Display control device and display control method

Abstract

To provide a display control device capable of providing highly convenient information to a user of a transportation facility.SOLUTION: A display control device includes: a reception unit that acquires third information for users generated on the basis of, first information on congestion of transportation means as transportation facility and second information on congestion at waiting places where users using transportation the facility for waiting for the arrival of the transportation means; and a control unit that controls the display of third information on a display unit while associating the position of the transportation and the waiting place.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 33

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a display control device and a display control method. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART In recent years, technology has been considered that improves the convenience of transportation facilities such as buses and trains by providing information to users of such facilities via wireless communication.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a bus location system that includes a bus, a central control unit that receives information transmitted by the bus, and a display device installed at the bus stop, and that provides users with information about the inside of the bus. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-140394 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In Patent Document 1, the accuracy of predicting the congestion status of buses is insufficient, making it difficult to provide highly convenient information to users.

[0006] Non-limiting examples of the present disclosure contribute to providing a display control device and a display control method that can provide highly convenient information to users of transportation facilities. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A display control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure displays first information on a congestion state of a means of transportation as a means of transportation, and second information on a congestion state of a waiting area where a user of the means of transportation waits for the arrival of the means of transportation. Combine generated、 Provide to the user Indicates the congestion status of the transportation means The device includes a receiving unit that acquires third information, and a control unit that controls the display of the third information on a display device in association with the location of the transportation means and the waiting location.

[0008] A display control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a display control device displaying first information on a congestion state of a means of transportation as a means of transportation; and second information on a congestion state of a waiting area where a user of the means of transportation waits for the arrival of the means of transportation. By combining generated 、 Provide to the user Indicates the congestion status of the transportation means Third information is acquired, and the display of the third information on the display device is controlled in association with the location of the transportation means and the waiting location.

[0009] These comprehensive or specific aspects may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a recording medium, or may be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, highly convenient information can be provided to users of transportation facilities.

[0011] Further advantages and benefits of an embodiment of the present disclosure will become apparent from the specification and drawings. Such advantages and / or benefits may be provided by some of the embodiments and features described in the specification and drawings, respectively, but not necessarily all of them may be provided to obtain one or more identical features. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication system according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of a format of bus notification information [Figure 3]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a format of relay station notification information transmitted by a relay station; [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a first example of a format of relay station notification information transmitted to a control device. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the first example. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 shows variations of the display screen in the first example. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of a bus radio device according to a first example of an embodiment; [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a relay station according to a first example of an embodiment. [Figure 9] 1 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing of a control device according to a first example of an embodiment. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of a display device according to a first example of an embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a second example of the format of relay station notification information transmitted to the control device; [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the second example. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 shows variations of the display screen in the second example. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a route map in the third example. [Figure 15] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a format of bus notification information in the third example. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a format of relay station notification information transmitted by a relay station; [Figure 17] A diagram showing an example of occupancy rate statistical information [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the third example. [Figure 19] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a relay station according to a third example of an embodiment. [Figure 20] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a control device according to a third example of an embodiment. [Figure 21] 10 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of a display device according to a third example of an embodiment. [Figure 22] A diagram showing an example of alighting rate statistical information [Figure 23] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of bus notification information in a fourth example. [Figure 24] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a format of relay station notification information transmitted by a relay station; [Figure 25] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the fourth example. [Figure 26] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a bus radio device according to a fourth example of an embodiment. [Figure 27] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a relay station according to a fourth example of an embodiment. [Figure 28] 10 is a flowchart showing a process flow of a control device according to a fourth example of an embodiment. [Figure 29] 10 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of a display device according to a fourth example of an embodiment. [Figure 30] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a bus radio device according to an embodiment; [Figure 31] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a relay station according to an embodiment. [Figure 32] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a control device according to an embodiment. [Figure 33] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a display device according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functions are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0014] (One embodiment) For example, Patent Document 1 describes a bus location system that includes a bus, a central control device that receives information transmitted by the bus, and a display device installed at bus stops, and that provides users with information about the bus's interior. In this system, the bus includes an on-board generating means that generates seat availability information regarding whether or not there are vacant seats, and an on-board transmitting means that wirelessly transmits the seat availability information to the central control device. The central control device also includes a central receiving means that receives the seat availability information and a central transmitting means that transmits instruction information based on the received seat availability information to the display device, and the display device includes a display means that displays the seat availability on the bus in response to the instruction information from the central control device.

[0015] However, the system described in Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the number of people waiting for the bus at the bus stop, making it difficult to accurately predict the congestion situation on the bus.

[0016] Furthermore, it is difficult to predict congestion situations for people who do not have commuter passes, such as those who pay with cash and / or coupon tickets.

[0017] In this embodiment, a system is provided that provides highly convenient information to bus users by improving the accuracy of predicting bus congestion by taking into account the number of people waiting for the bus at a bus stop (hereinafter referred to as a "bus stop").

[0018] <System example> Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a communication system according to the present embodiment. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the communication system according to the present embodiment is applied to a route bus. Fig. 1 shows an example of a bus running on a route in which bus stop #1 is the start point (origin point), bus stop #2 is at least one waypoint, and bus stop #n is the finish point (end point).

[0019] The bus includes a wireless communication device 10. Hereinafter, the wireless communication device of the bus will be referred to as the "bus wireless device 10."

[0020] The bus also has a camera that takes pictures of the inside of the bus. The bus camera is connected to the bus radio device 10 by wire and outputs, for example, images taken inside the bus to the bus radio device 10. Note that the bus camera may also be connected to the bus radio device 10 wirelessly.

[0021] The bus radio device 10 acquires bus position information by GPS positioning.

[0022] The bus wireless device 10 estimates the congestion level inside the bus based on images acquired from the camera. For example, the bus wireless device 10 extracts human faces from the images and estimates the congestion level inside the bus based on the number of extracted faces and the specified number of passengers that the bus can accommodate. The estimated congestion level inside the bus may be the ratio of the number of passengers currently on board to the number of passengers that the bus can accommodate.

[0023] Alternatively, the bus wireless device 10 may estimate the congestion situation inside the bus (for example, the occupancy rate of the bus seats) based on the position of the extracted face and the position of the specified bus seats.

[0024] Alternatively, the number of passengers on the bus may be detected by a sensor such as a weight sensor provided on the bus. Alternatively, whether or not a seat on the bus is occupied may be detected by a sensor such as a weight sensor provided on the seat.

[0025] Sensors and cameras may be used in combination to detect the number of passengers on the bus and / or whether seats on the bus are occupied.

[0026] A wireless communication device 20 is installed at each of bus stops #1 to #n. Hereinafter, the wireless communication device 20 installed at the bus stops may be referred to as a "relay station 20" that relays between the bus wireless device 10 and a control device 30, which will be described later. Furthermore, the relay station 20 installed at bus stop #i (i is an integer between 1 and n) may be referred to as relay station 20-i.

[0027] The display device 40 is a display that can be seen by people passing by, and is installed in places where many people pass by or see it, such as in front of a station or a shopping mall. The display device 40 is, for example, in the form of signage. A display device 40 in the form of signage is installed on, for example, a vending machine, an advertising sign, or a guide board showing a map of the surrounding area. The display device 40 displays display information related to the bus operation status acquired from the control device 30. The display information related to the bus operation status may include information related to the congestion status on the bus (hereinafter referred to as "bus congestion information"). The display device 40 may also be in the form of a display that only certain people can see (for example, a home television).

[0028] The control device 30 centrally controls the bus radio device 10, the relay station 20, and the display device 40. The control device 30 is connected to the relay station 20 wirelessly and acquires information from the relay station 20.

[0029] The information that the control device 30 acquires from the relay station 20 is, for example, information notified by the relay station 20 (hereinafter referred to as "relay station notification information"). The relay station notification information includes information that the bus wireless device 10 has transmitted to the relay station 20 (hereinafter referred to as "bus notification information"). The relay station notification information may include information regarding the congestion status of the bus stop where the relay station 20 is located (hereinafter referred to as "bus stop congestion information"). The bus notification information may include bus operation information, on-bus congestion information, and bus location information for the bus.

[0030] 1 illustrates a network in which relay stations 20 are serially connected wirelessly. For example, relay station 20-i transmits information to relay station 20-(i+1), and the information is sequentially transferred between relay stations 20, and relay station 20-n transmits the information to control device 30. Note that the flow of information (signals) toward control device 30 may be referred to as the upstream direction (or uplink (UL)), and the flow of information away from control device 30 may be referred to as the downstream direction (or downlink (DL)). Also, the flow of information (signals) from relay station 20 to bus radio device 10 may be referred to as the downstream direction (or DL), and the flow of information (signals) from bus radio device 10 to relay station 20 may be referred to as the upstream direction (or UL).

[0031] Note that one relay station 20 may receive bus notification information from each bus wireless device 10 of a bus traveling within the communication range of the relay station 20.

[0032] Furthermore, the bus notification information does not have to be relayed by the relay station 20. Instead of being relayed by the relay station 20, the bus notification information may be transmitted directly from the bus wireless device 10 to the control device 30.

[0033] Next, an example of the flow of information notification between the bus radio device 10, the relay station 20, and the control device 30, and an example of display on the display device 40 will be described.

[0034] <First example> A first example of notification information (bus notification information) transmitted from the bus radio device 10 to the relay station 20 is shown.

[0035] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the format of bus notification information. The format of the bus notification information shown in Fig. 2 includes a bus ID field, a location information field, and a bus congestion information field.

[0036] The bus ID field includes information for identifying the bus (identification information (for example, ID (Identification))).

[0037] The location information field contains bus location information, which the bus radio device 10 acquires using a GPS or the like, for example.

[0038] The bus congestion information field contains information indicating the congestion status of the bus (bus congestion information). The bus congestion information is determined, for example, based on the number of passengers on the bus. For example, the bus congestion information may be the number of passengers on the bus. Alternatively, the bus congestion information may be information indicating whether the number of passengers on the bus is equal to or greater than a threshold (for example, information represented by one bit).

[0039] The bus wireless device 10 transmits bus notification information having the format shown in FIG. 2 to the relay station 20 that can communicate with the bus wireless device 10.

[0040] Next, an example of notification information (relay station notification information) transmitted from relay station 20 is shown. The relay station notification information includes bus stop congestion information for the bus stop where relay station 20 is installed and bus notification information received by relay station 20 from bus wireless device 10. Relay station 20 generates relay station notification information based on information received from other relay stations 20 and / or bus wireless device 10.

[0041] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the format of relay station notification information transmitted by relay station 20-1. The format of the relay station notification information shown in Fig. 3 has each field of the format of bus notification information shown in Fig. 3 and a bus stop #1 congestion information field.

[0042] Each field of the bus notification information format contains information of each field of the bus notification information that the relay station 20-1 received from the bus wireless device 10 within a predetermined time. Note that while FIG. 3 shows an example in which a field of the format of one bus notification information is included, the number of fields may be increased depending on the number of bus wireless devices 10 that transmitted bus notification information to the relay station 20-1 (the number of bus notification information pieces). For example, if the relay station 20-1 receives bus notification information from two bus wireless devices 10, two sets of formats of the bus notification information are included in the format of the relay station notification information. Furthermore, if the relay station 20-1 did not receive bus notification information from the bus wireless device 10, the fields of the format of the bus notification information may not be included in the format of the relay station notification information.

[0043] The bus stop #1 congestion information field contains information indicating the congestion status of bus stop #1 (bus stop #1 congestion information). The bus stop #1 congestion information is determined, for example, based on the number of people waiting at bus stop #1. For example, the bus stop #1 congestion information may be the number of people waiting at bus stop #1. Alternatively, the bus stop #1 congestion information may be information (for example, information represented by 1 bit) indicating whether the number of people waiting at bus stop #1 is equal to or greater than a threshold value.

[0044] The relay station 20-1 at the bus stop #1 transmits the relay station notification information shown in FIG. 3 to the relay station 20-2 at the bus stop #2.

[0045] The relay station 20-2 adds a bus stop #2 congestion information field to the format of the relay station notification information received from the relay station 20-1 (see FIG. 3). The relay station 20-2 sets information indicating the congestion status of bus stop #2 (bus stop #2 congestion information) in the bus stop #2 congestion information field. An example of setting the bus stop #2 congestion information may be the same as the bus stop #1 congestion information.

[0046] In the following, adding a field for other information (e.g., second information) to the format of certain information (e.g., first information) and setting the second information in the added second information field will be described as "adding second information to first information."

[0047] When the relay station 20-2 receives bus notification information from the bus radio device 10, the relay station 20-2 may add the bus notification information to the relay station notification information received from the relay station 20-1.

[0048] Relay station 20-2 transmits the generated relay station notification information to relay station 20-3. Similar to relay station 20-2, relay station 20-i (where i is an integer from 3 to n-1) also adds bus stop #i congestion information to the relay station notification information received from relay station 20-(i-1). Then, relay station 20-i transmits the relay station notification information to which the bus stop #i congestion information has been added to relay station 20-(i+1).

[0049] In addition, when the relay station 20-i receives bus notification information from the bus radio device 10, it may add the bus notification information received from the bus radio device 10 to the relay station notification information received from the relay station 20-(i-1).

[0050] The relay station 20-n adds the bus stop #n congestion information to the relay station notification information received from the relay station 20-(n-1). The relay station 20-n transmits the relay station notification information to which the bus stop #n congestion information has been added to the control device 30.

[0051] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a first example of the format of relay station notification information transmitted to the control device 30. The format of the relay station notification information shown in Fig. 4 has each field of the format of the bus notification information shown in Fig. 2, as well as bus stop #1 congestion information fields to bus stop #n congestion information fields.

[0052] Each field of the bus notification information in FIG. 4 contains bus notification information received by any of the relay stations 20-1 to 20-n.

[0053] The bus stop #1 congestion information field to the bus stop #n-1 congestion information field in FIG. 4 are fields for information included in the relay station notification information received from the relay station 20-(n-1).

[0054] 4 includes information indicating the congestion status of bus stop #n (bus stop #n congestion information). An example of the setting of bus stop #n congestion information may be the same as that of bus stop #1 congestion information.

[0055] The control device 30 receives relay station notification information from the relay station 20-n. Based on the relay station notification information, the control device 30 determines information to be displayed on the display device 40 and transmits the information to be displayed to the display device 40.

[0056] In the above example, the relay station notification information includes bus notification information, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, if the relay station 20 does not receive bus notification information from the bus wireless device 10, the relay station notification information does not need to include bus notification information. The case where the relay station 20 does not receive bus notification information may be, for example, when there is no bus in the coverage area of ​​the relay station 20 and / or when the bus wireless device 10 transmits the bus notification information to the control device 30 instead of to the relay station 20.

[0057] For example, at least some of the bus radio devices 10 on a moving bus may transmit bus notification information to the relay station 20, and the remaining bus radio devices 10 may transmit bus notification information to the control device 30. For example, the destination of the bus notification information may be determined based on the relationship between the running position of the bus, the coverage area of ​​the relay station 20, and the coverage area of ​​the control device 30. The destination of the bus notification information may be fixed or may be determined dynamically.

[0058] Furthermore, in the above example, the wireless network of relay stations 20-1 to 20-n is wirelessly connected in serial, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the wireless network of relay station 20 may include branches. Even if the wireless network of relay station 20 includes branches, information may be aggregated in the upstream direction of the wireless network, and relay station 20 connected to control device 30 may transmit the aggregated information to control device 30. Furthermore, there may be two or more relay stations 20 that aggregate information.

[0059] Furthermore, in the relay station notification information, bus notification information and bus stop congestion information may be associated with each other. For example, relay station notification information including bus notification information for a bus (hereinafter referred to as "bus z") that has passed bus stop #m (m is an integer between 1 and n), may not include bus stop congestion information corresponding to bus stops that bus z has passed, i.e., bus stop #1 congestion information to bus stop #m congestion information. In this case, the relay station notification information may include bus notification information for one bus, and different relay station notification information may be notified to the control device 30 for each bus.

[0060] Next, an example of a screen displayed by the display device 40 will be described.

[0061] Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in Example 1. In Fig. 5, information about bus congestion is displayed in a table format.

[0062] Each row in the table in Figure 5 corresponds to one bus in operation. The table in Figure 5 shows information about buses running on a route where bus stop #1 is the start point (origin point), bus stop #2 is at least one intermediate point, and bus stop #n is the finish point (terminal point). Note that in Figure 5, bus stops between bus stop #2 and bus stop #n are not shown.

[0063] The "Bus Location" in Figure 5 displays the location of buses currently in operation. In the example of Figure 5, there are buses currently in operation at addresses a, b, and x. The "Bus Location" is displayed based on the location information included in the bus notification information. Note that in the example of Figure 5, information on buses currently in operation between address b and address x is omitted.

[0064] The "bus congestion status" in Figure 5 displays the congestion status of the corresponding bus. For example, the congestion status is indicated by two levels: "○" or "×." For example, if the number of people on the bus is equal to or greater than a threshold, "×" is displayed, and if the number of people on the bus is less than the threshold, "○" is displayed. The "bus congestion status" is displayed based on the bus congestion information included in the bus notification information.

[0065] The "Bus Stop #1 Crowding Status" in Figure 5 displays the congestion status of bus stop #1. For example, the congestion status is indicated by two levels: "○" or "×." For example, if the number of people waiting at bus stop #1 is equal to or greater than a threshold, "×" is displayed, and if the number of people waiting at bus stop #1 is less than the threshold, "○" is displayed. The "Bus Stop #1 Crowding Status" is displayed based on the bus stop #1 congestion information.

[0066] The congestion status of bus stops #2 to #n is displayed in "Bus Stop #2 Congestion Status" to "Bus Stop #n Congestion Status" in Fig. 5. The displayed information is the same as that for bus stop #1, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0067] In the case of Figure 5, the display mode of bus stops that a bus has passed (or stopped at) is different from the display mode of bus stops that the bus will stop (or will stop at). For example, the bus at address a has passed at least bus stops #1 and #2. On the other hand, the bus at address a has not passed bus stop #n. Also, the bus at address b has passed at least bus stop #1. On the other hand, the bus at address b has not passed at least bus stops #2 and #n.

[0068] In the example of FIG. 5, the congestion status is indicated by two levels, "○" and "×", but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the congestion status may be indicated by three levels, adding "△" to indicate a level between "○" and "×", or may be indicated by four or more levels. Furthermore, the congestion status is not limited to the example in which the congestion status level is indicated by using symbols, and the congestion status level may be indicated by changing the display mode, such as color or size.

[0069] 5, the congestion status inside the bus corrected based on the congestion status at the bus stop may be displayed. For example, the congestion status inside the bus may be corrected based on the sum of the number of people inside the bus and the number of people waiting at the bus stop, and the corrected congestion status inside the bus may be additionally displayed.

[0070] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing variations of the display screen in Example 1. In Fig. 6, the same display examples as in Fig. 5 will not be described.

[0071] In Figure 5, "Bus stop #1 congestion status" to "Bus stop #n congestion status" are displayed, whereas in Figure 6, "Number of people waiting / Crowd status at bus stop #1" to "Number of people waiting / Crowd status at bus stop #n" are displayed.

[0072] The "Number of people waiting / crowding status at bus stop #1" in Figure 6 displays the number of people waiting for the bus at bus stop #1 and the congestion status calculated from that number. The example in Figure 6 shows that α people are waiting at bus stop #1 and the congestion status is "x." For example, in this example, α people is a number of people equal to or greater than the threshold for determining the congestion status.

[0073] The "Number of people waiting / crowding status at bus stop #2" to "Number of people waiting / crowding status at bus stop #n" in Figure 6 respectively display the number of people waiting and the congestion status at bus stop #2 to bus stop #n. The information displayed is the same as that for bus stop #1, so a description will be omitted.

[0074] In the example of Figure 6, as in Figure 5, the display mode of the bus stop that the bus has passed (or stopped at) is different from the display mode of the bus stop at which the bus is about to stop (or will stop).

[0075] <Processing flow of the first example> The following describes the process flow of each of the bus radio device 10, the relay station 20, the control device 30, and the display device 40 included in the communication system according to the present embodiment for the first example.

[0076] Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of the bus radio device 10 according to the first example of the present embodiment. The flow shown in Fig. 7 may be started when the bus engine starts, or may be started by an operation of the bus driver when a specified operation starts. The flow shown in Fig. 7 may also be ended by an operation of the bus driver when the specified operation ends (for example, when the bus has reached its destination).

[0077] The bus wireless device 10 determines whether it is time to update the congestion status (S101). The timing for updating the congestion status may be, for example, periodic, or when the change in the congestion status inside the bus reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

[0078] If it is not time to update the congestion status (NO in S101), the flow returns to S101.

[0079] If it is time to update the congestion status (YES in S101), the bus wireless device 10 analyzes the congestion status inside the bus (S102). For example, the bus wireless device 10 estimates the number of people inside the bus based on image processing of an image taken inside the bus.

[0080] The bus wireless device 10 generates bus congestion information and transmits bus notification information including the bus congestion information (S103). Note that the bus wireless device 10 may transmit the bus notification information to, for example, the relay station 20 with which a wireless connection has been established, or to the control device 30 with which a wireless connection has been established. Then, the flow returns to S101.

[0081] Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of relay station 20 according to the first example of the present embodiment. The flow shown in Fig. 8 may be started when relay station 20 is started, or may be started at a specified time (for example, the time when bus service starts). Also, the flow shown in Fig. 8 may be ended at a specified time (for example, the time when bus service ends).

[0082] The relay station 20 receives bus notification information from the bus wireless device 10 (S201).

[0083] The relay station 20 acquires a camera image from a camera installed at a bus stop (S202).

[0084] The relay station 20 determines whether it is time to update the congestion status (S203). The timing for updating the congestion status may be, for example, periodically, or when the change in the congestion status at the bus stop reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

[0085] If it is not time to update the congestion status (NO in S203), the flow returns to S201.

[0086] If it is time to update the congestion status (YES in S203), the relay station 20 analyzes the congestion status of the bus stop based on the camera image (S204).

[0087] The relay station 20 generates bus stop congestion information and generates relay station notification information including the bus stop congestion information and the bus notification information (S205).

[0088] The relay station 20 transmits the relay station notification information to the control device 30 (S206), and the flow then returns to S201.

[0089] Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the control device 30 according to the first example of the present embodiment. The flow shown in Fig. 9 may be started when the control device 30 is started, or may be started at a specified time (for example, the time when a bus service starts). Also, the flow shown in Fig. 9 may be ended at a specified time (for example, the time when a bus service ends).

[0090] The control device 30 receives relay station notification information from the relay station 20 (S301).

[0091] The control device 30 determines whether it is time to update the congestion status (S302). The timing for updating the congestion status may be, for example, periodic timing, or timing when the change in the congestion status of the bus and / or bus stop reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

[0092] If it is not time to update the congestion status (NO in S302), the flow returns to S301.

[0093] If it is time to update the congestion status (YES in S302), the control device 30 analyzes the congestion status on the bus (S303). The control device 30 may analyze the congestion status of each of a plurality of buses.

[0094] The control device 30 analyzes the congestion status of the bus stop (S304). The control device 30 may analyze the congestion status of each of a plurality of bus stops.

[0095] The control device 30 corrects the congestion state inside the bus based on the congestion state at the bus stop (S305). For example, the control device 30 may correct the congestion state inside the bus based on the sum of the number of people inside the bus and the number of people waiting at the bus stop.

[0096] The control device 30 transmits display information including the corrected congestion status to the display device 40 (S306). The display information may include information such as bus congestion information, bus stop congestion information, and bus location information included in the relay station notification information acquired by the control device 30. Then, the flow returns to S301.

[0097] 9 shows an example in which the control device 30 analyzes the congestion status inside the bus and analyzes the congestion status at the bus stop, but as shown in Fig. 7, when the bus wireless device 10 analyzes the congestion status inside the bus, the control device 30 does not have to analyze the congestion status inside the bus. Also, as shown in Fig. 8, when the relay station 20 analyzes the congestion status at the bus stop, the control device 30 does not have to analyze the congestion status at the bus stop.

[0098] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing flow of the display device 40 according to the first example of the present embodiment. The flow shown in FIG. 10 may start when the display device 40 is started, may start at a specified time (for example, when a bus service starts or when use of the display device 40 starts), or may be started by an operation by an administrator of the display device 40. The flow shown in FIG. 10 may end when the start of the display device 40 is finished, may end at a specified time (for example, when a bus service ends or when use of the display device 40 ends), or may be ended by an operation by an administrator of the display device 40. Alternatively, the flow shown in FIG. 10 may start at a specific start timing and end at a specific end timing. For example, the specific start timing and the specific end timing are the start timing and the end timing of a busy time period, respectively. The busy time period is, for example, at least one of a time period with a large number of commuters (for example, rush hour), a time period with a large number of elderly people riding, and a time period when an event or the like is held near the bus route.

[0099] The display device 40 receives display information from the control device 30 (S401).

[0100] The display device 40 determines whether it is time to update the congestion status (S402). The timing for updating the congestion status may be, for example, periodic timing, or timing when the change in the congestion status of the bus and / or bus stop reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

[0101] If it is not time to update the congestion status (NO in S402), the flow returns to S401.

[0102] If it is time to update the congestion status (YES in S402), display device 40 displays the current location of the bus based on the display information (S403).

[0103] The display device 40 displays the congestion status inside the bus based on the display information (S404). The displayed congestion status inside the bus may be the current congestion status inside the bus or the corrected congestion status inside the bus.

[0104] The control device 30 displays the congestion status of the bus stop based on the display information (S405), and the flow then returns to S401.

[0105] As described above, the control device 30 analyzes the congestion status along the bus route based on the bus congestion information transmitted by the bus wireless device 10 and the bus stop congestion information transmitted by the relay station 20. The control device 30 then transmits display information including the analysis results to the display device 40, which can then provide appropriate congestion status information to bus users.

[0106] In the above example, the correction of the congestion situation in the bus is performed by the control device 30, but the correction of the congestion situation in the bus may be performed by each of the relay stations 20 instead of the control device 30.

[0107] <Second example> In the first example above, relay station 20 transmits relay station notification information including bus stop congestion information for the bus stop where relay station 20 is installed, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. Relay station 20 may transmit relay station notification information including information other than the bus stop congestion information.

[0108] For example, the relay station 20 may transmit relay station notification information including bus stop congestion information and bus stop congestion information focusing on a specific person. Below, an example will be described in which bus stop congestion information focusing on elderly people (hereinafter referred to as bus stop elderly congestion information) is included in the relay station notification information. Note that, although an example will be described in which the specific person is elderly people, the specific person is not limited to elderly people. For example, the specific person may be one or more of other people such as a person with a disability, a pregnant woman, or a person with a stroller.

[0109] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of the format of relay station notification information transmitted to the control device 30. In Fig. 11, a description of the same fields as in Fig. 4 will be omitted.

[0110] The format of the relay station notification information shown in FIG. 11 has the fields of the format of the relay station notification information shown in FIG. 4, as well as bus stop #1 elderly person congestion information fields to bus stop #n elderly person congestion information fields.

[0111] The bus stop #i elderly crowding information (i is an integer between 1 and n) field contains information indicating the crowding situation at bus stop #i with a focus on elderly people (bus stop #i elderly crowding information). Bus stop #i elderly crowding information is determined, for example, based on the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #i. For example, bus stop #i elderly crowding information is the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #i. Furthermore, for example, bus stop #i elderly crowding information is information (for example, information represented by 1 bit) indicating whether the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #i is above a threshold value.

[0112] The method for determining elderly people waiting at bus stop #i is not particularly limited. For example, relay station 20 may estimate the ages of people waiting at bus stop #i based on images of the people waiting at bus stop #i, and determine whether each person waiting at bus stop #i is elderly or not based on the estimated ages.

[0113] Next, an example of a screen to be displayed on the display device 40 when the relay station notification information includes information about elderly people crowding at bus stops will be described.

[0114] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the second example.

[0115] In Fig. 12, information about bus congestion is displayed in a table format, similar to Fig. 5. A description of the same display content as in Fig. 5 will be omitted.

[0116] In Figure 5, the "bus stop #i congestion status" is displayed in one format, but in Figure 12, the "bus stop #i congestion status" is displayed separately for "overall" and "elderly."

[0117] In the "Overall" section of the "Bus Stop #i Congestion Status" in FIG. 12, the congestion status of the bus stop #i is displayed, similar to the "Bus Stop #i Congestion Status" in FIG.

[0118] In the "Elderly" section of "Bus Stop #i Crowding Status" in FIG. 12, the congestion status at bus stop #i when focusing on elderly people is displayed. For example, the congestion status is indicated by two levels: "○" or "×." For example, if the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #i is equal to or greater than a threshold, "×" is displayed, and if the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #i is less than the threshold, "○" is displayed. Note that the threshold compared with the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #i may be different from the threshold compared with the number of people waiting at bus stop #i.

[0119] For example, at bus stop #1 in FIG. 12, the total number of people waiting at bus stop #1 is equal to or greater than the threshold, but the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #1 is less than the threshold.

[0120] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing variations of the display screen in Example 2. In Fig. 13, the same display examples as in Fig. 6 will not be described.

[0121] In Figure 6, the "number of people waiting / crowding status at bus stop #i" is displayed in one format, but in Figure 13, the "number of people waiting / crowding status at bus stop #1" is displayed separately for "total" and "elderly people."

[0122] The "Overall" section of "Number of people waiting / crowding situation at bus stop #i" in Figure 13 shows the number of people waiting for the bus at bus stop #i and the congestion situation calculated from that number, similar to the "Number of people waiting / crowding situation at bus stop #i" in Figure 6.

[0123] In Figure 13, the "Elderly" section of the "Number of people waiting / crowding situation at bus stop #i" shows the number of people waiting for the bus at bus stop #i, focusing on elderly people, and the congestion situation calculated from that number.

[0124] For example, at bus stop #1 in FIG. 13, the total number of people waiting at bus stop #1 is α, which is a number above the threshold, but the number of elderly people waiting at bus stop #1 is α. о A person, α о People are below the threshold.

[0125] <Processing flow of the second example> The following describes the second example of the processing flow of each of the bus radio device 10, relay station 20, control device 30, and display device 40 included in the communication system according to this embodiment. Note that the following describes differences between the first and second examples in the processing flow, and may omit explanations of commonalities.

[0126] The processing flow of the bus radio device 10 in the second example may be the same as that of the bus radio device 10 in the first example.

[0127] The flow of processing by the relay station 20 in the second example will be described with reference to FIG. 8, which shows the flow of processing by the relay station 20 in the first example.

[0128] The difference between the processing flow of relay station 20 in the second example and the processing flow of relay station 20 in the first example is that in the second example, an analysis of congestion at bus stops that focuses on elderly people is added to the analysis of congestion at bus stops.

[0129] For example, in the second example, in S204 of FIG. 8, the relay station 20 analyzes the overall congestion state of the bus stop based on the camera image, and analyzes the congestion state of elderly people at the bus stop.

[0130] Then, in the second example, in S205 of FIG. 8, relay station notification information including bus stop congestion information for elderly people, bus stop congestion information, and bus notification information is generated.

[0131] The flow of processing by the control device 30 in the second example will be described with reference to FIG. 9, which shows the flow of processing by the control device 30 in the first example.

[0132] The difference between the processing flow of the control device 30 in the second example and the processing flow of the control device 30 in the first example is that in the second example, bus stop congestion information for elderly people is taken into account when analyzing the congestion situation at bus stops.

[0133] For example, in the second example, in S305 of FIG. 9, the control device 30 analyzes congestion at a bus stop with a focus on elderly people, based on the bus stop congestion information for elderly people.

[0134] In the second example, in S306 of FIG. 9, the control device 30 corrects the congestion state inside the bus based on the congestion state of elderly people at the bus stop.

[0135] The processing flow of the display device 40 in the second example will be described with reference to FIG. 10, which shows the processing flow of the display device 40 in the first example.

[0136] The difference between the processing flow of the display device 40 in the second example and the processing flow of the display device 40 in the first example is that in the second example, display is performed taking into account information about elderly people crowding at bus stops.

[0137] For example, in the second example, in S405 of FIG. 10, the display device 40 displays the congestion status of elderly people at the bus stop based on the bus stop elderly congestion information.

[0138] As described above, the control device 30 analyzes the congestion situation along the bus route based on the bus congestion information transmitted by the bus wireless device 10, and the bus stop congestion information and bus stop elderly congestion information transmitted by the relay station 20. The control device 30 then transmits display information including the analysis results to the display device 40, which can then provide appropriate congestion situation information to bus users.

[0139] In the second example, by analyzing and displaying the congestion situation focusing on a specific person, it is possible to provide appropriate congestion information to the specific person. Furthermore, by utilizing the results of analyzing the congestion situation focusing on a specific person, it is possible to request people other than the specific person to avoid using the bus as much as possible during times when many of the specific person are riding the bus.

[0140] <Third example> In the third example, consider a case where multiple buses with different destinations stop at the same bus stop on a bus route. In other words, in this case, people waiting at a bus stop do not board the same bus, but board buses with different destinations. In the third example, the congestion status at a bus stop is distinguished for each destination.

[0141] Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a route map in Example 3. Fig. 14 shows destinations A, B, and C, as well as bus stops where buses for each destination stop.

[0142] In the example of FIG. 14, a person boarding bus A waits at bus stop #p (p is an integer greater than n) where a bus with destination A (hereinafter referred to as bus A) stops and no buses with other destinations stop. Also, a person boarding bus B waits at bus stop #q (q is an integer greater than n and different from p) where a bus with destination B (hereinafter referred to as bus B) stops and no buses with other destinations stop. Also, a person boarding bus C waits at bus stop #r (r is an integer greater than n and different from p and q) where a bus with destination C (hereinafter referred to as bus C) stops and no buses with other destinations stop.

[0143] On the other hand, in the example of Fig. 14, people waiting to board bus A, bus B, and bus C are waiting at bus stops #1 to #n where buses A, B, and C stop. In the third example, when people waiting to board buses going to different destinations are waiting at one bus stop, as in bus stops #1 to #n in Fig. 14, an example will be described in which the congestion status is analyzed and displayed according to each destination.

[0144] Fig. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the format of bus notification information in Example 3. In Fig. 15, a description of the same fields as in Fig. 2 will be omitted.

[0145] The format of the bus notification information shown in FIG. 15 has each field of the format of the bus notification information shown in FIG. 2 and a destination information field.

[0146] The destination information field contains information about the destination of the bus on which the bus wireless device 10 that transmits the bus notification information is installed.

[0147] The bus radio device 10 transmits bus notification information having the format shown in FIG. 15 to the relay station 20 that can communicate with the bus radio device 10.

[0148] The relay station 20 that has received the bus notification information transmits relay station notification information that includes the received bus notification information.

[0149] The relay station notification information transmitted by the relay station 20 may be the same as the relay station notification information shown in the first example (for example, FIG. 3), except that destination information is added to the bus notification information.

[0150] Fig. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the format of relay station notification information transmitted by relay station 20-n. The format of the relay station notification information shown in Fig. 16 has the fields of the format of the bus notification information shown in Fig. 15 and bus stop #1 congestion information fields to bus stop #n congestion information fields.

[0151] The difference between Fig. 16 and Fig. 4 is that a destination information field is added in Fig. 16. Note that when multiple bus notification information is included, a destination information field may be added for each of them.

[0152] The control device 30 receives bus notification information including destination information and bus stop congestion information, and estimates the congestion status for each destination at each bus stop based on the bus stop congestion information and occupancy rate statistical information. The occupancy rate statistical information indicates, for example, the ratio (proportion) of the number of people waiting to board at each bus stop to the number of people boarding each bus for multiple destinations. The occupancy rate statistical information for the case of Figure 14 will be described below.

[0153] 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of occupancy rate statistical information, which shows occupancy rate statistical information at bus stop #n in FIG.

[0154] FIG. 17 shows the proportion of people boarding buses for destinations A, B, and C among the number of people waiting at bus stop #n, broken down by time period, day of the week, and specific period (summer vacation and winter vacation). For example, the passenger occupancy rate statistical information may be determined based on statistical data of past passenger occupancy history. For example, the passenger occupancy rate statistical information at bus stop #n may be determined by classifying statistical data of the proportion of people boarding buses for destinations A, B, and C at bus stop #n over a period of one year or more into time periods, days of the week, specific periods, etc. Furthermore, the passenger occupancy rate statistical information may differ for each bus stop.

[0155] For example, an example will be described in which the control device 30 estimates the congestion state for each destination at bus stop #n during time slot #1 on Monday based on bus stop congestion information and the occupancy rate statistical information shown in FIG.

[0156] In the example of FIG. 17, during time slot #1 on Monday, a1% of people waiting at bus stop #n board a bus with destination A. During time slot #1 on Monday, aa1% of people waiting at bus stop #n board a bus with destination B. During time slot #1 on Monday, aaa1% of people waiting at bus stop #n board a bus with destination C. Therefore, for example, if the bus stop #n congestion information indicates that X people are waiting at bus stop #n, the control device 30 estimates that of the X people, a1% will board a bus with destination A, aa1% will board a bus with destination B, and aaa1% will board a bus with destination C. The control device 30 generates information to be displayed on the display device 30 based on such estimation results.

[0157] Next, an example of a screen displayed on the display device 40 in the third example will be described.

[0158] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the third example.

[0159] In Fig. 18, information about bus congestion is displayed in a table format, similar to Fig. 5. In Fig. 18, the same display content as in Fig. 5 will not be described.

[0160] In FIG. 18, information about bus congestion is shown for each destination.

[0161] For example, the "Bus Location" displays the location of a bus currently in operation. In the example of FIG. 18, the bus locations are displayed separately for each destination based on the location information and destination information in the bus notification information. For example, the bus notification information transmitted by the bus wireless device 10 of a bus located at address a includes location information indicating that the bus's location is address a and destination information indicating that the destination is A. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 18, it is displayed that a bus with destination A is located at address a.

[0162] In the "Bus Crowding Status" field of FIG. 18, the congestion status of the corresponding bus is displayed.

[0163] "Bus stop #i congestion status" displays the congestion status of bus stop #i. In the example of Fig. 18, the congestion status of bus stop #i for each destination is displayed. Note that the congestion status of bus stop #i for each destination may be a congestion status estimated by the control device 30 based on bus stop congestion information and occupancy rate statistical information.

[0164] In the example of Fig. 18, the number of people (total number) waiting for the bus at each bus stop may be displayed, similar to Fig. 6 etc. In this case, a predicted number of people waiting for each destination may be displayed.

[0165] In the example of FIG. 18, the congestion status of bus stops #1 to #n where buses with destinations A, B, and C each stop is displayed, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. The congestion status of bus stops where any of buses with destinations A, B, and C stop (for example, bus stop #p, bus stop #q, and bus stop #r in FIG. 14) may also be displayed. In this case, the display corresponding to buses that do not stop at the bus stops may be left blank. Alternatively, the congestion status of buses with destinations that are frequently used by elderly people may be displayed, and the displays corresponding to other buses (for example, buses with destinations that are less frequently used by elderly people) may be left blank.

[0166] <Processing flow of the third example> The following describes the processing flow of each of the bus radio device 10, relay station 20, control device 30, and display device 40 included in the communication system according to the present embodiment for the third example. Note that the following describes differences between the processing flow of the first example and the third example, and may omit explanations of commonalities.

[0167] The processing flow of the bus radio device 10 in the third example may be similar to that of the bus radio device 1 in the first example.

[0168] Fig. 19 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by relay station 20 according to the third example of the present embodiment. In Fig. 19, the same processes as those in Fig. 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0169] In the third example, when it is time to update the congestion status (YES in S203), the relay station 20 analyzes the congestion status of bus stops for each destination based on the camera image (S601).

[0170] The relay station 20 generates bus stop congestion information for each destination and generates relay station notification information including the bus stop congestion information (S602). The relay station notification information may also include bus notification information. Then, the relay station 20 transmits the relay station notification information to the control device 30 (S206).

[0171] If it is not the time to update the congestion status (NO in S203), or after transmitting the relay station notification information (after S206), the relay station 20 determines whether it is the time to update the statistical information (S603). The timing to update the statistical information may be, for example, periodically, after the bus departs from the bus stop, or when the difference between the statistical information and the detection result at the bus stop (for example, the ratio of the number of people actually boarding) becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0172] If it is not time to update the statistical information (NO in S603), the flow returns to S201.

[0173] If it is time to update the statistical information (YES in S603), the relay station 20 updates the statistical information of the boarding rate for each destination based on the camera image (S604). For example, the relay station 20 detects the number of people who have boarded the bus for destination A by calculating the difference between the number of people waiting at the bus stop before the bus for destination A arrives and the number of people remaining at the bus stop after boarding the bus for destination A that has arrived at the bus stop has ended. The relay station 20 may update the statistical information by detecting the number of people who have boarded the bus for each destination and calculating the boarding rate based on the detection result. Then, the flow returns to S201.

[0174] 19 shows an example in which the relay station 20 analyzes the congestion status of bus stops for each destination, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the control device 30 may analyze the congestion status of bus stops for each destination. In this case, S601 and S602 in FIG. 19 may be replaced with S204 and S205 in FIG. 8, respectively.

[0175] Fig. 20 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the control device 30 according to a third example of the present embodiment. In Fig. 20, the same processes as those in Fig. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. Fig. 20 also shows, by way of example, an example of analysis of congestion status for buses with two destinations, destination A and destination B, and bus stops at which the buses with the two destinations stop. Note that there may be three or more destinations.

[0176] If it is time to update the congestion status (YES in S302), the control device 30 determines whether the target for updating the congestion status is the bus with destination B (S701).

[0177] If the target for updating the congestion status is a bus with destination B (YES in S701), the control device 30 analyzes the congestion status inside the bus with destination B (S702).

[0178] The control device 30 analyzes the congestion status of the bus stop (S703). Here, the control device 30 may calculate the number of people boarding the bus to destination B based on statistical information.

[0179] The control device 30 corrects the congestion state inside the bus for destination B based on the congestion state at the bus stop for destination B (for example, the number of people boarding the bus for destination B) (S704). For example, the control device 30 may correct the congestion state inside the bus based on the sum of the number of people on the bus for destination B and the number of people waiting to board at the bus stop for destination B.

[0180] The control device 30 transmits the display information including the corrected congestion status to the display device 40 (S705). Then, the flow returns to S301.

[0181] If the bus for which the congestion status is to be updated is not the bus for destination B (NO at S701), that is, if the bus for which the congestion status is to be updated is the bus for destination A, the control device 30 analyzes the congestion status inside the bus for destination A (S706).

[0182] The control device 30 analyzes the congestion status of the bus stop (S707). Here, the control device 30 may calculate the number of people boarding the bus for destination A based on statistical information.

[0183] The control device 30 corrects the congestion state in the bus for destination A based on the congestion state at the bus stop for destination A (for example, the number of people boarding the bus for destination A) (S708).

[0184] The control device 30 transmits the display information including the corrected congestion status to the display device 40 (S709). Then, the flow returns to S301.

[0185] Fig. 21 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing of display device 40 according to a third example of the present embodiment. Note that in Fig. 21, the same processes as those in Fig. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted. Also, Fig. 21, like Fig. 20, exemplarily shows an example of analysis of congestion status for buses with two destinations, destination A and destination B, and bus stops at which buses with the two destinations stop. Note that in the present disclosure, there may be three or more destinations.

[0186] If it is time to update the congestion status (YES in S402), the display device 40 determines whether the received display information is display information for a bus with destination B (S801).

[0187] If the received display information is display information for a bus with destination B (YES in S801), display device 40 displays the current location of the bus with destination B (S802).

[0188] The display device 40 displays the congestion status on the bus for destination B (S803).

[0189] The display device 40 displays the congestion status of the bus stop for destination B (for example, the number of people boarding the bus for destination B) (S804). Then, the flow returns to S401.

[0190] If the received display information is not display information for a bus with destination B (NO in S801), that is, if the received display information is display information for a bus with destination A, the display device 40 displays the current location of the bus with destination A (S805).

[0191] The display device 40 displays the congestion status on the bus for destination A (S806).

[0192] The display device 40 displays the congestion status of the bus stop for destination A (for example, the number of people boarding the bus for destination A) (S807). Then, the flow returns to S401.

[0193] As described above, the control device 30 analyzes the congestion status along the bus route based on the bus congestion information transmitted by the bus wireless device 10 and the bus stop congestion information transmitted by the relay station 20. The control device 30 then transmits display information including the analysis results to the display device 40, which can then provide bus users with an appropriate information about the congestion status.

[0194] In a third example, when multiple buses with different destinations stop at the same bus stop, the congestion status is analyzed for each destination and display information including the analysis results is transmitted. Therefore, even in such a case, the display device 40 can provide appropriate congestion status information to bus users.

[0195] <Fourth example> The fourth example displays the congestion situation taking into account the number of people getting off the bus at the bus stop.

[0196] In a fourth example, the bus wireless device 10 estimates the congestion situation at each bus stop, taking into account the number of passengers getting off, based on bus congestion information and alighting rate statistical information. The alighting rate statistical information indicates, for example, the ratio (proportion) of the number of passengers on board to the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop.

[0197] Fig. 22 is a diagram showing an example of alighting rate statistical information, which shows alighting rate statistical information at each of bus stops #1 to #n.

[0198] FIG. 22 shows the percentage of people getting off at each bus stop (bus stop #1 to bus stop #n) among the number of people on the bus, broken down by time period, day of the week, and specific period (e.g., summer vacation and winter vacation). For example, the statistical information on the percentage of people getting off may be determined based on statistical data of past boarding history. For example, the statistical information on the percentage of people getting off the bus at bus stop #n may be determined by classifying statistical data on the percentage of people getting off the bus at bus stop #n over a period of one year or more into time periods, days of the week, specific periods, etc.

[0199] For example, we will explain an example in which the bus wireless device 10 estimates the congestion situation at each bus stop during time slot #1 on Monday, taking into account the number of passengers disembarking, based on bus stop congestion information and the disembarking rate statistical information shown in Figure 22.

[0200] In the example of FIG. 22, during time slot #1 on Monday, a1% of the number of people on the bus are estimated to get off at bus stop #1. During time slot #1 on Monday, aa1% of the number of people on the bus are estimated to get off at bus stop #2. During time slot #1 on Monday, aa1% of the number of people on the bus are estimated to get off at bus stop #n. Therefore, for example, if the bus wireless device 10 estimates that X people are on the bus before it arrives at bus stop #1, it estimates that a1% of the X people will get off at bus stop #1. Similarly, if the bus wireless device 10 estimates that X people are on the bus before it arrives at bus stop #2, it estimates that aa1% of the X people will get off at bus stop #2. Also, for example, if the bus wireless device 10 estimates that the number of people on the bus before it arrives at bus stop #n is X, it estimates that aaa1% of the X people will get off at bus stop #n.

[0201] In the above example, the bus wireless device 10 estimates the number of passengers getting off at each of the bus stops #1 to #n, but the present disclosure is not limited to this.

[0202] For example, the bus wireless device 10 mounted on the bus x does not need to estimate the number of passengers who will get off at the bus stops that the bus x passes through.

[0203] Also, for example, when bus x next stops at bus stop #k (k is, for example, an integer greater than or equal to 1), the bus radio device 10 mounted on bus x estimates the number of passengers who will get off at bus stop #k, and does not need to estimate the number of passengers who will get off at bus stops other than bus stop #k.

[0204] Also, for example, if bus x next stops at bus stop #k, the bus radio device 10 mounted on bus x estimates the number of passengers who will get off at bus stop #k, bus stop #k+1, ..., bus stop #k+m (m is an integer greater than or equal to 1, and k+m is an integer less than or equal to n), and does not need to estimate the number of passengers who will get off at bus stops other than these bus stops.

[0205] The bus radio device 10 transmits bus notification information including the estimation result.

[0206] Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an example of bus notification information in Example 4. In Fig. 23, the same fields as in Fig. 2 will not be described.

[0207] The format of the bus notification information shown in FIG. 23 has the fields of the format of the bus notification information shown in FIG. 2, and bus stop #1 getting off information to bus stop #n getting off information fields.

[0208] The bus stop #i alighting information field (i is an integer between 1 and n) includes information indicating the estimated number of people who will alight at bus stop #i, as estimated by the bus wireless device 10.

[0209] 23 shows an example of bus notification information including bus stop #1 alighting information to bus stop #n alighting information, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, when the bus wireless device 10 estimates the number of people alighting at some of bus stops #1 to #n, the bus notification information does not need to include bus stop alighting information for bus stops that are not subject to estimation.

[0210] The bus radio device 10 transmits bus notification information having the format shown in FIG. 23 to the relay station 20 that can communicate with the bus radio device 10.

[0211] The relay station 20 that has received the bus notification information transmits relay station notification information that includes the received bus notification information.

[0212] The relay station notification information transmitted by the relay station 20 may be the same as the relay station notification information shown in the first example (for example, FIG. 4), except that bus stop getting-off information is added to the bus notification information.

[0213] Fig. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the format of relay station notification information transmitted by relay station 20-n. The format of the relay station notification information shown in Fig. 24 has the fields of the format of the bus notification information shown in Fig. 23 and bus stop #1 congestion information fields to bus stop #n congestion information fields.

[0214] The difference between Fig. 24 and Fig. 4 is that a bus stop getting off information field is added in Fig. 24. Note that when multiple bus notification information is included, a bus stop getting off information field may be added for each of them.

[0215] For example, if bus notification information for bus #e and bus #f is included, the bus notification information for bus #e may include bus stop #1 disembarking information to bus stop #n disembarking information estimated by the bus wireless device 10 of bus #e, and bus stop #1 disembarking information to bus stop #n disembarking information estimated by the bus wireless device 10 of bus #f.

[0216] Next, an example of a screen displayed on the display device 40 in the fourth example will be described.

[0217] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the fourth example.

[0218] In Fig. 25, information about bus congestion is displayed in a table format, similar to Fig. 5. In Fig. 25, the same display content as in Fig. 5 will not be described.

[0219] In Figure 5, the "bus stop #i congestion status" is displayed in one format, but in Figure 25, the "bus stop #i congestion status" is displayed separately as "number of passengers getting off not taken into account" and "number of passengers getting off taken into account."

[0220] In the "Bus stop #i congestion status" of FIG. 25, "Number of people getting off not considered" displays the congestion status of bus stop #i, similar to "Bus stop #i congestion status" in FIG.

[0221] In Figure 25, the "Consideration of number of passengers getting off" section of "Bus stop #i congestion status" displays the congestion status of bus stop #i taking into account the number of passengers getting off. This section displays the "number of passengers getting off." The number of passengers getting off is determined based on the bus stop alighting information.

[0222] For example, if the bus notification information transmitted by the bus wireless device 10 of a bus located at address a includes bus stop #1 disembarking information indicating that the number of people disembarking at bus stop #1 is α0, then as shown in FIG. 25, "α0" will be displayed in the "Number of people disembarking" field of the "Bus stop #1 congestion status" corresponding to the bus located at address a. In this case, the display of "Consideration of number of people disembarking" in the "Bus stop #i congestion status" is determined based on the congestion status on the bus, the number of people disembarking, and the congestion status at bus stop #1. For example, if the number of people waiting at bus stop #i minus the number of people disembarking is equal to or greater than a threshold, an "x" will be displayed, and if the number of people waiting at bus stop #i minus the number of people disembarking is less than the threshold, an "o" will be displayed.

[0223] <Processing flow of the fourth example> The following describes the processing flow of the fourth example, which is included in the communication system according to the present embodiment, for the bus radio device 10, the relay station 20, the control device 30, and the display device 40. Note that the following describes the differences between the first and fourth examples in the processing flow, and may omit a description of the commonalities.

[0224] 26 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing in the bus radio device 10 according to the fourth example of the present embodiment. In FIG. 26, the same processes as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0225] In the fourth example, the bus wireless device 10 analyzes the congestion situation on the bus (after S102), and then estimates the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop based on the alighting rate statistical information (S901).

[0226] The bus wireless device 10 corrects the congestion situation on the bus, taking into consideration the estimated number of people getting off at each bus stop (S902).

[0227] The bus wireless device 10 generates bus congestion information indicating the corrected congestion status, and transmits bus notification information including the bus congestion information (S903).

[0228] If it is not time to update the congestion status (NO in S101), or after transmitting the bus notification information (after S903), the bus wireless device 10 determines whether it is time to update the statistical information (S904). The timing to update the statistical information may be, for example, periodically, after the bus departs from the bus stop, or when the difference between the statistical information and the detection result at the bus stop (for example, the percentage of people who actually got off) exceeds a predetermined value.

[0229] If it is not time to update the statistical information (NO in S904), the flow returns to S101.

[0230] If it is time to update the statistical information (YES in S904), the bus wireless device 10 updates the statistical information on the disembarking rate for each bus stop based on the camera image (S905). For example, the bus wireless device 10 detects the number of passengers disembarking from the bus at bus stop #i based on the number of passengers aboard the bus and the number of passengers waiting at bus stop #i before the bus arrives at bus stop #i, and the number of passengers aboard the bus and the number of passengers waiting at bus stop #i after boarding at bus stop #i has ended. For example, the number of passengers aboard the arriving bus is estimated based on the difference between the number of passengers waiting at the bus stop before the bus arrives and the number of passengers waiting at the bus stop after the bus departs. The difference between the number of passengers aboard the bus and the number of passengers alighting from the bus is estimated based on the difference between the number of passengers on the bus before it arrives at the bus stop and the number of passengers on the bus after it departs from the bus stop. The number of passengers alighting at the bus stop may then be estimated from these estimation results. The bus wireless device 10 may update the statistical information by detecting the number of passengers who have gotten off the bus at each bus stop and calculating the rate of passengers getting off based on the detection results. Then, the flow returns to S101.

[0231] 26 shows an example in which the bus wireless device 10 corrects the congestion status on the bus in consideration of the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop in S902, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, if either the relay station 20 or the control device 30 corrects the congestion status on the bus in consideration of the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop, the processing of S902 may be omitted.

[0232] Fig. 27 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by relay station 20 according to the fourth example of the present embodiment. In Fig. 27, the same processes as those in Fig. 8 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0233] The relay station 20 analyzes the congestion status of the bus stops based on the camera images (after S204), and then corrects the congestion status on the bus taking into account the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop (S1001). Information regarding the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop may be included in the bus notification information, for example.

[0234] The relay station 20 generates bus stop congestion information relating to the corrected congestion status on the bus, and generates relay station notification information including the bus stop congestion information and the bus notification information (S1002).

[0235] The relay station 20 transmits the relay station notification information to the control device 30 (S1003), and the flow then returns to S201.

[0236] 27 shows an example in which the relay station 20 corrects the congestion status on the bus in consideration of the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop in S1001, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, if either the bus radio device 10 or the control device 30 corrects the congestion status on the bus in consideration of the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop, the processing of S1001 may be omitted.

[0237] 28 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the control device 30 according to the fourth example of the present embodiment. In FIG. 28, the same processes as those in FIG. 9 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0238] The control device 30 corrects the congestion state on the bus based on the congestion state at the bus stop (after S305), and then corrects the congestion state on the bus taking into account the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop (S1101). Information regarding the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop may be included in the relay station notification information, for example.

[0239] The control device 30 transmits the display information including the corrected congestion status to the display device 40 (S306). Then, the flow returns to S301.

[0240] 28 shows an example in which the control device 30 corrects the congestion status on the bus in consideration of the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop in S1101, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, if either the bus wireless device 10 or the relay station 20 corrects the congestion status on the bus in consideration of the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop, the processing of S1101 may be omitted.

[0241] Fig. 29 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing by the display device 40 according to the fourth example of the present embodiment. In Fig. 29, the same processes as those in Fig. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0242] After displaying the congestion status of the bus stops (after S405), the control device 30 displays the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop (S1201). Note that information about the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop may be included in the display information. Then, the flow returns to S401.

[0243] As described above, the control device 30 analyzes the congestion status along the bus route based on the bus congestion information transmitted by the bus wireless device 10 and the bus stop congestion information transmitted by the relay station 20. The control device 30 then transmits display information including the analysis results to the display device 40, which can then provide bus users with an appropriate information about the congestion status.

[0244] In addition, in a fourth example, the number of people getting off at each bus stop is estimated, the congestion situation is corrected based on the estimation result, and information including the number of people getting off is displayed on the display device 40. Therefore, the display device 40 can provide bus users with an appropriate congestion situation.

[0245] In each of the above examples, the bus radio device 10 and the relay station 20 may omit some of the information received in the upbound direction to generate information to be transmitted in the upbound direction. For example, relay station 20-i may transmit bus location information in the upbound direction if the sum of the number of people waiting at bus stop #i and the number of passengers on the bus indicated by the bus congestion information is smaller than a threshold. A case in which the sum of the number of people waiting at bus stop #i and the number of passengers on the bus indicated by the bus congestion information is smaller than a threshold means that there are sufficient seats available, even taking into account the number of people waiting at the bus stop. For example, in this case, the display information may include information indicating that the bus has "sufficient vacant seats," and the display device 40 may display that the bus has "sufficient vacant seats" based on this information.

[0246] Furthermore, in each of the above examples, even if there are sufficient seats available on the bus, the bus radio device 10 may notify the relay station 20 of bus notification information including bus congestion information, while the relay station 20 may transmit relay station notification information to the control device 30 (or an upbound relay station) that does not include bus congestion information but includes bus location information.

[0247] In addition, some or all of the above examples may be used in combination. For example, as shown in the second example, display information including a congestion situation distinguishing between specific people and non-specific people, as shown in the third example, a congestion situation distinguishing by destination, and as shown in the fourth example, a congestion situation taking into account the number of people getting off may be displayed on the display device 40.

[0248] <Examples of communication system configurations> An example of each component of the communication system according to the present embodiment will be described. The communication system according to the present embodiment includes a bus radio device 10 shown in FIG. 30, a relay station 20 shown in FIG. 31, a control device 30 shown in FIG. 32, and a display device 40 shown in FIG. 33. The wireless communication scheme (wireless communication system) according to the present embodiment is not particularly limited. For example, the wireless communication scheme according to the present embodiment may conform to the 5th generation mobile communication system (5G) standard or other wireless communication standards. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, different wireless communication schemes may be included in the wireless communication scheme between the bus radio device 10 and the relay station 20, the wireless communication scheme between the relay station 20 and the control device 30, and the wireless communication scheme between the control device 30 and the display device 40.

[0249] Note that the configurations shown below are merely examples, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Some of the configurations shown in Figures 30 to 33 may be omitted, and configurations not shown in the figures may be added.

[0250] <Configuration of bus radio device> 30 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of bus radio device 10 according to this embodiment. Bus radio device 10 includes receiver 101, receiver control unit 102, congestion status determination unit 103, congestion status correction unit 104, congestion information generator 105, transmitter control unit 106, and transmitter 107. Receiver control unit 102, congestion status determination unit 103, congestion status correction unit 104, congestion information generator 105, and transmitter control unit 106 may be included in controller 108 of bus radio device 10.

[0251] 30, the functions of some of the components may be included in either the relay station 20 or the control device 30. In this case, the components may be omitted from the bus radio device 10.

[0252] The receiving unit 101 receives a downlink (DL) signal addressed to the bus radio device 10 based on timing control in the receiving control unit 102. The receiving unit 101 outputs the DL signal to the receiving control unit 102. The DL signal includes, for example, statistical information, data, and / or control information (DL control information) relating to the number of people getting off the bus, which will be described later.

[0253] The reception control unit 102 controls the reception timing in the reception unit 101. The reception control unit 102 also performs predetermined reception processing on the DL signal. For example, the predetermined reception processing includes frequency conversion processing (down-conversion). The predetermined reception processing may also include baseband signal processing such as demodulation processing and decoding processing.

[0254] The reception control unit 102 extracts statistical information related to the number of people getting off, received data, and / or DL ​​control information from the DL signal that has been subjected to predetermined reception processing. The reception control unit 102 outputs the received data to a data processing unit (omitted in FIG. 30) that performs signal processing in a higher layer. When the reception control unit 102 extracts information related to the number of people getting off, it outputs the extracted information to the congestion status correction unit 104.

[0255] The congestion status determination unit 103 determines the congestion status inside the bus based on at least one of a camera image from a camera that captures the interior of the bus and sensor data acquired from sensors such as a human presence sensor and a weight sensor installed inside the bus. For example, the congestion status determination unit 103 may determine the number of passengers present inside the bus, the number of passengers seated in the seats inside the bus, or the weight of people present inside the bus. The congestion status determination unit 103 outputs the number of passengers (or weight) to the congestion status correction unit 104.

[0256] The congestion status correction unit 104 corrects information related to the congestion status. For example, the congestion status correction unit 104 corrects the number of passengers (or weight) based on statistical information related to the number of passengers getting off. For example, the congestion status correction unit 104 estimates the number of passengers getting off at a bus stop from the number of passengers (or weight) and determines the congestion status at that bus stop by subtracting the number of passengers getting off from the number of passengers. The congestion status correction unit 104 outputs information related to the congestion status after the correction and information related to the congestion status before the correction to the congestion information generation unit 105.

[0257] The congestion information generation unit 105 generates information related to the congestion status inside the bus. For example, the congestion information generation unit 105 generates bus notification information including congestion information and bus position information based on the format of the bus notification information described above. The congestion information generation unit 105 outputs the generated bus notification information to the transmission control unit 106.

[0258] The transmission control unit 106 controls the transmission timing of the bus notification information. The transmission control unit 106 also controls the transmission timing of the transmission data acquired from the data processing unit (omitted in FIG. 30) and / or the control information (UL control information) to be transmitted to the relay station 20. The transmission control unit 106 also performs predetermined transmission processing on at least one of the notification information, the transmission data, and the UL control information to generate a UL signal. The predetermined transmission processing may include baseband signal processing such as encoding processing and modulation processing.

[0259] The transmitter 107 transmits the UL signal to the relay station 20 based on the transmission timing control in the transmission control unit 106 .

[0260] <Configuration of relay station> 31 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of relay station 20 according to the present embodiment. Relay station 20 includes receiver 201, reception controller 202, congestion status determination unit 203, congestion status correction unit 204, congestion information generator 205, transmission controller 206, and transmitter 207. Reception controller 202, congestion status determination unit 203, congestion status correction unit 204, congestion information generator 205, and transmission controller 206 may be included in controller 208 of relay station 20.

[0261] 31, the functions of some of the components may be included in either the bus radio device 10 or the control device 30. In this case, the components may be omitted from the relay station 20.

[0262] The receiving unit 201 receives a signal addressed to the relay station 20 based on timing control in the receiving control unit 202. The signal addressed to the relay station 20 may be at least one of a UL signal transmitted by the bus radio device 10 and a DL signal transmitted by the control device 30. The receiving unit 201 outputs the signal addressed to the relay station 20 to the receiving control unit 202.

[0263] The reception control unit 202 controls the reception timing in the reception unit 201. The reception control unit 202 also performs predetermined reception processing on signals addressed to the relay station 20. For example, the predetermined reception processing includes frequency conversion processing (down-conversion). The predetermined reception processing may also include baseband signal processing such as demodulation processing and decoding processing.

[0264] The reception control unit 202 extracts bus notification information, received data, and / or control information transmitted by the bus radio device 10 from the signal that has undergone predetermined reception processing. The reception control unit 202 outputs the received data to a data processing unit (omitted in FIG. 31) that performs signal processing in an upper layer. The reception control unit 202 also outputs the bus notification information to the congestion status determination unit 203.

[0265] The congestion status determination unit 203 determines the congestion status of a bus stop based on at least one of a camera image from a camera that captures an image of the bus stop and sensor data acquired from sensors such as a human presence sensor and a weight sensor installed at the bus stop. For example, the congestion status determination unit 203 may determine the number of people waiting for a bus at the bus stop (waiting number of people). The congestion status determination unit 203 outputs the waiting number of people to the congestion status correction unit 204.

[0266] The congestion situation correction unit 204 corrects information related to the congestion situation. For example, when multiple buses with different destinations arrive at a bus stop where relay station 20 is installed, the congestion situation correction unit 204 corrects the number of waiting passengers based on statistical information related to the number of passengers for each destination. For example, the congestion situation correction unit 204 estimates the number of passengers for each destination from the number of waiting passengers. The congestion situation correction unit 204 outputs information related to the corrected congestion situation and information related to the congestion situation before the correction to the congestion information generation unit 205.

[0267] The congestion information generation unit 205 generates information related to the congestion status of bus stops. For example, the congestion information generation unit 205 generates relay station notification information including bus stop congestion information and bus notification information acquired from the bus wireless device 10, based on the format of the relay station notification information described above. The congestion information generation unit 205 outputs the generated relay station notification information to the transmission control unit 206.

[0268] The transmission control unit 206 controls the transmission timing of the relay station notification information. The transmission control unit 206 also controls the transmission timing of the transmission data acquired from the data processing unit (omitted in FIG. 31) and / or the control information (UL control information) to be transmitted to the control device 30. The transmission control unit 206 also performs predetermined transmission processing on at least one of the relay station notification information, the transmission data, and the UL control information to generate a UL signal. The predetermined transmission processing may include baseband signal processing such as encoding and modulation.

[0269] The transmitter 207 transmits a UL signal to the control device 30 based on the transmission timing control in the transmission control unit 206 .

[0270] <Control device configuration> 32 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a control device 30 according to this embodiment. The control device 30 includes a receiving unit 301, a reception control unit 302, a congestion status determination unit 303, a congestion status correction unit 304, a display information generation unit 305, a transmission control unit 306, and a transmission unit 307. The reception control unit 302, the congestion status determination unit 303, the congestion status correction unit 304, the display information generation unit 305, and the transmission control unit 306 may be included in a control unit 308 of the control device 30.

[0271] 32, the functions of some of the components may be included in either the bus radio device 10 or the relay station 20. In this case, the components may be omitted from the control device 30.

[0272] The receiver 301 receives a signal addressed to the control device 30 based on timing control by the receiver control unit 302. The signal addressed to the control device 30 may be at least one of a UL signal transmitted by the bus radio device 10 and a UL signal transmitted by the relay station 20. The receiver 301 outputs the signal addressed to the control device 30 to the receiver control unit 302.

[0273] The reception control unit 302 controls the reception timing in the reception unit 301. The reception control unit 302 also performs predetermined reception processing on signals addressed to the control device 30. For example, the predetermined reception processing includes frequency conversion processing (down-conversion). The predetermined reception processing may also include baseband signal processing such as demodulation processing and decoding processing.

[0274] The reception control unit 302 extracts bus notification information transmitted by the bus radio device 10, relay station notification information transmitted by the relay station 20, received data, and / or control information from the signal that has undergone predetermined reception processing. The reception control unit 302 outputs the received data to a data processing unit (omitted in FIG. 32) that performs signal processing in an upper layer. The reception control unit 302 outputs the bus notification information and / or relay station notification information to the congestion status determination unit 303.

[0275] The congestion status determination unit 303 determines the congestion status of the route on which the bus passes based on the bus congestion information included in the bus notification information and / or relay station notification information and the bus stop congestion information included in the relay station notification information.

[0276] The congestion status correction unit 304 corrects the bus congestion information based on the bus stop congestion information. For example, the congestion status correction unit 304 corrects the number of passengers based on statistical information on the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop and / or statistical information on the number of passengers for each destination. As described above, if the bus radio device 10 performs a correction based on statistical information on the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop, the control device 30 does not need to perform a correction based on statistical information on the number of passengers getting off at each bus stop. If the relay station 20 performs a correction based on statistical information on the number of passengers for each destination, the control device 30 does not need to perform a correction based on statistical information on the number of passengers for each destination. The congestion status correction unit 304 outputs information on the congestion status on the route along which the bus passes, including information on the congestion status after the correction and information on the congestion status before the correction, to the display information generation unit 305.

[0277] The display information generating unit 305 generates display information to be displayed on the display device 40. The display information generating unit 305 outputs the generated display information to the transmission control unit 306.

[0278] The transmission control unit 306 controls the transmission timing of display information addressed to the display device 40. The transmission control unit 306 also controls the transmission timing of transmission data acquired from a data processing unit (omitted in FIG. 32) and / or control information (DL control information) to be transmitted to the relay station 20. The transmission control unit 306 also performs predetermined transmission processing on at least one of the display information, transmission data, and DL control information to generate a transmission signal. The predetermined transmission processing may include baseband signal processing such as encoding and modulation.

[0279] The transmitter 307 transmits a transmission signal based on the transmission timing control in the transmission control unit 306 .

[0280] In the control device 30 according to this embodiment, the receiving unit 301 acquires bus congestion information from, for example, a bus radio device 10 installed on a bus, and acquires bus stop congestion information from a relay station 20 installed at a bus stop. The control unit 308 generates information to be provided to bus users based on the bus congestion information and bus stop congestion information. Note that a bus is an example of a means of transportation (or vehicle), and a bus stop is an example of a waiting area where users of the transportation wait for the bus to arrive. The bus congestion information is an example of information related to the congestion status of a vehicle, and the bus stop congestion information is an example of information related to the congestion status of a waiting area.

[0281] <Display device configuration> 33 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of display device 40 according to this embodiment. Display device 40 includes receiving unit 401, reception control unit 402, information classification unit 403, position display control unit 404, bus congestion status display control unit 405, bus stop congestion status display control unit 406, number of people alighting display control unit 407, and display unit 408. Note that reception control unit 402, information classification unit 403, bus position display control unit 404, bus congestion status display control unit 405, bus stop congestion status display control unit 406, and number of people alighting display control unit 407 may be included in control unit 409 of display device 40.

[0282] The receiving unit 401 receives a signal addressed to the display device 40 based on timing control in the reception control unit 402. The signal addressed to the display device 40 includes display information transmitted by the control device 30. The receiving unit 401 outputs the signal addressed to the display device 40 to the reception control unit 402.

[0283] The reception control unit 402 controls the reception timing in the reception unit 401. The reception control unit 402 also performs predetermined reception processing on signals addressed to the display device 40. For example, the predetermined reception processing includes frequency conversion processing (down-conversion). The predetermined reception processing may also include baseband signal processing such as demodulation processing and decoding processing.

[0284] The reception control unit 402 extracts display information from the signal that has undergone predetermined reception processing, and outputs it to the information classification unit 403 .

[0285] The information classification unit 403 classifies information about the congestion status of buses for each destination, which is included in the display information, by destination.

[0286] The location display control unit 404 controls the display of the bus location on the display unit 408 .

[0287] Bus congestion status display control unit 405 controls the display of information indicating the congestion status inside the bus on display unit 408.

[0288] The bus stop congestion status display control unit 406 controls the display of information indicating the congestion status of the bus stop on the display unit 408.

[0289] The number of passengers getting off display control unit 407 controls the display of information indicating the number of passengers getting off on the display unit 408.

[0290] Note that, although the example of FIG. 33 shows a display device 40 having a receiving unit 401, a control unit 409, and a display unit 408, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the configuration illustrated in FIG. 33 may be divided into a display device having a display unit 408 and a display control device having a receiving unit 401 and a control unit 409 and controlling the display device. In this case, the display device and the display control device may be connected via wire and / or wireless. For example, in the display control device, the receiving unit 401 acquires display information generated based on bus congestion information and bus stop congestion information. Furthermore, in the display control device, the control unit 409 controls the display of the display information in association with the bus location and the bus stop. Note that the display information is an example of information to be provided to a user.

[0291] In the above embodiment, a route bus has been described as an example of a means of transportation, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. The present disclosure may be applied to a means of transportation in which a user waits for a vehicle (or a means of transportation) at a specific location. For example, the present disclosure may be applied to other means of transportation such as a train, a ship, or a shared taxi.

[0292] It should be noted that the "... section" in the above embodiments may be a "... circuitry," a "... device," a "... unit," or a "... module."

[0293] Furthermore, the term "channel" in the above embodiments may be replaced with other terms such as "frequency," "frequency channel," "band," "carrier," "subcarrier," or "(frequency) resource."

[0294] The present disclosure can be realized in software, hardware, or software in conjunction with hardware.

[0295] Each functional block used in the description of the above embodiments may be partially or entirely realized as an LSI, which is an integrated circuit, and each process described in the above embodiments may be partially or entirely controlled by a single LSI or a combination of LSIs. The LSI may be composed of individual chips, or may be composed of a single chip that includes some or all of the functional blocks. The LSI may have data input and output. Depending on the degree of integration, the LSI may be called an IC, system LSI, super LSI, or ultra LSI.

[0296] The integrated circuit method is not limited to LSI, but may be realized by a dedicated circuit, a general-purpose processor, or a dedicated processor. Also, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that can be programmed after LSI manufacturing, or a reconfigurable processor that can reconfigure the connections and settings of circuit cells within the LSI, may be used. The present disclosure may be realized as digital processing or analog processing.

[0297] Furthermore, if an integrated circuit technology that can replace LSI emerges due to advances in semiconductor technology or other derivative technologies, it is natural that such technology may be used to integrate functional blocks. The application of biotechnology, etc. is also a possibility.

[0298] The present disclosure may be implemented in any type of apparatus, device, or system with communications capabilities (collectively referred to as communications apparatus), including, but not limited to, telephones (e.g., cell phones, smartphones), tablets, personal computers (PCs) (e.g., laptops, desktops, notebooks), cameras (e.g., digital still / video cameras), digital players (e.g., digital audio / video players), wearable devices (e.g., wearable cameras, smartwatches, tracking devices), game consoles, digital book readers, telehealth / telemedicine devices, communications-enabled vehicles or mobile transportation (e.g., cars, airplanes, ships), and combinations of the above.

[0299] Communications equipment is not limited to portable or mobile equipment, but also includes non-portable or fixed equipment, devices, and systems of any kind, such as smart home devices (such as appliances, lighting equipment, smart meters or metering devices, control panels, etc.), vending machines, and any other "things" that may exist on an IoT (Internet of Things) network.

[0300] Communications include data communications via cellular systems, wireless LAN systems, communications satellite systems, etc., as well as data communications via combinations of these.

[0301] A communications apparatus also includes devices such as controllers and sensors connected or coupled to a communications device that performs the communications functions described in this disclosure, such as controllers and sensors that generate control and data signals used by the communications device to perform the communications functions of the communications apparatus.

[0302] The communication apparatus also includes infrastructure facilities, such as base stations, access points, and any other apparatus, device, or system that communicates with or controls the various apparatuses listed above, but are not limited to these.

[0303] Although various embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the components of the above-described embodiments may be combined in any manner without departing from the spirit of the disclosure.

[0304] Although specific examples of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and alterations of the specific examples exemplified above. [Industrial Applicability]

[0305] The present disclosure is suitable for wireless communication systems. [Explanation of symbols]

[0306] 10 Bus radio equipment 20 relay stations 30 Control device 40 Display device 101, 201, 301, 401 Receiver 102, 202, 302, 402 Reception control section 103, 203, 303 Congestion status determination unit 104, 204, 304 Congestion status correction section 105, 205 Congestion information generation unit 106, 206, 306 Transmission control section 107, 207, 307 Transmitter 108, 208, 308, 409 Control section 305 Display information generation section 403 Information Classification Department 404 Position display control unit 405 Bus congestion status display control unit 406 Bus stop congestion status display control unit 407 Number of passengers getting off display control unit 408 Display section

Claims

1. a receiving unit that acquires third information indicating the congestion status of the transportation means to be provided to the user, the third information being generated by combining first information regarding the congestion status of the transportation means as a means of transportation and second information regarding the congestion status of a waiting area where a user using the transportation means waits for the arrival of the transportation means; a control unit that controls display of the third information on a display device in association with the position of the transportation means and the waiting location; A display control device comprising:

2. the control unit performs control to display a congestion level of the transportation means and a congestion level of the waiting area based on the third information. The display control device according to claim 1 .

3. the receiving unit acquires the third information, which is generated based on the second information and fourth information related to a congestion state for a specific person waiting at the waiting place, and which includes a congestion state for the specific person waiting at the waiting place and a congestion state for people other than the specific person, in a distinguished manner; the control unit controls a display that distinguishes between a congestion status for the specific person waiting at the waiting area and a congestion status for people other than the specific person, The specific person waiting at the waiting location is estimated based on an image taken at the waiting location. The display control device according to claim 1 .

4. When a plurality of the transportation means traveling along different routes arrive at the waiting location, the control unit controls a display in which the congestion status of the waiting area is classified into each of the plurality of transportation means. The display control device according to claim 1 .

5. When the transportation means travels along a route that passes through a plurality of the waiting locations, the control unit controls a display of a congestion state of each of the plurality of waiting areas based on the number of users who finish using the transportation facility at each of the plurality of waiting areas; The number of users who will finish using the transportation facility at each of the plurality of waiting locations is estimated based on statistical data of the users' past riding history of the transportation facility. The display control device according to claim 1 .

6. the control unit controls to display both the congestion state of each of the plurality of waiting areas based on the number of users who finish using the transportation facility at each of the plurality of waiting areas and the second information; The number of users who will finish using the transportation facility at each of the plurality of waiting locations is estimated based on statistical data of the users' past riding history of the transportation facility. The display control device according to claim 1 .

7. A display control device acquiring third information indicating the congestion status of the transportation means to be provided to the user, the third information being generated by combining first information regarding the congestion status of the transportation means as a means of transportation and second information regarding the congestion status of a waiting area where a user using the transportation means waits for the arrival of the transportation means; controlling the display of the third information on a display device in association with the position of the transportation means and the waiting location; Display control method.

8. When the means of transportation stops at each of the n-ith (n is an integer, i is an integer between 1 and n) to nth waiting locations to allow passengers to board or disembark, and heads towards the n-ith waiting location, the second information includes the congestion status from the n-ith waiting location to the nth waiting location. The display control device according to claim 1 .

Images