Information transmission system and one-man driving support system

Abstract

To provide an information transfer system and one-man operation support system that can be easily introduced in existing vehicles.SOLUTION: A one-man operation support system 1 is equipped with an optical wireless communicator 21 installed in a rail car Tb of train formation B and an optical wireless communicator 11 installed in a rail car Ta of train formation A, which is connected adjacent to the railroad car Tb. The optical wireless communicator 21 transfers the image information captured by a side monitoring camera 23 or an in-train monitoring camera 24 installed in a rail car that constitutes the train formation B to the optical wireless communicator 11. The optical wireless communicator 11 that receives the video information then transfers the video information to a monitoring device 13 installed in a rail car that constitutes the train formation A.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information transmission system and a one-man operation system provided on a railway vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, railway companies have increasingly been using surveillance cameras and other equipment to reduce costs, and are increasingly operating trains with only one driver.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a monitoring system that includes cameras attached to each car of a train and an analysis device that analyzes the camera images in order to support one-man operation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-42080 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The monitoring system described in Patent Document 1 has an in-train network constructed to include an analyzer for analyzing camera images provided in each car of a train consisting of multiple cars, a display device for displaying camera images, and the like.

[0006] A monitoring system such as that described in Patent Document 1 can be installed when manufacturing new vehicles, but installing it in existing vehicles requires modifying the vehicles. In particular, building a network spanning multiple vehicles requires wiring work to the electrical couplers, which increases implementation costs.

[0007] Furthermore, depending on the railway line, carriages may be coupled together during rush hours to increase transport capacity. When carriages are coupled together, the additional carriages are added to the train's network, which requires the network to be reconfigured. Furthermore, the same carriages are not always coupled together, and configuring the network each time a carriage is coupled together is extremely time-consuming.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an information transmission system and a one-man driving support system that can be easily introduced into existing vehicles. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The invention described in claim 1, which was made to solve the above problem, is an information transmission system installed in a railway vehicle, comprising a first optical wireless communication device installed in one railway vehicle and a second optical wireless communication device installed in another railway vehicle coupled adjacent to the one railway vehicle, wherein video information captured by a camera installed in at least the one railway vehicle or a railway vehicle coupled to the one railway vehicle excluding the other railway vehicle is transmitted from the first optical wireless communication device to the second optical wireless communication device, and the second optical wireless communication device, which has received the video information, transmits the video information to a presentation unit installed in the other railway vehicle or a railway vehicle coupled to the other railway vehicle excluding the one railway vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, a first optical wireless communication device is installed in one railway vehicle and a second optical wireless communication device is installed in another railway vehicle, so that wiring to the electrical couplers between the vehicles is not required and the system can be easily introduced into existing vehicles. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a one-man driving support system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of the optical wireless communication device shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a one-man driving assistance system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The one-man driving assistance system includes an information transmission system installed in a train consisting of multiple railway cars, but Figure 1 shows only the main parts of the information transmission system provided in the one-man driving assistance system.

[0013] The one-man driving assistance system 1 shown in Figure 1 includes an optical wireless communication device 11, a HUB 12, a monitor device 13, an optical wireless communication device 21, a HUB 22, a vehicle-side surveillance camera 23, an in-vehicle surveillance camera 24, and an emergency notification device 25.

[0014] 1, the optical wireless communication device 11, the HUB 12, and the monitor device 13 are provided in train formation A. On the other hand, the optical wireless communication device 21, the HUB 22, the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23, the interior monitoring camera 24, and the emergency notification device 25 are provided in train formation B.

[0015] Formation A consists of one or more cars including at least railway car Ta, and a driver's cab (crew cab) where a driver is on board is provided at the end of the formation. In FIG. 1, only railway car Ta is shown as formation A, but it may consist of multiple cars. In the case of a multiple-car formation, the driver's cab will be provided in a car different from railway car Ta. Formation B consists of one or more cars including at least railway car Tb, and may have a crew cab at the end, but no conductor or driver is on board. In FIG. 1, only railway car Tb is shown as formation B, but it may consist of multiple cars. Formation A can be operated alone by one-man operation, but during rush hour, for example, formation B is coupled to formation A at a specified station, depot, etc.

[0016] The optical wireless communication device 11 is provided in railway car Ta, which is one of the railway cars that make up formation A and is coupled to formation B. The optical wireless communication device 11 is provided opposite an optical wireless communication device 21 provided in railway car Tb of formation B. The optical wireless communication device 11 is installed, for example, in a window of railway car Ta that faces railway car Tb. The functional configuration of the optical wireless communication device 11 is shown in FIG. 2. The optical wireless communication device 11 includes a wired communication unit 111, an optical wireless communication unit 112, and a power supply unit 113.

[0017] The wired communication unit 111 is connected to the HUB 12 via a wire such as a LAN (Local Area Network) cable. As shown in FIG. 2, the wired communication unit 111 includes a wired receiving unit 111a and a wired transmitting unit 111b.

[0018] The wired receiving unit 111a receives, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame transmitted from the HUB 12. The wired receiving unit 111a extracts data to be transmitted to the composition B from the received frame and outputs the extracted data to the optical transmitting unit 112a, which will be described later.

[0019] The wired transmitter 111b receives data output from an optical receiver 112b (described later), converts the received data into, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame, and transmits the data to the HUB 12. In this embodiment, the wired communication is performed using Ethernet (registered trademark), but it goes without saying that other communication protocols can be used.

[0020] The optical wireless communication unit 112 performs wireless communication using light, such as infrared light, with the optical wireless communication device 21 provided in the formation B. In other words, light is used as a medium to propagate through free space between the railway cars. As shown in FIG. 2, the optical wireless communication unit 112 includes an optical transmitter 112a and an optical receiver 112b.

[0021] The optical transmitter 112a receives the data output from the wired receiver 111a. The optical transmitter 112a has a light source such as a light-emitting diode, converts the input data into an optical signal, and transmits it to the optical wireless communication device 21 as, for example, infrared light.

[0022] The optical receiving unit 112b has a light receiving element such as a photodiode, and receives, for example, infrared light transmitted from the optical wireless communication unit 21. The optical receiving unit 112b converts the received optical signal into an electrical signal, extracts data to be transmitted to the network within formation A, and outputs the extracted data to the wired transmitting unit 111b.

[0023] The power supply unit 113 receives power from, for example, the railway vehicle Ta, and supplies power for operating each functional block in the optical wireless communication device 11.

[0024] The HUB 12 is a well-known communication device installed in the railway vehicle Ta. The HUB 12 is connected to the optical wireless communication device 11 by wire, and is also connected to the monitor device 13 by wire. The HUB 12 is not limited to a so-called repeater hub, and may be a communication device such as a switching hub or a router.

[0025] The monitor device 13 is a display device installed in, for example, the driver's cab, and displays images from a vehicle-side monitoring camera 23 and an interior monitoring camera 24, which will be described later. Alternatively, when the emergency notification device 25 is operated, it displays information such as the fact that an emergency notification has been made, the reported vehicle number, and images from the interior monitoring camera of that vehicle. Note that since the monitor device 13 is installed in the driver's cab, if the formation A consists of multiple cars, it may be a different railway car from the railway car Ta in which the optical wireless communication device 11 is installed. Therefore, the monitor device 13 and the HUB 12 are not limited to being directly connected via a single cable, but may also be connected via multiple HUBs 12.

[0026] The optical wireless communication device 21 is provided in railway car Tb, which is one of the railway cars that make up formation B and is coupled to formation A. The optical wireless communication device 21 is provided opposite the optical wireless communication device 11 provided in railway car Ta of formation A. The optical wireless communication device 21 is installed, for example, in a window of railway car Tb that faces railway car Ta. The functional configuration of the optical wireless communication device 21 is similar to that of the optical wireless communication device 11, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

[0027] The HUB 22 is a well-known communication device installed in the railway vehicle Tb. The HUB 22 is connected by wire to the optical wireless communication device 21, and is also connected by wire to the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23, the interior monitoring camera 24, and the emergency notification device 25. The HUB 22 is not limited to a so-called repeater hub, and may be a communication device such as a switching hub or a router.

[0028] The vehicle-side monitoring cameras 23 are installed on the sides (exterior) of the railcar body and capture images of the outside of the doors through which passengers get on and off, from the side. Although only two vehicle-side monitoring cameras 23 (for example, one on the right side and one on the left side) are shown in FIG. 1, they may be installed corresponding to the doors of the railcars that make up formation B.

[0029] The interior monitoring cameras 24 are installed inside the passenger compartments of the railcars and capture images of the conditions inside the passenger compartments. Although only two interior monitoring cameras 24 are shown in Fig. 1, multiple cameras may be installed per car.

[0030] The emergency notification device 25 is a device for notifying the crew of an emergency when an incident, accident, sudden illness, or the like occurs on board a train. The emergency notification device 25 is installed, for example, next to the door of each car or on a wall near the car coupling. The emergency notification device 25 has a push button, and pressing the push button can notify the crew (driver) in the driver's cab of an emergency (transmit emergency information). The emergency notification device 25 may also include a door cock for manually opening the door in an emergency. The operation signal of this door cock can also be included in the emergency information.

[0031] Next, the operation of the one-man driving assistance system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to Fig. 1. First, train set B is coupled to train set A at a station, a depot, or the like. At this time, the optical wireless communication devices 11 and 21 face each other (they are able to receive each other's emitted light). This connects the network of train set A and the network of train set B. Here, the optical wireless communication device 11 is a device that belongs to the network of train set A, and the optical wireless communication device 21 is a device that belongs to the network of train set B. The optical wireless communication device 11 is already in a state where it can communicate with other devices such as the monitor device 13 in the network of train set A. Meanwhile, the optical wireless communication device 21 is already in a state where it can communicate with other devices such as the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23 in the network of train set B.

[0032] One-to-one communication is performed between the optical wireless communication devices 11 and 21 using optical signals. At this time, no particular identification of the other party is performed. In other words, when the optical receiving unit 112b receives a signal that can be demodulated into an electrical signal, communication is performed regardless of the ID or address of the other network (train set). Therefore, neither network is involved in communication between vehicles. Therefore, when coupling train set B to train set A, no setting is required to add the network of train set B. For example, video information from the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23 transmitted from the optical wireless communication device 21 to the optical wireless communication device 11 is treated in train set A as data transmitted by the optical wireless communication device 11 (wired transmission unit 111b).

[0033] When formations A and B are coupled together as described above, when the train stops at a station during subsequent operation, video information captured by the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23 in response to the opening and closing of the doors is sent to the monitor device 13 via the HUB 22, the optical wireless communication device 21, the optical wireless communication device 11, and the HUB 12, and is displayed on the monitor device 13.

[0034] Furthermore, when the push button of the emergency notification device 25 is operated, emergency information indicating an emergency notification is sent to the monitor device 13 via the HUB 22, the optical wireless communication device 21, the optical wireless communication device 11, and the HUB 12, and an emergency situation is displayed on the monitor device 13. Furthermore, by operating the push button of the emergency notification device 25, video information from the in-vehicle monitoring camera 24 located near the emergency notification device 25 may be sent to the monitor device 13 via the HUB 22, the optical wireless communication device 21, the optical wireless communication device 11, and the HUB 12, and displayed on the monitor device 13.

[0035] As is clear from the above description, formation B is one formation, railway car Tb is one railway car, and the optical wireless communication device 21 functions as a first optical wireless communication device. Furthermore, formation B is another formation, railway car Tb is another railway car, and the optical wireless communication device 21 functions as a second optical wireless communication device.

[0036] Although the above-described configuration has been described in connection with coupling and uncoupling, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when a train network is expanded, the cars may be connected by optical wireless communication devices. In this case, the optical wireless communication devices may be installed behind the windows at the ends of intermediate cars, rather than in the driver's cab.

[0037] In the above explanation, the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23, the interior monitoring camera 24, and the emergency notification device 25 are provided only in the train set B, but they may also be provided in the train set A. In this case, information from each camera and the emergency notification device 25 is displayed on the monitor device 13 via the network of the train set A. Also, a configuration in which only one of the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23 and the interior monitoring camera 24 is provided may be used.

[0038] According to this embodiment, the one-man driving assistance system 1 includes an optical wireless communication device 21 installed in a railway car Tb included in formation B of a train, and an optical wireless communication device 11 installed in a railway car Ta included in formation A of the train. Video information captured by a vehicle-side monitoring camera 23 or an in-car monitoring camera 24 installed in a railway car that constitutes formation B is transmitted from the optical wireless communication device 21 to the optical wireless communication device 11. The optical wireless communication device 11 then transmits the video information to a monitor device 13 installed in a railway car that constitutes formation A.

[0039] By configuring the one-man driving assistance system 1 as described above, the one-man driving assistance system 1 is equipped with an optical wireless communication device 21 installed in the railway vehicle Tb and an optical wireless communication device 11 installed in the railway vehicle Ta, so that wiring to the electrical couplers between the vehicles is not required, and the system can be easily introduced into existing vehicles.

[0040] Furthermore, because the optical wireless communication devices 11 and 21 only perform one-to-one communication, there is no need to configure the network of formation A to be integrated with the network of formation B. Therefore, even when it is necessary to couple more cars, the one-man driving assistance system 1 can be used quickly.

[0041] In addition, the one-man driving support system 1 is equipped with a vehicle-side monitoring camera 23 and an in-car monitoring camera 24, which allows the driver to monitor passengers getting on and off while the train is stopped at a station, and any abnormalities in the passenger compartment.

[0042] Furthermore, emergency information transmitted from an emergency notification device 25 installed in, for example, the railway vehicle Tb is transmitted from the optical wireless communication device 21 to the optical wireless communication device 11, and the optical wireless communication device 11 that receives the emergency information transmits the emergency information to the monitor device 13. In this way, the driver can understand and deal with reports from passengers.

[0043] Furthermore, since the monitor device 13 is installed in the driver's cab of the railway vehicle, the driver can obtain and respond to various information, thereby reducing the burden on the driver during one-man operation.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, both the network of formation A and the network of formation B are configured as wired LANs, but they may also be configured as wireless LANs that use radio waves as a medium, such as IEEE802.11. In the case of wireless LANs, a wireless LAN access point may be installed instead of the HUB 12. Then, the wired communication unit 111 of the optical wireless communication devices 11 and 21 may be changed to a communication function compatible with the wireless LAN.

[0045] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the one-man driving assistance system 1 has been described as a type of information transmission system, but the system can be applied to any information transmission system installed in a railway vehicle. For example, the output destination of the video information from each camera may be a display device installed in the passenger compartment, rather than the monitor device 13 in the driver's cab. In this case, passengers can view video of the vehicle outside as it moves, captured by the vehicle-side monitoring camera 23, for example, thereby improving passenger service.

[0046] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. In other words, a person skilled in the art can implement various modifications in accordance with conventionally known knowledge without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still comprise the configuration of the information transmission system and one-man driving assistance system of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 1 One-man driving support system (information transmission system) 11 Optical wireless communication device (second optical wireless communication device) 13 Monitor device (presentation unit) 21 Optical wireless communication device (first optical wireless communication device) 23 Vehicle side surveillance camera (camera) 24 In-car surveillance camera (camera) 25 Emergency notification device Ta Railway Vehicles (Other Railway Vehicles) Tb Railway vehicle (first railway vehicle)

Claims

1. An information transmission system installed in a train consisting of a plurality of railway cars, in which a first formation is coupled to a second formation, a first optical wireless communication device installed in a window of a first railway car included in the first formation; a second optical wireless communication device that is included in the second formation and is installed in a window of a second railway car that is coupled to the first railway car so as to face the first optical wireless communication device; video information captured by a camera installed in a railway car constituting the first formation is transmitted from the first optical wireless communication device to the second optical wireless communication device; The second optical wireless communication device that receives the video information transmits the video information to a presentation unit installed in the second train set.

2. 2. The information transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the camera captures images of at least one of the interior of a passenger compartment of the railway vehicle and the exterior of the railway vehicle.

3. emergency information transmitted from an emergency notification device installed in a railway car constituting the first formation is transmitted from the first optical wireless communication device to the second optical wireless communication device; 2. The information transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the second optical wireless communication device, having received the emergency information, transmits the emergency information to the presentation unit.

4. 2. The information transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the presentation unit is provided in a driver's cab of a railway vehicle.

5. A one-man driving support system comprising the information transmission system according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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