Method and arrangement for determining the occupancy of a rail vehicle

Abstract

A method determines the occupancy of a rail vehicle. In order to be able to carry out such a method particularly easily with sufficient accuracy, switched-on states of mobile phones which are present on the rail vehicle are determined by a detecting device, and the occupancy of the rail vehicle is determined by an evaluation unit from the detected switched-on states. An arrangement also determines the occupancy of the rail vehicle.

Claims

1. A method for determining an occupancy of a rail vehicle, which comprises the steps of: determining switched-on states of cell phones present on the rail vehicle by a detection device, the detection device being a pre-existing detection device on the rail vehicle; and determining the occupancy of the rail vehicle from detected switched-on states via an evaluation unit, wherein the occupancy is a determination of a number of passengers on the rail vehicle and the number of passengers on the rail vehicle is equal to a number of the switched-on states of the cell phones plus a statistical variable based on how many passengers usually travel with a cell phone.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises determining the switched-on states of the cell phones by detecting ready to receive signals of switched-on cell phones.

3. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises providing a repeater of the rail vehicle as the detection device.

4. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises: determining the switched-on states of the cell phones by detecting electromagnetic radiation of switched-on cell phones; and providing the detection device with a receiver configuration for detecting the electromagnetic radiation of the switched-on cell phones.

5. The method according to claim 4, which further comprises detecting the electromagnetic radiation of the switched-on cell phones which are present on the rail vehicle in its entirety by means of the receiver configuration which is composed of a single receiver unit.

6. The method according to claim 4, which further comprises detecting the electromagnetic radiation of the switched-on cell phones which are present on the rail vehicle by means of the receiver configuration which has a plurality of receiver devices disposed distributed in the rail vehicle.

7. A configuration for determining an occupancy of a rail vehicle, the configuration comprising: a detection device for determining switched-on states of cell phones present on the rail vehicle, wherein said detection device is disposed in the rail vehicle; and an evaluation device connected downstream of said detection device, said evaluation unit determining the occupancy of the rail vehicle from detected switched-on states, wherein the occupancy is a determination of a number of passengers on the rail vehicle and the number of passengers on the rail vehicle is equal to a number of the switched-on states of the cell phones plus a statistical variable based on how many passengers usually travel with a cell phone.

8. The configuration according to claim 7, wherein said detection device is a repeater of the rail vehicle which detects ready to receive signals of switched-on cell phones as the switched-on states of the cell phones.

9. The configuration according to claim 7, wherein said detection device contains a receiver configuration with a single receiver unit which detects electromagnetic radiation of switched-on cell phones on the rail vehicle.

10. The configuration according to claim 7, wherein said detection device has a plurality of receiver devices disposed distributed in the rail vehicle, said detection device detects electromagnetic radiation of switched-on cell phones on the rail vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, cross-sectional view of a rail vehicle carrying a configuration for determining an occupancy of the rail vehicle according to the invention; and

(2) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a further embodiment of the configuration for determining the occupancy of the rail vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(3) Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a rail vehicle 1. Cell-phones 3, 5, 7 are carried by passengers 9, 11, 13 in the rail vehicle 1. The cell-phones 3, 5, 7 are in a switched-on state each. The switched-on states of the cell phones 3, 5, 7 are determined by a detection device 15. The detection device 15 is a detection device of the rail vehicle 1. The detection device 15 is a repeater 17.

(4) The switched-on states of the cell phones 3, 5, 7 are determined by detecting electromagnetic radiations 19, 21, 23 of the switched-on cell phones 3, 5, 7. The detection device 15 has a receiver configuration 27 for detecting the electromagnetic radiations 19, 21, 23 of the switched-on cell phones 3, 5, 7. The electromagnetic radiations 19, 21, 23 of the switched-on cell phones 3, 5, 7 which are present on the rail vehicle 1 are detected in its entirety by the receiver configuration 27 which is composed of a single receiver unit 29.

(5) The electromagnetic radiations 19, 21, 23 may comprise ready to receive signals 20, 22, 24 of the switched-on cell phones 3, 5, 7.

(6) The occupancy of the rail vehicle 1 is determined from the detected switched-on states via an evaluation unit 25.

(7) FIG. 2 illustrates a rail vehicle 2 similar to the rail vehicle 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. The same and similar elements are referred to as by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 2 a receiver configuration 28 is illustrated which has a plurality of receiver devices 31, 33, 35 disposed in the rail vehicle 2.