Vehicle data acquisition system and operation management system

Abstract

To provide a vehicle data acquisition system which can acquire vehicle data in appropriate timing.SOLUTION: A vehicle data acquisition system 1 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure comprises: a seating sensor 11; an acceleration sensor 12; a vehicle position sensor 13; an in-vehicle image acquisition sensor 14; a passenger number determination unit 22; a vehicle state determination unit 23; an in-vehicle state determination unit 24; a data change detection unit 25; and a timing adjustment unit 21. When the data change detection unit 25 detects that any one piece of data among data regarding the number of passengers, data regarding an operation state of the vehicle, and data regarding a state in the vehicle changes, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts timing to acquire information from sensors corresponding to the data except the data whose change is detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle data acquisition system and an operation management system. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, in transportation such as buses and trains, it has become important to monitor passengers on board vehicles and accurately count the number of passengers on board for safe operation, etc. Patent Document 1 discloses technology related to a monitoring system that can perform efficient monitoring with a small number of cameras according to the congestion status within the monitoring area. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-69022 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As mentioned above, in recent years, it has become increasingly important for transportation facilities such as buses and trains to appropriately acquire information on the number of passengers on board the transportation facility and the vehicle's operating status (vehicle data).In particular, transportation facilities that have introduced automated driving systems need to accurately acquire such vehicle data.

[0005] Information such as the number of passengers and the vehicle's operating status (vehicle data) can be acquired by installing multiple sensors in the vehicle. However, when multiple sensors are used to acquire vehicle data, the timing at which each sensor acquires information differs, which creates a problem in that the vehicle data cannot be acquired at the appropriate time. For example, when data acquired by a specific sensor changes, it may be desirable to acquire data from other sensors as well. However, if the timing at which a specific sensor acquires data differs from the timing at which other sensors acquire data, this data cannot be acquired at the appropriate time.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle data acquisition system and an operation management system that can acquire vehicle data at appropriate times. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A vehicle data acquisition system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a seating sensor installed in a seat of a vehicle and detecting whether a passenger is seated, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration of the vehicle, a vehicle position sensor that detects the position of the vehicle, an interior image acquisition sensor that acquires images inside the vehicle, a passenger number determination unit that determines the number of passengers seated in seats of the vehicle using seating information acquired from the seating sensor and outputs data related to the number of passengers, a vehicle state determination unit that determines the operating state of the vehicle using vehicle information acquired from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor and outputs data related to the operating state of the vehicle, and a vehicle state determination unit that determines the state inside the vehicle using image information acquired by the interior image acquisition sensor and outputs data related to the operating state of the vehicle. a data change detection unit that detects a change in at least one of the data on the number of passengers output from the passenger number determination unit, the data on the operating state of the vehicle output from the vehicle state determination unit, and the data on the state of the vehicle interior output from the vehicle state determination unit, and a timing adjustment unit that adjusts at least one of the timing at which the passenger number determination unit acquires the seating information from the seating sensor, the timing at which the vehicle state determination unit acquires the vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor, and the timing at which the vehicle interior state determination unit acquires the image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor. When the data change detection unit detects a change in any one of the data on the number of passengers, the data on the operating state of the vehicle, and the data on the state of the vehicle interior, the timing adjustment unit adjusts the acquisition of information from the sensor corresponding to data other than the data for which the change was detected.

[0008] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a traffic management system including the vehicle data acquisition system described above, and a remote management unit, the remote management unit including a receiving unit that receives data transmitted from the transmitting unit, and an analyzing unit that analyzes the data received by the receiving unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide a vehicle data acquisition system and an operation management system that can acquire vehicle data at appropriate times. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram for explaining a vehicle data acquisition system according to an embodiment; [Figure 2] 4 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the vehicle data acquisition system according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] 4 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the vehicle data acquisition system according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a traffic management system according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a vehicle data acquisition system according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the vehicle data acquisition system 1 according to this embodiment includes a seating sensor 11, an acceleration sensor 12, a vehicle position sensor 13, an interior image acquisition sensor 14, a timing adjustment unit 21, a passenger count determination unit 22, a vehicle state determination unit 23, an interior state determination unit 24, and a data change detection unit 25. The vehicle data acquisition system 1 according to this embodiment further includes a data integration unit 26 and a transmission unit 27. The vehicle data acquisition system 1 according to this embodiment is a system that is installed in a vehicle that is a means of transportation such as a bus or a train, and acquires vehicle data.

[0012] The seating sensor 11 is installed in a vehicle seat and detects whether or not a passenger is seated. The seating sensor 11 can be configured using, for example, a capacitance sensor. The seating sensor 11 may also be configured using a switch element such as a membrane switch. For example, the switch element is a switch element that becomes conductive when a passenger is seated and becomes non-conductive when the passenger stands up. The seating information detected by the seating sensor 11 is supplied to a passenger number determination unit 22 via a timing adjustment unit 21.

[0013] The acceleration sensor 12 detects the acceleration of the vehicle. By detecting the acceleration of the vehicle, the state of the vehicle, such as stopping, sudden starting, sudden stopping, sharp curve, etc., can be detected. The acceleration information (vehicle information) detected by the acceleration sensor 12 is supplied to the vehicle state determination unit 23 via the timing adjustment unit 21.

[0014] The vehicle position sensor 13 detects the position of the vehicle. The vehicle position sensor 13 can be configured using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System). Vehicle position information (vehicle information) detected by the vehicle position sensor 13 is supplied to the vehicle state determination unit 23 via the timing adjustment unit 21.

[0015] The interior image acquisition sensor 14 acquires images of the interior of the vehicle. The interior image acquisition sensor 14 may be a camera capable of detecting passengers in the vehicle. A plurality of cameras may be used as the interior image acquisition sensor 14. Alternatively, a 3D sensor such as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) or a thermograph may be used as the interior image acquisition sensor 14. Image information detected by the interior image acquisition sensor 14 is supplied to the interior state determination unit 24 via the timing adjustment unit 21.

[0016] The timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts at least one of the timing at which the passenger number determination unit 22 acquires seating information from the seating sensor 11, the timing at which the vehicle state determination unit 23 acquires vehicle information (acceleration information, vehicle position information) from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13, and the timing at which the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 acquires image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14.

[0017] The passenger number determination unit 22 determines the number of passengers seated in the vehicle seats using the seating information acquired from the seating sensor 11, and outputs data relating to the number of passengers to the data change detection unit 25. For example, the seating sensors 11 are installed in all the seats of the vehicle, and the seating sensors 11 detect whether or not a passenger is seated, thereby making it possible to obtain the number of passengers seated in the vehicle seats.

[0018] The vehicle state determination unit 23 determines the vehicle operating state using vehicle information acquired from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13, and outputs data relating to the vehicle operating state to the data change detection unit 25. Here, the vehicle operating state refers to the running state of the vehicle, such as a normal state, a sudden acceleration state, a sudden deceleration state, a sharp curve state, etc.

[0019] For example, when the value of acceleration information (vehicle information) acquired from acceleration sensor 12 is large, vehicle state determination unit 23 can determine that the vehicle is in a state of sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or making a sharp curve. Also, when the position of the vehicle indicated by vehicle position information (vehicle information) acquired from vehicle position sensor 13 is immediately before a sharp curve, vehicle state determination unit 23 can determine that the vehicle is about to make a sharp curve.

[0020] The vehicle interior state determination unit 24 determines the state inside the vehicle using the image information acquired by the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14, and outputs data related to the state inside the vehicle to the data change detection unit 25. Here, the state inside the vehicle refers to the state of the passengers aboard the vehicle. For example, if a standing passenger falls over, the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 determines that the passenger has fallen. For example, if a standing passenger is swaying significantly, the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 determines that the passenger is swaying. Furthermore, if the number of standing passengers is greater than a predetermined number, the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 determines that the vehicle is crowded.

[0021] The data change detection unit 25 detects a change in at least one of the data regarding the number of passengers output from the passenger number determination unit 22, the data regarding the vehicle operating status output from the vehicle status determination unit 23, and the data regarding the status inside the vehicle output from the vehicle interior status determination unit 24.

[0022] Furthermore, when the data change detection unit 25 detects a change in any one of the data related to the number of passengers, the data related to the operating status of the vehicle, and the data related to the status inside the vehicle, it outputs a trigger signal to the timing adjustment unit 21. When a trigger signal is supplied from the data change detection unit 25, the timing adjustment unit 21 makes adjustments so that information is acquired from sensors corresponding to data other than the data in which the data change detection unit 25 has detected a change.

[0023] For example, when the data change detection unit 25 detects that the data regarding the number of passengers (seating information from the seating sensor 11) has changed, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the vehicle state determination unit 23 to acquire information from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13, and adjusts the interior state determination unit 24 to acquire information from the interior image acquisition sensor 14.

[0024] For example, when the data change detection unit 25 detects that the number of passengers seated in the vehicle seats determined by the passenger number determination unit 22 has decreased, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the vehicle state determination unit 23 to acquire vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13, and the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 to acquire image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14.

[0025] In addition, when the data change detection unit 25 detects that data regarding the vehicle's operating status (at least one of the acceleration information from the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position information from the vehicle position sensor 13) has changed, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the passenger number determination unit 22 to acquire information from the seating sensor 11 and the vehicle interior status determination unit 24 to acquire information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14.

[0026] For example, when the data change detection unit 25 detects that the data regarding the vehicle's operating state has changed from a normal state to a state of sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or a sharp curve, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the passenger count determination unit 22 to acquire seating information from the seating sensor 11 and the interior state determination unit 24 to acquire image information from the interior image acquisition sensor 14.

[0027] In addition, when the data change detection unit 25 detects that the data regarding the condition inside the vehicle (image information from the interior image acquisition sensor 14) has changed, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the timing so that the passenger number determination unit 22 acquires information from the seating sensor 11 and so that the vehicle condition determination unit 23 acquires information from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13.

[0028] For example, when the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 determines that a passenger has fallen, the data change detection unit 25 detects that the data related to the state inside the vehicle has changed. In this case, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the timing so that the passenger number determination unit 22 acquires seating information from the seating sensor 11, and the vehicle state determination unit 23 acquires vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13.

[0029] The data integration unit 26 inputs data on the number of passengers (passenger number data) output from the passenger number determination unit 22, data on the vehicle operating state (operating state data) output from the vehicle state determination unit 23, and data on the state inside the vehicle (interior state data) output from the interior state determination unit 24 via the data change detection unit 25, and integrates these data.

[0030] The transmitter 27 wirelessly transmits the data integrated by the data integration unit 26. For example, the transmitter 27 wirelessly transmits the integrated data to a remote management unit that remotely manages the vehicle.

[0031] Next, the operation of the data integrating unit 26 when integrating data related to the number of passengers, data related to the operating status of the vehicle, and data related to the status inside the vehicle will be described with reference to the timing charts shown in FIGS.

[0032] In this embodiment, the timing at which the passenger number determination unit 22 acquires seating information from the seating sensor 11, the timing at which the vehicle state determination unit 23 acquires vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13, and the timing at which the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 acquires image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14 are all offset from one another.

[0033] 2, the period P1 at which the passenger number determination unit 22 outputs passenger number data, the period P2 at which the vehicle state determination unit 23 outputs operating state data, and the period P3 at which the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 outputs vehicle interior state data are all different. For convenience of explanation, the timing at which the vehicle state determination unit 23 acquires vehicle information from the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13 is set to be the same in this specification.

[0034] 2, for example, from timing t2 to t3 (ON timing), the passenger number determination unit 22 acquires seating information from the seating sensor 11, determines the number of passengers seated in the vehicle seats using the seating information acquired from the seating sensor 11, and outputs passenger number data. Similarly, the vehicle state determination unit 23 acquires vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13 from timing t1 to t2 (ON timing), determines the vehicle operating state using the acquired vehicle information, and outputs operating state data. Similarly, the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 acquires image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14 from timing t1 to t2 (ON timing), determines the state inside the vehicle using the acquired image information, and outputs vehicle interior state data. The same applies to the timing chart shown in FIG. 3.

[0035] The data integration unit 26 integrates the passenger number data output from the passenger number determination unit 22, the operating status data output from the vehicle status determination unit 23, and the vehicle interior status data output from the vehicle interior status determination unit 24. At this time, since the periods P1, P2, and P3 at which each data is output are different, the time required for the data integration unit 26 to integrate the data varies. For example, when data is integrated between timings t1 and t3 and when data is integrated between timings t13 and t15, the data is integrated in a short time. On the other hand, when data is integrated between timings t7 and t10 and when data is integrated between timings t19 and t22, the time required for data integration is longer.

[0036] During normal operation, there is variation in the time required for the data integration unit 26 to integrate data. During normal operation, there is no problem if there is variation in the time required for data integration, but there may be cases where, for example, when data acquired by a specific sensor changes, it is desired to quickly acquire data from other sensors as well.

[0037] For this reason, in this embodiment, when the data change detection unit 25 detects a change in any one of the data related to the number of passengers, the data related to the operating status of the vehicle, and the data related to the status inside the vehicle, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts to acquire information from a sensor corresponding to data other than the data in which the data change detection unit 25 detected a change.

[0038] 3, when the data change detection unit 25 detects that the operation status data has changed at timing t4, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the timing so that the passenger number determination unit 22 acquires information from the seating sensor 11 at timing t5, and so that the vehicle interior status determination unit 24 acquires information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14 at timing t5. Then, the data integration unit 26 integrates these pieces of data.

[0039] 3, when the data change detection unit 25 detects a change in the passenger count data at timing t11, the timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts the timing so that the vehicle state determination unit 23 acquires information from at least one of the acceleration sensor 12 and the vehicle position sensor 13 at timing t12, and so that the vehicle interior state determination unit 24 acquires information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor 14 at timing t12. Then, the data integration unit 26 integrates these pieces of data.

[0040] In this embodiment, when data change detection unit 25 detects a change in any one of data related to the number of passengers, data related to the operating status of the vehicle, and data related to the status inside the vehicle, timing adjustment unit 21 adjusts to acquire information from sensors corresponding to data other than the data for which data change detection unit 25 has detected a change. Therefore, when data acquired by a specific sensor changes, data from other sensors can also be quickly acquired, and necessary data can be integrated at an appropriate time (in a short time). Therefore, a vehicle data acquisition system capable of acquiring vehicle data at an appropriate time can be provided.

[0041] Note that the vehicle data acquisition system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an example, and in this embodiment, other sensors such as a gyro sensor and a floor sensor may be further included. The gyro sensor is a sensor that detects the orientation of the vehicle. The floor sensor is a sensor that is installed on the floor of the vehicle and detects the feet (soles) of passengers. The floor sensor detects passengers in the vehicle by detecting pressure applied when the passengers' feet (soles) come into contact with the floor sensor. For example, the floor sensor may be configured using a floor sensor in which multiple detection cells are arranged in a matrix, a pressure sensor using a pressure-sensitive element, a pressure sensor using capacitance, or the like. In addition, in this embodiment, an inertial measurement unit that combines an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor, a magnetic field sensor, a barometric pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, etc., an infrared sensor, a proximity sensor, etc. may also be included.

[0042] Fig. 4 is a block diagram for explaining a traffic control system according to an embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, a traffic control system 100 according to this embodiment includes vehicle data acquisition systems 1a to 1c mounted on each vehicle, and a remote management unit 30. The remote management unit 30 includes a receiving unit 31 and an analyzing unit 32. The receiving unit 31 receives data transmitted from the transmitting units of the vehicle data acquisition systems 1a to 1c. The analyzing unit 32 analyzes the data received by the receiving unit 31.

[0043] The analysis unit 32 analyzes the state of the vehicle using at least one of data related to the number of passengers seated in the vehicle, data related to the vehicle's operating status, and data related to the status inside the vehicle. For example, the analysis unit 32 may use the passenger count data to count the number of passengers. The analysis unit 32 may also use the passenger count data to count the number of passengers who leave their seats while the vehicle is in motion. The analysis unit 32 may also use the vehicle operating status data to count information such as bumpy roads and the locations of sharp curves.

[0044] 4, a plurality of vehicle data acquisition systems 1a to 1c may be managed by one remote management unit 30. Also, one vehicle data acquisition system 1a may be managed by one remote management unit 30.

[0045] The present invention has been described above in accordance with the above-mentioned embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment, and naturally includes various modifications, alterations, and combinations that a person skilled in the art can make within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims of this application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 1 Vehicle Data Acquisition System 11 Seat sensor 12 Acceleration sensor 13 Vehicle position sensor 14 In-vehicle image acquisition sensor 21 Timing adjustment section 22 Passenger number determination unit 23 Vehicle condition determination unit 24 Vehicle interior condition determination unit 25 Data change detection unit 26 Data Integration Department 27 Transmitter

Claims

1. a seating sensor installed in a seat of the vehicle to detect whether a passenger is seated; an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle; a vehicle position sensor that detects the position of the vehicle; an interior image acquisition sensor for acquiring an image of the interior of the vehicle; a passenger number determination unit that determines the number of passengers seated in the vehicle seats using the seating information acquired from the seating sensor and outputs data relating to the number of passengers; a vehicle state determination unit that determines a driving state of the vehicle using vehicle information acquired from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor, and outputs data relating to the driving state of the vehicle; an interior state determination unit that determines the state inside the vehicle using image information acquired by the interior image acquisition sensor and outputs data relating to the state inside the vehicle; a data change detection unit that detects a change in at least one of data related to the number of passengers output from the passenger number determination unit, data related to the operating state of the vehicle output from the vehicle state determination unit, and data related to the state inside the vehicle output from the vehicle interior state determination unit; a timing adjustment unit that adjusts at least one of the timing at which the passenger count determination unit acquires the seating information from the seating sensor, the timing at which the vehicle state determination unit acquires the vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor, and the timing at which the vehicle interior state determination unit acquires the image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor, When the data change detection unit detects a change in any one of the data related to the number of passengers, the data related to the operating state of the vehicle, and the data related to the state inside the vehicle, the timing adjustment unit adjusts to acquire information from a sensor corresponding to data other than the data related to the change detected. Vehicle data acquisition system.

2. 2. The vehicle data acquisition system of claim 1, wherein when the data change detection unit detects that data regarding the vehicle's operating status has changed, the timing adjustment unit adjusts so that the passenger count determination unit acquires the seating information from the seating sensor and so that the vehicle interior status determination unit acquires the image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor.

3. 3. The vehicle data acquisition system of claim 2, wherein when the data change detection unit detects that the data regarding the vehicle's operating state has changed from a normal state to a state of sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or a state of a sharp curve, the timing adjustment unit adjusts so that the passenger count determination unit acquires the seating information from the seating sensor and so that the vehicle interior state determination unit acquires the image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor.

4. 2. The vehicle data acquisition system according to claim 1, wherein, when the data change detection unit detects that the data regarding the number of passengers has changed, the timing adjustment unit adjusts the timing so that the vehicle state determination unit acquires vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor, and so that the vehicle interior state determination unit acquires the image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor.

5. 5. The vehicle data acquisition system according to claim 4, wherein, when the data change detection unit detects that the number of passengers seated in the vehicle seats determined by the passenger number determination unit has decreased, the timing adjustment unit adjusts the timing so that the vehicle state determination unit acquires vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor, and so that the vehicle interior state determination unit acquires the image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor.

6. 2. The vehicle data acquisition system of claim 1, wherein when the data change detection unit detects that data regarding the state inside the vehicle has changed, the timing adjustment unit adjusts so that the passenger count determination unit acquires the seating information from the seating sensor and so that the vehicle state determination unit acquires vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor.

7. 7. The vehicle data acquisition system of claim 6, wherein when the vehicle interior condition determination unit determines that the passenger has fallen, the data change detection unit detects that the data regarding the condition inside the vehicle has changed, and the timing adjustment unit adjusts so that the passenger count determination unit acquires the seating information from the seating sensor and so that the vehicle condition determination unit acquires vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor.

8. 2. The vehicle data acquisition system of claim 1, wherein the timing at which the passenger number determination unit acquires the seating information from the seating sensor, the timing at which the vehicle state determination unit acquires the vehicle information from at least one of the acceleration sensor and the vehicle position sensor, and the timing at which the vehicle interior state determination unit acquires the image information from the vehicle interior image acquisition sensor are all offset from one another.

9. a data integration unit that integrates data on the number of passengers output from the passenger number determination unit, data on the operating state of the vehicle output from the vehicle state determination unit, and data on the state inside the vehicle output from the vehicle interior state determination unit; a transmitting unit that wirelessly transmits the data integrated by the data integrating unit, The vehicle data acquisition system of claim 1 .

10. a vehicle data acquisition system according to claim 9; An operation management system comprising: a remote management unit including a receiving unit that receives data transmitted from the transmitting unit; and an analyzing unit that analyzes the data received by the receiving unit.

11. 11. The operation management system according to claim 10, wherein the analysis unit analyzes the state of the vehicle using at least one of data regarding the number of passengers seated in the seats of the vehicle, data regarding the operating state of the vehicle, and data regarding the state inside the vehicle.

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