Guidance and Security System for Complex Transport Systems

• US 20080195257A1
• Filed: 08/19/2003
• Published: 08/14/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Siemens Mobility GmbH (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Rauch, Jurgen
• Granted Patent: US 8,942,859 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: B61B 1/02 General arrangement of stations and platforms including protection devices for the passengers B61B1/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/02 related to amusement parks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00 Individual registration on entry or exit
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 30/00 Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance

Abstract

The present invention provides a guidance and security system for transport means, in particular complex mass transport systems, in which automatic passenger counting, security monitoring, for example, against fire, crime and terrorism, control of the use of individual elements of the transport system, such as vehicles, trains etc., automatic monitoring of the track and passenger information are connected with each other by an electronic “backbone”. The system comprises at least one guidance means for at least one transport means an/or for people, several recording units and a central unit. The central unit is connected to the recording units and the guidance means. The recording units are for determining the number of people located at a particular time and in a particular spatial area such that the central unit can control the guidance means depending thereon, in order that the appropriate number of vehicles is automatically provided with the necessary frequency and to guide passengers to the vehicle entrances.

Claims

1. A transport guidance system, comprising:

at least one guidance means for at least one means of transport and/or for people;

several recording units; and

a central unit, which is connected with the recording units and with the guidance means;

in which the recording units are operative to determine the number of people who are situated at a particular moment in time in a particular spatial area, and the central unit, depending thereon, is operative to control the guidance means, in order to guide the at least one means of transport for an optimum transportation of the detected people out of the particular spatial areas or into particular spatial areas.

2. The transport guidance system according to claim 1, in which the central unit is further operative to control the guidance means in order to achieve an optimum distribution of the detected people in the particular spatial areas.

3. The transport guidance system according to claim 1 or 2, in which the recording units comprise automatic sales machines for travel tickets or entrance tickets, in which the automatic sales machines are operative to determine the position of a person on the basis of the position of the corresponding automatic sales machine when travel or entrance tickets are purchased.

4. The transport guidance system according to claim 3, in which the automatic sales machines are operative to determine a validity range or a corresponding destination of a purchased ticket and further operative to determine therefrom a probable direction of movement, a probable destination or a probable range of travel of a ticket purchaser, and the central unit can control the guidance means depending thereon.

5. The transport guidance system according to claim 1 in which the recording units comprise access control arrangements, and in which the access control arrangements are operative to determine the position of a person on the basis of the position of an access control device which has been passed.

6. The transport guidance system according to claim 5, in which the access control arrangements are additionally operative to determine the direction of passage through the corresponding access control device, and the central unit is operative to control the guidance means depending upon this passage direction.

7. The transport guidance system according to claim 1 in which the recording units comprise image recording devices, in which the image recording devices are operative to determine the position and/or speed of a person or of an object carried by a person within the recording area of the corresponding image recording devices, and the central unit is operative to control the guidance means depending upon this position or speed.

8. The transport guidance system according to claim 1 in which the recording units comprise several personal transmitters which are respectively intended to be carried by a person, in which each transmitter is operative to transmit an identification signal, and several receiver arrangements to receive the identification signals of the transmitters, and in which the receiver arrangements are operative to determine the position of a person on the basis of received identification signals.

9. The transport guidance system according to claim 8, in which the transmitters are integrated in a travel ticket or entrance ticket.

10. The transport system according to claim 8, in which the travel ticket or entrance ticket has biometric data.

11. The transport guidance system according to claim 8, in which the receiver arrangements are operative to determine the direction of movement of a person on the basis of a change in the position of a transmitter, and the central unit is operative to control the guidance means depending upon the direction of movement.

12. The transport guidance system according to claim 8, in which the receiver arrangements are operative to determine the speed of a person in relation to one or more receiver arrangements on the basis of a change in the position of a transmitter, and the central unit is operative to control the guidance means depending upon the speed.

13. The transport guidance system according to claim 8, in which the identification signal of the personal transmitter has a clear identification of a person.

14. The transport guidance system according to claim 8, in which the identification signal of the personal transmitter has validity information, in which the validity information indicates a permitted period of time, a permitted spatial area or a travel range or distance.

15. The transport guidance system according to claim 14, in which the central unit is operative to control the guidance means on the basis of the validity information, that a bearer of the transmitter is guided away or kept away form a non-permitted spatial area.

16. The transport guidance system according to claim 14, in which the receiver arrangements are operative to detect an exceeding of the period of time, the travel range or distance or entry into a non-permitted spatial area, and the central unit is operative to issue an announcement or an alarm regarding the exceeding which has taken place.

17. The transport guidance system according to claim 1 any of the preceding claims, in which the central unit is operative to determine from the position, speed and/or direction of movement, a movement pattern of people, and on the basis of this movement pattern is operative to control the guidance means or can issue an announcement or an alarm concerning the occurrence of a particular movement pattern.

18. The transport guidance system according to claim 1, in which the guidance means comprises at least one of the following:

visual guidance means;

acoustic guidance means;

blocking- or opening means;

escalators, conveyor belts or lifts; and

means for the control of particularly rail-connected, transport means.

19. The transport guidance system according to claim 1, in which a data communication takes place with the control arrangement of the transport means, so that when required transport means units can be added per unit of time or taken out of the system.

20. The transport guidance system according to claim 19, in which with an automatic control of the transport means, this increase or decrease can take place automatically without the intervention of personnel.

21. A guidance and security system for complex transport systems, which have route sections with transport pathways, transport means traveling thereon and access arrangements thereto, comprising:

monitoring means for the route sections;

monitoring means for the transport means;

a control unit connected with the monitoring means, which processes the data originating from the monitoring means with regard to the currently existing transportation requirement and all events relevant to security in the transport means, on the transport pathways and access arrangements and controls the transport means accordingly; and

issuing means as an interface to control personnel and/or as an interface to passengers, for the issue of instructions for assistance in the operating of the transport means or in an emergency.

22. A system for the automatic operation of transport means and transport systems, in which parameters affecting its safety including the passenger numbers which occur, persons or objects with a risk potential as regards their positioning in the transport system and the access ways thereto are automatically detected and the knowledge thereof is automatically used in the controlling of the transport system.

23. The system according to claim 22, in which the transport systems are open systems and/or mixed traffic.

24. The system according to claim 22, in which means are provided for detecting obstacles from the transport means and from sites outside the transport paths, to extend the limits of visibility linked to the vehicle location and detection in three-dimensional space, in which the means for obstacle detection are functionally connected, and generating control commands, with the operation control of the transport system.