IN-VEHICLE CONGESTION-STATUS DISPLAY SYSTEM AND CONGESTION-STATUS GUIDANCE METHOD

• US 20130268148A1
• Filed: 12/20/2010
• Published: 10/10/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Inventors: Kondo, Tetsu, Ishiguri, Kenichi
• Granted Patent: US 9,014,883 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/19
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 5/00 Arrangements or devices on vehicles for entrance or exit control of passengers, e.g. turnstiles
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 15/009 On-board display devices
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 23/00 Control, warning or like safety means along the route or between vehicles or trains
• CPC Class Codes: B61L 27/40 Handling position reports or trackside vehicle data

Abstract

The present invention provides an in-vehicle congestion-status display system that notifies railway users of a congestion status of each vehicle of a train. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system includes a main server that calculates a congestion rate immediately before boarding, which is a predicted value of a congestion rate when alighting of users is complete, of each vehicle of a train, based on a congestion rate during travel and an alighting rate acquired in a past and held as information indicating a difference between a congestion rate during travel immediately before arriving at the station and a congestion rate when alighting of users is complete after arriving at a next stop of the train, and a display device that notifies users of the congestion rate immediately before boarding calculated for each vehicle of the train.

Claims

1. An in-vehicle congestion-status display system that notifies railway users of a congestion status of each vehicle of a train, the system comprising:

a main server that calculates a congestion rate immediately before boarding, which is a predicted value of a congestion rate when alighting of users is complete at a station, for each vehicle of a train, based on a congestion rate during travel and an alighting rate acquired in a past and held as information indicating a difference between a congestion rate during travel immediately before arriving at the station and a congestion rate when alighting of users is complete after arriving at a next stop of the train; and

a display device that notifies users of the congestion rate immediately before boarding calculated for each vehicle of the train, wherein

when the train arrives at a station where it is known in advance that an error from an actual congestion rate is expected to increase, when the congestion rate immediately before boarding is calculated by using the alighting rate, the main server does not calculate the congestion rate immediately before boarding.

2. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, wherein at a time of calculating the congestion rate immediately before boarding, the main server uses an alighting rate acquired and held at a same period of time as the time when the calculation is performed.

3. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, wherein at a time of calculating the congestion rate immediately before boarding, in a case of a calculation on a weekday, the main server uses an alighting rate with a type of the train being matched, which has been acquired and held at a same period of time as the time when the calculation is performed on a weekday, whereas in a case of a calculation on a holiday, the main server uses an alighting rate with a type of the train being matched, which has been acquired and held at a same period of time as the time when the calculation is performed on a holiday.

4. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, wherein at a time of calculating the congestion rate immediately before boarding, when there are a plurality of alighting rates acquired and held at a same period of time as the time when the calculation is performed, the main server uses a mean value of the alighting rates.

5. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, further comprising an on-board device that is installed in a train, calculates the congestion rate during travel at a predetermined timing after departing from a station, for each vehicle of the train, and during stop at a station, calculates a lowest congestion rate during stop indicating a lowest value of the congestion rate, and calculates an alighting rate based on the lowest congestion rate during stop and the congestion rate during travel calculated during travel before arriving at the station where the train is currently stopping.

6. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, further comprising an on-board device that is installed in a train, calculates the congestion rate during travel at a predetermined timing after departing from a station, for each vehicle of the train, and during stop at a station, calculates the lowest congestion rate during stop indicating a lowest value of the congestion rate, wherein

when the lowest congestion rate during stop is calculated by the on-board device, the main server calculates the alighting rate based on the calculated lowest congestion rate during stop and the congestion rate during travel calculated during travel before arriving at the station where the lowest congestion rate during stop has been calculated.

7. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, wherein

the display device is installed as a display device on a platform of a station, and

the display device displays contents indicating a congestion rate immediately before boarding of each vehicle of a next arriving train.

8. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, wherein

the display device is installed as a display device in each vehicle of a train, and

the display device displays contents indicating a congestion rate immediately before boarding of each vehicle of a connecting train at a next stop of its own train.

9. The in-vehicle congestion-status display system according to claim 1, wherein

the display device includes a first display device installed on a platform of a station and a second display device installed in each vehicle of a train,

the first display device displays contents indicating a congestion rate immediately before boarding of each vehicle of a next arriving train, and

the second display device displays contents indicating a congestion rate immediately before boarding of each vehicle of a connecting train at a next stop of its own train.

10. A congestion-status guidance method of notifying railway users of a congestion status of each vehicle of a train, the method comprising:

a congestion rate immediately-before-boarding calculating step at which a main server installed on a ground calculates a congestion rate immediately before boarding, which is a predicted value of a congestion rate when alighting of users is complete at a station, for each vehicle of a train, based on a congestion rate during travel and an alighting rate acquired in a past and held as information indicating a difference between a congestion rate during travel immediately before arriving at the station and a congestion rate when alighting of users is complete after arriving at a next stop of the train; and

a congestion rate immediately-before-boarding notifying step at which a display device installed on a platform of a station or in a train notifies users of the congestion rate immediately before boarding calculated for each vehicle of the train by display, wherein

when the train arrives at a station where it is known in advance that an error from an actual congestion rate is expected to increase, when the congestion rate immediately before boarding is calculated by using the alighting rate, the congestion rate immediately-before-boarding calculating step is not performed.

11. The congestion-status guidance method according to claim 10, wherein at the congestion rate immediately-before-boarding calculating step, an alighting rate acquired and held at a same period of time as the time when the calculation of the congestion rate immediately before boarding is performed is used.

12. The congestion-status guidance method according to claim 10, wherein at the congestion rate immediately-before-boarding calculating step, when there are a plurality of alighting rates acquired and held at a same period of time as the time when the calculation of the congestion rate immediately before boarding is performed, a mean value of the alighting rates is used.