 101 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 constituting the communication environment model generating system 100 have been described as being each composed of a single device. However, for example, the communication environment model generating device 101 and / or the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 may be composed of a plurality of devices.

[0034] In the present embodiment, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the communication environment model generating device 101 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 have been described as separate devices. However, the communication environment model generating device 101 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 constituting the communication environment model generating system 100 may be configured as a single device. In this case, for example, the communication environment model generating device 101 may be configured to include a part or all of the functions performed by the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111. Also, for example, the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 may be configured to include a part or all of the functions performed by the communication environment model generating device 101.

[0035] In the present embodiment, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, the communication environment model generating device 101 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 constituting the communication environment model generating system 100 are separate devices from various other devices such as the line design device 112, the user terminal, and other devices. However, the communication environment model generating device 101 and / or the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 may be configured as the same device as the various other devices. In this case, the communication environment model generating system 100 may be configured as, for example, a computer system including some or all of these various devices. Also, for example, the communication environment model generating system 100 may be configured in a form including some or all of the functions carried out by these various devices.

[0036] (Example of Hardware Configuration of Communication Environment Model Generating Device 101) Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the communication environment model generating device 101 constituting the communication environment model generating system 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0037] 2, this communication environment model generating device 101 is realized by a computer having at least a storage device including a memory 202 and an auxiliary storage device 203, an interface device including at least a communication interface 204, and a processor 201 connected thereto. In this communication environment model generating device 101, the interface device may include an input interface 205 and / or an output interface 206.

[0038] In the following description, the communication environment model generating device 101 is assumed to be realized by a general-purpose computer device equipped with one or more processors 201, one or more memories 202, one or more auxiliary storage devices 203, one or more communication interfaces (hereinafter also referred to as "communication I / F") 204, one or more input interfaces (hereinafter also referred to as "input I / F") 205, one or more output interfaces (hereinafter also referred to as "output I / F") 206, and wired or wireless communication lines connecting them.

[0039] The auxiliary storage device 203 is an auxiliary storage device made up of a non-volatile storage element such as a flash memory. Specific examples of the auxiliary storage device 203 include a solid state drive (SSD) and a hard disk drive (HDD). The auxiliary storage device 203 stores at least a communication environment model generation program (not shown). The communication environment model generation program is a computer program for implementing functions required for the communication environment model generation device 101.

[0040] That is, by executing the communication environment model generation program by the processor 201, functions of each functional unit of the communication environment model generation device 101, such as an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107, a moving obstacle placement pattern generation unit 108, and a communication environment model generation unit 109, which will be described later, are realized. In other words, by executing the communication environment model generation program by the processor 201, various processes are performed, including a process related to generation of a communication environment model (hereinafter also referred to as a "communication environment model generation process"), a process related to generation of a movement pattern of an evaluation target vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as an "evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process"), a process related to generation of an arrangement pattern of a moving obstacle (hereinafter also referred to as a "moving obstacle placement pattern generation process"), and a process related to display of the generation result (hereinafter also referred to as a "generation result display process"), which will be described later with reference to Figs. 4 to 8.

[0041] The communication environment model generating program is provided to the communication environment model generating device 101 from various removable media such as a CD-ROM or a flash memory or via the network 200, and is stored in a non-volatile auxiliary storage device 203, which is a non-transitory storage medium. Therefore, it is preferable that the communication environment model generating device 101 has an interface for reading data from the removable media.

[0042] The communication environment model generating program may be installed from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution computer or a computer-readable recording medium. The communication environment model generating program may be composed of a device driver, an operating system, various application programs located at higher layers thereof, and a library that provides common functions to these programs. Furthermore, two or more programs may be realized as one communication environment model generating program, and one communication environment model generating program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0043] The memory 202 is a primary storage device mainly composed of volatile storage elements such as RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory 202 also includes a ROM composed of non-volatile storage elements. The ROM stores immutable programs (e.g., BIOS) and the like. The memory 202 temporarily holds data representing various information read from the auxiliary storage device 203 and various data acquired via the communication interface 204 and / or the input interface 205.

[0044] The processor 201 is a processor device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and various co-processors. The processor 201 loads various computer programs, including a communication environment model generating program, into a memory 202 and executes them, thereby generally controlling the communication environment model generating device 101 itself, and also governs the control unit 11 that performs various processes such as calculation processing and determination processing.

[0045] The interface device includes a communication interface 204 that controls a communication unit 13 described below, an input interface 205 that controls an input unit 41 described below, and an output interface 206 that controls an output unit 42 described below.

[0046] The communication interface 204 is a network interface device that controls communications with other devices according to a predetermined protocol.

[0047] The input interface 205 is an interface to which input devices such as a keyboard 207, a mouse 208, a touch panel, etc. are connected and which receives input from an operator.

[0048] The output interface 206 is an interface to which various display devices 209 such as a liquid crystal display or a touch screen, or an output device such as a printer (not shown), are connected, and which outputs the results of program execution in a format visible to an operator.

[0049] The communication environment model generating device 101 may be an independent device or an embedded device.

[0050] (Example of Hardware Configuration of Wireless Communication Quality Evaluation Device 111) Next, an example of the hardware configuration of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 constituting the communication environment model generating system 100 will be described.

[0051] This wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 is realized by one general-purpose computer device, as exemplified in Fig. 2. In the following description, the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 is assumed to be realized by one general-purpose computer device including one or more processors (not shown), one or more memories (not shown), one or more auxiliary storage devices (not shown), one or more communication interfaces (not shown), one or more input interfaces (not shown), one or more output interfaces (not shown), and wired or wireless communication lines connecting them.

[0052] That is, the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 has a storage device including a memory and an auxiliary storage device, an interface device including at least a communication interface, and a processor connected to them. In the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111, the interface device may include an input interface and / or an output interface.

[0053] The auxiliary storage device is an auxiliary storage device made of a non-volatile storage element such as a flash memory. Specific examples of the auxiliary storage device include a solid state drive (SSD) and a hard disk drive (HDD). The auxiliary storage device stores various computer programs including a program for implementing functions required for the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111.

[0054] That is, by executing the program by the processor, various processes including a process relating to quality evaluation of wireless communication (hereinafter also referred to as "wireless communication quality evaluation process"), which will be described later in conjunction with FIG. 8, are performed.

[0055] The program may be installed from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution computer or a computer-readable recording medium. The program may also be composed of a device driver, an operating system, various application programs located at higher layers thereof, and a library that provides common functions to these programs. Furthermore, two or more programs may be realized as one program, or one program may be realized as two or more programs.

[0056] The memory is a primary storage device that is mainly made up of volatile storage elements such as RAM (Random Access Memory). The memory also includes a ROM that is made up of non-volatile storage elements. The ROM stores immutable programs (e.g., BIOS) and the like. This memory temporarily holds data representing various information read from an auxiliary storage device and various data acquired via a communication interface and / or an input interface.

[0057] The processor is a processor device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and various co-processors. This processor loads various computer programs including the above-mentioned programs into a memory and executes them, thereby controlling the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 itself and also managing a control unit (not shown) that performs various processes such as arithmetic processing and judgment processing.

[0058] The interface device includes a communication interface that connects to the network 200 and communicates with the communication environment model generating device 101 and other devices, and an I / O (Input / Output) interface consisting of an input device and an output device.

[0059] The wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 may be an independent device or an embedded device.

[0060] (Example of functional block of communication environment model generating device 101) Next, an example of various functional blocks included in the communication environment model generating device 101 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Note that each block described below does not represent a hardware-based configuration but represents a functional block.

[0061] The communication environment model generating device 101 is mainly configured with the following functional blocks: a control unit 11 realized by the aforementioned processor 201, a memory unit 12 realized by the aforementioned storage devices (202, 203), a communication unit 13 realized by the aforementioned communication interface 204, and a user interface unit 14 realized by the aforementioned input interface 205 and output interface 206.

[0062] The control unit 11 executes various data processing operations based on programs and data stored in the storage unit 12 and data acquired by the communication unit 13. The control unit 11 also functions as an interface between the storage unit 12 and the communication unit 13.

[0063] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the control unit 11 has the functional blocks of an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107, a moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation unit 108, and a communication environment model generation unit 109.

[0064] The evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107 executes a process of generating a movement pattern of a railway vehicle (hereinafter also referred to as "evaluation target vehicle"), which is a moving body loaded with a communication terminal that communicates with a ground wireless base station, for example, in a railway vehicle depot. This process executed by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107 is referred to as evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process. Details of the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

[0065] The moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108 executes a process of generating a placement pattern of railroad cars as moving obstacles that affect the communication quality between the communication terminal loaded on the evaluation target vehicle and the ground wireless base station. This process executed by the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108 is called a moving obstacle placement pattern generating process. The details of the moving obstacle placement pattern generating process will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

[0066] The communication environment model generation unit 109 uses information on topography and buildings that affect the communication quality other than moving obstacles as base data for a space model that simulates the communication environment, and executes a process of superimposing data on the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107 and data on railroad vehicle objects that become obstacles based on the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generated by the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation unit 108 in the space model to generate a communication environment model for communication quality evaluation. This process executed by the communication environment model generation unit 109 is referred to as a communication environment model generation process. Details of the communication environment model generation process will be described later with reference to FIG. 4.

[0067] The control unit 11 is configured using a processor 201, and can realize these functional blocks by executing the above-mentioned communication environment model generation program. Note that the control unit 11 may be configured using a logic circuit such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) instead of the processor 201. The control unit 11 may also be configured by combining the processor 201 with a logic circuit.

[0068] The memory unit 12 is configured using a storage device, for example consisting of a memory 202 and an auxiliary storage device 203, and stores a program that supplies various processing instructions to the control unit 11, and data representing various information (102, 103, 104, 105, 106) used in the processing executed by the control unit 11.

[0069] The control unit 11 can execute various processes by reading and writing this information in the storage unit 12.

[0070] The communication unit 13 is responsible for communication processing with other devices, such as the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and the line design device 112, performed via the network 200. For example, the communication unit 13 is responsible for communication processing performed between the communication environment model generation unit 109 and the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and / or the line design device 112 in order to perform communication quality evaluation using the communication environment model generated by the communication environment model generation device 101. The communication unit 13 is configured using, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card), an HBA (Host Bus Adapter), or the like.

[0071] The user interface unit 14 includes the functional blocks of an input unit 41 and an output unit 42.

[0072] The input unit 41 is responsible for input-related processing, such as accepting input operations from the user, among other processing related to the user interface. The input unit 41 is configured using input devices such as a keyboard 207, a mouse 208, a touch panel, etc., and detects various operations from the user.

[0073] The output unit 42 is responsible for output-related processing, such as displaying various screens on the display device 209 and outputting audio, among other processing related to the user interface.

[0074] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the output unit 42 has a display unit 110 as a functional block.

[0075] Among the processes related to output, the display unit 110 is responsible for the process of displaying various screens on the display device 209. The display unit 110 displays, for example, a screen including information of the generated communication environment model on the display device 209. The display unit 110 is configured using various display devices 209 such as, for example, a liquid crystal display or a touch screen.

[0076] It should be noted that, for example, in the case of remotely logging in to the communication environment model generation device 101 from another external device such as a user terminal, or in the case of receiving input information from an external device or providing output information to an external device via the communication interface 204, it is not essential to include the input unit 41 and / or the output unit 42. In this case, the communication environment model generation device 101 may have a web server function and receive access from an external device according to a predetermined protocol.

[0077] That is, each component of the communication environment model generating device 101 is realized by hardware including a processor 201, storage devices such as a memory 202 and an auxiliary storage device 203, and wired or wireless communication lines and interface devices (204, 205, 206) that connect them, and software that is stored in the storage devices (202, 203) and supplies processing instructions to the computing unit (processor 201).

[0078] The above description of the functions of the communication environment model generation device 101 has been given on the assumption that each function of the communication environment model generation device 101 is realized integrally by a single computer device. However, each function may be realized by a plurality of computers and / or server devices connected to each other. Furthermore, the communication environment model generation device 101 may be configured to include a general-purpose computer device such as a laptop PC and a web browser installed therein, or may be configured to include a web server and various portable devices.

[0079] The communication environment model generating device 101 is a computer system configured on one physical computer, or on multiple logically or physically configured computers, and may operate on a virtual computer constructed on multiple physical computer resources. For example, functional units such as the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107 and the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108 may each operate on a separate physical or logical computer, or multiple units may be combined to operate on a single physical or logical computer.

[0080] Furthermore, the above description of each function is merely an example, and multiple functions may be combined into one function, or one function may be divided into multiple functions.

[0081] Furthermore, the communication environment model generating device 101 may have other functions in addition to the above-mentioned functions. For example, the communication environment model generating device 101 may be configured to include some of the various functions of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 as described above.

[0082] (Example of functional block of wireless communication quality evaluation device 111) Next, an example of blocks of various functions provided in the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 will be described. Note that each block described below does not represent a hardware configuration but represents a functional block.

[0083] The wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 is configured with the following functional blocks: a control unit (not shown) realized mainly by the above-mentioned processor, a memory unit (not shown) realized by the above-mentioned storage device, a communication unit (not shown) realized by the above-mentioned communication interface, and a user interface unit (not shown) consisting of an input unit and / or an output unit.

[0084] The control unit executes various data processing operations based on the programs and data stored in the storage unit and the data acquired by the communication unit. The control unit also functions as an interface between the storage unit and the communication unit.

[0085] The control unit has, for example, a wireless communication quality evaluation unit as a functional block.

[0086] The wireless communication quality evaluation unit executes a process of evaluating wireless communication quality using the communication environment model generated by the communication environment model generating device 101. This process executed by the wireless communication quality evaluation unit is called a wireless communication quality evaluation process. Details of the wireless communication quality evaluation process will be described later with reference to FIG. 15.

[0087] The control unit is configured using a processor, and can realize the above-mentioned functional blocks by executing a predetermined program. Note that instead of a processor, the control unit may be configured using a logic circuit such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The control unit may also be configured by combining a processor and a logic circuit.

[0088] The storage unit is configured using a storage device consisting of, for example, a memory and an auxiliary storage device, and stores programs that supply various processing instructions to the control unit, and data representing various information used in the processing executed by the control unit.

[0089] The control unit can execute various processes by reading and writing these data in the storage unit.

[0090] The communication unit is responsible for communication processing with the communication environment model generating device 101 and other devices via the network 200. The communication unit is configured using, for example, a network interface card (NIC) or a host bus adapter (HBA).

[0091] The user interface section includes functional blocks of an input section and an output section.

[0092] The input unit is responsible for input-related processing, such as accepting input operations from the user, among other processes related to the user interface. The input unit is configured using, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc., and detects various operations from the user.

[0093] The output unit is responsible for output-related processes such as displaying various screens on a display device, outputting audio, etc. The output unit is configured using, for example, a liquid crystal display, a touch screen, etc.

[0094] It should be noted that, for example, in cases where remote login is performed from another external device to the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111, or where input information is received from an external device or output information is provided to an external device via a communication interface, the inclusion of an input unit and / or an output unit is not essential.

[0095] That is to say, each component of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 is realized by hardware including a processor, storage devices such as memories and auxiliary storage devices, wired or wireless communication lines and interface devices connecting them, and software stored in the storage devices and supplying processing instructions to the arithmetic units.

[0096] The above description of the functions of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 has been given on the assumption that each function of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 is realized integrally by one computer device. However, each function may be realized by a plurality of computers or server devices connected to each other. Moreover, the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 may be configured to include a general-purpose computer device such as a laptop PC and a web browser installed therein, or may be configured to include a web server and various portable devices.

[0097] Furthermore, the above description of each function is merely an example, and multiple functions may be combined into one function, or one function may be divided into multiple functions.

[0098] Furthermore, the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 may have other functions in addition to the above-mentioned functions. For example, the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 may be configured to include some of the various functions of the communication environment model generating device 101.

[0099] <Processing flow example> Next, each of the above-mentioned processes executed in the communication environment model generating system 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0100] (Communication environment model generation process) FIG. 4 is a flowchart 400 showing an example of the flow of a communication environment model generation process.

[0101] As described above, the communication environment model generation process is a process for generating a communication environment model including information on moving obstacles arranged in possible arrangement patterns, which is executed by the communication environment model generation device 101. This communication environment model generation process is executed using as input the position information, movement route information, and movement restriction information of a moving body carrying a communication terminal that performs communication and a moving body that may become an obstacle to radio waves.

[0102] In this embodiment, track information 102 within the railroad depot indicating information on the position of the moving object, route information 103 within the railroad depot indicating information on the moving path of the moving object, vehicle information 104 indicating the identifier, dimensions, material, etc. of the moving object, and shunting plan information 105 indicating the movement plan information of the moving object within the railroad depot are used as input information for the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107 and the moving obstacle placement pattern generation unit 108. Also, a terrain / building model 106 indicating information on terrain and buildings that affect communication quality other than moving obstacles is used as input information for the communication environment model generation unit 109.

[0103] In step S401, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring the shunting plan information 105 by the communication environment model generating unit 109. This process executed in step S401 is performed to generate a communication environment model for each movement plan to be evaluated. The shunting plan information 105 is information representing a schedule of shunting work, which is the movement of a moving body between predetermined tracks in a railway vehicle depot environment, and is managed by being recorded in a shunting plan list 500 illustrated in FIG. 5. As illustrated in FIG. 5, this shunting plan list 500 is composed of a work ID, date and time, a train set ID, and a route ID. The work ID is a unique identifier of the shunting work, which is the movement of a vehicle in the railway vehicle depot. The date and time define the date and time when the shunting work is performed. The train set ID is an identifier of the vehicle set to be moved in the shunting work specified by the work ID, and corresponds to the train set ID of the vehicle information list 600 described later in relation to FIG. 6. The route ID specifies the route along which the railway vehicle set specified by the set ID will travel during shunting operation, and corresponds to the route ID in the route information list 800, which will be described later in relation to Fig. 8. In this way, the shunting plan information 105 is acquired. When the process in step S401 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generation device 101 proceeds to step S402.

[0104] In step S402, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring vehicle information 104 by the communication environment model generating unit 109. The vehicle information 104 is information representing dimensions, materials, etc. of a moving body equipped with a communication terminal in a railway vehicle depot environment, and a railway vehicle which is a moving body that can become a moving obstruction, and is managed by being recorded in a vehicle information list 600 illustrated in FIG. 6. This vehicle information list 600 is composed of a train formation ID, a vehicle name, a vehicle length, a vehicle body width, a vehicle body height, and a vehicle material. The train formation ID is a unique identifier of a train formation of railway vehicles that are kept or run in a railway vehicle depot. The vehicle name is a name given to a train formation of railway vehicles at the site. The vehicle length is the length of the train formation in the rail direction. The vehicle body width is the dimension of the railway vehicle in the sleeper direction. The vehicle body height is the height from the rail head surface or the track bed to the roof of the vehicle. A railway depot generally accommodates a plurality of railway vehicle formations with different train lengths and vehicle body dimensions. Since there is a limit to the track length for each track, depending on the specifications of the railway vehicle formation, there are cases where the track length is insufficient and the railway vehicle cannot enter the line. The control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 utilizes the vehicle information 104 to generate a communication environment model taking into account these factors. In this way, the vehicle information 104 is acquired. When the process in step S402 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S403.

[0105] In step S403, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107 based on the shunting plan information 105 acquired in step S401 and the vehicle information 104 acquired in step S402. As described above, this evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process is a process for generating a movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle in the railway vehicle depot. The details of the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process will be described later with reference to FIG. 7. As a result, the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle is generated. When the process in step S403 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S404.

[0106] In step S404, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation process by the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108. As described above, this moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation process is a process for generating an arrangement pattern of a railway vehicle as a moving obstacle that is parked or shunted in a railway vehicle depot other than the evaluation target vehicle. In the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation process, the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108 generates an arrangement pattern of a moving obstacle so as to be a pattern that does not contradict the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107. In the case of the railway vehicle depot of this embodiment, the moving obstacle is arranged at a position on the movement path of the evaluation target vehicle and at a position excluding a position of a locked range determined by the specification of a signal system such as an interlocking device. The details of the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation process will be described later with reference to FIG. 11. As a result, the arrangement pattern of the moving obstacle is generated. When the process in step S404 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S405.

[0107] In step S405, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of generating and placing an object equivalent to a railroad car as a moving obstruction (hereinafter also referred to as a "moving obstruction object") in a spatial model simulating the inside of the railroad depot where wireless communication is performed, based on the arrangement pattern of the moving obstruction generated in step S404, using the communication environment model generating unit 109. As a result, the moving obstruction object is generated and placed in the spatial model. When the process in step S405 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S406.

[0108] In step S406, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes processing to acquire the terrain and building model 106 by the communication environment model generating unit 109. This terrain and building model 106 is a spatial model including information on the terrain and buildings of the railroad depot to be evaluated. In this way, the terrain and building model 106 is acquired. When the processing in step S406 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S407.

[0109] In step S407, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 creates a spatial model by using the communication environment model generating unit 109 to combine the spatial model in which the railway vehicles other than the evaluation target vehicle as the moving obstruction constructed in step S405 are arranged and the spatial model including the topography and building information of the railway depot acquired in step S406, and further executes a process of adding the information on the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated in step S403 as the movement information of the mobile body carrying the evaluation target wireless terminal in the created spatial model to create a communication environment model. As a result, a communication environment model is generated for the shunting plan. When the process in step S407 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S408.

[0110] In step S408, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process in which the communication environment model generating unit 109 evaluates the shunting work of all evaluation target vehicles included in the shunting plan information 105 acquired in step S401, and determines whether the generation of the communication environment model is complete. If it is determined in step S408 that the evaluation of the shunting work of all the evaluation target vehicles has not yet been completed and the generation of the communication environment model has not been completed (step S408: NO), the process returns to step S401 and executes each process of steps S401 to S407 again in order to evaluate the shunting work that has not yet been evaluated and generate the communication environment model. In this case, the process of steps S401 to S407 is repeatedly executed until it is determined in step S408 that the evaluation of the shunting work of all the evaluation target vehicles has been completed and the generation of the communication environment model has been completed (step S408: YES). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S408 that the evaluation of the shunting operations of all the vehicles to be evaluated has been completed and the generation of the communication environment model has been completed (step S408: YES), the process proceeds to step S409 to output the generated communication environment model.

[0111] In step S409, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of outputting the communication environment model generated for each shunting task in step S407 by the communication environment model generating unit 109. The communication environment model is transmitted to the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and the line design device 112 via the communication unit 13 for wireless communication quality evaluation and line design. As a result, the communication environment model for each shunting task generated in step S407 is output to at least the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and the line design device 112. When the process in step S409 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S410.

[0112] In step S410, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a generation result display process by the display unit 110. As described above, this generation result display process is a process for displaying information related to the generated communication environment model. Details of the generation result display process will be described later with reference to FIG. 13. As a result, information related to the generated communication environment model is displayed as the generation result. When the process in step S410 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 ends the communication environment model generation process shown in the flowchart 400 of FIG. 4.

[0113] In this way, the communication environment model generating device 101 generates a movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle that is the subject of wireless communication quality evaluation in the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107, and generates a movement pattern of the moving obstacle that is not inconsistent with the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle (a pattern in which the moving obstacle is not placed in a locked range determined by the position on the movement route and the specifications of the railway signal device) in the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108, thereby making it possible to generate a communication environment model in which railway vehicles are placed as moving obstacles in a placement pattern that can be imagined in advance for each movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle. This makes it possible to evaluate wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of moving obstacles, even if railway vehicles are not actually placed as moving obstacles in all placement patterns in the environment in which wireless communication is performed.

[0114] (Evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process) FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 showing an example of the flow of a process for generating an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern.

[0115] As described above, the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process is a process executed by the communication environment model generating device 101 for generating the movement pattern of a mobile body carrying a communication terminal that performs communication as an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern.

[0116] In step S701, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring a route ID of the shunting work of the evaluation target vehicle from the shunting plan list 500 of the shunting plan information 105, using the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107. As a result, the route ID is acquired from the shunting plan list 500. When the process in step S701 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S702.

[0117] In step S702, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring, as the route information 103, the start track ID and the destination track ID of the route corresponding to the route ID acquired in step S701, by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107. The route information 103 represents route information in the railway vehicle depot environment, and is managed by being recorded in the route information list 800 illustrated in FIG. 8. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the route information list 800 is composed of a route ID, an extension track ID, a destination track ID, a start track name, and a destination track name. The route ID list is a unique identifier for each shunting route in the railway vehicle depot. The start track ID specifies the track on which the vehicle defined for each route exists before the start of shunting, and is specified by the track ID in the track information list 900 described later in relation to FIG. 9. Similarly, the destination track ID specifies the end point of the shunting track, i.e., the track on which the vehicle is located after shunting is completed, by the track ID. The start track name and destination track name are the track names corresponding to the development track ID and destination track ID, respectively, and correspond to the track names in the track information list 900 described later in relation to Fig. 9. In this way, the start track ID and destination track ID are obtained from the track information list 800. When the process in step S702 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generation device 101 proceeds to step S703.

[0118] In step S703, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring, as the track information 102, a list of related track circuits of tracks corresponding to the starting track ID and the destination track ID acquired in step S702, respectively, by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107. The track information 102 represents track information in the railroad depot environment, and the related track circuit list is managed by being recorded in the track information list 900 illustrated in FIG. 9. This track information list 900 is composed of a track ID, a track name, and a related track circuit list. The track ID is a unique identifier associated with each track in the railroad depot. The track name is the name of the track associated with the track ID. The related track circuit list is a list of track circuit IDs associated with each track associated with the track ID. The elements of the related track circuit list correspond to the track circuit IDs of the track circuit information list 1000. Generally, multiple track circuits are installed for each track, and multiple related track circuits are often used when configuring a shunting route, so the related track circuit list has multiple track circuit IDs as elements. As a result, the track circuit list for the route ID is obtained from the track information list 900. When the process in step S703 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S704.

[0119] In step S704, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring, as the track information 102, a list of track circuit IDs and corresponding track circuit position information included in the track related track circuit list corresponding to the starting track ID and the destination track ID acquired in step S703, by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107. The list of position information is managed by recording it in the track circuit information list 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10. This track circuit information list 1000 is composed of track circuit IDs and track circuit position information. The track circuit ID is a unique identifier for identifying a track circuit installed on a track. In FIG. 10, the track circuit position information is shown in the form of a list of longitude and latitude information for each track circuit ID. The track circuit position information may be information that can identify the geographical position of the track circuit other than the list of longitude and latitude information. As a result, a list of position information of the route of the route ID is acquired from the track circuit information list 1000. When the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 completes the process in step S704, the process proceeds to step S705.

[0120] In step S705, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process in which the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107 combines the list of position information of the track circuit from the starting track to the destination track of the shunting route acquired in step S704, and stores it as the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle. As a result, the acquired position information list is stored as the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle. When the process in step S705 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 ends the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process shown in the flowchart 700 of FIG. 7.

[0121] In this way, the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107 acquires position information of the route (path) along which the evaluation target vehicle travels in shunting work, based on the path information 103 for each shunting work of the evaluation target vehicle specified in the shunting plan information 105, using the path information 103 and the track information 102. Then, a list of the acquired position information is saved as the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle. In this way, when generating a placement pattern of railway vehicles (other than the evaluation target vehicle) as moving obstacles described in Fig. 11, it is possible to obtain evaluation target vehicle movement pattern information as a constraint condition for placing vehicles that can become obstacles in positions that do not interfere with the path of the evaluation target vehicle.

[0122] (Moving object placement pattern generation process) FIG. 11 is a flowchart 1100 showing an example of the flow of a moving obstruction arrangement pattern generation process.

[0123] As described above, the moving obstacle placement pattern generation process is a process for generating a placement pattern of a moving object that can be an obstacle as a moving obstacle placement pattern, which is executed by the communication environment model generating device 101. This moving obstacle placement pattern generation process is executed based on the position information, movement route information, and movement restriction information of a moving object carrying a wireless terminal that performs communication, and a moving object that can be an obstacle to radio waves.

[0124] In step S1101, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring a list of all track circuits in the railway depot to be evaluated from the track circuit information list 1000 of the track information 102, using the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108. As a result, the list of all track circuits is acquired from the track circuit information list 1000. Upon completing the process in step S1101, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S1102.

[0125] In step S1102, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring information on a track circuit list related to the movement pattern of the vehicle to be evaluated acquired in step S703 of Fig. 7 by the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108. This acquires the track circuit list related to the vehicle movement pattern to be evaluated. When the process in step S1102 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S1103.

[0126] In step S1103, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of acquiring a track circuit list, excluding the track circuit IDs included in the track circuit list related to the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle acquired in step S1102, from the entire track circuit list acquired in step S1101, by the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108. This acquires a list of all track circuits other than the track circuits related to the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern. As a result, it is possible to obtain a list of track circuits that are not related to the movement of the evaluation target vehicle due to shunting within the vehicle depot, that is, track circuits on which other vehicles may exist as moving obstacles. When the process in step S1103 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S1104.

[0127] In step S1104, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process in which the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108 acquires, from the track circuit information list 1000 of the track information 102, position information of track circuits corresponding to each track circuit ID included in the track circuit list not related to the movement of the evaluation target vehicle due to shunting within the vehicle depot obtained in step S1103, and acquires it as a list of position information of track circuits not related to the movement of the evaluation target vehicle due to shunting within the vehicle depot. As a result, a list of position information of track circuits not related to the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern is acquired from the track circuit information list 1000. When the process in step S1104 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S1105.

[0128] In step S1105, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process in which the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108 combines the list of position information of track circuits not related to the movement of the evaluation target vehicle due to shunting within the vehicle depot acquired in step S1104, and stores the combined list as a moving obstacle placement pattern corresponding to the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle being evaluated. As a result, the acquired position information list is stored as a moving obstacle placement pattern. Upon completing the process in step S1105, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 ends the moving obstacle placement pattern generation process shown in the flowchart 1100 of FIG. 11.

[0129] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a moving obstacle arrangement pattern generated by the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation process. In the example of FIG. 12, a case is shown in which a shunting vehicle, which is a vehicle to be evaluated, moves from the depot #1, which is the starting track, to the passage #1, which is the destination track. At this time, a vehicle as a moving obstacle may exist at a position of the track that does not interfere with the route of the shunting vehicle, that is, a position excluding the range of the tracks of the depot #1 and passage #1 that are physically interfered with, and the range of the tracks that are related to and locked, which is determined by the specifications of the interlocking device, so that a vehicle as a moving obstacle is arranged on each of the corresponding tracks of storage #1, storage #2, cleaning #1, and inspection and repair #1. Therefore, it should be noted that since the track arrangement, the specifications of the track circuit, the specifications of the signaling device including the interlocking device, the shunting work plan, etc. differ from one railroad depot to another, the arrangement pattern of the moving obstacle necessarily differs from one railroad depot to another.

[0130] In this way, the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108 determines the positions where vehicles other than the evaluation target vehicle that may be moving obstacles may exist by acquiring positions that do not interfere with the path of the evaluation target vehicle when a movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle is given based on the track information 102, which is position information of the possible existence of a moving object, the route information 103, which is constraint information on the movement of the moving object, and the information on the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107. As a result, the placement pattern of moving obstacles that affect the communication quality between the communication terminal loaded on the evaluation target vehicle and the ground wireless base station can be generated from the position information, movement pattern, and movement constraint information of the vehicle in the railway depot. Then, by using a communication environment model including these patterns, it becomes possible to perform a prior evaluation of communication quality with the placement pattern of moving obstacles that may actually occur.

[0131] (Generation result display process) FIG. 13 is a flowchart 1300 showing an example of the flow of the generation result display process.

[0132] As described above, the generation result display process is executed in the communication environment model generating device 101 to display information about the generated communication environment model.

[0133] In step S1301, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of displaying, on a GUI (Graphical User Interface) display screen, the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle in the railway depot obtained as a result of the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation process of Fig. 7, by the display unit 110. As a result, the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern is displayed on the GUI display screen. When the process of step S1301 is completed, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 proceeds to step S1302.

[0134] In step S1302, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 executes a process of displaying, on the GUI display screen, the arrangement of moving obstacles in the railway depot obtained as a result of the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation process of Fig. 11, by the display unit 110. As a result, the moving obstacle arrangement pattern is displayed. Upon completing the process of step S1302, the control unit 11 of the communication environment model generating device 101 ends the generation result display process shown in the flowchart 1300 of Fig. 13.

[0135] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the GUI display screen 1401. The GUI display screen 1401 is a screen that displays information related to a communication environment model for each movement pattern of a target vehicle, including an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern and a moving obstacle arrangement pattern, on a GUI. The GUI display screen 1401 displays the arrangement pattern of the moving obstacle generated by the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation unit 108 for each movement pattern of the target vehicle generated by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107. Therefore, it has a function of selecting a desired movement pattern of the target vehicle from the results of evaluation using a plurality of movement patterns of the target vehicle. In the example shown in FIG. 14, a pull-down menu 1402 allows a desired movement pattern of the target vehicle to be evaluated to be selected. The display of the arrangement pattern of the moving obstacle when the target vehicle moves according to the desired movement pattern of the target vehicle selected in the pull-down menu 1402 is displayed in the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern and moving obstacle arrangement pattern display unit 1403. In the example shown in FIG. 14, the movement pattern of the vehicle to be evaluated and the arrangement pattern of moving obstacles are overlaid on a diagram simulating the track layout in a railway depot.

[0136] (Wireless communication quality evaluation process) FIG. 15 is a flowchart 1500 showing an example of the flow of a wireless communication quality evaluation process.

[0137] As described above, the wireless communication quality evaluation process is a process for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of a moving obstruction, which is executed by the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and / or the line design device 112. This wireless communication quality evaluation process is executed using the communication environment model generated by the communication environment model generation device 101 as an input.

[0138] In step S1501, the control unit of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 executes a process of acquiring, via the communication unit, the communication environment model generated by the communication environment model generating device 101. This acquires the communication environment model. When the process in step S1501 is completed, the control unit of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 proceeds to step S1502.

[0139] In step S1502, the control unit of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 executes a process in which the wireless communication quality evaluation unit extracts information on the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle from the communication environment model acquired in step S1501, and sets the information as the movement pattern of the communication terminal in the wireless communication quality evaluation. As a result, the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern is extracted and set as the movement pattern of the communication terminal in the wireless communication quality evaluation. When the process in step S1502 is completed, the control unit of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 proceeds to step S1503.

[0140] In step S1503, the control unit of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 executes a process of evaluating wireless communication quality such as received power strength from a wireless base station by moving the position of the wireless terminal that is the reception point along the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle extracted in step S1502 by the wireless communication quality evaluation unit. Note that the specific evaluation method of the wireless communication quality in step S1503 may be a method using a propagation model formula, a method using a ray tracing method, or other wireless communication quality evaluation method, and the evaluation can be performed by any method without being limited to a specific evaluation method. As a result, the received power strength on the movement route of the evaluation target vehicle is calculated. When the process in step S1503 is completed, the control unit of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 proceeds to step S1504.

[0141] In step S1504, the control unit of the line design device 112 executes a process of outputting the wireless communication quality evaluation result 113 such as the received power intensity calculated by the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111. As a result, the calculation result such as the received power intensity is output as the wireless communication quality evaluation result 113. Upon completing the process in step S1504, the control unit of the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 ends the wireless communication quality evaluation process shown in the flowchart 1500 of FIG.

[0142] In this way, in the wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and the line design device 112, wireless communication quality evaluation is performed using the communication environment model including the division of vehicle objects as moving obstructions arranged according to the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated by the communication environment model generation device 101 and the corresponding arrangement pattern of the moving obstructions, thereby making it possible to perform wireless communication quality evaluation taking into account the influence of vehicles as moving obstructions that may exist in the railway depot for parking or shunting other than the evaluation target vehicle. As a result, wireless communication quality evaluation can be performed in advance taking into account the influence of the moving obstructions in the arrangement patterns of the moving obstructions that can be assumed for each movement pattern of all evaluation target vehicles in the railway depot, without actually arranging vehicles as moving obstructions, and it becomes possible to efficiently design, evaluate the performance, and monitor the operation of wireless systems and applications that perform wireless communication in the railway depot.

[0143] As described above, according to this embodiment, the communication environment model generating device 101 generates an evaluation model for performing wireless communication quality evaluation considering the influence of moving obstacles, and receives as input position information, moving route information, and movement restriction information of a moving body carrying a communication terminal to be evaluated for communication quality, and a moving body that may become a radio wave obstacle, and generates a moving pattern of the evaluation target vehicle in an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generating unit 107, and generates an arrangement pattern of moving obstacles that may occur in advance according to the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle in a moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108. The communication environment model generating unit 109 combines the generated movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle and the arrangement pattern of the moving obstacles with the terrain and building model 106 to generate a communication environment model for wireless communication quality evaluation, and displays it on a display unit 110, and outputs it to a wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and a line design device 112. The wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 and the line design device 112 perform wireless communication quality evaluation using the communication environment model obtained from the communication environment model generation device 101, and output the result as a wireless communication quality evaluation result 113. These processes make it possible to perform communication quality evaluation taking into account the obstacle placement pattern based on the operation plan of the mobile object and the constraint conditions related to the movement in advance, and to improve the accuracy of communication quality evaluation in a communication environment where moving obstacles are present. As a result, it becomes possible to design, evaluate the performance, and monitor the operation of a wireless system that satisfies high communication and availability requirements.

[0144] The communication environment model generation system 100 according to this embodiment has been described above.

[0145] <Other embodiments> Next, a communication environment model generating system 100 according to another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0146] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a wireless communication system including a communication environment model generating system 100 according to another embodiment.

[0147] In this other embodiment, the movement plans of the vehicle to be evaluated and vehicles other than the vehicle to be evaluated that may become moving obstacles are not obtained from a file or database as in the previously described embodiment, but are received from an in-vehicle shunting plan creation support device 1601 that supports the creation of shunting work schedules within the railway depot based on operating conditions and daily work plans.

[0148] In addition, a device equivalent to the yard shunting plan creation support device 1601 that receives the vehicle movement plan may also be an operation control system, a transportation planning system, or an in-yard shunting planning system that similarly controls and manages the operation and movement of trains and vehicles on main lines, stations, vehicle depots, freight yards, etc.

[0149] The other configuration is the same as that of the communication environment model generating device 101 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0150] As described above, the communication environment model generation device 101 constituting the communication environment model generation system 100 according to another embodiment has a communication interface 204 with the yard shunting plan creation support device 1601, receives movement plans of the evaluation target vehicle and vehicles other than the evaluation target vehicle that may become moving obstacles from the yard shunting plan creation support device 1601, and uses them as input for generating the communication environment model. This makes it possible to generate a communication environment model for evaluating wireless communication quality based on real-time train movement plans that change according to train operation status and work status in the railway depot.

[0151] The communication environment model generating system 100 according to another embodiment has been described above.

[0152] The above-described embodiment of the present invention can be summarized as follows.

[0153] (1) The communication environment model generating device 101 is a device that generates a communication environment model that is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of a moving obstacle, and has a moving obstacle arrangement pattern generating unit 108 that receives as input position information, movement route information, and movement constraint information of a moving object carrying a communication terminal that is the subject of evaluation of wireless communication quality and a moving object that may be a moving obstacle, and generates a moving obstacle arrangement pattern that is an arrangement pattern that may occur for the moving obstacle. As a result, the communication environment model generating device 101 can generate a communication environment model for appropriately evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account an obstacle arrangement pattern that takes into account an operation plan of a moving object that may be a moving obstacle, a constraint condition on the movement, and the like.

[0154] (2) The moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108 evaluates the wireless communication quality using a moving obstacle placement pattern generated in advance.

[0155] (3) The moving obstacle placement pattern generated by the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit 108 is used in real time to evaluate the wireless communication quality.

[0156] (4) The position information of the moving object includes at least one of track location information, track layout information, track circuit information, and block block information.

[0157] (5) The travel route information of the moving object includes at least one of a train operation diagram, a shunting diagram, and a shunting operation schedule.

[0158] (6) The constraint information regarding the movement of a moving object includes at least one of interlocking device information, track circuit information, and block block information.

[0159] (7) Receive movement route information of the moving object from one or more of an operation planning system, a transportation planning system, or a shunting planning system.

[0160] (8) The system further includes an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107 that receives as input the position information, movement route information, and movement constraint information of the moving object, and generates a movement pattern of the moving object carrying the communication terminal that is the subject of communication quality evaluation. The moving obstacle placement pattern generation unit 108 generates a moving obstacle placement pattern in accordance with the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit 107.

[0161] (9) The communication environment model generation system 100 is a system that generates a communication environment model, which is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of moving obstacles, and includes a communication environment model generation device 101 that generates the communication environment model, and a wireless communication quality evaluation device 111 that evaluates wireless communication quality using the generated communication environment model.

[0162] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented using any components without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0163] In the above description, a railway depot is assumed as a place where wireless communication is performed, and railway cars parked and shunted in the depot are assumed as moving obstacles that affect communication quality, and an embodiment of generating a communication environment model for evaluating communication quality taking into account the influence of the moving obstacle in that case and evaluating communication quality using the model is illustrated, but the present invention can be applied to evaluation of communication quality in environments where other moving obstacles are present. Among them, the present invention is suitable for application to evaluation of communication quality taking into account the influence of moving obstacles for building communication systems for control and monitoring applications of railway stops, signal stations, freight stations (freight yards, marshalling yards, etc.), autonomous buses in road traffic, small autonomous mobility, autonomous guided vehicles in factories, etc., and autonomous trucks.

[0164] Each of the above embodiments is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to these contents as long as the characteristics of the invention are not impaired. In addition, although various embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these contents, and not all of these contents are necessarily essential to the solution of the present invention. Other aspects conceivable within the scope of the technical idea of ​​the present invention are also included in the scope of the present invention.

[0165] In the above figures, the control lines and information lines are shown as those considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines necessary for implementation. For example, it may be considered that almost all components are actually connected to each other.

[0166] The above-described arrangement of the functional units of the communication environment model generation system 100 and the communication environment model generation device 101 is merely an example. The arrangement of the functional units may be changed to an optimal arrangement in terms of the performance, processing efficiency, communication efficiency, and the like of the hardware and software included in the communication environment model generation system 100 and the communication environment model generation device 101.

[0167] In addition, each of the aforementioned configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. may be realized in hardware, for example by designing some or all of them as an integrated circuit, or may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. [Explanation of symbols]

[0168] 100... communication environment model generation system, 101... communication environment model generation device, 111... wireless communication quality evaluation device, 112... line design device

Claims

1. A communication environment model generating device that generates a communication environment model which is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account an effect of a moving obstacle, a moving shielding object placement pattern generating unit that receives as input position information, movement route information, and movement restriction information of a moving object carrying a communication terminal that is a target of wireless communication quality evaluation and a moving object that may be a moving shielding object, and generates a moving shielding object placement pattern that is a placement pattern that may occur for the moving shielding object, Communication environment model generator.

2. 2. The communication environment model generating device according to claim 1, The communication environment model generating device evaluates wireless communication quality using the moving obstacle placement pattern generated in advance by the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit.

3. 2. The communication environment model generating device according to claim 1, The communication environment model generating device evaluates wireless communication quality by instantly using the moving obstacle placement pattern generated by the moving obstacle placement pattern generating unit.

4. 2. The communication environment model generating device according to claim 1, A communication environment model generating device, wherein the position information of the moving object includes at least one of track information, track layout information, track circuit information, and block block information.

5. 2. The communication environment model generating device according to claim 1, A communication environment model generating device, wherein the movement route information of the moving object includes at least one of a train schedule, a shunting schedule, and a shunting work schedule.

6. 2. The communication environment model generating device according to claim 1, The constraint information regarding the movement of the moving object includes at least one of interlocking device information, track circuit information, and blocked block information.

7. 2. The communication environment model generating device according to claim 1, A communication environment model generating device that receives the movement route information of the moving object from one or more of an operation planning system, a transportation planning system, and a shunting planning system.

8. 2. The communication environment model generating device according to claim 1, The method further includes an evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit that receives position information of the moving object, movement route information, and movement restriction information, and generates a movement pattern of the moving object carrying the communication terminal that is the target of communication quality evaluation, the moving obstacle arrangement pattern generation unit generates a moving obstacle arrangement pattern in accordance with the movement pattern of the evaluation target vehicle generated by the evaluation target vehicle movement pattern generation unit. Communication environment model generator.

9. A communication environment model generation system that generates a communication environment model that is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account the influence of a moving obstacle, a communication environment model generating device for generating a communication environment model; A wireless communication quality evaluation device that evaluates wireless communication quality using the generated communication environment model; Equipped with The communication environment model generating device comprises: a moving shielding object placement pattern generating unit that receives as input position information, movement route information, and movement restriction information of a moving object carrying a communication terminal that is a target of wireless communication quality evaluation and a moving object that may be a moving shielding object, and generates a moving shielding object placement pattern that is a placement pattern that may occur for the moving shielding object, A communication environment model generation system.

10. A communication environment model generation method for generating a communication environment model which is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account an effect of a moving obstacle, comprising: A computer having at least a processor and a storage device, The method inputs position information, movement route information, and movement restriction information of a moving object carrying a communication terminal to be evaluated for wireless communication quality and a moving object that may be a moving obstruction, generating a moving obstacle arrangement pattern which is a possible arrangement pattern for the moving obstacle; A method for generating a communication environment model.

11. A processor; Storage device At least 1. A computer that generates a communication environment model that is an evaluation model for evaluating wireless communication quality taking into account an effect of a moving obstacle, The method inputs position information, movement route information, and movement restriction information of a moving object carrying a communication terminal to be evaluated for wireless communication quality and a moving object that may be a moving obstruction, A moving obstacle arrangement pattern is generated, which is a possible arrangement pattern for the moving obstacle. causing the computer to execute the steps of: Computer program.

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