JP2006048348A - Traffic signal for pedestrian - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a traffic signal for pedestrians that performs dynamic display by light emitting diodes and has high reliability. <P>SOLUTION: The traffic signal 1 for pedestrians is provided with a dynamic display control part 21 consisting of a microcomputer and constituted so that a red signal display 3 consisting of a red light emitting diode 2 and a green signal display 5 consisting of a green light emitting diode 4 are switched and driven by a dynamic display format on the basis of signal switching commands 12S, 13S. If abnormality is generated in the microcomputer, a switching circuit 24 is switched by a switching signal 23S from a monitor circuit 23, display control by the microcomputer is forcedly interrupted and respective signal displays 3, 5 are switched and displayed by a display format for driving only a previously determined light emitting diode group on the basis of an output from a static display control part 25. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic signal for a pedestrian installed at an intersection of a road, etc., and includes a green signal indicator and a red signal indicator composed of a plurality of light emitting diodes, and the like, a pedestrian walking in a state where the signal is blue, etc. The present invention relates to a traffic signal for pedestrians that can dynamically display the traffic light.

As a traffic signal device for pedestrians, a traffic signal device including a signal indicator made of a light-emitting diode that is free from fear of running out of a ball is known. A signal indicator of a pedestrian traffic signal device provided with light emitting diodes has a structure in which a plurality of light emitting diodes are arranged in a matrix. By using a drive control circuit provided with a microcomputer, the light emitting diode can be driven to light in various display modes. For example, in the state of a green signal where a green signal display device including a large number of blue light emitting diodes is lit, a pedestrian walking can be switched and displayed in a frame-by-frame state, so that a dynamic display as a whole Is possible.
Japanese Patent No. 3118545

  Here, if a traffic signal for pedestrians malfunctions, there is a risk of leading to a serious accident involving human life. In a pedestrian traffic signal device that performs dynamic display, since a drive control circuit using a microcomputer is generally incorporated, it is necessary to reliably prevent malfunction caused by an abnormality of the microcomputer. In other words, with microcomputer control, it is impossible to completely prevent malfunctions due to lightning, electromagnetic waves, etc., so that the minimum safety is ensured as a traffic signal for pedestrians even when the microcomputer malfunctions. There is a need.

  In view of this point, an object of the present invention is to propose a highly reliable pedestrian traffic signal device that can perform a minimum operation as a pedestrian signal device even when a malfunction occurs in a microcomputer. It is in.

In order to solve the above problems, the traffic signal for pedestrians of the present invention is:
A red signal indicator with a plurality of light emitting diodes;
A green light indicator with a plurality of light emitting diodes;
A red signal drive power supply path for driving the red signal indicator;
A blue signal driving power supply path for driving the green signal display independent of the red signal driving power supply path;
A static drive circuit for driving only a predetermined light emitting diode group in the red signal display and only a predetermined light emitting diode in the green signal display;
A dynamic drive circuit for selectively driving at least each light emitting diode of the green signal display using a control device (including a gate array, ASIC, etc.) such as a microcomputer;
A monitoring circuit for monitoring the operation of a control device such as the microcomputer;
A switching circuit for switching from driving by the dynamic driving circuit to driving by the static driving circuit when the monitoring circuit detects that an abnormality has occurred in a control device such as the microcomputer;
The red signal indicator and the green signal indicator are periodically and alternately driven by the dynamic drive circuit or the static drive circuit based on a command from a host signal controller.

  Here, as a dynamic display form by the dynamic drive circuit, when the green signal display is driven, the light-emitting diode of the green signal display is selectively turned on to dynamically show the pedestrian walking. The form to display can be mentioned.

  Further, as a dynamic display form by the dynamic drive circuit, when the green signal display is driven, each light emitting diode of the red signal display is selectively driven to display time information until the signal is switched. The form can be mentioned.

  Further, as a dynamic display form by the dynamic drive circuit, when the red signal display is driven, the light emitting diode of the blue signal display is selectively turned on to display the length of time until the signal is switched. The form to do can be mentioned.

  Here, the time width until the signal is switched, that is, the lighting time of the red signal and the lighting time of the blue signal are often changed depending on the installation location and the time zone of the traffic light. For this reason, conventionally, it has been necessary to separately install a separate control device for displaying the waiting time. In the present invention, the signal waiting time display is performed by regarding the previous green signal lighting time and the previous red signal lighting time as the current green signal lighting time and the current red signal lighting time. . In this case, when the first red signal or blue signal is turned on after the lighting time (signal waiting time) is switched, the waiting time display is performed by counting down the previous lighting time. After the first time, normal waiting time can be displayed. Even if the inaccurate waiting time display is performed only once at the time of switching, there is no adverse effect on practical use. Therefore, by adopting this method, there is no need to attach a separate control device for waiting time display as in the prior art, and there is an advantage that the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

  In the traffic signal device for pedestrians of the present invention, the blue signal indicator and the red signal indicator composed of light emitting diodes are dynamically driven and displayed by a dynamic drive circuit composed of a control device such as a microcomputer (the light emitting diodes are Selectively driven). Therefore, it is possible to realize a traffic light that can be easily recognized by a pedestrian.

  In addition, when an abnormality occurs in a control device such as a microcomputer, driving by a dynamic drive circuit such as a microcomputer is forcibly stopped, and the light emitting diodes of the red signal display and the blue signal display are statically stopped by a static drive circuit. (Only a predetermined light emitting diode group is driven). Therefore, even when an abnormality occurs in a control device such as a microcomputer, the operation of switching the signal in a normal state is guaranteed based on the signal switching signal from the host signal controller. Furthermore, since the static drive circuit has a very simple circuit configuration for driving only a predetermined light emitting diode group, the reliability is extremely high.

  In addition, in the present invention, each of the red signal display and the blue signal display has a dedicated drive power supply path. Accordingly, the blue signal is not lit when the red signal is lit, and conversely, the red signal is not lit when the blue signal is lit.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a highly reliable pedestrian traffic signal that functions reliably as a traffic signal even when a computer malfunctions.

  Hereinafter, an example of a traffic signal for a pedestrian to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a traffic signal for a pedestrian in this example. A pedestrian traffic light 1 includes a red signal display 3 having a configuration in which a plurality of light emitting diodes 2 are arranged in a matrix, and a green signal display 5 having a configuration in which a plurality of light emitting diodes 4 are arranged in a matrix. And a drive control unit 6 for controlling the driving of the respective indicators 3 and 5. For the sake of simplicity, in the following description, it is assumed that the light emitting diode 2 of the red signal indicator 3 is a red light emitting diode and the light emitting diode 4 of the blue signal indicator 5 is a blue light emitting diode.

  The drive control unit 6 includes a power supply terminal unit 7 to which an alternating current is supplied from a host signal controller 100. The power supply terminal unit 7 includes a common input terminal 11, a red signal side input terminal 12, and a green signal side input terminal 13. A red signal AC is supplied to the common input terminal 11 and the red signal side input terminal 12, and a blue signal AC is supplied via the common input terminal 11 and the green signal side input terminal 13. These AC inputs are alternately supplied from the host signal controller 100 side in a signal switching cycle. Each AC driving power is converted by AC / DC converters 14 and 15 from 100 V AC to a driving current for a 5 V DC light emitting diode, and the red light emitting diode 2 is passed through each LED driving driver 16 and 17. And the blue light emitting diode 4 are supplied. In other words, in this example, the AC / DC converter 14 and the power line 14 a connecting this and the driver 16 form a drive power supply path dedicated to the red signal display. The AC / DC converter 15 and the power line 15a connecting the driver 17 to the AC / DC converter 15 form a drive power supply path dedicated to the green signal display. In this way, the red signal indicator 3 and the blue signal indicator 5 are turned on by the power supplied via the independent drive power supply path, and the supply power is switched on the upper control device 100 side. Therefore, power is always supplied to only one display unit, and both the display units 3 and 5 are not lit simultaneously.

  Next, the drive control unit 6 includes a dynamic display control unit 21 (dynamic drive circuit) mainly configured of a microcomputer, and signals supplied to the input terminals 12 and 13 via the photocoupler 22. Switching commands 12S and 13S are detected. Based on the signal switching command, drive control signals 21R and 21B for driving the red signal display 3 or the blue signal display 5 to be driven with a predetermined drive pattern are output to the drivers 16 and 17, respectively. The drivers 16 and 17 drive the light emitting diodes 2 and 4 by selectively supplying a driving current to the light emitting diodes 2 and 4 based on the drive control signals 21R and 21B.

  Here, the dynamic display control unit 21 is provided with a monitoring circuit 23 for monitoring a malfunction of the microcomputer. The monitoring circuit 23 determines whether or not the microcomputer is operating normally based on the signal 21S output from the microcomputer at a constant cycle. The monitoring circuit 23 is supplied with signal switching commands 12S and 13S from the photocoupler 22 and outputs a switching signal 23S to the switching circuit 24 when an abnormality of the microcomputer is detected. The switching circuit 24 is disposed between the dynamic display control unit 21 and the drivers 16 and 17, and when receiving the switching signal 23S, the drive control signal 21R supplied from the dynamic display control unit 21 to the drivers 16 and 17 is provided. 21B is forcibly cut off.

  The monitoring circuit 23 includes a static display control unit 25 (static drive circuit). When abnormality of the microcomputer is detected, drive control signals 25R and 25B are output from the static display control unit 25 to the drivers 16 and 17 based on the signal switching commands 12S and 13S. The drive control signals 25R and 25B are for driving the predetermined light emitting diodes 2 and 4, and the red light indicator 3 and the blue signal indicator 5 are used to drive the predetermined light emitting diodes according to these signals. 2 and 4 are driven to turn on or blink.

  Here, the dynamic display control unit 21 is configured to store and hold the lighting times of the previous red signal display 3 and green signal display 5. When the red signal indicator 3 is lit, the blue signal indicator 5 is used to count down and display the waiting time until switching to the green signal from the previous lighting time of the red signal indicator 3 stored. Do. Similarly, when the green signal indicator 5 is lit, the red signal indicator 3 is used to display the waiting time until switching to the red signal, counting down from the previous lighting time of the stored green signal indicator 5. To perform the operation.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the traffic signal 1 for pedestrians having this configuration. In the red signal state, as shown in FIG. 2A, the display of the red signal indicator 3 and the blue signal indicator 5 changes. That is, the dynamic display control unit 21 drives a predetermined group of red light-emitting diodes in the red signal indicator 3 and continuously displays a stationary posture 31 in which the pedestrian is waiting for a signal. On the other hand, in the green signal display 5, the inverted triangle mark 32 indicating the length of the waiting time until the blue light emitting diode is selectively driven by the dynamic display control unit 21 and switched to the blue signal is the waiting time length. The display gradually disappears from the upper side as the height decreases.

  The waiting time length is obtained by counting down the stored lighting time width of the previous green light indicator 5 using a built-in clock function, and a large triangular mark display corresponding to the obtained waiting time length is displayed. Do. Therefore, when the lighting time of the green light is changed according to the time zone, the waiting time display at the time of the first lighting of the green light after the change is displayed by counting down the lighting time before the change. For this reason, when the lighting time becomes long, as shown in the right end of FIG. 2A, after the waiting time is switched to the zero state, the lighting state of the green light continues, and the actual waiting time Time and display form are in a state of mismatch. However, since it is in a normal state when the next green light is turned on, there is no practical problem.

  When the signal is switched to blue, that is, when the dynamic display control unit 21 detects a switching command to a green signal based on the signal switching commands 12S and 13S, as shown in FIG. The blue light-emitting diodes are selectively driven, and the green signals are displayed in a display form in which the postures 41 to 44 of the pedestrian are cyclically switched in this order. In the red signal indicator 3, the inverted triangle mark 45 indicating the length of the waiting time until the red light emitting diode is selectively driven and switched to the red signal gradually disappears from the upper side as the waiting time length decreases. Display to go. Also in this case, the waiting time is calculated by counting down from the stored lighting time of the previous red signal, and the corresponding display is performed. Therefore, there is a gap between the waiting time display and the actual waiting time at the first lighting after the lighting time is switched, but from the next lighting, it will be a normal waiting time display, so in practical use There is no particular problem.

  Next, when an abnormality occurs in the microcomputer, a switching signal 23S is output from the monitoring circuit 23, and the drive control by the dynamic display control unit 21 including the microcomputer is forcibly cut off. Instead, the red signal display 3 and the blue signal display 5 are driven by the static display control unit 25 of the monitoring circuit 23. In this case, in a red signal state, only a predetermined group of red light emitting diodes is driven, and as shown in FIG. 3A, a stationary posture 31 where a pedestrian is waiting for a signal is displayed, and a blue signal display is displayed. The device 5 remains off. In the blue signal state, only a predetermined blue light emitting diode group is driven, and as shown in FIG. 3B, a walking posture 43 representing the walking state of the pedestrian is displayed in a stationary state, and a red signal indicator 3 is left unlit.

  As described above, in the traffic signal device 1 for pedestrians of the present example, the dynamic display control unit 21 using a microcomputer can display red and blue signal states in various forms. Further, when an abnormality occurs in the microcomputer, the display control by the microcomputer is forcibly cut off by the monitoring circuit 23, and signal display is performed in such a manner that only a predetermined light emitting diode group is driven to light. Therefore, it is possible to realize a highly reliable pedestrian traffic signal device that can display signals in various dynamic display forms using light emitting diodes.

  In particular, in this example, a power supply path for driving a blue signal and a power supply path for driving a red signal are provided, and power is alternately transmitted from the host controller 100 through these power supply paths. Supplied. Therefore, the blue signal and the red signal are not lit at the same time. Therefore, the reliability of the traffic signal for pedestrians is greatly improved.

  Note that the display form performed by the dynamic display control unit 21 formed of a microcomputer is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2 and can be driven in various forms. Further, the static display form at the time of occurrence of an abnormality is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 3, and various display forms can be employed.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows an example of the traffic signal for pedestrians to which this invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display state by the microcomputer in the traffic signal for pedestrians of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display state after microcomputer abnormality generation | occurrence | production in the traffic signal for pedestrians of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pedestrian traffic signal 2 Red light emitting diode 3 Red signal indicator 4 Blue signal light emitting diode 5 Blue signal indicator 6 Drive control part 7 Power input terminal part 11, 12, 13 Input terminal 14, 15 AD converter 16, 17 Driver 21 Dynamic display control unit 22 Photocoupler 23 Monitoring circuit 24 Switching circuit 25 Static display control unit 12S, 13S Signal switching command 21S Output signal 21R, 21B, 25R, 25B Drive control signal 100 Host signal controller

Claims (6)

A red signal indicator with a plurality of light emitting diodes;
A green light indicator with a plurality of light emitting diodes;
A red signal drive power supply path for driving the red signal indicator;
A blue signal driving power supply path for driving the green signal display independent of the red signal driving power supply path;
A static drive circuit for driving only a predetermined light emitting diode group in the red signal display and only a predetermined light emitting diode in the green signal display;
A dynamic drive circuit for selectively driving at least each light emitting diode of the green signal display using a control device such as a microcomputer;
A monitoring circuit for monitoring the operation of a control device such as the microcomputer;
A switching circuit for switching from driving by the dynamic driving circuit to driving by the static driving circuit when the monitoring circuit detects that an abnormality has occurred in a control device such as the microcomputer;
A traffic signal for a pedestrian in which the red signal indicator and the green signal indicator are periodically and alternately driven by the dynamic drive circuit or the static drive circuit based on a command from a host signal controller. In claim 1,
The dynamic driving circuit dynamically displays a pedestrian walking by selectively lighting the light emitting diodes of the green signal display when the green signal display is driven. Traffic signal. In claim 2,
The dynamic driving circuit is configured to selectively drive each light emitting diode of the red signal display and display time information until signal switching when the green signal display is driven. A traffic signal for pedestrians. In claim 2 or 3,
The dynamic driving circuit is configured to selectively turn on the light emitting diodes of the green signal display and display time information until the signal is switched when the red signal display is driven. A traffic signal for pedestrians. In claim 3,
The dynamic drive circuit uses a lighting time of a previous green signal by the host signal controller as a reference for the time information until the current green signal switches to a red signal. . In claim 4,
The dynamic drive circuit uses a lighting time of a previous red signal by the upper signal controller as a reference for the time information until the current red signal switches to a green signal. traffic lights.

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