Route bus service controlling system

Claim 1

I. A route bus service controlling system including a mobile radio unit equipped on a route bus, ground radio units installed at a certain interval of distance along the entire route of the bus, a central processor which calculates expected operational information for a specific section of said route basing on passage information provided by said mobile radio unit and ground radio units, and a display unit for displaying said expected service information, wherein said central processor comprises: a memory for storing service plan basic information, passage information, actual running time in said section, standard running time, and actual service interval; and a processing unit which adds a passage time of a bus under forecast at the arrival at a latest ground radio unit to a sum of expected running time for divided unit segments of route where the bus does not yet run, limits a time frame of running time of buses which have run in the past used for the forecast process, calculates an average movement value of a plurality of buses which have passed in said specific section before the bus under forecast by using a delay coefficient normalized by the standard running time for the actual running time and a weight value for the actual running time, limits an entry time of said bus under forecast and buses which have run into each specified section, limits the time frame of forecast, expects a sample value of each specified section for the bus under forecast from the calculated average movement value, calculates an expected running time in each specified section by multiplying said expected sample value to said standard running time, and calculates arrival time at a specific location by cumulating expected running time of each specified section in a portion of route where the bus does not yet run through the similar computational process, and wherein display means for displaying arrival time at a specific location and tracing control information of route bus operation calculated by said processor is provided in each location of the bus route and on the route bus.

Claim 2

A system according to claim I, wherein said central processor comprises a processing unit which calculates the bus service interval at a certain time interval, based on an actual number of buses which have passed in a certain time length in the past in front of a road unit incorporating the ground radio unit installed at each location of the bus route and an expected number of buses which will pass in a certain time length in the future, from a sum of the actual number of buses and the expected number of buses and from a sum of each certain time length, and wherein an approach guidance display unit for displaying the result of calculation is incorporated in said road unit.

Claim 3

A system according to claim I, wherein said central processor comprises a processing unit which limits the time frame of running time in the past (actual value) used for the inference process, calculates average movement values ti (will be termed sample values) of buses which have passed the specified section of route before the bus under forecast by using a delay coefficient D normalized by a standard running time for an actual running time and a weight value W for the actual running time as: (where suffix 0, -1 and -2 signify values for the previous bus, preceding bus and more preceding bus), limits the entry time S of the bus under forecast and buses which have run into the unit segment of route, limits the time frame of forecast, calculates a sample value 11 of the bus under forecast in the specified section from the calculated sample values t0 and ℓ -1 as: (where suffix I, 0 and -I signify values for the bus under forecast, the previous bus and the further preceding bus), calculates an expected running time in the specified section by multiplying the expected sample value 11 and standard running time Ts, and calculates the arrival time at a specific location by cumulating running time of each specified section in a portion of route where the bus does not yet run.

Claim 4

A system according to claim I, wherein said central processor comprises A-A' , and wherein said display means is provided in a road unit on the bus route incorporating said ground radio unit so as to constitute an approach guidance display unit for displaying the arrival time or departure time of the route bus.

Claim 5

A system according to claim I, wherein said display means is provided in a road unit on the bus route incorporating said ground radio unit so as to constitute an approach guidance display unit for displaying the arrival time or departure time of the route bus.

Claim 6

A system according to claim I, wherein said central processor comprise A-A' , and wherein a road unit is installed at each of an expected arrival location in the vicinity of a bus terminal, a final arrival location immediately before the bus terminal, an incoming instruction information reception location and a bus stop in the bus terminal, said central processor operating to expect the arrival time of a bus at the bus terminal when the bus has arrived at the expected arrival location, produce a service time table for the next cycle of service (from the bus terminal to a turning point and back to the terminal), fix the service time table for one cycle of service when the bus has arrived at the final arrival location immediately before the bus terminal basing on the actual running time experienced in this service, produce service instruction information (incoming instruction information for moving the bus to the bus stop in the terminal in the next service, service time table and other information), transmit the incoming instruction information to a road post at a reception location for the information and other information to a road post at the bus stop in the terminal, and display the service instruction information on the service instruction unit on the vehicle through communication with the road unit during the entry of the bus to the terminal.