JP2002042291A - Traffic signal control device and method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more quickly and safely get an emergency vehicle to a destination. SOLUTION: A signal control device 3 receives vehicle information from a vehicle information generating device 12 arranged in the emergency vehicle 11. The signal control device 3 receiving the vehicle information recognizes an emergency vehicle ID of the emergency vehicle 11, a present position, the destination and speed included in the vehicle information. The signal control device 3 stops a time control, maintains a blue display when the display of a signal 2-1 of an advancing direction of the emergency vehicle 11 is the blue display and changes the display to the blue display in the case of a red display. After priority allowable time set for every kind of the emergency vehicle 11 elapses or after the emergency vehicle 11 passes an intersection 1, the signal control device 3 returns the signal display to a display control by the time control again.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traffic signal control device and a traffic signal control method, and more particularly, to a method for receiving vehicle information transmitted from an emergency vehicle and recognizing the vehicle information based on the vehicle information. The present invention relates to a traffic light control device and a traffic light control method capable of causing an emergency vehicle to reach a destination more quickly and safely by controlling a traffic light signal display.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance, a patrol car, and a fire engine is provided with a siren and a rotating light.
By using them, the nearby general vehicles are notified of the approach of the emergency vehicle, and they can travel on the road with priority.

An emergency vehicle can travel at an intersection irrespective of the traffic light in the traveling direction even if the traffic light in the traveling direction is displayed in red. Emergency vehicles need to pay attention to general vehicles entering the intersection and drive slowly to pass through the intersection.

Therefore, a traffic signal control system capable of passing an intersection without an emergency vehicle traveling slowly is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-205193 and 11-213.
No. 287.

[0005]

However, according to the above-mentioned two documents, the traffic of general vehicles is restricted by controlling the display of the traffic light until the emergency vehicle passes through the intersection. . As a result, priority is given to emergency vehicles such as ambulances and patrol cars,
Restricting the traffic of general vehicles may cause significant traffic congestion.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and enables an emergency vehicle to reach a destination more quickly and safely, and to minimize the occurrence of traffic congestion. And balance between the two.

[0007]

The traffic signal control device of the present invention includes the following means for achieving the above object. That is, a traffic signal control device of the present invention includes a receiving unit that receives vehicle information transmitted from an emergency vehicle, a recognition unit that recognizes a type of the emergency vehicle based on the vehicle information received by the receiving unit, Setting means for setting the time for controlling the display of the traffic signal based on the type of the emergency vehicle recognized by the control means, and control means for controlling the display of the traffic signal in accordance with the time set by the setting means. It is characterized by.

The traffic signal control method of the traffic signal control device according to the present invention includes the following problem solving steps in order to achieve the above object. That is, the traffic light control method of the traffic light control device of the present invention includes a receiving step of receiving vehicle information transmitted from an emergency vehicle, and recognizing a type of the emergency vehicle based on the vehicle information received by the processing of the receiving step. A setting step of setting a time for controlling the display of the traffic signal based on the type of the emergency vehicle recognized by the processing of the recognition step; and a traffic signal corresponding to the time set by the processing of the setting step. And a control step of controlling the display of.

The vehicle information includes a vehicle I for identifying an emergency vehicle.
D. Information such as the priority of the emergency vehicle set for each type of emergency vehicle, the destination of the emergency vehicle, the current position of the emergency vehicle, and the speed of the emergency vehicle can be included.

In the traffic signal control device and method according to the present invention, vehicle information transmitted from an emergency vehicle is received, and the type of the emergency vehicle is recognized based on the received vehicle information. The time for controlling the display of the traffic signal is set based on the type, and the display of the traffic signal is controlled according to the set time.

According to the present invention, the restriction on traffic of general vehicles can be minimized, and the emergency vehicle can reach the destination more quickly and safely. That is, it is possible to achieve a balance between the priority of the emergency vehicle and the suppression of the occurrence of significant traffic congestion.

[0012]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an emergency vehicle priority system to which the present invention is applied.

At the intersection 1, traffic signals 2-1 to 2-4 are arranged, and the signal display of the traffic signals 2-1 to 2-4 is controlled by the traffic signal control device 3 (hereinafter, traffic signal 2-).
When it is not necessary to distinguish 1 to 2-4 individually, they are collectively referred to as a traffic light 2). Usually, the signal display of the signal 2
The display is controlled by a time control that switches at predetermined time intervals. The administrator of the traffic light 2 sets the time control of the traffic light 2 based on the traffic situation at each time of the intersection 1.

When receiving the vehicle information wirelessly transmitted from the emergency vehicle 11, the traffic signal control device 3 stops the display control of the traffic signal 2 by time control, and based on the vehicle information, the emergency vehicle 11 stops at the intersection 1. The signal display is controlled so that the vehicle can travel in the traveling direction without stopping. At this time, the traffic signal control device 3 displays a traffic light on a road intersecting the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 11 in red, thereby restricting the general vehicle from entering the intersection 1.

In the traffic light controller 3, a control area A1 and a control area A2 are set and stored in advance. The traffic light control device 3 controls the signal display of the traffic light 2 according to the control area in which the emergency vehicle 11 is traveling.

The traffic signal control device 3 is connected to the traffic signal management center 4 by wire or wirelessly. The traffic signal management center 4 can manage and control a signal display of a traffic signal (not shown) installed at an intersection (not shown) around the intersection 1. For example, when the distance between the intersection 1 and another intersection in the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 11 is short, the traffic signal management center 4 displays a signal display of the other intersection.
Control is performed in conjunction with the signal display of the traffic signal 2.

The emergency vehicle 11 is traveling rightward in FIG. 1 and is going straight ahead at the intersection 1. The emergency vehicle 11 has a vehicle information generation device 12, and by transmitting vehicle information from the vehicle information generation device 12,
It requests the traffic signal control device 3 to change the signal display of the traffic light 2 in the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 11 to blue.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the vehicle information generating device 12 arranged in the emergency vehicle 11.

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21
The overall operation of the vehicle information generation device 12 is controlled based on a command input from the input unit 22 to generate vehicle information.
The command to the CPU 21 is used when an emergency occurs.
The information is input from the input unit 22 by the administrator of the emergency vehicle 11. The display unit 23 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or the like, and displays an operation menu and map information for the administrator of the emergency vehicle 11 to input a command. CPU
A program and fixed data required for the control process performed by the memory 21 are stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) 24. Various data including work data required for the processing of the CPU 21 is stored in a RAM (Random Access Memory) 25.

The CPU 21 has a GPS (Global Positioning Sy
A position detection unit 26 to which a stem is applied and a communication unit 28 for transmitting vehicle information are connected. Position detector 2
Numeral 6 receives the signal transmitted from the artificial satellite via the position detection antenna 27 and calculates the current position based on the received signal. The CPU 21 reads the drive 30 from a disk (not shown) mounted on the drive 30 and calculates the route to the destination and the distance to the destination input from the input unit 22 based on the supplied map information.

The communication unit 28 transmits the vehicle information generated by the processing of the CPU 21 to the traffic signal control device 3 via the communication antenna 29. The communication unit 28 also receives, via the communication antenna 29, a request signal for vehicle information transmitted from the traffic light control device 3 and traffic information transmitted from a traffic management center (not shown).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the traffic light control device 3. The vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle information generation device 12 is received by the communication unit 45 via the communication antenna 46 and transferred to the CPU 41.

The CPU 41 analyzes the transferred vehicle information and recognizes the state of the emergency vehicle 11. The CPU 41 instructs the signal display control unit 44 to control the signal display according to the state of the emergency vehicle 11. A program and fixed data necessary for the control process performed by the CPU 41 are stored in the ROM 42. Further, the ROM 42 stores the priority set for each type of emergency vehicle and the priority allowable time. Here, the priority permissible time means a time from when the display control of the traffic signal 2 is stopped by the time control to when the display control is returned to the time control again. Various data including work data necessary for the processing performed by the CPU 41 is stored in the RAM 43.

The signal display control unit 44 transmits a control signal to the traffic light 2 by wire or wirelessly, and switches the display of the traffic light 2 based on a command from the CPU 41.

The communication section 45 not only receives the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle information generation device 12 via the communication antenna 46 but also requests the vehicle information generation device 12 to transmit the vehicle information.

The data transmission / reception unit 47 is a device for transmitting / receiving data to / from the traffic light management center 4, and transfers data transmitted from the traffic light management center 4 to the CPU 41.

Hereinafter, a series of processes in which the traffic light control device 3 controls the traffic light 2 based on the vehicle information transmitted by the vehicle information generation device 12 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

First, the processing of the vehicle information generation device 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When receiving the notification of the occurrence of the emergency, the administrator of the emergency vehicle 11 refers to the operation menu displayed on the display unit 23 and inputs destination information and the like from the input unit 22.

Therefore, in step S1, the CPU 21
Determines whether destination information or the like has been input by operating the input unit 22 by the administrator of the emergency vehicle 11. The CPU 21 waits until destination information or the like is input, and when it is determined that the destination information is input, the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, the CPU 21 generates vehicle information based on the input destination information and the like. The vehicle information includes the emergency vehicle ID of the emergency vehicle 11, the current position of the emergency vehicle 11, the destination of the emergency vehicle 11, the emergency vehicle 1
1 information such as speed.

The emergency vehicle ID is an ID for the traffic signal control device 3 to identify the emergency vehicle 11, and is stored in the ROM 24 as fixed data.
Is stored in The traffic signal control device 3 that has acquired the emergency vehicle ID of the emergency vehicle 11 from the vehicle information recognizes the type of the emergency vehicle 11 based on the emergency vehicle ID and sets a priority allowable time. Types of emergency vehicles include ambulances, fire trucks, patrol cars, and buses. The emergency vehicles described here refer to vehicles that affect the safety of human life and body and vehicles that perform public transportation that is expected to operate as planned. It is socially desirable that these vehicles preferentially travel on roads as compared with other general vehicles such as private vehicles and commercial vehicles.

The current position of the emergency vehicle 11 is determined by the position detector 2
6 calculates based on the signal received from the artificial satellite via the position detection antenna 27. The traffic signal control device 3 having acquired the current position of the emergency vehicle 11 from the vehicle information determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 11 is traveling in the control area managed by itself.

The destination of the emergency vehicle 11 is input by operating the input unit 22 by the administrator of the emergency vehicle 11.
The traffic signal control device 3 that has acquired the destination of the emergency vehicle 11 from the vehicle information recognizes the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 11, and controls the display of the traffic signals 2-1 to 2-4 accordingly.

The speed of the emergency vehicle 11 is obtained from a speedometer attached to the emergency vehicle 11. The traffic signal control device 3 that has acquired the speed of the emergency vehicle 11 from the vehicle information
Predicts the time at which the emergency vehicle 11 will reach the intersection 1 based on the distance from the current position of the emergency vehicle 11 to its own position (the position of the intersection 1) and the speed of the emergency vehicle 11.

The vehicle information including the above information is transmitted to the communication antenna 2 by the communication unit 28 in step S3.
9 to the traffic light controller 3.

In step S4, the CPU 21 determines whether the emergency vehicle 11 has reached the destination. CPU 21
Is the destination information input from the input unit 22, the drive 3
If it is determined that the emergency vehicle 11 has not reached the destination based on the map information supplied from 0 and the current position detected by the position detection unit 26, the process returns to step S2, and the subsequent processes are performed. Execute repeatedly. Step S
The processes of 2 to S4 are repeatedly executed at predetermined time intervals until the emergency vehicle 11 reaches the destination.

In step S4, when the CPU 21 determines that the emergency vehicle 11 has reached the destination, the processing ends.

Next, the processing of the traffic light controller 3 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

In step S11, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the communication section 45 has received the vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle information generation device 12. The CPU 41 includes a communication unit 45
Waits until vehicle information is received, and if it is determined that communication unit 45 has received vehicle information, the process proceeds to step S12.

In step S12, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 11 is traveling within the control area A1 based on the current position information of the emergency vehicle 11 included in the vehicle information. As shown in FIG. 1, the control area A1
Is a range within a radius R1 from the center of the intersection 1, and the control area A2 is a range up to a radius R2 outside the radius R1. In step S12, when the CPU 41 determines that the emergency vehicle 11 is not traveling in the range of the control area A1, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the CPU 41 determines that the emergency vehicle 11 is traveling outside the control area A1 and within the control area A2 based on the current position information of the emergency vehicle 11 included in the vehicle information. It is determined whether or not there is. CPU
41 indicates that the emergency vehicle 11 has the control area A1 and the control area A
If it is determined that the vehicle is not traveling in the range of 2, the emergency vehicle 1
Since the vehicle 1 is still traveling at a position sufficiently distant from the intersection 1, it recognizes that there is no need to restrict the traffic of general vehicles passing through the intersection 1, and the process returns to step S12.

On the other hand, in step S13, the CPU 41
If it is determined that the emergency vehicle 11 is out of the range of the control area A1 and is traveling in the range of the control area A2, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, the CPU 41 determines from the speed information of the emergency vehicle 11 included in the vehicle information whether the emergency vehicle 11 is running at a speed exceeding a preset reference speed. In step S14, the CPU 4
When it is determined that the emergency vehicle 11 is running at a speed higher than the set reference speed, the emergency vehicle 11
It is recognized that it is necessary to restrict the traffic of general vehicles at intersection 1 in order to arrive at
Proceed to 15.

In step S14, if the CPU 41 determines that the emergency vehicle 11 is running at a speed lower than the set reference speed, it takes some time before the emergency vehicle 11 reaches the intersection 1; It is recognized that there is no need to restrict the traffic of the vehicle, and the process returns to step S12.

The reference speed of the emergency vehicle 11 determined in the process of step S14 is set based on the traffic volume around the intersection 1 for each time.

On the other hand, in step S12, the CPU 41
When the emergency vehicle 11 determines that the emergency vehicle 11 is traveling within the range of the control area A1, it recognizes that the emergency vehicle 11 is approaching the intersection 1 and that it is necessary to restrict the traffic of general vehicles, and Goes to step S15.

In the determination process of step S12, when the emergency vehicle 11 is determined to be traveling within the control area A1 by the CPU 41, and in the determination process of step S14, the emergency vehicle 11 is separated from the intersection 1. If it is determined that the vehicle is traveling in a place where the vehicle has reached the intersection 1 but will soon reach the intersection 1, the process proceeds to step S15, and the display control process by the traffic light control device 3 is started.

In step S15, the CPU 41 determines whether the display of the traffic light 2 in the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 11 is a blue display. The CPU 41 determines the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 11 at the intersection 1 from the destination information of the emergency vehicle 11 included in the vehicle information, and determines whether the display of the traffic light 2 installed in the determined traveling direction is blue. Determine whether or not.

That is, in the example of FIG.
Determines whether the display of the traffic light 2-1 is a blue display. If it is determined in step S15 that the display of the traffic light 2-1 is a blue display, the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, the CPU 41 stops the control of the traffic light 2 by the time control so far, and instructs the signal display control unit 44 to maintain the display (blue display) of the traffic light 2-1. . The signal display control unit 44 receiving the command maintains the display of the traffic light 2-1 and also maintains the red display of the traffic light 2-2 and the traffic light 2-4. The signal display control unit 44 controls the display of the traffic light 2-3 so that only straight-ahead vehicles can pass.

On the other hand, in step S15, the CPU 41
When it is determined that the display of the traffic light 2-1 is not a blue display (a red display), the process proceeds to step S17.

In step S17, the CPU 41 stops the control of the traffic light 2 by the time control so far, and instructs the signal display control unit 44 to change the display (red display) of the traffic light 2-1 to blue display. Command. The signal display control unit 44 that has received the command changes the display of the traffic light 2-1 to blue display. Further, the signal display control unit 44 changes the display of the traffic light 2-2 and the traffic light 2-4 which are displayed in blue (displays in red). The signal display control unit 44 controls the traffic light 2
Regarding -3, the display is controlled so that only straight-ahead vehicles can pass.

After step S16 or step S17, the process proceeds to step S18.

When the CPU 41 determines that the emergency vehicle 11 is traveling in the control area A1, the display of all the traffic signals 2-1 to 2-4 at the intersection 1 may be displayed in red. good. This is because the emergency vehicle is allowed to pass even when the traffic light is lit in red.

In step S18, the CPU 41 determines the type of the emergency vehicle 11 from the emergency vehicle ID included in the vehicle information, and sets a priority allowable time corresponding to the emergency vehicle 11. The priority allowable time is a time set because the time from when the emergency vehicle 11 enters the range of the control area A1 or the control area A2 to when the emergency vehicle 11 passes through the intersection 1 is substantially constant. Only during this priority allowable time, the traffic light 2-1 at the intersection 1 where the emergency vehicle 11 is about to travel is lit in blue, so that the emergency vehicle 11 can pass through the intersection without stopping at the intersection. Can be. The priority allowable time is set to such a length that congestion of general vehicles at the intersection 1 due to the restriction of vehicle traffic can be suppressed within an allowable range. In the priority allowable time, different times are set according to the priority indicating the priority of the emergency vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the correspondence between the type of emergency vehicle and the allowable priority time. When the emergency vehicle 11 is an ambulance or a fire engine, the priority allowable time is set to 20 seconds. When the emergency vehicle 11 is a patrol car,
The priority allowable time is set to 15 seconds. Furthermore, when the emergency vehicle 11 is a bus, the priority allowable time is set to 10 seconds. These differences in length of time are differences in the priority of the type of emergency vehicle. For example, vehicles such as ambulances related to human life and body have higher social demands than public transportation buses, and therefore have a higher priority. Since the priority allowable time is long, after the emergency vehicle 11 enters the control area, the vehicle temporarily stops or decelerates on the road for some reason, and even after restarting, the traffic light of the traffic signal 2-1 is turned on at the intersection 1. The vehicle can pass through the intersection 1 without stopping. This is because priority is given to emergency vehicles without delay compared to the optimization of general roads.

FIG. 7 also shows priorities indicating the degree of priority for each emergency vehicle. The priority is a numerical value used when the CPU 41 of the traffic light control device 3 determines which emergency vehicle has priority when a plurality of emergency vehicles approach the intersection 1 at the same time. That is, when the ambulance and the bus approach the intersection 1 at the same time, the CPU 41 recognizes that the ambulance has a higher priority and controls the traffic light 2 so that the ambulance can reach the destination faster.

In FIG. 7, the priority of the ambulance is set to 1, the priority of the fire engine is set to 2, and the priority of the patrol car is set to 3.
And the priority of the bus is 4. Note that the above-described priority allowable time and priority are set in consideration of the traffic volume at each time of the intersection 1 and the like.

In step S19, the CPU 41 requests the vehicle information generation device 12 to transmit vehicle information in order to recognize the current position of the emergency vehicle 11.

In step S20, the communication unit 45
The vehicle information transmitted from the vehicle information generation device 12 is received. The communication unit 45 transfers the received vehicle information to the CPU 41.

In step S21, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the emergency vehicle 11 has passed the intersection 1 based on the current position information of the emergency vehicle 11 included in the vehicle information. CPU
If it is determined that the emergency vehicle 11 has not passed through the intersection 1, the process proceeds to step S22.

In step S22, the CPU 41 determines whether or not the priority allowable time has elapsed. If the CPU 41 determines that the priority allowable time has not elapsed,
Returning to the processing of S21, the subsequent processing is repeatedly executed.

When the CPU 41 determines in step S22 that the priority allowable time has elapsed, the emergency vehicle 11 has not passed through the intersection 1, but has been stopped by a general vehicle (stopped by the red display of the traffic lights 2-2 and 2-4). If the traffic of the (vehicle) is further restricted, it is recognized that confusion due to traffic congestion occurs at the intersection 1, and the process proceeds to step S23.

In step S23, the CPU 41 instructs the signal display control unit 44 to return the traffic light 2 to the display control by the time control. Thereafter, the signal display control unit 44 receiving the command from the CPU 41 returns the signal 2 to the display control by the time control.

On the other hand, in step S21, the CPU 41
When it is determined from the current position information of the emergency vehicle 11 included in the vehicle information that the emergency vehicle 11 has passed the intersection 1, the process proceeds to step S23, and the same process as that described above is executed.

Although the above-described priority and priority allowable time are set by judging the priority of the emergency vehicle, they may be set in consideration of the severity of an incident or accident. In that case, the severity of the incident or accident is classified into levels and set in the ROM 42 of the traffic light control device 3.

As the vehicle information generating device 12 for generating vehicle information, a mobile phone or a PHS (Personal Handy phone) is used.
System) can also be used. By using a mobile phone or a PHS as the vehicle information generation device 12, an emergency vehicle priority system can be constructed with a simple system configuration.

The vehicle information is generated when the manager of the emergency vehicle 11 inputs destination information and the like to the vehicle information generation device 12 and is notified to the traffic signal control device 3. May be transmitted from a fire station (not shown) and input.

[0069]

According to the traffic light control device and the traffic light control method of the present invention, traffic restriction of ordinary vehicles can be minimized, and emergency vehicles can reach their destinations more quickly and safely. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an emergency vehicle priority system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the vehicle information generation device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a traffic light control device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the vehicle information generation device of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of the traffic light control device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart following FIG. 5 for explaining the processing of the traffic light control device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a priority and a priority allowable time set for each emergency vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 traffic light 3 traffic light control device 12 vehicle information generation device 21 CPU 22 input unit 23 display unit 24 ROM 25 RAM 26 position detection unit 27 position detection antenna 28 communication unit 29 communication antenna 41 CPU 42 data transmission / reception unit 42 ROM 43 RAM 44 signal display Control unit 45 Communication unit 46 Communication antenna

Claims (2)

[Claims] A receiving means for receiving vehicle information transmitted from an emergency vehicle; a recognizing means for recognizing a type of the emergency vehicle based on the vehicle information received by the receiving means; Setting means for setting a time for controlling the display of the traffic signal based on the type of the emergency vehicle, and control means for controlling the display of the traffic signal in accordance with the time set by the setting means. A traffic signal control device comprising: 2. A receiving step of receiving vehicle information transmitted from an emergency vehicle; a recognition step of recognizing a type of the emergency vehicle based on the vehicle information received by the processing of the receiving step; A setting step of setting a time for controlling the display of the traffic signal based on the type of the emergency vehicle recognized by the processing of the step; and displaying the traffic signal corresponding to the time set by the processing of the setting step. Controlling the traffic signal.