EP1414001A1 - Device to monitor the observance of traffic regulations by a driver - Google Patents

Abstract

The speed detection system uses a group of strips placed on the road surface or embedded in the surface to detect passage of a vehicle. Vibration detectors are particularly suitable. The detectors are connected to an electronic device that emits a coded signal representing vehicle speed. The speed can be displayed or sent to a receiver in the vehicle which can activate an alarm.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for the control by a vehicle driver of compliance with the highway code or other safety instructions, comprising a sensor intended to detect location markings or information relating to one or more traffic restrictions, for example placed on or near the taxiway, and comparison means to determine if the driver of the vehicle respects the highway code.

Society increasingly demands strict compliance with traffic laws. The "fear of the gendarme" is often the best way to achieve this objective, we see the appearance of new speed cameras which however are very expensive. Current methods of speed control are mainly carried out using electronic devices that generate easily detectable waves. The passage of traffic lights can be controlled by cameras which are often the object of vandalism.

Without the police intervening, the example of parents is a very important factor in the behavior of children behind the wheel. Parents who lend their cars to their children are not always present to ensure that the children do not commit willful or involuntary carelessness. These parents are therefore obliged to trust their children's statements and their promises of good behavior, which is not always satisfactory.

Document EP 1 205 897 A1 discloses a method for monitoring compliance with a speed limit, according to which the information concerning the speed limit (or any other traffic warning) is provided by rough strips placed transversely on the road so as to form a significant binary code for speed limitation, a dynamic stress transducer on board the vehicle transforms the vibrations caused by the rough bands into a signal which is then processed to create an alarm based on the information acquired . Means are provided for memorizing the infringements thus observed on a smart card. However, this only allows for later control of infringements.

Document EP 0 982 699 A2 discloses an optical signal detection system, consisting on the one hand of a kind of bar code placed on the edge of a road and on the other hand of optical cameras intended to scan the signals on the side of the road.

The objective of the invention is therefore to develop a control device according to the preamble which allows a third party to ensure that the driver actually respects the highway code.

This objective is achieved by the device of the invention which is provided with means for transmitting the result of the comparison to an external device. It is planned to carry out the transmission of the result of the comparison on the order of the external device, for example when the latter is controlled by the police, or following the detection by the sensor of a transmission command. The police can therefore interrogate the monitoring device remotely to find out the result of the comparison. The control device therefore serves as a mobile “cookie”. For a less repressive and more educational purpose, the interrogation can be carried out by the owner of the vehicle when the borrower returns it. Parents have the opportunity to ensure that their young driver children do not be reckless. Data transmission can also be carried out automatically by the control device when its sensor detects a message on the channel. The installation of such a device in a vehicle is quick and simple and its adaptation can be done on vehicles of any age.

In order to prevent the comparison made by the control device from being distorted by, for example, tampering with the vehicle tachometer, it is preferable to provide the device with means for calculating the current speed of the vehicle as a function of the information detected by the sensor and the travel time between two pieces of information placed at a defined distance from each other. A first piece of information indicates to the control device the distance between two marking markings, while a second piece of information materializes the end of the control area. With 10 cm of error in the positioning of the bands on the track and with a time measurement piloted by quartz (drift of a second in 6 years), even by a radio-controlled clock, the value of the speed is obtained with accuracy greater than 0.05 km / h.

It is planned to provide the control device with means for transmitting an identification message specific to the controlled vehicle and / or to the driver. This allows for example install a radar linked to a central processing unit which will automatically send the report to the driver or owner of the vehicle. This prevents the police from intervening immediately at the scene of the offense.

It is preferable to provide the control device with means to memorize the results of the comparisons at least when they indicate that the driver has committed a traffic violation or has not observed the safety instructions, as well as possibly the corresponding traffic information and / or the time of the comparisons. These means allow the owner of a vehicle he has loaned to check afterwards that the borrower behaved correctly with his vehicle. The causes of an accident can be determined by analyzing the driver's behavior just before the accident. The device will then perform the function of a black box as it is provided in aircraft. It is also possible to study a speed profile on a course.

In exemplary embodiments of the invention, the sensor is an optical sensor making it possible to detect optical information such as a bar code, or a vibration sensor making it possible to detect vibrations induced by a raised marking in relation to the track . The vehicle crosses by moving the information marked on the lane and this information is detected by the sensor during the passage. By this means, it is therefore possible to transmit information without using electromagnetic waves. This information being sufficiently small, it cannot be detected well in advance so that the driver, if he sees it, can no longer intervene in his behavior to avoid committing an offense.

Very good quality optical sensors are available on the market at a relatively cheap price. It is therefore quite conceivable to equip vehicles with such a sensor. Bar codes, preferably made up of strips positioned parallel to or perpendicular to the direction of traffic of vehicles or at an angle to this direction of traffic, can easily be applied on the road and even be modified if necessary.

Thin strips fixed on the road surface can also serve as a marking that can be detected by a vibration sensor. The normal markings being already in relief compared to the track, they can be enough to induce vibrations to the vehicle, these vibrations then being separated from the normal vibrations which the vehicle undergoes during its advancement, thus allowing access to the information contained in the marking.

To ensure good accuracy of the measurements, it is preferable that the control device is connected to a clock, preferably a radio-controlled clock and / or synchronized with the clock of the external device.

In order to warn the driver of his current situation in relation to the current traffic restrictions, there is provided a display reporting the result of the comparison and / or an optical and / or acoustic alarm. The display allows, for example, to display the speed limits or other restrictions of the route while the alarm is triggered when the maximum authorized speed is exceeded or another danger arises (for example, when the vehicle is moving in the opposite direction on a one-way street).

In order to take account of the variation over time of the information detected by the sensor, for example the change to red of a traffic light or the modification of the speed limit according to the time of day, it is planned to provide the markings placed on the track or around the track according to intended to be detected by a control device, of means for varying over time the information which they encode.

In addition, it is preferable that the markings on the track or around the track intended to be detected by a control device consist of a succession of bar codes or reliefs on the track, placed at constant interval and known by the control device and / or by the external device, to allow the control device or the external device to determine using a clock the speed of the vehicle and / or to check compliance with the safety distances. This allows extremely precise speed control.

The invention also relates to the device for receiving the result of a comparison carried out by a control device according to the invention. It is preferable to provide it with means for memorizing, preferably by dating, the comparison results of several vehicles passing successively at a given location, in particular for controlling the distances separating two successive vehicles.

Figure 1

la disposition des bandes sur la voie,

Figure 2

l'architecture du boîtier interne,

Figure 3

l'architecture du boîtier externe.

Examples of embodiments are described below using the following figures which show:

Figure 1

the arrangement of the bands on the track,

Figure 2

the architecture of the internal housing,

Figure 3

the architecture of the external box.

For the device to work, information must first be placed on or near the road. This information can be in the form of a bar code placed parallel to, perpendicular to, or at an angle to the direction of travel of the vehicle.

It is also possible that this information is coded in the form of rough bands distributed at a known interval on the rolling belt.

The coded information may relate to a speed limit (see coding examples in Table 1), the presence of a stop or the situation of a traffic light.

The information can also constitute location markings for calculating the speed of a vehicle or the distance separating two vehicles following each other.

The information is coded by the positioning of the bands, the variation in their spacing, the number of bands, the presence or absence of bands, etc. The information is read when the vehicle passes.

When the information is used to indicate the current color of a traffic light, the barcode varies according to the state of the light. For speed control, the surveillance zone consists of a set of bar codes placed at regular intervals and representing the value of the authorized speed. The end of the zone is materialized by a bar code which commands the control device to send the previously recorded data. The emission of information being done by electromagnetic waves, it is provided that the last barcode also specifies in the internal box the desired transmission frequency.

• de reconnaître les données grâce à une table de correspondance sauvegardée dans une mémoire de type ROM. Celle-ci contiendra également les programmes;
• de dater les informations grâce à une horloge interne;
• de comparer la valeur de consigne à la valeur réelle, par exemple de comparer la vitesse limite indiquée par le code barres à la vitesse réelle du véhicule ;
• et de sauvegarder les informations dans une mémoire RAM en vue de les transmettre le moment venu à un tiers autorisé.

The control device is integrated in an internal box installed in the car. It receives information from a sensor on board the car, the type of which depends on the nature of the bands. This sensor, internal or external to the control box, sends pulses corresponding to the band diagram. This data flow is transmitted to an asynchronous input port and converted into parallel data using a serial / parallel converter. A microprocessor is loaded

• to recognize the data thanks to a correspondence table saved in a ROM type memory. This will also contain the programs;
• date information using an internal clock;
• to compare the set value with the real value, for example to compare the speed limit indicated by the bar code with the real speed of the vehicle;
• and to save the information in a RAM memory in order to transmit it when the time comes to an authorized third party.

Depending on the nature of the information, it can command an output port to transmit information to the external environment, for example for activating an alarm if the information corresponds to a prohibited direction. A transceiver allows the receiving device to transmit the information contained in the RAM to it upon request. The box will be powered by the vehicle battery and an internal accumulator will allow the memories to be saved in the event of a main power failure.

A barcode detected by the sensor can also cause data to be sent by the control unit.

In the context of the invention, it is provided that an internal clock is radio-controlled by an external clock of high precision. We thus obtain, with 10 cm of error in the positioning of the bar codes on the track, a precision for the speed higher than 0,05 km / h.

It is also expected that each transmission will be accompanied by data representing a unique identification number. This number specific to each box and therefore to each vehicle can be associated with the vehicle registration card for a unique identification.

Figure 2 shows the architecture of this internal box.

The external reception unit which is equipped with a multi-frequency transceiver will read the data contained in the RAM of the internal control unit. A microprocessor will perform the various calculations related to the movement of the vehicle. Depending on the nature of the results, it may command an output port to transmit information to the external environment. Thus, the information of a speeding could for example be transmitted directly to a processing center of the fines.

This external reception unit will be equipped with a RAM used for temporary storage of data and an EEPROM containing the programs. Provision may be made for the receiver unit to be able to transmit data intended for the control unit. It can be portable and powered by battery or fixed and positioned on the passage taken by vehicles. It is also possible to design the reception unit with a display on screen and / or a printout of the results on paper.

The control unit may be provided with a clock, for example radio-controlled by an external clock. This external clock being common to the two types of box, the control boxes and the reception box are synchronous.

The reception box can be positioned on the passage of vehicles. It can then record data from all vehicles. Therefore it can calculate the time interval between two successive vehicles and determine according to their speed if they respect the safety distances.

FIG. 3 represents the architecture of this reception unit.

The device according to the invention is particularly suitable for signaling that the authorized speed has been exceeded and allows the control of the travel speeds achieved.

Claims (13)

Device for monitoring compliance by a driver of the highway code or other safety instructions, comprising a sensor intended to detect location markings or information relating to one or more traffic restrictions, for example placed on or near the traffic lane, and comparison means for determining whether the driver of the vehicle complies with the highway code, characterized in that it is provided with means for transmitting the result of the comparison to an external device. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the transmission of the result of the comparison is carried out on the order of an external device or following the detection by the sensor of a transmission command. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the device is provided with means for calculating the current speed of the vehicle as a function of the information detected by the sensor and the travel time between two pieces of information placed at a defined distance one the other. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with a clock, preferably a radio-controlled clock and / or synchronized with the clock of the external device. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is provided with means for transmitting an identification message specific to the controlled vehicle and / or to the driver. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes means for storing the results of the comparisons at least when these indicate that the driver has committed a traffic violation or has not complied with the safety instructions, as well as possibly the corresponding traffic information and / or the time of the comparisons. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor is an optical sensor making it possible to detect optical information such as a bar code, or a vibration sensor making it possible to detect vibrations induced by a marking in relief relative to to the track. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a display is provided which reports the result of the comparison and / or an optical and / or acoustic alarm. Markings on the track or near the track intended to be detected by a monitoring device according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that they are provided with means for varying the information which they encode over time. . Markings on the track or near the track intended to be detected by a monitoring device according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that they consist of a succession of bar codes or reliefs on the track, placed at constant interval and known by the control device and / or by the external device according to one of claims 1 to 8, to allow the control device or the external device to determine using a clock the speed of the vehicle and / or check compliance with the safety distances. Device for receiving the result of a comparison carried out by a control device according to one of claims 1 to 8. Reception device according to the preceding claim, characterized in that it is provided with means for memorizing, preferably by dating them, the comparison results of several vehicles passing successively at a given location, in particular for controlling the distances separating two successive vehicles . Receiving device according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that it is provided with means for communicating information to the external environment and / or with the control device, that it is preferably provided with display means and / or printing the results of the comparison on paper, and that it is preferably fitted with a radio-controlled clock.

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