JP2000067377A - Information transmitter-receiver - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information transmitter-receiver capable of supplying information to a mobile body such as a vehicle by utilizing an existing illumination device. SOLUTION: This transmitter-receiver is composed of an illumination device A and a receiver B loaded on a mobile body such as a vehicle. The illumination device A is provided with a light emission part 1 installed at each important part along a road or the like for irradiating the road or the like with irradiation light recognizable by a human and the receiver, an information generation means 2 for generating the information guiding the positions of the respective important parts or place names or the like in a prescribed advancing direction from the respective important parts, and an irradiation pattern control means 4 for changing the irradiation pattern of the light emission part based on the generated guidance information. The receiver is composed of a light reception part 5 for receiving the irradiation light, converting it to electric signals for outputting, and an output part 6 for taking out the guidance information from the electric signals inputted from the light reception part 5 and outputting voice signals to a speaker or character signals to a display.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information transmitting / receiving apparatus for providing required information to a moving body such as a vehicle using an existing lighting device on the ground.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lighting device has an original function of assisting an imaging device such as a human being and a camera with an illuminating light to recognize the presence of an object and the shape and pattern of the object. It is used to realize this original function. Conventionally, in order to provide information to a moving object such as a vehicle from the ground such as a road, even if there is a lighting device on the ground, an information transmission device such as a traffic signal or a traffic sign or the like is provided separately from the lighting device. A wireless communication device is installed. Also, in a parking lot, in order to guide a vehicle to an empty parking area, conventionally, a staff or a blinking guide light is arranged,
A wireless transmitter is arranged, and a wireless receiver is lent to each vehicle.

[0003]

However, among the conventional information transmission devices, a traffic signal is used exclusively for traffic regulation of a vehicle or the like at the point by a light emission color and transmits information for another purpose. Is not used. The same applies to traffic signs, particularly those without a light source, making it difficult to visually recognize the information to be displayed at night.
In general, despite the high installation rate of lighting devices,
Installing a traffic signal, a traffic sign, a radio transmitter, and the like separately from them increases costs and is uneconomical. For these reasons, there has been a limit in improving traffic flow, improving traffic safety, preventing the spread of traffic disasters, and the like, because a technology that can provide appropriate information to mobile units from the ground has not been developed. In addition, in the conventional parking guide system, not only is it difficult to secure personnel in staffing, but also fixed costs (personnel costs) squeeze the management, and blinking guidance uses lighting equipment in addition to lighting equipment. And the need for wiring, construction costs are high. In addition, the wireless communication device also has a problem that it requires labor and cost for management of lending and return confirmation of a transmitter device and a wireless receiver in addition to the lighting device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to improve the traffic flow and traffic safety by making it possible to transmit information to a mobile body by using a lighting device on the ground. And to promote further promotion such as prevention of the spread of traffic disasters. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to smoothly guide a vehicle to an empty area in a parking lot or to guide a vehicle from a parking area to a parking lot exit. Another object of the present invention is to provide various means for solving the above problems.

[0005]

An information transmitting and receiving apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a lighting device having a basic function of irradiating a predetermined area of a road with illumination light and a moving body such as a vehicle. The lighting device includes a receiving device having a basic function of outputting information to a driver, and the lighting device is installed at each point along a road or the like, and emits light recognizable by a human and the receiving device to a road or the like. A light emitting unit for irradiating, an information generating unit for generating guidance information for guiding a position of each of the important points or a place name in a predetermined traveling direction from each of the important points, and the information generating unit based on the guidance information generated by the information generating unit. An illumination pattern control unit that changes an illumination pattern of the light emitting unit is provided, and the receiving device receives the illumination light from the illumination device, converts the light into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal. Input telegram It is characterized in that it consists an output means for outputting a character signal an audio signal to the speaker is taken out the guidance information or the display from. In the above configuration, the information generating means of the lighting device may provide, for each important point on the road, guidance information for guiding the current position (location name or distance from a reference point, etc.) of the moving object or a place name in a predetermined traveling direction from the current position. The irradiation pattern control means changes the light irradiation pattern of the light emitting means based on the generated guidance information. When a moving body equipped with a receiving device enters the irradiation area of the lighting device, the light receiving means receives the light, converts the light into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal. The output means extracts guide information from the input electric signal and outputs a voice signal or a character signal to a speaker or a display. Therefore, the driver of the moving body can know where he or she is currently traveling, or where he / she is traveling in the predetermined direction, by sound from a speaker or text display on a display.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an information transmitting and receiving apparatus which has a basic function of illuminating a predetermined area of a parking lot with illumination light, and which is mounted on a vehicle and outputs information to a driver. A lighting device, comprising a receiving device serving as a basic function, and a parking lot management device, wherein the lighting device is installed at each key point along a vehicle path, and emits light that can be recognized by a human and the receiving device; Information generating means for generating guidance information for guiding a vehicle to a predetermined parking area or a parking lot exit at each of the important points based on a control signal from the parking lot management device; and guidance information generated by the information generation means. Irradiation pattern control means for changing an irradiation pattern of light from the light emitting means based on the light receiving means, wherein the receiving device receives irradiation light from the lighting device, converts the light into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal. A step, and output means for extracting the guidance information from the electric signal input from the light receiving means and outputting a voice signal to a speaker, or outputting a character signal to a display, wherein the parking lot management device comprises: Monitoring the full / empty state of each parking area by a detection signal from a vehicle detector provided in the area, a vehicle entering or leaving the parking lot from a vehicle detector installed in each of the important points In order to guide the vehicle to a predetermined vacant parking area or the exit of the parking lot based on the detection signal, the guidance information to be generated by the information generating means of each of the lighting devices is determined in accordance with the traveling position of the vehicle, and the lighting is determined. It is characterized by outputting a control signal to the device. In the above configuration, the parking lot management device monitors the full / empty state based on the detection signal from the in-vehicle detector in the parking lot, and guides the vehicle to a predetermined empty parking area or a parking lot exit. Guidance information to be generated by the information generating means of the lighting device is determined according to the traveling position, and a control signal is output to the lighting device. The information generation means of the lighting device generates guidance information for guiding a vehicle entering the parking lot to a predetermined empty parking area based on a control signal from the parking lot management device. The irradiation pattern control means changes the light irradiation pattern of the light emitting means based on the generated guidance information. When a moving body equipped with a receiving device enters the irradiation area of the lighting device, the light receiving means receives the light, converts the light into an electric signal, and outputs the signal. The output means extracts guidance information from the input electric signal and outputs a voice signal or a character signal to a speaker or a display. Therefore, vehicles entering the parking lot will be
Since the guidance information is received and guided to the empty area by voice or by the display on the display, it is possible to smoothly reach the empty parking area.

[0007] In any of the above information transmitting and receiving devices,
The lighting device includes a receiver that receives a demand signal from the receiving device, and includes a starting unit that starts the information generating unit and the irradiation pattern control unit based on the reception of the demand signal. It is desirable to have a transmitter for transmitting a demand signal when the ON operation is performed. According to the above configuration, the lighting device drives only the light emitting unit and performs only the normal operation of irradiating the illumination light unless the moving body turns on the start switch at a key point. Therefore, power consumption of the lighting device is saved, and driver fatigue due to unnecessary audio output or video output from the receiving device of the moving object is prevented. Also, it can be received only when information is needed.

[0008]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] The information transmitting / receiving apparatus of the present invention can be used for providing positional information to a moving object from the ground. As shown in FIG. 1, the information transmitting / receiving device in such a case is configured by a lighting device A provided on the ground side and a receiving device B mounted on the moving body side. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a tunnel according to an embodiment in which the present invention is implemented so that when a vehicle enters a tunnel, the current position information of the vehicle is given to the vehicle. 2, illuminating devices A01, A02... A0n whose main function is to illuminate the road surface at regular intervals are installed on the ceiling of the tunnel T. The lighting devices A have the same configuration, and as illustrated in FIG. 1, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a light emitting unit 1 that emits light that can be recognized by a human and a receiving device B, which will be described later, and mainly turns on and off the light emitting unit. A basic function realizing unit 2 for determining, an information generating unit 3 for generating information to be transmitted from the lighting device to the receiving device, a lighting control in the function realizing unit, and a light emitting control of the light emitting unit based on the information generated in the information generating unit. And a light emission control unit 4 for driving. In this embodiment, the light emission control unit corresponds to an irradiation pattern control unit that controls the irradiation pattern of the illumination light of the illumination device. Reference numeral 2 includes a power supply and a power-on switch for manually or automatically turning the power on and off.

The receiving device B is mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle, and as shown in FIG. 1, a light receiving portion 5 which receives light emitted from the light emitting portion 1 of the lighting device A and converts the light into an electric signal.
And an output unit 6 that extracts guidance information from the electric signal output from the light receiving unit and outputs a voice signal or a character signal. Although illustration is omitted in the output unit 6,
A speaker to which the audio signal is input or a display to which the character signal is input is connected.

In the above configuration, in the lighting device A, the basic function realizing section 2 determines whether the light emitting section 1 is turned on or off in order to realize the basic function. The information generating unit 3 sends guidance information sent from the lighting device to the receiving device B, for example, guidance information for notifying the distance from the tunnel entrance to the installation position of the lighting device and the distance from the installation position to the tunnel exit, for example, “here. Is XX meters from the entrance to the entrance and XX meters from the exit. "Is output to the light emission control unit 4. In this case, the information generation unit 3
Has a ROM in which fixed information is stored, and can be configured to read out and output from the ROM. When a fire detector (or a fire alarm) or an accident alarm is installed in the tunnel, the information generating unit 3 determines a distance to each lighting device based on a notification signal from the fire detector or the like. And to notify the vehicle in the tunnel of the fire occurrence,
For example, "Fire (or accident) occurred xx meters away. Stop to the left and stop ". In this case, the ROM of the information generating unit 3 has a distance table to each detector and the like, and an input circuit for inputting information from each tunnel monitoring device for inputting a signal from each fire detector and the like. And a synthesizing circuit for synthesizing information to be superimposed on the illumination light in accordance with the input information.

A light emission control unit 4 corresponding to an irradiation pattern control unit controls the light emission of the light emission unit 1 based on the lighting control by the function realization unit 2 and the information generated by the information generation unit. The light emitting unit 1 emits illumination light that can be recognized by a human and the receiving device in accordance with light emission control and driving by the light emission control unit 4.
For the light emitting unit 1, for example, a light bulb, a fluorescent lamp, a neon tube, or the like can be used. The light emission control unit 4 can be composed of a modulation unit that modulates a light emission signal according to input information, and a drive unit that drives the light emission unit with the modulated signal. The modulation method of the modulation unit is frequency modulation, code modulation, duty ratio modulation, or the like, and in each case, the modulation is performed at a frequency higher than the human eye's identification ability. The driving unit is configured by a driving circuit based on the light emission principle of each light emitting unit. As a result, guidance information that is to be transmitted to the receiving device B and that notifies the current position and the occurrence of a fire or an accident is superimposed on the illumination light for brightening the inside of the tunnel.

The light receiving section 5 of the receiving apparatus B mounted on the vehicle which has entered the lighting area of each of the lighting devices A01 to A0n receives the irradiation light of each lighting device, converts it into an electric signal, and outputs it to the output section 6. Therefore, the output unit extracts information from the input electric signal and outputs a voice signal or a character signal to a speaker or a display. Thereby, the driver of the vehicle traveling in the tunnel can know the current position in the tunnel by voice or displayed characters. Further, when a fire or accident occurs, the user can know the fact of occurrence and the distance from his / her current position to the place of occurrence. You can take actions based on appropriate judgments.

As shown in FIG. 3, the illumination pattern control means includes a light emission control unit 4 shown in FIG.
Is replaced with a light emission drive unit 4e having only the drive function of the light emission unit 1, a variable transmission plate 8 capable of changing the light transmission amount at high speed is provided on the optical path between the light emission unit 1 and the outside of the apparatus, and the information generation unit 3 is provided. It is also possible to provide a transmission control unit 7 for controlling the light transmission amount of the variable transmission plate 8 based on the information output from the control unit, and to change the light transmission amount of the variable transmission plate 8 at a speed that human eyes cannot recognize. . In this case, the light receiving section 5 of the receiving device B2 receives the light transmitted through the variable transmission plate 8 of the illumination device and converts the light into an electric signal. According to the above configuration, the illumination device can control the luminance when the transmission control unit sees from the outside of the device at a speed that cannot be identified by a human, and sends out light information having different luminances according to the information output from the information generation unit. be able to.

As the variable transmission plate 8, a transmission type liquid crystal panel can be used. As in the frequency modulation and the code modulation of the light emission signal described above, the light transmission amount can be changed at a speed at which human eyes cannot discriminate based on the information of the information generation unit.
According to this device, even when an incandescent light bulb is used as a light source, it is possible to control the luminance when viewed from outside the device at a speed that cannot be identified by a human, without depending on the response time to driving of the light emitting unit used. .

As shown in FIG. 4, the illumination pattern control means replaces the light emission control section 4 of FIG. 1 with a light emission drive section 4e having only a drive function of the light emission section in the illumination device A3. A movable reflector 8e capable of changing the amount of light reflection at high speed is provided between the apparatus and the outside of the apparatus, and a reflector driver 7e for driving the movable reflector 8e with information output from the information generator 3 is provided to emit light. The light beam emitted from the unit 1 may be configured to be reflected once by the movable reflection plate 8e so as to change the amount of light reflection at a speed at which human eyes cannot identify the outside of the apparatus. In this case, the light receiving unit of the receiving device B3 is
This is to receive the reflected light from the variable reflecting plate 8e of the lighting device and convert it into an electric signal. With the above configuration, the reflector driving unit 7e can control the luminance when viewed from outside the device at a speed that cannot be identified by a human, and the lighting device sends out light information having different luminances according to the information output from the information generating unit. can do.

As the movable reflection plate 8e, a reflection type liquid crystal panel can be used. Like the frequency modulation and the code modulation of the light emission signal described above, the light reflection amount can be changed at a speed at which human eyes cannot discriminate based on the information of the information generation unit. According to this method, it is possible to control the luminance when viewed from outside the device at a speed that cannot be identified by a human, even when the light source is an incandescent light bulb, without depending on the response time to the drive of the luminous body to be used. it can.

According to the first embodiment, in a lighting device having a basic function of illuminating a road or the like, the discriminating ability of human eyes is determined based on information to transmit a light emission signal to be applied to a light emitting portion. The information is obtained by modulating the signal at a high frequency and receiving and demodulating the emitted light in the receiving device. Therefore, it is possible to transmit information to another device by simply adding an information generation unit to the lighting device and driving the light emission control unit based on the generated information. Also,
In a second embodiment, in a lighting device having a basic function of illuminating a road or the like, control is performed at a speed at which human eyes cannot identify based on information to transmit the luminance of light emitted from a light emitting unit. In the receiving apparatus, the information is obtained by measuring and analyzing the luminance of the received light. Therefore, the illuminating device is simply provided with an information generating unit, and drives an irradiation pattern control unit (a transmission driving unit and a variable transmission plate or a reflection plate driving unit and a movable reflection plate) that performs luminance control based on the generated information. With the addition of such a simple configuration, it is possible to transmit information to the mobile object.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a certain intersection and its surroundings, and shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to provide road-direction guidance information to vehicles traveling on a road. Illumination devices A11, A12, A13, and A14 are provided for illuminating a certain area (points) of a road heading for the intersection at a certain distance ahead of the intersection CR of each road converging at the intersection CR, and further enter the intersection. Illumination devices A21, A22, A23, and A24 for irradiating illumination light to a certain area immediately before are provided. And the front lighting devices A11, A12, A
The information generation units 13 and A14 generate guidance information for guiding which direction the vehicle that passes each road should go at the next intersection to go to a certain direction, and output this to the light emission control unit. I have to do it. Explaining a specific example of the guidance information, the lighting devices A11, A12, A13, and A14 are as shown in FIGS. 6A to 6D. Also, a lighting device A for illuminating an area immediately before entering the intersection.
In each of 21, A22, A23, and A24, as for a vehicle turning right or a vehicle turning left at the intersection, alert information for urging the driver to pay attention to a straight-ahead vehicle or a pedestrian, for example, as shown in FIG. It generates information such as "There is a straight car, please be careful" or "Be careful for pedestrians". The information in this example is always generated irrespective of whether a straight-ahead vehicle or a pedestrian actually exists, but inputs a sensing signal from a vehicle sensor provided in the opposite lane on the opposite side of each intersection. In the information generator,
It is also possible to transmit the alert information to the mobile vehicle in opposition to the actual presence of a straight vehicle or a pedestrian.

An illumination device A31 shown in FIG. 5 is installed at a fixed distance in front of the crossing RC, and its information generating unit includes:
For example, "There is a railroad crossing XX meters ahead. Attention or ×
X Pause at a distance of meters ”can be sent. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 (f) and 6 (g), the name of the intersection, the name of the town to which the point belongs, and the like are superimposed on the illuminating light and transmitted from the lighting device installed at an important point on the intersection or the road. It is also good.

The present invention can be used for providing guidance information to vehicles and providing traffic situation information for the purpose of smoothing traffic flow on expressways and preventing accidents.
FIG. 7 is a plan view of a part of a one-way expressway to which the embodiment is applied. The information generation unit of the lighting device A71 installed at a predetermined distance ahead of the junction J of the expressway FW informs that the junction J is close and requests information that the speed should be reduced, for example, "Confluence". Note. Slow down
The information generation unit of the lighting system installed a certain distance in front of the junction D responds to the fixed information that calls attention, etc., according to each travel destination direction until each vehicle reaches the junction. Information for guiding in the traveling direction, for example, in the lighting device A72 far from the branch point, "the XX direction leans to the right" or "the 〇〇 direction leans to the left", and the lighting device A73 near the branch point Thus, fixed information for guiding the vehicle, such as "Turn right in the XX direction" or "Turn left in the 〇〇 direction", is generated. Further, in a lighting device installed in a section irrelevant to the junction J or the branching point D, for example, the lighting device A74, based on a speed excess determination signal sent from a speed monitoring device (not shown), Warning information such as "exceeding"
Then, based on the traffic jam determination signal sent from the device, variable information indicating traffic conditions such as "XX km ahead, traffic jam" or "XX km traffic jam to 〇〇" can be sent to the vehicle. .

In the information transmitting / receiving apparatus described above, the lighting apparatus always sends fixed or variable information superimposed on the illuminating light and sends it out. However, in a road section or time zone where traffic volume is extremely small, Power consumption is uneconomical. In such a section or time zone, it is desirable to transmit information only when requested by the vehicle.
In response to this demand, the lighting device A is provided with a receiver (not shown) for receiving a demand signal from the receiving device B, and based on the reception of the demand signal, activation of the information generation unit 3 and the irradiation pattern control unit. This can be realized by providing means (not shown), and having the transmitter (not shown) for transmitting the demand signal when the start switch (not shown) is turned on by the receiving device B. In this case, the transmitter may be a reflector that reflects the illumination light, and the receiver may be a light receiving element.

The present invention can also be used for providing guidance information for causing a vehicle to travel along a preset route on a general road or a closed section. Next, a case where the present invention is used for guiding a vehicle in a parking lot will be described as an example of a closed section. FIG. 8 is a plan view of the parking lot. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a connection relationship between a main part of the configuration of the parking lot management device and each related device.
A81 in FIG. 8 is a lighting device for illuminating the widened portion Re juxtaposed to the general road PR in front of the entrance gate Gi, A82 is a lighting device for illuminating the entrance gate Gi, and A83 to A815 are vehicles in the parking lot, respectively. This is a lighting device provided at each point on the road. A parking lot management device C for managing the entire parking lot is provided in a parking lot management room or the like.

The parking lot management device C has a vacant area searching means 10, and based on the detection signals from the vehicle detectors 141, 142,... 14n provided in each parking area, where the vacant parking area is located. I am watching if there is. Then, when an arbitrary vehicle receives a parking card from the entrance gate Gi connected to the parking lot management device C, the reception detection signal is given to the parking lot management device C, and a predetermined designation is given from the empty area searching means 10. One empty area designated based on the rule is designated as an area where the vehicle should be parked (designated parking area), and a code predetermined for the parking area is output to the route setting means 11. . The designation rule, for example, based on the magnitude of the distance from the entrance to the designated parking area, the presence or absence of competition with the immediately preceding designated parking area, etc., user convenience,
It is determined in consideration of traffic safety. The route setting means 11 sets a route that runs the shortest distance from the entrance gate Gi to the designated area based on the given designated parking area code. For each parking area, it is determined in advance which point from the entrance gate to reach the designated parking area, and the information is stored in the storage unit 13 in the form of a list of identification information (ID) of the lighting devices existing in the relevant point. Therefore, the route setting is set by reading the route information corresponding to the empty area from the storage unit 13 when the code of the empty area is designated based on the entrance detection. Since the read route information is composed of a list of IDs,
It also means the information destination.

Then, the read route information is given to the transmission information selecting means 12 at the next stage of the parking lot management device C. The transmission information selecting means 12 selects or combines the symbols of the guidance information to be transmitted from the lighting devices at the respective points according to the arrangement order of the IDs. That is, as in the case of the lighting devices A83 and A87 in FIG. 8, when the route is divided into a plurality of places at the relevant point, the guide information symbol that matches the traveling direction determined by the connection of the IDs is selected. For example, lighting device A
83 can transmit two types of guidance information, a straight ahead message and a left turn message. For example, if the parking area with the number 23 is designated as the designated parking area, the left turn message is selected, and the selected information is selected. Is transmitted to the lighting device together with the ID included in the route information. Also, as in the case of the lighting devices A85, A89, A813, and A814 in FIG.
If the traveling direction is single at the relevant point, a control signal designating only that one piece of guidance information is transmitted.

Each of the lighting devices in this embodiment has means (not shown) for receiving a control signal from the parking lot management device C and inputting the control signal to the information generation unit 3.

The parking lot management device C also inputs detection signals from vehicle detectors 151 to 15n installed at key points in the passage, that is, at or near the illumination area of each illumination device. The current position of the vehicle moving in the passage is grasped. If there is no vacant area, calculate the time from the current time to the next predicted entry time based on the earliest entry time and the average parking time of one vehicle, and output that time as the waiting time It has the function to do. Lighting devices A81 and A82 at the widened portion Re and the entrance
When the waiting time information is transmitted from the parking lot management device C, the information such as “waiting time〇〇minute” is superimposed on the illumination light and transmitted. When a vacant area is created, the parking lot management device C sends, to the lighting device A82 of the entrance gate Gi, information recommending that a parking card be received and entered. In addition, similarly to the conventional case, the entrance gate Gi of the parking lot management device C
"I made you wait." Please take out the parking card] and issue a parking card with the number of the designated parking area printed to the exit. And when you receive the parking card,
When the gate opens and detects entry of a vehicle, the gate is closed again.

When the parking lot management device C receives a vehicle detection signal from a vehicle detector installed at a key point, that is, in front of each branch point or corner of the parking lot or on a straight path, it illuminates the key point. To the device, a designation code for designating guidance information for guiding the vehicle in the direction of the designated parking area is transmitted, and guidance corresponding to the designation code to the corresponding lighting device, as exemplified below, is provided. The information is superimposed on the illumination light. If the parking areas Nos. 1 to 5 are designated parking areas, the lighting device A83
Is "straight ahead and left", and if the parking area from No. 6 to 10 is the designated parking area, the lighting device A83 superimposes "go straight" and the lighting device A87 superimposes "go straight and left" Let it. When the entered vehicle is guided to the parking area of numbers 11 to 15, the lighting device A83 is "turn left here" and the lighting device A84 is "turn right here and right". When guiding to the parking areas of numbers 21 to 26,
Lighting device A83 is "Please turn left here", lighting device A
84 is "Turn right here and left." When leading to the parking area of numbers 16 to 20, the lighting device A83 is "Please go straight", the lighting device A87 is "Please turn left here", the lighting device A88 is "Turn right here and right", When leading to the parking area of number 27-33, lighting device A83 is "Please go straight", lighting device A87 is "Please turn left here",
The lighting device A88 superimposes information such as "turn right here and left". When the vehicle is guided to the parking areas 34 to 36, the lighting device A83 superimposes information such as "turn left and right" on the illumination light.

The parking areas numbered 27 to 33 can be selected from two routes: a route passing through the important points A83, A84, A85 and A86 and a route passing through the important points A83, A87 and A88. Therefore, it is desirable that the route setting means 11 be configured to guide another route so that the route to the next designated empty area does not compete with the immediately preceding guide route. This can be realized by storing and comparing the immediately preceding set route and the subsequent set route so as not to be the same.

Further, the parking lot management device C judges that the vehicle will enter if any of the vehicle detectors in any of the passages suddenly detects the vehicle and the detection is not continuous from the entrance. In addition, information for guiding at each point from the detection position to the exit of the parking lot is superimposed on the illumination light of each illumination device. In this case, each of the lighting devices sends a message for guiding the user to the exit direction.

The above-described method of designating the designated parking area and the method of guiding to the designated area are merely examples, and are not essential to the present invention. The point is that among the lighting devices normally installed in the parking lot, the lighting information for each key point necessary for guiding along each passage to the target parking area transmits guidance information as the vehicle moves. It is in.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the illumination pattern control means for changing the illumination pattern of illumination light is incorporated into a new illumination device or an existing illumination device having illumination as its original function. It is possible to give information to a moving body such as a vehicle from the ground. According to the first aspect of the present invention, information is transmitted to a moving body by using a lighting device on the ground, and further promotion such as improvement of traffic flow, improvement of traffic safety, prevention of expansion of traffic disasters, and the like can be achieved. It is possible.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to smoothly guide the vehicle to the vacant parking area in the parking lot or to guide the vehicle from the parking area to the parking lot exit.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, information is transmitted only when there is demand from a vehicle in a road section or a time zone where traffic volume is minimal, so that power consumption can be reduced. Is economical. Further, the driver's fatigue due to unnecessary audio output or video output from the receiving device of the moving object is prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of an information transmitting / receiving device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a tunnel using the device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of another example of the information transmitting / receiving device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of still another example of the information transmitting / receiving device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an intersection and its vicinity using the device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of information transmitted.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a part of a highway to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a parking lot to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a parking lot management device used in the parking lot.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A1, A2, A3 Illumination device 1 Light emitting unit 2 Basic function realizing unit 3 Information generation unit 4 Light emission control unit 4e Light emission drive unit 7 Transmission drive unit 8 Variable transmission plate 7e Reflection plate drive unit 8e Movable reflection plate B1, B2, B3 Reception Device 5 Light receiving unit 6 Output unit P Human A01-A05 Lighting device A11-A14, A21-A24, A31 Lighting device A71-A74, A81-A815 Lighting device P Parking lot Gi Entrance gate PA Parking area C Parking lot management device

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 27, 1998 (1998.8.2
7)

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 7

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 7

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Fig. 8

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 8

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5H180 AA01 CC01 EE01 EE15 FF12 FF13 FF25 FF32 FF33 KK06 KK10 5K002 AA01 AA03 AA05 BA02 BA21 CA14 FA03 GA05

Claims (8)

[Claims] An illumination device having a basic function of irradiating a predetermined area of a road with illumination light, and a receiving device having a basic function of outputting information to a driver mounted on a moving body such as a vehicle. The lighting device is installed at each key point along a road or the like,
A light emitting unit that irradiates a road or the like with light recognizable by a human and the receiving device; and an information generating unit that generates guidance information for guiding a position of each of the key points or a place name in a predetermined traveling direction from each of the key points. And an irradiation pattern control unit that changes an irradiation pattern of the light emitting unit based on the guide information generated by the information generating unit. The receiving device receives irradiation light from the lighting device,
A light receiving means for converting the electric information into an electric signal and outputting the information; and an output means for extracting the guide information from the electric signal input from the light receiving means and outputting an audio signal to a speaker or a character signal to a display. Transceiver. 2. A lighting device having a basic function of irradiating a predetermined area of a parking lot with illumination light, a receiving device mounted on a vehicle and having a basic function of outputting information to a driver,
A lighting device that emits light that can be recognized by a human and the receiving device, and a control signal from the parking lot managing device. Information generating means for generating guidance information for guiding a vehicle to a predetermined parking area or a parking lot exit at each of the important points, and light emission of the light emitting means based on the guidance information generated by the information generating means. Irradiation pattern control means for changing the irradiation pattern, the receiving device receives irradiation light from the lighting device,
A light receiving unit that converts the electric signal into an electric signal; and an output unit that extracts the guidance information from the electric signal input from the light receiving unit and outputs a voice signal to a speaker or a text signal to a display. The management device monitors the full / empty state of each parking area based on a detection signal from a vehicle detector provided in each parking area of the parking lot, and detects a vehicle entering or exiting the parking lot from each of the parking areas. In order to guide the vehicle to a predetermined vacant parking area or the exit of the parking lot based on the detection signal from the vehicle detector installed at the place, the information is generated by the information generating means of each lighting device in accordance with the traveling position of the vehicle. An information transmitting and receiving device for determining guidance information to be output and outputting a control signal to the lighting device. 3. The lighting device includes a receiver for receiving a demand signal from the receiving device, and a starting device for activating an information generating unit and an irradiation pattern control unit based on the reception of the demand signal. 3. The information transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitter for transmitting a demand signal when a start switch is turned on. 4. The information transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the irradiation pattern control means comprises a light emission control section for driving the light emission means and controlling light emission. 5. An irradiation pattern control unit, comprising: a light emission drive unit for driving a light emission unit; a variable transmission plate provided on an optical path from the light emission unit to change a light transmission amount at a high speed; 4. The information transmitting / receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising a transmission control unit that controls a light transmission amount of the variable transmission plate based on the output information. 6. The information transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a transmission type liquid crystal panel is used as the variable transmission plate. 7. An irradiation pattern control unit, comprising: a light emission drive unit for driving the light emission unit; a movable reflection plate provided between the light emission unit and the outside of the lighting device; and capable of changing a light reflection amount at high speed; 4. The information transmitting / receiving device according to claim 1, further comprising a reflector driving unit that drives the movable reflector based on information output from the unit. 8. The information transmitting / receiving apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a reflective liquid crystal panel is used as the movable reflection plate.