Passenger assistance device

Abstract

To provide a passenger assistance device capable of suppressing rushing-in of a passenger while eliminating the installing necessity of a large facility.SOLUTION: A passenger assistance device 1 comprises: an in-vehicle camera 3 that detects an in-vehicle passenger A1 onboard a bus 2; an out-of-vehicle camera 4 that detects a riding scheduled passenger A2 intending to board the bus 2; a boarding permission determination unit 13 that determines whether the riding scheduled passenger A2 is permitted to board the bus 2 by using the result of detecting the in-vehicle passenger A1 by the in-vehicle camera 3 and the result of detecting the riding scheduled passenger A2 by the out-of-vehicle camera 4; a running passenger determining unit 14 that determines whether there is a passenger running to board the bus 2 on the basis of the result of detecting the riding scheduled passenger A2 by the out-of-vehicle camera 4; and a notification control unit 15 and a speaker 5 that notify the running passenger of no running in accordance with the determining result of the boarding permission determination unit 13 when the running passenger determining unit 14 determines the presence of the running passenger.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to passenger assistance devices. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technology for platforms equipped with safety bulkheads and platform doors incorporating transparent glass panels, which reversibly make the safety bulkheads and platform doors opaque so that stopped trains cannot be seen through, thereby preventing passengers from rushing to board the trains. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-255418 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, in order to prevent passengers intending to board the train from seeing the target train, it is necessary to lay infrastructure such as safety bulkheads and platform doors, which requires the installation of large-scale facilities.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a passenger support device that can prevent passengers from rushing onto a train without requiring the installation of large-scale facilities. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] (1) One aspect of the present invention is a passenger assistance device that provides assistance to passengers boarding a passenger transport vehicle when the vehicle stops at a designated stopping position, and includes an in-vehicle passenger detection unit that detects passengers already on board the vehicle, an outside-vehicle passenger detection unit that detects passengers who intend to board the vehicle, a boarding availability determination unit that determines whether the passengers who intend to board are able to board the vehicle using the detection results of the boarded passengers by the in-vehicle passenger detection unit and the detection results of the passengers who intend to board by the outside-vehicle passenger detection unit, a running passenger determination unit that determines whether there are any running passengers running to board the vehicle based on the detection results of the passengers who intend to board by the outside-vehicle passenger detection unit, and a notification unit that, when it is determined that there are running passengers by the running passenger determination unit, issues a notification to the running passengers not to run, depending on the determination result by the boarding availability determination unit.

[0007] (2) In (1) above, when the running passenger determination unit determines that a running passenger is present, the notification unit may notify the running passenger of whether or not the running passenger is permitted to board the vehicle, along with a message urging the running passenger not to run, depending on the determination result of the boarding eligibility determination unit.

[0008] (3) In (1) or (2) above, the passenger assistance device further includes a passenger capacity calculation unit that calculates the number of passengers who can board the vehicle based on the passengers already boarded detected by the in-vehicle passenger detection unit, and a planned passenger capacity calculation unit that calculates the number of passengers who plan to board detected by the outside-vehicle passenger detection unit, and the boarding eligibility determination unit may compare the number of passengers who can board the vehicle calculated by the passenger capacity calculation unit with the number of passengers who plan to board calculated by the planned passenger capacity calculation unit to determine whether the passengers who plan to board can board the vehicle.

[0009] (4) In (3) above, the boarding possibility determination unit may determine that the planned passengers can board the vehicle when the number of passengers who can board the vehicle is equal to or greater than the number of planned passengers, and may determine that the planned passengers cannot board the vehicle when the number of passengers who can board the vehicle is less than the number of planned passengers. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent passengers from rushing to board trains while eliminating the need for large-scale installation of facilities. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a passenger support device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the passenger assistance device shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a calculation process executed by a passenger capacity calculation unit shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a calculation process executed by a planned passenger number calculation unit shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 5] 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a determination process executed by a boarding permission determination unit shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a control process executed by a notification control unit shown in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a passenger assistance device according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the passenger assistance device shown in FIG. 1. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the passenger assistance device 1 of this embodiment is mounted on a bus 2, which is a vehicle for transporting passengers. The passenger assistance device 1 is a device that provides assistance to passenger A who boards bus 2 when bus 2 stops at a designated stopping position. The designated stopping position is a position where passenger A gets on and off the bus.

[0014] The passenger support device 1 includes an in-vehicle camera 3, an outside-vehicle camera 4, a speaker 5, and a processing unit 10.

[0015] The interior camera 3 is a wide-angle camera attached to the interior ceiling of the bus 2, and captures images of the interior of the bus 2. The interior camera 3 is an interior recognition sensor that acquires image data (sensing data) for recognizing the number of passengers and the degree of congestion inside the bus 2. The interior camera 3 constitutes an interior passenger detection unit that detects passengers A1 already on board the bus 2.

[0016] The exterior camera 4 is attached to one side (here, the left side) of the bus 2 where the boarding and disembarking entrances (not shown) for passenger A are located, and is a wide-angle camera that captures images of one side (here, the left side) outside the bus 2. The exterior camera 4 is an exterior recognition sensor that acquires image data (sensing data) for recognizing people present on one side outside the bus 2. The exterior camera 4 constitutes an exterior passenger detection unit that detects passengers A2 who intend to board the bus 2.

[0017] The speaker 5, like the exterior camera 4, is attached to one side of the bus 2 where the boarding and disembarking entrances (not shown) are located. The speaker 5 is a device that notifies passengers A2, who are located on one side outside the bus 2, of any desired content by voice.

[0018] The arithmetic processing unit 10 is composed of a CPU, RAM, ROM, an input / output interface, etc. The arithmetic processing unit 10 loads a program recorded in the ROM, for example, into the RAM, and executes the program loaded into the RAM with the CPU.

[0019] The arithmetic processing unit 10 has a passenger capacity calculation unit 11, a planned passenger capacity calculation unit 12, a boarding permission determination unit 13, a running passenger determination unit 14, and a notification control unit 15.

[0020] The passenger capacity calculation unit 11 calculates the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 based on the image data of the in-vehicle camera 3. In other words, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 calculates the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 based on the passengers A1 who have boarded the bus and who have been detected by the in-vehicle camera 3.

[0021] Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the calculation process executed by the passenger capacity calculation unit 11. In Fig. 3, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 first determines whether the bus 2 has stopped at a designated stopping position based on image data from the exterior camera 4 or the like (step S101).

[0022] When it is determined that the bus 2 has stopped at the designated stop position, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 acquires image data from the in-vehicle camera 3 (step S102). Then, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 calculates the number of passengers A1 who have boarded the bus 2 based on the image data from the in-vehicle camera 3 (step S103). At this time, if there is a passenger A who has disembarked from the bus 2, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 calculates the number of passengers A1 who have boarded the bus after passenger A has finished disembarking.

[0023] Next, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 calculates the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 at the current stop position (step S104). The passenger capacity calculation unit 11 calculates the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2, for example, by subtracting the number of passengers A1 who have already boarded from the predetermined maximum capacity (maximum number of passengers) of the bus 2. At this time, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 may calculate the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2, taking into consideration the age, physique, etc. of the passengers A1 who have already boarded.

[0024] 2, the planned passenger number-of-persons calculation unit 12 calculates the number of planned passengers A2 based on the image data from the exterior camera 4. That is, the planned passenger number-of-persons calculation unit 12 calculates the number of planned passengers A2 detected by the exterior camera 4.

[0025] Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the calculation process executed by the expected number of passengers calculation unit 12. In Fig. 4, the expected number of passengers calculation unit 12 first determines whether the bus 2 has stopped at a designated stopping position based on image data from the exterior camera 4 or the like (step S111).

[0026] When the planned number of passengers calculation unit 12 determines that the bus 2 has stopped at the designated stop position, it acquires image data from the exterior camera 4 (step S112). Then, the planned number of passengers calculation unit 12 determines whether there are any passengers (planned passengers A2) who intend to board the bus 2, based on the image data from the exterior camera 4 (step S113). Passengers who intend to board the bus 2 include passengers waiting for the bus 2 and passengers moving toward the bus 2.

[0027] When it is determined that there are passengers A2 who are scheduled to board, the planned number-of-passengers calculation unit 12 calculates the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board (step S114). When it is determined that there are no passengers A2 who are scheduled to board, the planned number-of-passengers calculation unit 12 does not execute step S114.

[0028] Returning to Figure 2, the boarding eligibility determination unit 13 compares the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 calculated by the number of passengers who can board the bus 2 calculated by the number of passengers who can board the bus 2 calculation unit 11 with the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board the bus calculated by the number of passengers who are scheduled to board the bus 2 calculation unit 12, and determines whether passengers A2 who are scheduled to board the bus 2 are able to board the bus 2.

[0029] In other words, the boarding eligibility determination unit 13 uses the detection results of the passenger A1 already on board by the in-vehicle camera 3 and the detection results of the passenger A2 scheduled to board by the outside vehicle camera 4 to determine whether the passenger A2 scheduled to board is able to board the bus 2.

[0030] Specifically, when the number of passengers A who can board bus 2 is equal to or greater than the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board, boarding possibility determination unit 13 determines that planned passenger A2 can board the bus. When the number of passengers A who can board bus 2 is less than the number of planned passengers A2, boarding possibility determination unit 13 determines that planned passenger A2 cannot board the bus.

[0031] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the determination process executed by the boarding permission determination unit 13. In Fig. 5, the boarding permission determination unit 13 first acquires data on the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 calculated by the boarding capacity calculation unit 11 and data on the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board the bus calculated by the planned boarding capacity calculation unit 12 (step S121).

[0032] Then, the boarding eligibility determination unit 13 determines whether the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 is equal to or greater than the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board (step S122). When the boarding eligibility determination unit 13 determines that the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 is equal to or greater than the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board, it determines that passengers A2 who are scheduled to board are able to board the bus 2 (step S123). At this time, the boarding eligibility determination unit 13 determines that all of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board are able to board the bus 2.

[0033] When the boarding possibility determination unit 13 determines that the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 is less than the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board, it determines that the passengers A2 who are scheduled to board are unable to board the bus 2 (step S124). At this time, the boarding possibility determination unit 13 determines that at least one of the passengers A2 who are scheduled to board is unable to board the bus 2.

[0034] Returning to FIG. 2, the running passenger determination unit 14 determines whether or not there is a running passenger A2 among the scheduled boarding passengers who is running to board the bus 2, based on the image data from the exterior camera 4. In other words, the running passenger determination unit 14 determines whether or not there is a running passenger based on the detection result of the scheduled boarding passenger A2 by the exterior camera 4. Running passengers include passengers who are actually running toward the bus 2, as well as passengers who show signs of trying to run toward the bus 2.

[0035] When the running passenger determination unit 14 determines that a running passenger is present, the notification control unit 15 controls the speaker 5 to make a notification to the running passenger in accordance with the determination result by the boarding permission determination unit 13.

[0036] Specifically, when the running passenger determination unit 14 determines that a running passenger is present, the notification control unit 15 controls the speaker 5 to notify the running passenger of a message informing whether or not the running passenger is able to board the bus 2, along with a message urging the running passenger not to run, depending on the determination result by the boarding eligibility determination unit 13.

[0037] The notification control unit 15 cooperates with the speaker 5 to constitute a notification unit that notifies the running passenger not to run when the running passenger determination unit 14 determines that a running passenger is present, depending on the determination result by the boarding eligibility determination unit 13.

[0038] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the control process executed by the notification control unit 15. In Fig. 6, the notification control unit 15 first acquires data on the determination results by the boarding permission determination unit 13 and the running passenger determination unit 14 (step S131).

[0039] Then, the notification control unit 15 determines whether or not a running passenger is included among the passengers A2 scheduled to board based on the determination result by the running passenger determination unit 14 (step S132). When the notification control unit 15 determines that a running passenger is included among the passengers A2 scheduled to board, the notification control unit 15 determines whether or not the passengers A2 scheduled to board are allowed to board the bus 2 based on the determination result by the boarding eligibility determination unit 13 (step S133).

[0040] When the notification control unit 15 determines that the passenger A2 is able to board the bus 2, it causes the speaker 5 to announce a message that the passenger A2 does not need to rush because the bus 2 will wait for the passenger A2 to board the bus 2, and a message urging the passenger A2 not to run (step S134). The message at this time is generated in advance and is played by the speaker 5.

[0041] When the notification control unit 15 determines that the passenger A2 who is scheduled to board the bus is unable to board the bus 2, the notification control unit 15 causes the speaker 5 to announce a message to the effect that the passenger A2 cannot board the bus 2 even if he or she hurries, and a message urging the passenger not to run (step S135). The messages at this time are also generated in advance and are played by the speaker 5.

[0042] When the notification control unit 15 determines in step S132 that the boarding planned passengers A2 do not include a running passenger, it does not execute steps S133 to S135.

[0043] As described above, in this embodiment, passenger A1 currently aboard bus 2 is detected, and passenger A2 intending to board bus 2 is also detected. Then, using the detection results of passenger A1 and passenger A2 intending to board bus 2, it is determined whether passenger A2 is able to board bus 2. Furthermore, based on the detection results of passenger A2 intending to board bus 2, it is determined whether there is a passenger running to board bus 2. Then, when it is determined that a running passenger is present, a warning is issued to the running passenger not to run, depending on the determination result of whether passenger A2 intending to board bus 2 is able to board bus 2. Therefore, a running passenger attempting to run to board bus 2 will stop running upon hearing the warning, regardless of the cause of the running. This makes it possible to prevent passenger A from running to board bus 2 without requiring the installation of large-scale facilities.

[0044] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when it is determined that there is a running passenger, a message informing the running passenger of whether or not he or she can board bus 2 is notified to the running passenger together with a message urging the running passenger not to run, depending on the determination result of whether or not passenger A2 who is scheduled to board bus 2 can board bus 2. As a result, a running passenger who tries to run to board bus 2 will understand and accept that he or she can board bus 2 without running, or that he or she cannot board bus 2 even if he or she runs, and will stop running.

[0045] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 is compared with the number of passengers A2 who are scheduled to board, and it is determined whether or not passenger A2 who is scheduled to board can board the bus 2. Therefore, using the detection results of passengers A1 who have already boarded and passengers A2 who are scheduled to board, it is determined by simple calculation processing whether passenger A2 who is scheduled to board can board the bus 2.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the number of passengers A who can board bus 2 is equal to or greater than the number of planned passengers A2, it is determined that planned passengers A2 can board bus 2, and when the number of passengers A who can board bus 2 is less than the number of planned passengers A2, it is determined that planned passengers A2 cannot board bus 2. Therefore, it is possible to easily and accurately determine whether planned passengers A2 can board bus 2.

[0047] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the passenger capacity calculation unit 11 calculates the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 at the current stopping position based on the number of passengers A1 already on board the bus 2, but the present invention is not particularly limited to such an embodiment. The passenger capacity calculation unit 11 may calculate the degree of congestion inside the bus 2 based on image data from the in-vehicle camera 3, and calculate the number of passengers A who can board the bus 2 at the current stopping position based on the degree of congestion inside the bus.

[0048] In addition, in the above embodiment, depending on the determination result of whether or not passenger A2 who is scheduled to board the bus 2 is able to board, the notification is made by announcing a message urging passengers not to run, but this is not limited to a particular form, and the notification may be made, for example, by sounding an alarm such as a buzzer to prevent passengers from running.

[0049] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, assistance is provided to passenger A boarding bus 2 when bus 2 stops at a designated stop location, but the present invention can also be applied to a device that provides assistance to passengers boarding a train when the train stops at a station as a passenger transport vehicle, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1...passenger support device, 2...bus (vehicle for transporting passengers), 3...in-vehicle camera (in-vehicle passenger detection unit), 4...external camera (external passenger detection unit), 5...speaker (alarm unit), 11...number of passengers calculation unit, 12...planned number of passengers calculation unit, 13...boarding possibility determination unit, 14...passenger running determination unit, 15...alarm control unit (alarm unit), A...passenger, A1...passenger already on board, A2...passenger planning to board.

Claims

1. A passenger assistance device that provides assistance to passengers boarding a passenger transport vehicle when the vehicle stops at a designated stopping position, an in-vehicle passenger detection unit that detects passengers already in the vehicle; an outside passenger detection unit that detects passengers who intend to board the vehicle; a boarding possibility determination unit that determines whether the passengers who plan to board are able to board the vehicle using the detection results of the passengers who have already boarded by the inside-vehicle passenger detection unit and the detection results of the passengers who plan to board by the outside-vehicle passenger detection unit; and a running passenger determination unit that determines whether or not there is a running passenger running to board the vehicle based on the detection result of the passengers scheduled to board by the outside-vehicle passenger detection unit; A passenger support device comprising: an alarm unit that, when the running passenger determination unit determines that a running passenger is present, issues an alarm to the running passenger not to run, depending on the determination result by the boarding eligibility determination unit.

2. The passenger support device of claim 1, wherein when the running passenger determination unit determines that the running passenger is present, the notification unit notifies the running passenger of whether or not the running passenger is able to board the vehicle, together with a message urging the running passenger not to run, depending on the determination result by the boarding eligibility determination unit.

3. a passenger capacity calculation unit that calculates the number of passengers that can board the vehicle based on the boarded passengers detected by the in-vehicle passenger detection unit; a planned number of passengers calculation unit that calculates the number of passengers planned to board the vehicle detected by the outside passenger detection unit, The passenger support device of claim 1, wherein the boarding eligibility determination unit compares the number of passengers who can board the vehicle calculated by the number-of-passengers calculation unit with the number of passengers who plan to board calculated by the number-of-planned passengers calculation unit to determine whether the passengers who plan to board the vehicle can board the vehicle.

4. The passenger support device of claim 3, wherein the boarding possibility determination unit determines that the planned passengers can board the vehicle when the number of passengers who can board the vehicle is equal to or greater than the number of the planned passengers, and determines that the planned passengers cannot board the vehicle when the number of passengers who can board the vehicle is less than the number of the planned passengers.

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