JP2008027067A - Information providing apparatus using led light emitting device, and vehicle control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information providing apparatus using an LED light emitting device which can provide information different from information provided by the display of the LED light emitting device and to provide a vehicle control apparatus for controlling a vehicle on the basis of the provided information. <P>SOLUTION: The information providing apparatus for providing information by the light emission of LEDs and/or the blinking of the LEDs is equipped with: a light emission control means for controlling the light emission of the LEDs on the basis of specific conditions; an information generation means for generating information different from information provided by the light emission of the LEDs; and a blinking control means for blinking the LEDs on the basis of the information generated by the information generation means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an information providing apparatus that provides information by light emission of an LED, and more particularly, to an apparatus that performs optical communication by blinking an LED and a vehicle control apparatus that controls a vehicle based on the optical signal.

  There is an information providing device that provides auxiliary related information using LED light emitting means used for display or the like. In this information providing apparatus, the first information is displayed on the LED light emitting means, and the second information is transmitted by optical communication by blinking the LED of the LED light emitting means at a high speed that cannot be determined by human eyes. Provide information to

When such an information providing apparatus is applied to a road sign, related information can be provided even when a person who drives the car does not notice the presence of the road sign. Further, even when the presence of a sign is noticed, the contents of the sign can be discriminated even in a situation where the sign is installed at a distant position and the display size is small ( For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-202741 A

  However, the background art described above has the following problems.

  In the information providing apparatus as described above, the information provided by the display of the LED light emitting unit and the information provided by the luminance change of the LED light emitting unit have the same contents, and are provided by the luminance change of the LED light emitting unit. Information is provided redundantly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and provides an information providing device using an LED light emitting device that can provide information different from the information provided by the display of the LED light emitting means, and the vehicle based on the provided information. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control device that performs control.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an information providing apparatus according to the present invention is an information providing apparatus that provides information by light emission of an LED and / or blinking of the LED, and light emission control that controls light emission of the LED based on a predetermined condition. Means, information generating means for generating information different from information provided by light emission of the LED, and blinking control means for causing the LED to blink based on the information generated by the information generating means. One of them.

  By comprising in this way, the information different from the information provided by light emission of LED can be provided with the optical signal by blinking of LED.

  In another configuration example, the light emission control means controls the light emission of the LED group constituting each signal lamp of the first traffic light, and the information generating means indicates the light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light. And a state signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the second traffic light installed in the vicinity of the first traffic light.

  By comprising in this way, the state signal which shows the light emission state of each signal lamp of this 1st traffic light by the optical signal by blinking of LED which constitutes each signal light of the 1st traffic light, and the 1st traffic light vicinity A state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the installed second traffic light can be notified. On the receiving side, the vehicle speed can be controlled based on the notified state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the traffic light.

  In still another configuration example, the information generation unit is configured to generate information indicating a distance between a position where the first traffic signal is installed and a position where the second traffic signal is installed.

  By comprising in this way, the distance of the position where the 1st signal apparatus was installed, and the position where the 2nd signal apparatus was installed can be notified. On the receiving side, in addition to the notified status signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the first and second traffic lights, the distance between the position where the first traffic light is installed and the position where the second traffic light is installed Based on this, the vehicle speed can be controlled.

  In another configuration example, the light emission control unit is configured to control light emission of the LED based on the advertisement content provided by the advertising tower, and the information generation unit is configured to generate information related to the advertisement. .

  By comprising in this way, the information regarding the advertising content displayed on an advertising tower can be notified with the optical signal by blinking of LED.

  In another configuration example, the light emission control unit controls light emission of an LED constituting a headlamp of the vehicle, and the information generation unit includes vehicle speed information and a license plate of the vehicle on which the information providing device is mounted. It is configured to generate at least one of the vehicle numbers.

  With this configuration, the vehicle speed information and the vehicle number can be notified by an optical signal generated by blinking the LED. On the receiving side, traffic violations such as speed violations are reported based on the notified vehicle speed information and the vehicle number. A vehicle can be identified.

  Yet another configuration example is configured to generate information indicating a time to start blinking the LED.

  By configuring in this way, in the receiving device mounted on the vehicle on which the self-information providing device is mounted, by detecting the time when the reflected light of the optical signal including the time to start blinking the LED is received, The distance to the vehicle ahead can be determined.

  In another configuration example, the light emission control unit controls light emission of an LED constituting a taillight of the vehicle, and the information generation unit displays vehicle speed information and a brake operation state of the vehicle on which the information providing device is mounted. It is configured to generate at least one of the indicated information and the instruction information by the operation of the direction indicator.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to notify the following vehicle of vehicle speed information, information indicating the brake operation state, and instruction information by operating the direction indicator by an optical signal generated by blinking the LED.

  In another configuration example, the light emission control unit controls light emission of an LED constituting a taillight of the vehicle, and the information generation unit generates information indicating a state signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the traffic light. Configured as follows.

  By comprising in this way, the following vehicle can be notified of the light emission state of each signal lamp of a traffic light by the light signal by blinking of LED.

  In another configuration example, the light emission control unit controls light emission of an LED constituting a vehicle indicator, and the information generation unit includes failure information from a vehicle failure detection device on which the information providing device is mounted. The failure information is generated based on the notification.

  By comprising in this way, the failure state of a vehicle can be notified by the optical signal by blinking of LED.

  In the vehicle control device of the present invention, the information providing device that provides information by light emission of the LED and / or blinking of the LED controls light emission of the LED group constituting each signal light of the first traffic light, and A state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the traffic light and a state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal light of the second traffic light installed in the vicinity of the first traffic light are provided by an optical signal generated by blinking the LED. Then, from the optical signal transmitted from the information providing apparatus, information for extracting a state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light and a state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the second traffic light Processing means; vehicle speed control means for controlling the vehicle speed based on a status signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light and a status signal indicating a light emission state of each signal light of the second traffic light; Prepare The is one of the features.

  By comprising in this way, the status signal which shows the light emission state of each signal lamp of the 1st signal apparatus notified from the information provision apparatus by the light signal by blinking of LED, and it was installed in the vicinity of the 1st signal apparatus The vehicle speed can be controlled based on the state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the second traffic light.

  In still another configuration example, the vehicle includes a storage unit in which map information is recorded, and the vehicle speed control unit obtains a distance between the first traffic signal and the second traffic signal based on the map information. The vehicle speed is controlled based on a state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light and a state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal light of the second traffic light.

  By comprising in this way, the distance of the 1st traffic light and the 2nd traffic light calculated | required based on map information, the status signal which shows the light emission state of each signal lamp of a 1st traffic light, and 2nd traffic light The vehicle speed can be controlled based on the state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided an information providing device using an LED light emitting device that can provide information different from information provided by display of the LED light emitting device, and a vehicle control device that controls a vehicle based on the provided information. realizable.

Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described based on the following embodiments with reference to the drawings.
In all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, the same reference numerals are used for those having the same function, and repeated explanation is omitted.

  An information providing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  A traffic signal 100 as an information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a traffic signal control unit 102 and a traffic signal display unit 104. The traffic light control unit 102 includes a display control unit 106 as a light emission control unit, a blinking control unit 108, an information generation unit 110, a data modulation unit 112, and a storage unit 114.

  The traffic signal display unit 104 is configured by blue, yellow, and red signal lights, and each signal lamp is configured by an aggregate of light sources (hereinafter referred to as LED groups) such as LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). Further, the traffic signal display unit 104 can transmit frame data by an optical signal generated by blinking the LEDs at high speed. For example, the traffic signal display unit 104 transmits frame data by blinking LEDs at a high speed of about 64 kHz to about 512 kHz.

  The display control unit 106 performs control to turn on each signal lamp of the traffic signal display unit 104 in the order of blue-yellow-red-blue, for example, at the timing shown in FIG. In addition, a signal synchronized with the start of at least one lighting control among blue, yellow, and red is input to the information generation unit 110 and the data modulation unit 112. In this case, a signal light that performs lighting control, for example, information indicating a color may be included in the synchronization signal. For example, the synchronization signal is made different depending on the signal lamp that performs lighting control.

  The storage unit 114 includes position information indicating a position where the traffic signal 100 is installed, information regarding an intersection such as an intersection name where the traffic signal 100 is installed, information regarding an intersection next to the intersection where the traffic signal 100 is installed, for example, the next intersection Memorize the distance.

  The information generation unit 110 reads information stored in the storage unit 114 based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 106, generates frame data of a specific format corresponding to the read data, and the data modulation unit 112. To enter. In addition, the information generation unit 110 generates information indicating a signal state based on a signal lamp that performs lighting control included in the synchronization signal based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 106, and displays the generated signal state. Frame data of a specific format corresponding to the indicated information is generated and input to the data modulator 112. In addition, the information generation unit 110 generates traffic information notified by a traffic information device, for example, a radio beacon and an optical beacon, for example, information indicating the signal state of the next traffic signal installed in the vicinity of the traffic signal 100, and the generated signal Frame data of a specific format corresponding to the information indicating the state is generated and input to the data modulation unit 112.

  The data modulation unit 112 modulates the frame data generated by the information generation unit 110 into serial data synchronized with a clock having a constant frequency based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 106 and outputs the serial data to the blinking control unit 108. .

  The blinking control unit 108 supplies current to the LED group constituting the signal lamp of the traffic light display unit 104 to emit light, and based on signals from the display control unit 106 and the data modulation unit 112, and a signal from the display control unit 106 and the data modulation unit 112, Each LED includes a switch control circuit that performs ON / OFF control of the supplied current.

  Specifically, the LED group to be turned on is specified based on the display data from the display control unit 106, and the LED group to be turned on is blinked based on the serial data from the data modulation unit 112. Let

  3A shows a format example of frame data output from the information generation unit 110 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3B shows an example of a signal waveform of serial data indicating a blinking pattern output from the data modulation unit 112. Show.

  The frame data includes a synchronization code “SYN”, a “header” indicating the beginning of the frame, “data”, a “footer” indicating the end of the frame, and the like. The serial data is a bit serial binary signal generated from the frame data, for example, a signal corresponding to a transmission rate of 62.5 kbps.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the traffic light 100 uses the light signal generated by the blinking of the LED group constituting each signal lamp, as shown in FIG. Signal information).

  Next, the receiving apparatus 200 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The receiving apparatus 200 is mounted on, for example, a mobile phone having a navigation function, a vehicle, for example, an in-vehicle navigation system, and includes a light receiving unit 202, an information processing unit 204, and a recording unit 206.

  The light receiving unit 202 receives the light modulation signal transmitted from the traffic light 100, converts it into an electrical signal, and inputs it to the information processing unit 204.

  Based on the electrical signal input by the light receiving unit 202, the information processing unit 204 shapes the electrical signal and converts it into binary digital data. Further, the information processing unit 204 extracts “code”, for example, “header”, “footer”, and “data” in a state where synchronization by the synchronization code included in the digital data is established, and extracts the extracted “code” ”And“ data ”. As a result, the position information indicating the position of the traffic signal 100, the information regarding the intersection where the traffic signal 100 is installed, the information regarding the next intersection installed near the traffic signal 100, and the information indicating the signal state are restored.

  For example, when the receiving device 200 is mounted on a mobile phone having a navigation function or an in-vehicle navigation system, the current position and the traveling direction are confirmed accurately based on the position information indicating the position of the restored traffic signal. Therefore, the positioning function by GPS (Global Positioning System), that is, the function of receiving GPS signals transmitted from a plurality of artificial satellites, performing positioning processing based on the GPS signals, and performing position confirmation processing is omitted. it can.

  For example, when the receiving device 200 is mounted on a vehicle, the information indicating the restored signal state and the information regarding the intersection are recorded in the recording unit 206 to check the information indicating the recorded signal state. By doing so, it is possible to identify the vehicle that has violated the traffic and to detect the traffic violator. For example, when an accident occurs, by confirming the information indicating the recorded signal state, even if the accident occurs at an intersection where there is no witness, it is possible to identify a vehicle that has ignored the signal.

  Further, for example, when the receiving device 200 is mounted on a vehicle, information indicating a signal state that is red is restored, and when the driver is about to pass, the driver is notified that the signal is a red signal. You may make it do. By doing so, it is possible to warn the driver that the signal is being ignored.

  Further, information indicating the signal state of the intersection where the traffic signal 100 is installed, that is, state information indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the traffic signal 100, and information indicating the signal state of the next intersection, that is, light emission of each signal lamp of the next traffic light. When the state information indicating the state is restored, the restored information may be notified to the driver. By doing in this way, the driver can know the information of the next signal in advance, and can control the vehicle speed based on the information, so it is possible to reduce unnecessary acceleration, Fuel consumption can be improved.

  Further, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the receiving device 200 may be configured by a light receiving unit 202, an information processing unit 204, a vehicle speed control unit 208, and a storage unit 210. In the receiving device 200 as the vehicle control device, state information indicating a signal state of the traffic signal 100 and state information indicating a signal state of a traffic signal installed in the vicinity of the traffic signal 100, for example, a traffic signal installed at the next intersection are shown. An optical signal is received by the light receiving unit 202. The state information indicating the signal state of the traffic signal 100 restored by the information processing unit 204 and the state information indicating the signal state of the traffic signal at the next intersection are input to the vehicle speed control unit 208.

  The vehicle speed control unit 208 calculates the distance between the traffic signal 100 and the traffic signal of the next intersection from the map information stored in the recording unit 210, that is, the distance to the next traffic signal, and the signal state of the intersection where the traffic signal 100 is installed The vehicle speed is controlled based on the state information indicating the state of the vehicle and the state information indicating the signal state of the next intersection.

  Further, as information related to the next intersection of the intersection where the traffic signal 100 is installed, the distance to the next intersection is notified by an optical signal, and the receiving apparatus 200 is based on the notified distance to the next intersection. The vehicle speed may be controlled. For example, the vehicle speed control unit 208 includes a distance to the next intersection and a signal state, that is, state information indicating the signal state of the traffic signal 100, and a traffic signal installed in the vicinity of the traffic signal 100, for example, a signal of a traffic signal installed at the next intersection. From the state information indicating the state and the vehicle speed of the host vehicle, the vehicle speed that can pass through the next intersection is obtained, and this vehicle speed is controlled as the optimum vehicle speed. Further, the optimum vehicle speed may be guided to the driver. By doing so, the driver can recognize the optimum vehicle speed up to the next signal.

  Next, an information providing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  An advertising tower 300 as an information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes an advertising tower control unit 302 and a display unit 304. The advertising tower control unit 302 includes a display control unit 306 as a light emission control unit, a blinking control unit 308, an information generation unit 310, a data modulation unit 312, a storage unit 314, and a display data storage unit 316.

  The display unit 304 includes a plurality of light sources including LEDs, and a light beam having directivity is emitted from the light sources. In addition, the display unit 304 can transmit frame data by an optical signal generated by blinking the LEDs at high speed. For example, the display unit 304 transmits frame data by blinking the LEDs at a high speed from about 64 kHz to about 512 kHz.

  The display data storage unit 316 stores in advance display data for specifying an advertisement pattern to be displayed on the display unit 304.

  The display control unit 306 calls the display data stored in the display data storage unit 316 and outputs it to the blinking control unit 308. In addition, a signal synchronized with the start of lighting control of display data is input to the information generation unit 310 and the data modulation unit 312. In this case, information corresponding to the display data may be included in the synchronization signal. For example, the synchronization signal is made different depending on the display data. In this way, the information provided by the optical signal can be changed according to the display data, that is, the advertisement pattern.

  The storage unit 314 stores information about the advertiser of the advertisement provided by the advertising tower 300, for example, information indicating the location of information resources (documents, images, etc.) existing on the Internet corresponding to the advertisement information, for example, URL (Uniform Resource Locator). ), Information such as the store name of the advertiser and the opening hours of the store.

  The information generation unit 310 reads information stored in the storage unit 314 based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 306, generates frame data of a specific format corresponding to the read data, and the data modulation unit 312. To enter.

  The data modulation unit 312 modulates the frame data generated by the information generation unit 310 into serial data synchronized with a clock with a constant frequency based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 306, and outputs the serial data to the blinking control unit 308. .

  The blinking control unit 308 supplies current to the LED group constituting the display unit 304 to emit light and turn on the light source, and based on signals from the display control unit 306 and the data modulation unit 312, for each LED. And a switch control circuit for performing ON / OFF control of the supplied current.

  Specifically, the LED to be turned on is specified based on the display data from the display control unit 306, and the LED to be turned on is blinked based on the serial data from the data modulation unit 312.

  As a result, the advertising tower 300 transmits information such as the store name, business hours, and URL as shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a case where the information providing apparatus is applied to a street light using an LED, and an address where the street light is installed is transmitted by an optical signal generated by blinking the LED.

  Next, the receiving apparatus 200 will be described.

  The receiving device 200 is mounted on, for example, a mobile phone, and the configuration thereof is the same as that of the receiving device described with reference to FIG.

  For example, the receiving device 200 restores the URL, and the mobile phone can access information resources related to the advertisement by the restored URL. For this reason, it is not necessary to input the URL displayed by the advertising tower. In addition, the receiving apparatus 200 can restore the address provided by the street light and check the current position.

  Next, an information providing apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  A headlamp unit 400 as an information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a headlamp control unit 402 and a headlamp 404. The headlamp control unit 402 includes a display control unit 406 serving as a light emission control unit, a blinking control unit 408, an information generation unit 410, a data modulation unit 412, and a storage unit 414.

  The headlamp 404 is composed of, for example, a white LED. The headlamp 404 can transmit frame data by an optical signal generated by blinking the LED at high speed. For example, the headlamp 404 transmits frame data by blinking the LED at a high speed of about 64 kHz to about 512 kHz.

  The display control unit 406 outputs a control signal for turning on / off the headlamp 404 to the blinking control unit 408 in accordance with an operation signal generated by the driver operating the headlamp on / off. In addition, a signal synchronized with the start of lighting control of the headlamp is input to the information generation unit 410 and the data modulation unit 412.

  The memory | storage part 414 memorize | stores the information regarding the vehicle by which the headlamp part 400 is mounted, for example, the vehicle number of a license plate.

  The information generation unit 410 reads information stored in the storage unit 414 based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 406, generates frame data of a specific format corresponding to the read data, and the data modulation unit 412 To enter. Further, the information generation unit 410 generates frame data of a specific format corresponding to the vehicle speed information based on the input vehicle speed information, and inputs the frame data to the data modulation unit 412. In addition, the information generation unit 410 may generate frame data including information indicating the transmission time, that is, the time to start providing information by blinking the LED.

  The data modulation unit 412 modulates the frame data generated by the information generation unit 410 into serial data synchronized with a clock having a constant frequency based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 406 and outputs the serial data to the blinking control unit 408. .

  The blinking control unit 408 supplies current to the LEDs constituting the headlamp 404 to emit light and turn on the headlamp, and based on signals from the display control unit 406 and the data modulation unit 412, for each LED. And a switch control circuit for performing ON / OFF control of the supplied current. Specifically, the LEDs to be turned on are specified based on the display data from the display control unit 406, and the LEDs to be turned on are blinked based on the serial data from the data modulation unit 412.

  Next, the receiving apparatus 200 will be described.

  The receiving device 200 is installed, for example, on a road on which a vehicle passes, for example, at an intersection, and the configuration thereof is the same as that of the receiving device described with reference to FIG. As an example, FIG. 10 shows a case where it is installed at a traffic light installed at an intersection.

  For example, the receiving device 200 stores information on the restored vehicle in the storage unit 206. By doing in this way, a traffic violation vehicle can be specified. For example, a signal-ignoring vehicle can be identified and stored.

  For example, the receiving device 200 may notify the traffic signal of the restored vehicle speed information. In this way, the vehicle speed information is notified to the traffic information device, and the traffic information device can estimate a traffic jam and perform a signal switching operation based on the notified vehicle speed information.

  Further, for example, the receiving apparatus 200 stores the restored vehicle speed information in the storage unit 206. By doing in this way, a traffic violation vehicle can be specified. Moreover, a signal ignoring vehicle can be specified.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the receiving device 200 is mounted on a vehicle on which a headlamp unit 400 as an information providing device is mounted, and a reflected wave of an optical signal including a transmission time transmitted from the headlamp 404 is received. You may make it receive with the apparatus 200. FIG. By doing in this way, the arrival time of a reflected wave can be measured from the time which received the reflected wave, and the transmission time contained in the reflected wave, and the distance between vehicles can be measured. For this reason, based on the measured inter-vehicle distance, it is possible to issue a warning for a rear-end collision with a preceding vehicle or an alarm when the vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle. Further, it is possible to perform the follow-up control by traveling while maintaining a constant inter-vehicle distance according to the speed, that is, by cruise traveling.

  Next, an information providing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  A taillight 500 as an information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a taillight control unit 502 and a taillight 504. The tail light control unit 502 includes a display control unit 506 as a light emission control unit, a blinking control unit 508, an information generation unit 510, and a data modulation unit 512.

  The tail lamp 504 is composed of, for example, an LED. Further, the tail lamp 504 can transmit frame data by an optical signal generated by blinking the LED at high speed. For example, the tail lamp 504 transmits frame data by blinking the LED at a high speed of about 64 kHz to about 512 kHz.

  The display control unit 506 outputs a control signal for turning on / off the taillight 504 to the blinking control unit 508 in accordance with the on / off operation of the taillight by the driver. In addition, a signal synchronized with the start of tail lamp lighting control is input to the information generation unit 510 and the data modulation unit 512.

  The information generation unit 510 receives vehicle speed, brake on / off information, direction instruction information, and state information indicating a signal state received by a receiving device described later. The information generation unit 510 generates frame data of a specific format corresponding to the input information based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 506 and inputs the frame data to the data modulation unit 512.

  The data modulation unit 512 modulates the frame data generated by the information generation unit 510 into serial data synchronized with a clock having a constant frequency based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 506, and outputs it to the blinking control unit 508. .

  The blinking control unit 508 supplies current to each LED constituting the taillight 504 to supply light for each LED based on a drive circuit that causes the taillight to emit light, and a signal from the display control unit 506 and the data modulation unit 512. And a switch control circuit that performs ON / OFF control of the current to be generated.

  Specifically, the LED to be turned on is specified based on the display data from the display control unit 506, and the LED to be turned on is blinked based on the serial data from the data modulation unit 512.

  Next, the receiving apparatus 200 will be described.

  The receiving device 200 is installed in a vehicle, for example, and the configuration thereof is the same as that of the receiving device described with reference to FIG.

  For example, the receiving device 200 inputs the restored signal information to the information generation unit 510 of the tail lamp unit 500 mounted on the vehicle. By doing in this way, the information which shows a signal state can be notified to a following vehicle. For example, the following vehicle located behind the large vehicle is obstructed from the field of view of the front, so the state of the traffic light is not known, but the signal information can be notified by the taillight of the large vehicle.

  Further, the receiving device 200 is configured as shown in FIG. 6, and the vehicle control unit 208 performs follow-up control based on the restored vehicle speed, information indicating on / off of the brake, and direction indication information. Also good. By doing in this way, when cruise driving is performed, the vehicle can be controlled based on the brake operation, the direction instruction, and the vehicle speed information of the vehicle ahead. In addition, an alarm for a rear-end collision with a preceding vehicle can be performed.

  Next, an information providing apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIG.

  A vehicle failure notification device 600 as an information providing device according to the present embodiment includes an indicator control unit 602 and an indicator 604. The indicator control unit 602 includes a display control unit 606, a blinking control unit 608, an information generation unit 610, and a data modulation unit 612.

  The indicator 604 is composed of, for example, an LED. The indicator 604 can transmit frame data by an optical signal generated by blinking the LED at high speed. For example, the indicator 604 transmits frame data by blinking the LED at a high speed of about 64 kHz to about 512 kHz.

  The display control unit 606 outputs a control signal for turning on / off the indicator 604 to the blinking control unit 608 based on failure information input by a failure detection device (not shown). In addition, a signal synchronized with the start of lighting control of the indicator 604 is input to the information generation unit 610 and the data modulation unit 612.

  The information generation unit 610 generates frame data of a specific format corresponding to the failure information input by the failure detection device based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 406 and inputs the frame data to the data modulation unit 612.

  The data modulation unit 612 modulates the frame data generated by the information generation unit 610 into serial data synchronized with a clock having a predetermined frequency based on the synchronization signal input by the display control unit 606, and outputs the serial data to the blinking control unit 608. .

  The blinking control unit 608 supplies current to each LED that constitutes the indicator 604 to supply light for each LED based on a drive circuit that turns on the indicator and lights the indicator, and signals from the display control unit 606 and the data modulation unit 612. And a switch control circuit that performs ON / OFF control of the current to be generated.

  Specifically, the LED to be turned on is specified based on the display data from the display control unit 606, and the LED to be turned on is blinked based on the serial data from the data modulation unit 612.

  As a result, the vehicle failure notification device 600 transmits failure information as shown in FIG. 14 by an optical signal generated by blinking of the LEDs constituting the indicator 604.

  Next, the receiving apparatus 200 will be described.

  The receiving device 200 is mounted on a communication device such as a mobile phone, for example, and the configuration thereof is the same as that of the receiving device described with reference to FIG.

  For example, the receiving device 200 restores the failure information, and the mobile phone on which the receiving device 200 is mounted notifies the manufacturer's trouble center or help server of the failure content based on the restored failure information. For this reason, the contents of the failure can be accurately communicated, and a prompt response can be made. In addition, since it is possible to eliminate failure information extraction by the electrical connection method, electrical wiring and the like can be reduced.

It is a partial block diagram which shows the information provision apparatus concerning one Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of a display of a traffic light. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the format of frame data. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the signal waveform of the serial data shown with a blink pattern. It is a schematic diagram which shows the information provision method concerning one Example of this invention. It is a partial block diagram which shows the light-receiving device concerning one Example of this invention. It is a partial block diagram which shows the other light-receiving device concerning one Example of this invention. It is a partial block diagram which shows the information provision apparatus concerning one Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the information provision method concerning one Example of this invention. It is a partial block diagram which shows the information provision apparatus concerning one Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the information provision method concerning one Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the information provision method concerning one Example of this invention. It is a partial block diagram which shows the information provision apparatus concerning one Example of this invention. It is a partial block diagram which shows the information provision apparatus concerning one Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the information provision method concerning one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100 traffic light 102 traffic light control unit 104 traffic light display unit 106, 306, 406, 506, 606 display control unit 108, 308, 408, 508, 608 blinking control unit 110, 310, 410, 510, 610 information generation unit 112, 312, 412, 512, 612 Data modulation unit 114, 314, 414, storage unit 200 receiver 202 light receiving unit 204 information processing unit 206 storage unit 208 vehicle speed control unit 210 storage unit 300 advertising tower 302 advertising tower control unit 304 display unit 316 display data Storage unit 400 Headlamp unit 402 Headlamp control unit 404 Headlamp 500 Taillight 502 Taillight control unit 504 Taillight 600 Vehicle failure notification device 602 Indicator control unit 604 Indicator

Claims (11)

In an information providing apparatus that provides information by light emission of an LED and / or blinking of the LED,
A light emission control means for controlling the light emission of the LED based on a predetermined condition;
Information generating means for generating information different from information provided by light emission of the LED;
An information providing apparatus comprising: blinking control means for blinking the LED based on information generated by the information generating means. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The light emission control means controls the light emission of the LED group constituting each signal lamp of the first traffic light,
The information generating means includes a status signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light, and a status signal indicating a light emission state of each signal light of a second traffic light installed in the vicinity of the first traffic light. An information providing apparatus that generates the information. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 2,
The information generating device generates information indicating a distance between a position where the first traffic signal is installed and a position where the second traffic signal is installed. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The light emission control means controls the light emission of the LED based on the advertisement content provided by the advertising tower,
The information generating device generates information related to an advertisement. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The light emission control means controls the light emission of the LED constituting the headlamp of the vehicle,
The information generating device generates at least one of vehicle speed information of a vehicle on which the information providing device is mounted and a vehicle number of a license plate. In the information provision apparatus of Claim 5,
The information generation apparatus generates the information indicating the time to start blinking the LED. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The light emission control means controls the light emission of the LED constituting the taillight of the vehicle,
The information generation means generates at least one of vehicle speed information of a vehicle on which the information providing device is mounted, information indicating a brake operation state, and instruction information by operation of a direction indicator. apparatus. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The light emission control means controls the light emission of the LED constituting the taillight of the vehicle,
The information generating device generates information indicating a state signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of a traffic light. The information providing apparatus according to claim 1,
The light emission control means controls the light emission of the LED constituting the vehicle indicator,
The information generation device generates the failure information based on notification of failure information from a failure detection device of a vehicle on which the information providing device is mounted. An information providing device that provides information by light emission of the LED and / or blinking of the LED controls light emission of the LED group constituting each signal light of the first traffic light, and indicates the light emission state of each signal light of the first traffic light A status signal indicating and a status signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the second traffic light installed in the vicinity of the first traffic light is provided by an optical signal by blinking of the LED,
Information processing means for extracting, from the optical signal transmitted from the information providing device, a state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light and a state signal indicating the light emission state of each signal light of the second traffic light When,
Vehicle speed control means for controlling the vehicle speed based on a state signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light and a state signal indicating a light emission state of each signal light of the second traffic light. A vehicle control device. The vehicle control device according to claim 10, wherein
A storage means in which map information is recorded,
The vehicle speed control means obtains a distance between the first traffic light and the second traffic light based on the map information, a status signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the first traffic light, and the second traffic light A vehicle control device that controls the vehicle speed based on a state signal indicating a light emission state of each signal lamp of the traffic light.

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