JPS6357839B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a computing device for use in paratransit fare calculation dispatching.

In particular, the present invention can be applied to a meter unit of a taxi so as to accommodate multiple passengers having different boarding and alighting locations at the same time. It can also automatically provide sophisticated and fair appropriate controls and/or modifications to factors such as time of day, traffic conditions, and shortest route designations. Although described with reference to a preferred application for taxi operations by way of example, the concepts and techniques contained herein may be applied to other applications as well, and the features of the invention are desirable.

Conventionally, for example, US Pat. No. 3,953,720 discloses calculation circuits such as taximeters that separately calculate fares for multiple passengers for some overlapping trips; In Patent No. 3,860,806 a number of proposals have been made, such as a system for determining time and distance and calculating toll instructions with the aid of a pulse measurement system. Of course, the concept of wirelessly communicating with automobiles or other moving objects to control them is discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,284,267 and in U.S. Pat.
Various devices have been proposed for a long time, as disclosed in US Pat. Also, the use of central dispatching or control stations with vehicle communication links has long been used in railroads and other technologies.

However, all of this prior art is different and far from the concept on which this invention is based. This invention not only monitors the real-time taxi fares required for taxi formations, but also makes complex use of the experience of traffic jams or navigating difficulties, traffic patterns, and the peculiarities of different routes at different times of day or weather, etc. To provide a central control system that centrally calculates fares, estimated travel time information, and other information required for passengers on some overlapping trips without forcing passengers who deviate from the road to pay penalties.

Thus, the present invention introduces compensation and modification based on specific routes and dates and times in different traffic environments and similar environments, and also when communicating the pick-up and destination locations of passengers to the central computer control center. , from the concentrated memory information extracted, so that taxi drivers can provide the best service to passengers.
Choose the quickest and most economical route, or else the appropriate route.

Furthermore, once the passenger is informed of the pick-up and destination locations, all this is done in a way that does not involve the driver as far as the indicated data calculations and information are concerned. The prior art, in accordance with the present invention, provides historical data, which allows for superior centralized calculation, automatic budgeting, and remote control of local meter readings.
Prior art methods for fare calculations and time-distance techniques, such as rate calculations, cannot be practically adapted to incorporate shortest routes and related corrections when placing emphasis on calculations made at taxi meters. It seems that he was guided by technology far removed from the concept of invention.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to incorporate statistical correction data for automatic tolling of some overlapping trips and to calculate traffic conditions, weather and routing from associated stored historical and statistical data. The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for automatic taxi meter control which includes significant improvements in compensation and is thus relatively less complex and less limited than the prior art.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel device which can be applied to other vehicles and related control applications where similar advantages and functions are desired as achieved when implemented on taxis. It's about doing.

Other objects of the invention are hereinafter set forth and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In short, the present invention employs an apparatus for carpooling fare calculation and dispatching. Information about the distances and routes between street addresses and historical data about the times of normal passage between street addresses under different times and traffic conditions are stored in the computer to form a database. A communication link allows a central station, or dispatcher, to interface with each of the plurality of taxis. Through a communication link, the taxi driver communicates to the central station the address at which he will pick up the passenger and the address at which he will drop off the passenger. Using the stored time and distance information, passenger fares are calculated and transit times are estimated and sent to selectively addressed vehicles via communication links. That is, each car receives and automatically displays the fare and time sent. Preferred details will be described later.

The invention will be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which the symbols used correspond to the International Standards Organization for Information Processing ISO Recommended Standard R1028 Flowchart Symbols, and also correspond to the American National Standards Flowchart Symbols and How to handle them in information processing X3.5
- Matches 1970.

The invention will be explained in detail below by means of embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

Central Station Hardware The central station in Figure 1 serves as the focal point for all operations and includes the following basic hardware components: (1) A central computer 2a, referred to as the "RSVP calculation unit", a CRT display display, and Its monitor console 3a, called a player, and a cartridge disk storage unit.
RSVP database 1; (RSVP is Ride
(2) Dispatch console 3b, called "address input by dispatcher", for inputting driving data and displaying system information on monitor console 3a; (3) a backup console with backup manual dispatching capability, designated as "audio channel"3c; and (4) vehicle communication hardware 5 for sending and receiving vehicle messages.

The central computer 2a performs all calculations, communication processing, and real-time monitoring of the system. In the system under test, although the start program generation is performed on PDP11/40,
PDP11/10 minicomputer works as a central computer. The PDP11/10 can address up to 32K16-bit words, but the core memory
Consisting of 16K words, an internal 60Hz frequency clock forms the timing signal for real-time monitoring and hardware fixed-point integer multiplication and division with extended arithmetic elements.

The operation console 2b of the central computer 2a is
A paper tape used to enter programs and monitor computer operations.
Hardware with reader/punch (reading punch)
Consists of a copy terminal. All programs are generated using a disk-based operating system with text editing capabilities. However, after its creation, the system program works independently of its operating system.

The secondary storage of the cartridge/disk/storage unit of RSVP database 1 is 1.
It is formed by a movable head cartridge disk system including one fixed disk and one removable disk cartridge, each of which has a capacity of 2.5 million words. The disk system is fully compatible with DEC hardware and software. In this way, the protection of sold software is
The method is characterized in that it is carried out using an apparatus that stores a system file and also stores a hash encoded address coordinate file and a time/distance file.

Under normal operating conditions, the monitor console 3a and the dispatch console 3b input the origin address data or the passenger pick-up address data, and the destination address data or the passenger drop-off address data, and input the operation information (e.g. , fares, estimated travel time for each hire car, system messages, and vehicle messages). In the example under test, the monitor console 3a stores up to 1920 characters (24 lines of 80 characters) and pre-arranges the screen.
It is a CRT display dispatcher with protective field capacity for display in format.

The computer interface for the monitor console 3a, dispatch console 3b, and operating console 2b is a standard DEC DL11-E asynchronous line interface with modem control capability that can be demonstrated at a remote location using voice-grade telephone lines. . Vehicle communications are routed through a special purpose interface with 64-bit (ie, 4-word) input/output capability. The interface supports one or two base station transmitters and is fully capable of communicating with up to 500 vehicles. Some of its interface capabilities are not used, so the various system display functions are stand-alone.
Easily added by coupling the output of the interface to a static display. For example, the display device is
An emergency situation can be indicated without being coupled to the operating console 2b, and the functions of the dispatch console 3a described above are displayed on its display at the central station.

The interfacing command modules 4a and 4b interpret commands, execution commands, and control vehicle communications, and also format operating console displays in the dispatch console 3a, validate input data, and internally display valid data. Start Batshua.

AUTOMOTIVE HARDWARE Now that the system of the invention can be used, and according to a possible implementation of the automobile hardware shown in the lower half of FIG. The mode in which the charge is calculated by the computer, indicating the estimated travel time for each hire car or, in the case of a computer failure, the charge determined by the electronic meter, is the normal operating mode, and the capacity of the electronic meter is Backup is performed manually. The mileage data and toll data are continuously accumulated and accessed manually or by computer, and the meter distance toll rate and the hourly toll rate are substantially
Can be adjusted to match any rate structure.

A digital radio transmission device with individual vehicle addressing, error checking and control capabilities through the communication link between the central station and the vehicles is a device for computer-aided control of the entire vehicle fleet; The device has communication and monitoring capabilities and is expandable to incorporate microprocessor technology.

As previously indicated, the vehicle unit operates in either the normal taxi mode or the computer controlled mode, with the computer controlled mode beginning after the digital carrier has been detected and the vehicle has been addressed. Transmission over the wireless communication link is either a system code or a display code. In the demonstration system of this invention, the display device is driven by a flag button, and the display button, flag button and hold button are all driven simultaneously by a vehicle identification label (ID) Directly Following (DO) code display. be done. This action locks out the buffer meter. Depending on the DO code, the display device can be set to 00/
0000, e.g. the next 6 sent automatically
The word indicates EOM (end of message) followed by fare and travel time. (When the carrier is not received for 50 milliseconds,
EOM is assumed).

Until the driver of the motor vehicle turns off the fare display device, for example by pressing a flag button, the fare display device of the taxi meter unit 10 will
It remains set. This separates the toll for each trip. Once the DO code (or vehicle being addressed) is received, the minute display begins decrementing. Normal meter mode is initiated at any time by pressing the flag button, so in the event of a communications failure or computer failure, the meter automatically performs backup charge calculations.

A meter unit 10 containing meter memory and a speedometer cable (SC) sensor 8 are used in basic automotive meters that require input from the SC sensor 8 and two clock frequencies, such as 960Hz and 1Hz. form. The meter outputs toll increments and 1/10 mile pulses. A charge counter sums the charge increments and drives a display. The 1/10 mile pulse is used to increment the fare for a complete daily (or monthly) mileage calculation for the vehicle. Meter memory includes total 1/10 miles, paid 1/10 miles, number of flag drops (i.e., runs), accumulated earnings collected in meter mode, and accumulated earned income collected in computer control mode. . The memory capacity may be expanded to allow for additional monitoring and the meter memory may be read from the vehicle via a computer or remotely with a key lock rotary selector switch, for example. After the meter memory is read,
It returns to the 0 scale.

Meter unit 10 provides cents per minute, cents per mile, and threshold speed (i.e., the point at which the instantaneous toll rate is the same as the distance toll rate).
Adjust the toll rate structure using a wire jumper that determines the rate. Below a threshold speed, charges are based only on time, and above a threshold speed, charges are based only on distance. The charge wire jumper is sealed to prevent unauthorized adjustments, placed on the display processor/memory circuit board, and initially set by a switch.

The communication control hardware for automobiles used in taxi formations driven under this mode is 6
It consists of a digital display device, an electronic fare meter, and a digital wireless transmission device. The display device displays the estimated travel time and travel fare generated by a central computer or, in the case of a computer failure, the fare determined by an electronic fare meter. Travel data and fare data are
The meter is continuously cumulated and accessed manually or by computer, and the meter is easily adjusted to accommodate virtually any rate structure. A digital radio transmission device with unique vehicle addressing, error checking, and command and control capabilities provides efficient computer-assisted control of taxi fleets.

A speedometer connected to a car's drive shaft.
In addition to the cable sensor, a variety of other sensors are used, including oil pressure, gasoline level, engine temperature, engine vacuum, and other quantities that are good indicators of the mechanical status of the vehicle.・Reported to station. other,
a set switch that checks seat occupancy, or
Special sensors, such as hidden panic switches, are incorporated into the system to indicate an emergency to the driver. This real-time monitoring capability also provides coordination for verifying effective transit operations from the base station using a monitor console.

The display device indicates the time in minutes, e.g.
LED or clear 2-digit display, 4-digit display for charges up to $99.99, hold button and flag button (lights up when button is pressed)
and use a communication keyboard.

Regarding transmission error detection and vehicle identification ID and error encoding and decoding,
The vehicle identification number (such as 0-99) is selectively switched based on the vehicle FSK transmitter and receiver card. Each of the system under test ID words is two bytes long and includes one start control code nibble and three ID number nibbles. The start control code specifies the function to be performed by the vehicle receiver. The identification number is encoded in binary coded decimal (BCD) format.

The ID number is decoded by the receiver card by comparing sequential address bytes. When the first byte received matches the first switch bank, the decoder is stepped and sequentially drives the second switch bank. When the second byte matches, the vehicle addressed flag is set. The next data is then processed to complete the addressing cycle. The addressed flag is cleared by dropping the carrier for 50 milliseconds or by sending an end of message (EOM) code.

The vehicle ID is encoded on the basis of a universal transmitter card (universal as it may be used in the case of the base station as well). The transmitter is set by a switch or by a computer to transmit either two bytes (contained in two words) or one byte for complete identification. In the transmission from the car to the base, the error flag, hardware fault check flag, emergency flag, and data out flag are all tied to its first nibble (switch bank 1, bits 0-3), usually at the address set to code. Sensing elements and status latches are added to transmit important status conditions and ID numbers.

To ensure accurate transmission in noisy commercial radio bands, it is desirable to perform some form of error checking on the input message. Two separate techniques may be used. For example, consider a transmission format consisting of 1 word = 16 bits = 3 start bits + odd-even check bits + 8 data bits + 4 stop bits. The start bit and stop bit are checked for data over/underrun and message completion, and the parity check bit is used to check data validity. When an error occurs after the addressing word has been received by the vehicle, the error flag is set and returned in the vehicle ID. Error flagging at the base station is done visually and digitally.

The vehicle's printer may also be incorporated for printed receipts. In multiple origin/destination applications, the printer is also used to differentiate between trips.

The dispatcher acts as a switchboard, directing information to and from the interface. The status of the interface output bits controls the flow of information. Generally, after the toll and evaluation time have been calculated and displayed, when a transmit (T) command is entered, the information is sent to the appropriate vehicle in FSK format over a wireless communication link. When the message is received without error, the vehicle response consists only of the ID. However, when an error occurs, an error code is returned in the vehicle ID, an error message is displayed on the CRT display dispatcher monitor console 3a, and the message is transmitted again.

RSVP Database The basic software includes the database management system 13 of FIG. 2 and the vendor-supplied operating system. Now considering in more detail the central station's computational database management unit, the monitor console 3a and dispatch console 3b of FIG. 2, the system includes a database management system 13 and data files linked to the processing modules, the data files being , including: (1) a time/distance file in the RSVP database 1 containing travel times and distances between zones in the service area; (2) a time/distance file for each appropriate zone to augment the interzone time-distance file; RS/VP that corresponds to all street addresses in the service area and includes Stegeplane coordinates, allowing writing of the distance from the centroid.
an address coordinate file of the database 1; (3) a processing module within the database management system 13 that cooperates with the respective calculation units 2c, 2d and 2e to calculate the fare and the estimated travel time; and (4) a command. A processing module within the database management system 13 that interprets and executes.

The time/distance file contains the shortest path distance, the travel time during traffic jams, and the travel time during non-traffic jams driving between all possible pairs of traffic zones. The address coordinate file associates state plane coordinates with all street addresses in the service area. In the test system described above, the starting service area consists of 100 traffic zones containing 2179 unique streets, encompassing approximately 17 square miles. System files require 251,904 words of disk storage.

First, given the expanded flexibility that can be achieved with the present invention, even for single origin/first trip, tolls are calculated based on the estimated mileage and travel time. Zone-to-zone time and distance data, in the experiments being tested, are determined from time/distance files produced creatively by the Southwest Pennsylvania Regional Planning Commission (SPRPC). The file includes the shortest path distance, the travel time during traffic jams, and the travel time during no traffic jams traveling between all possible pairs of traffic zones. Additionally, the address coordinate file generated by SPRPC is
Associate plane coordinates with all streets addressed in the service area. The time and distance traveled between a particular origin and destination pair is determined by adjusting the time and distance from zone to zone in the time/distance file by modification factors based on information available in the address coordinate file. can get.

The address coordinate file has two different components,
That is, it consists of a street name file and a street segment file. Each street name record is
Contains a pointer to a chain of segment records (each segment record containing the state plane coordinates of a particular set of address ranges for a street) and a pointer to a record in a time/distance file. Each record in the time/distance file contains progress data traveling from a given origin zone to all other zones. Calculating the toll for a particular trip requires determining the origin and destination coordinates, reading and adjusting the appropriate distance and time, calculating the toll, and displaying the results.

In the backup system, records in the street name file are assigned to disk storage locations by a hashing algorithm. The starting algorithm starts from the street name as three 16-bit integers.
Easily process letters and multiply them together.
16 bits are masked from the result, corresponding to one "bucket", and used to identify the isolated disk storage location. Up to 39 street names are stored in one bucket without overflow.
When an overflow occurs, extra records are placed on the addressed track in the first bucket. The distribution from the hashing algorithm is such that there is sufficient overflow space available on each track.

The street name file is: (1) Street name; (2) Street saphits; (3) The last three digits of the postal code field; (4) Usage frequency counting field; (5) a pointer to the first street segment of the street; including.

Conceptually, a time/distance file contains information about all possible trips between N zones.
Examined as a matrix. Element (i,j) of record i starts in zone i and ends in zone j
It belongs to a run that ends with . The first two fields of record i contain the state plane coordinates of the centroid of zone i, and the third field contains the accumulated calculated distance traveled within zone i.

Each element (i, j) of record i consists of subfields including: (1) a flag field indicating a particular environment; (2) the cumulative number of trips from zone i to zone j. number; (3) the shortest path distance from zone i to zone j; (4) the average speed traveling from zone i to zone j; (5) the cumulative actual distance traveled from zone i to zone j; ( 6) Accumulated actual travel time from zone i to zone j; (7) Time of last update of average speed; (8) Specific distance adjustment factor; (9) Specific speed adjustment factor.

For element (i,j), two changes in subfield assignment occur. subfield 2
includes the distance adjustment factor traveling within zone i. The use of particular distance and speed adjustment factors is determined by setting the appropriate bits in the flag field.

The address coordinate file and time/distance file are configured to minimize read/write arm movement when reading trip information. Conceptually, a physical disk drive is divided into cylinders, with each cylinder having four tracks. Thus, the read/write heads are positioned on four tracks at the same time when a given cylinder is accessed. In the configuration of this invention, one track is used for street name records and two
One track is used for the relevant segment of the remaining track of the time/distance file records (3 records per track). After operating experience has been accumulated, the three most frequently accessed traffic zones corresponding to segments of one cylinder are placed in the available tracks, although the assignment of time/distance records is arbitrary. This reconfiguration further reduces the arm movement required for toll calculation.

Toll Calculation The toll for a single origin/destination trip is calculated based on the estimated mileage, travel time from centroid distance, and time in the traffic zone for a particular pair of time/distance files. This data is adjusted by correction factors and calculated by traveling between the indicated origin and destination.

The timed taxi fare for a single origin/destination trip is expressed as f=fo+fc, where fo is the fixed part and
fc is the variable part and f is the total charge. Since _the variable part depends on the distance _{X and} time t of _the trip, _the fair variable fare is f(X _{1 +}
t ₂ ), where X ₁ and X ₂ are the distances of the two parts of the ride at intermediate stops, while t ₁ and t ₂ are their corresponding times. Therefore, the variable charge is
It must be a linear function of distance and time, ie, fc(X,t)=ax+bt, where a and b are constant coefficients. From there, the total fare can be expressed as f(X,t)=fo+ax+bt, which is a linear combination of time and distance. Both off-peak and peak hours are
Because of availability, the pricing tiers for days and times (peak or off-peak) are linear. constant
fc, coefficients a and b are generally adjusted to meet the desired goals. For example, in a system for single origin/destination trips, those trips are selected to reflect the current practice of metered taxi fare calculations.

The fixed fare fc of the "flag drop" by the taxi meter and the increment for each hire car for each (δ) mile traveled or elapsed (τ) minutes after picking up a passenger, whichever comes first. Charge the billing fee C. Under idealized stop and go traffic conditions, the vehicle trajectory is either stationary or moving at a constant speed υ>δτ.

The toll module calculates the toll and estimated travel time and places the results of the calculation into a communication buffer for further processing by the command module. When these enhancements are performed, the command module message processing subroutines are interrupt driven and disk files are configured to minimize read/write head movements to ensure reasonable system response times. . A count field is reserved in each file record to allow for periodic file reconfiguration based on record activity.

The key program steps for performing the calculations of the system of FIG. 2 are: selection of the appropriate address information from the RSVP database 1; and the mileage calculator 2e of FIG. 2 and the travel time calculator of FIG. 2c, and the travel charge calculation section 2d of FIG. 2, and consists of sending data from its database to the appropriate calculation subroutine.

Fares for single origin/destination trips are calculated based on the estimated travel distance and travel time. The estimate corresponds to all possible pairs of traffic zones in the time/distance files stored in the RSVP database 1 and is obtained from the distance and time for each centroid. These data are adjusted by modification factors to form an accurate sum of trips between a particular origin and destination. Once the mileage and travel time have been determined by simple, conventional calculation techniques, they are used to determine the travel toll.

Figure 3 of this application shows a simple flowchart demonstrating the logic involved in the actual operation of the program.

Travel data, consisting of the desired origin and destination, is entered into the computer system via the keyboard 20 of FIG. This information is used to read selected information from disk memory containing RSVP data base 1. This selection of the appropriate inter-zone travel distance and time is accomplished using well known computer programming techniques and is represented by block 21 in FIG. This trip information is applied within the computer system to a subroutine that is individually programmed to calculate the exact fare and exact time using pre-programmed arithmetic formulas contained in calculation processes 23 and 24. be done.
The results of those calculation processes are then applied to a fee calculation subroutine 25, which has preprogrammed arithmetic formulas for using the results of calculation processes 23 and 24 to determine the fee. The exact arithmetic formulas programmed into each subroutine will themselves be obvious to those skilled in the art.

As noted above, once the basic concepts of the invention are known, the invention can be carried out in various ways that will suggest to those skilled in the art, using the specific types of components, hardware, interconnections, processes, and flows described above. Steps are considered preferred.

Thus, modifications of the invention as suggested by this invention by those skilled in the art are deemed to be within the spirit and scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flow chart in block diagram form showing hardware suitable for the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart in block diagram form showing the software and processing system of the present invention. , and FIG. 3 is a flow chart in block diagram form of the calculation structure of the computer program used in the present invention. 1: RSVP database (cartridge disk storage unit). 2a:RSVP
Computing equipment (central computer). 2b: Operation console. 2c: Running time calculation section. 2d: Traveling fee calculation section. 2e: Mileage calculation section. 3a: Cathode ray tube display dispatcher (dispatch console).
3b: Input information keyboard (dispatch console). 10: Taxi meter unit. 1
3: Data base management system.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. (a) a central station having a database of historical data of distances between street addresses, routes, and typical travel times between street addresses under different times and traffic conditions; (b) a communication link interfacing a meter unit of a moving motor vehicle with said central station; (c) a point where passengers are picked up from each motor vehicle to said central station for each ride via said communication link; (d) a computer programmed at said central station to use said database and the transmitted information to evaluate travel times and calculate fares; the program includes calculating a plurality of fares and corresponding travel times for carpooling; (e) selectively addressing the estimated travel times and calculated fares via the communication link; (f) a device included in each meter unit for automatically displaying said transmitted fare and travel time; A shared fare calculation dispatching device that simultaneously displays a plurality of transmitted fares and corresponding travel times. 2. Rideshare calculation dispatching according to claim 1, wherein said computer is programmed to introduce modifications during said calculation in response to different traffic conditions and related conditions from said database. Device. 3. The database includes information on the vehicle's meter and
2. The carpool fare calculation dispatching device according to claim 1, wherein the dispatching device changes according to a change to the latest street address communicated from the unit. 4. The carpool fare calculation dispatching device of claim 1, wherein said computer is programmed to select an optimal route between said street addresses. 5. The carpool fare calculation dispatching device according to claim 1, wherein the travel time data in the database is revised from time to time by comparison with actual travel time data obtained from a meter unit of the vehicle. 6. The shared fare calculation dispatching device according to claim 1, wherein the displaying device can be controlled in each vehicle by cutting off transmission and control from the central station.