JP2008276497A - Road communication system, road-to-vehicle communication system, on-vehicle device, vehicle, and traffic signal controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To control a vehicle or the like using signal information in a traffic system for providing signal information about the display of a traffic light with reliability of the signal information. <P>SOLUTION: A traffic signal controller 1A generates signal information about a current signal light color of a traffic light 2Aa, its duration, and a signal light color to be displayed in the future and its duration, etc. The signal information is sent to a communication area Q1 and a communication area Q2. An on-vehicle device 6 of a vehicle C traveling on a road R receives the signal information in the communication areas Q1, Q2. In this case, by comparing first signal information received at a first point in the communication area Q1 with second signal information received at a second point in the communication area Q2, the level of reliability of the signal information can be obtained. Based on the reliability obtained, an operation to support safe driving of the vehicle C is performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a road-to-vehicle communication system that provides signal information related to display of a signal lamp to an in-vehicle device.

In recent years, for the purpose of promoting traffic safety and preventing traffic accidents, systems that improve the safety of vehicles by receiving information from infrastructure devices installed on the road and utilizing the information have been studied. .
As such a system, for example, a safe driving support system is proposed in which operation information of a traffic light is wirelessly transmitted to a vehicle, and the vehicle performs brake control according to a remaining display time of a green signal included in the operation information ( Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 2806801

  The vehicle in the safe driving support system performs brake control based on the received operation information of the traffic light. Therefore, if there is an error in the operation information, the brake control functions on the assumption that the content of the operation information is correct. May not be performed properly, and the safety of vehicle travel may be reduced.

  Thus, since the reliability of the operation information is extremely important, it is desirable to regularly monitor the validity of the operation information.

  Therefore, the present invention can determine the reliability of the signal information when the in-vehicle device receiving the signal information provides signal information related to the display of the traffic signal to the vehicle from an infrastructure device or the like. An object is to provide a road-vehicle communication system and the like.

  A road communication system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a traffic signal controller having signal information creating means for creating signal information relating to display of current and future signal lamps, and a road connected to an installation point of the traffic signal controller First transmission means for transmitting the signal information to the first predetermined area above, and second transmission means for transmitting the signal information to the second predetermined area on the road, Before the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle traveling on the road toward the installation point of the traffic signal controller arrives at the installation point of the traffic signal controller, the first predetermined region and the first In the second predetermined area, the signal information can be received (claim 1).

  According to the road communication system according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to cause the in-vehicle device of the vehicle traveling toward the installation point of the traffic signal controller to receive signal information through two different transmission means. Therefore, for example, the in-vehicle device can determine the reliability of the information by comparing the received two pieces of signal information. In addition, by providing two different transmission means, even if one transmission means fails or the reception of information from the transmission means fails, the in-vehicle device is connected to the other transmission means. Signal information can be received. For this reason, even if it is a case where it travels at high speed and the communication time with a transmission means is limited very slightly, the probability that information will be received normally becomes high.

  The road-to-vehicle communication system according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a traffic signal controller having signal information generating means for generating signal information relating to display of current and future signal lamps, and an installation point of the traffic signal controller. A first transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a first predetermined area on the road to be connected; a second transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a second predetermined area on the road; An in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle traveling on a road toward an installation point of the traffic signal controller, the on-vehicle device before the arrival at the installation point of the traffic signal controller. And determining means for determining the reliability of the received signal information based on the signal information received from the one transmitting means and the second transmitting means.

  According to the road-to-vehicle communication system according to the second aspect of the invention, since the vehicle-mounted device of the vehicle traveling toward the installation point of the traffic signal controller can receive signal information through two different transmission means, the two received signals The reliability of the information can be determined based on the information. Thereby, for example, on the vehicle side using the signal information, it is possible to switch the operation content according to the reliability of the signal information, or to notify the driver according to the reliability. That is, it is possible to perform a fine operation according to the level of reliability of the received signal information.

  In this case, the determination unit compares the signal information received from the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit, and determines the reliability based on a difference in contents and a time difference in reception time. (Claim 3).

  Since the signal information includes dynamically changing information, the signal information received from different transmission means at different points in time has a portion that should originally match and a portion that should not match in the first place. . Therefore, for the dynamically changing part, the validity of the signal information, that is, the reliability, can be determined based on the difference between the contents and the time difference between the reception times. On the other hand, the part not dynamically changing The reliability can be determined based on whether there is a difference in the contents.

  The road-to-vehicle communication system according to the third aspect of the invention is a traffic signal controller provided with signal information generating means for generating signal information relating to display of current and future signal lamps, and an installation point of the traffic signal controller. A first transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a first predetermined area on the road to be connected; a second transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a second predetermined area on the road; An on-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle traveling on a road toward the installation point of the traffic signal controller, wherein the first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are all or part of the area. It is set to overlap, and the in-vehicle device has received from the first transmission means and the second transmission means in the overlapping area until it arrives at the installation point of the traffic signal controller Based on signal information Having a determination means for determining the reliability of the signal information (claim 4).

According to the road-to-vehicle communication system according to the third aspect of the invention, as in the road-to-vehicle communication system according to the second aspect of the invention, the in-vehicle device of the vehicle traveling toward the installation point of the traffic signal controller has two different transmissions. Since the signal information can be received through the means, the reliability of the information can be determined based on the two received signal information.
Furthermore, in the third aspect of the present invention, an area is provided in which two different transmission means transmit information in an overlapping manner so that signal information can be received from both transmission means within the area. Now we can judge the reliability.

In this case, when the determination unit receives signal information from the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit at the same time in the overlapped area, the determination unit compares the content and determines whether there is a difference in the content. The reliability may be determined according to (Claim 5).
In the third invention, since the signal information received simultaneously by the vehicle-mounted device can be compared, there should be no difference in the dynamically changing portion included in the signal information. It becomes possible to determine the reliability of signal information based on various criteria.
Here, the simultaneous reception includes a case where reception is performed with a very small time difference (for example, 10 ms or 20 ms), and there may be a time difference that does not cause a significant and clear difference in signal information.

  In addition, the in-vehicle device of the road-to-vehicle communication system according to the second and third inventions is preferably provided with a safe driving support control means for performing a safe driving support operation based on the received signal information. Item 6), the safe driving support control means may include at least one of notification information creation means and speed control means. The notification information creating means creates notification information to the driver based on the signal information, and the speed control means controls the traveling speed of the vehicle based on the signal information. 7).

  The in-vehicle device performs a safe driving support operation based on the received signal information, thereby further improving the safety of traffic. Note that the safe driving support operation here accurately predicts the display of the traffic light based on the signal information, and determines whether or not it is possible to safely pass the point where the traffic signal is installed according to the prediction. In this case, it indicates notifying the driver of information corresponding to the result or braking the vehicle.

  Here, in the second and third inventions, since the reliability of the received signal information can be determined, it is preferable that the in-vehicle device can switch the content of the operation according to the reliability. Item 8). The reliability may vary from point to point or local government depending on the operation and maintenance status of roadside equipment, etc., so drivers can rest assured by enabling appropriate safe driving support according to the level of reliability. Get driving assistance.

Further, the in-vehicle device of the road-to-vehicle communication system according to the second and third inventions is further preferably provided with a reliability notification means for notifying the reliability obtained by the determination means to the outside. 9).
By notifying and utilizing the reliability determined in the in-vehicle device to an external device other than the in-vehicle device, it can be fed back to the operation and maintenance of the road device. In particular, if the reliability is lowered, it is possible to immediately grasp that it is necessary to maintain the road device.

In this case, the traffic signal controller receives the reliability transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device, and the signal information is transmitted by the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit based on the received reliability. It is further preferable that a determination means for determining whether or not to continue is provided (claims 10 and 14).
In particular, if a notification notifying that the reliability level has been reduced can be received from the in-vehicle device, the operation staff should be automatically stopped or stopped immediately in response to the notification. It is possible and very useful.

  A road-to-vehicle communication system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes a traffic signal controller having signal information creating means for creating signal information relating to display of current and future signal lamps, and an installation point of the traffic signal controller. Road transmitting means for transmitting the signal information to a predetermined area on a road to be connected; and an on-vehicle device that is mounted on a vehicle and receives the signal information in the predetermined area; Vehicle-to-vehicle communication means for transmitting / receiving signal information between the vehicle and a determination means for determining the reliability of the signal information. The determination means is configured to receive the signal information received in the predetermined area and the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means. The reliability of the signal information is determined based on the signal information acquired from the vehicle.

According to the road-to-vehicle communication system according to the fourth aspect of the invention, the reliability of the information is determined based on the signal information transmitted from the road device and the signal information received from other vehicles through the vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Can do.
In the fourth aspect of the invention, even when signal information can be received only from one road device, the reliability can be determined by receiving signal information from another vehicle.

  Further, safety can be improved in the same manner for an in-vehicle device used in the road-to-vehicle communication system according to the second to fourth inventions and a vehicle equipped with the in-vehicle device (claims 12, 13). ).

As described above, according to the road communication system, the road-to-vehicle communication system, the in-vehicle device, the vehicle, and the traffic signal controller of the present invention, the in-vehicle device can grasp the reliability of the signal information, and the reliability Accordingly, a safe driving support operation can be performed.
In addition, the in-vehicle device notifies the grasped reliability to the outside, so that it can be determined whether or not the signal information is properly provided, and it can be determined whether or not it is appropriate to continue providing the information. become.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of equipment arrangement of a road-to-vehicle communication system according to the present invention, and is mounted on a traffic signal controller 1A, an optical beacon 3A, a signal controller 5, a vehicle C, and a vehicle C. Machine 6 is included.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing functional blocks of the traffic signal controller 1A.

[Overall system configuration]
On the road R connected to the intersection A, a stop line P is drawn before the intersection A.
A traffic signal controller 1A is installed at the intersection A. One or a plurality of vehicles traveling toward the intersection A by turning on, turning off, and blinking the signal lamp colors of the signal lamps including the signal lamp 2Aa (see FIG. The right of traffic is displayed for the vehicle C in the middle).

  The traffic signal controller 1A has a built-in transmitter 7 (FIG. 4) for wirelessly transmitting communication data to the vehicle, and communicates from the communication antenna 1Aa connected to the transmitter toward the road R. Data is sent. The vehicle C traveling on the road R can receive the communication data transmitted from the communication antenna 1Aa in the communication area Q2 (the range indicated by the oblique lines in FIG. 1).

The communication data includes signal information related to the display lamp color of the signal lamp 2Aa controlled by the traffic signal controller 1A and the schedule of the duration.
The signal information here stores, for example, the duration of the currently displayed green signal, the display order of the yellow signal, the right turn arrow, the red signal, and the like to be displayed thereafter, the scheduled duration thereof, and the like.
The communication data includes road shape information related to the shape of the road such as the number of lanes and gradient of the road R, road surface state information for notifying the road surface state of the road R, and the like.

The transmitter 7 may not be incorporated in the traffic signal controller 1A. For example, the transmitter 7 may be separately installed on the road R as an independent device.
In this case, the traffic signal controller 1A may transmit the created signal information or the like to the transmitter 7 through a separate communication line or the like.
The signal information and the like may be in any format. For example, the signal information and the road shape information may be combined into one information, or conversely, the signal information may be a plurality of information of two or more. . A transmitter may be prepared for each type of data to be transmitted, and signal information and road shape information may be transmitted from different transmitters.

In addition, an optical beacon 3A is installed on the upstream side of the road R, and the optical beacon head 3Aa transmits downlink data to the communication area Q1. The vehicle C traveling on the road R can receive the downlink data transmitted from the optical beacon head 3Aa in the communication area Q1 (a range indicated by hatching in FIG. 1).
The downlink data also includes signal information related to the indicator lamp color of the signal lamp 2Aa controlled by the traffic signal controller 1A and the schedule of the number of continuous seconds. The signal information is transmitted by the traffic signal controller 1A. It is created and sent to the optical beacon 3A through a communication line or the like.

In FIG. 1, the communication area Q1 and the communication area Q2 are set so as not to overlap. However, these areas may overlap. That is, there may be an area where the vehicle C can communicate with both the transmitter 7 and the optical beacon 3A simultaneously.
Moreover, you may use the apparatus of what kind of communication system as two on-road apparatuses, such as the transmitter 7 which transmits signal information with respect to a vehicle, and the optical beacon 3A. In this case, the communication method used for road-to-vehicle communication may use any frequency band such as a long wave band or a short wave band, and any modulation method such as OFDM or CDMA may be used. Any method such as CSMA / CA may be used.

Further, as the two road devices, for example, an optical beacon and a radio beacon can be used, a DSRC road device and a wireless device such as WiMAX or WAVE can be used, and two optical beacons can be used. Further, the number of road devices may be three or more.
Further, there may be one road device, and the road device may be configured to transmit signal information to two different communication areas (may partially overlap).

On the other hand, a signal control device 5 is installed in the traffic control center, and exchanges information with the traffic signal controller 1A through a router 4 or a communication line.
The traffic signal controller 1A determines a signal control plan for each cycle based on the signal control command information from the signal control device 5, and each signal lamp such as the signal lamp 2Aa is determined based on the signal control plan determined at the start of the cycle. It has the function of lighting the color.
The signal control command information here includes, for example, information on the time or ratio of the green light to be assigned to each of the main road and the secondary road, one cycle time, point sensitive control (for example, right turn sensitive control, bus sensitive control). And information on whether or not to implement (dilemma sensitive control, etc.).

The vehicle C traveling on the road R has a function of receiving the signal information and performing a safe driving support operation.
The safe driving support operation here is based on the signal information, road shape information, etc., and predicts the display state of the traffic light when the vehicle C passes the stop line P. When it is predicted that the vehicle is stopped, it means that the brake is automatically controlled to stop the vehicle before the stop line P, or that the driver is warned to stop.
Note that all the vehicles traveling on the road R do not have to have the function of the safe driving support operation, and the function may be stopped even if the vehicle has the function.

[Contents of signal information]
FIG. 2 shows an example of the signal information.
(A) is an example of the basic structure of signal information, and shows that it is composed of a header part, a data part, and a footer part.
(B) is an example which shows the detail of information.

The header portion stores the data size of the signal information and the number of lamp colors (04) to be provided to the vehicle by the traffic signal controller 1A, and displays each display lamp color in the subsequent area. The estimated number of seconds is stored for the number of lamp colors.
A CRC, SUM value, and the like are stored in the footer part.

Further, the data portion stores the scheduled number of seconds of lamp color display corresponding to the number of lamp colors stored in the header portion. In this example, the currently displayed signal lamp color is a blue signal (code “01”), the scheduled display time is 22 seconds (“16” in hexadecimal), and the yellow signal is displayed next to the blue signal. (Code “02”), the display scheduled number of seconds is 8 seconds (“08” in hexadecimal), and the right turn arrow (code “13”) is displayed next to the yellow signal, and the display scheduled number of seconds. The number is unknown (hexadecimal “FF”), the right turn arrow displays the red signal (code “03”), and the scheduled display time is 64 seconds (hexadecimal “40”). It shows that there is.
Note that the scheduled display seconds may be expressed in units of 100 ms or 10 ms, and an expression method when the scheduled display seconds are unknown may be used.

  Note that the signal information transmitted by the transmitter 7 and the optical beacon 3A does not have to be in the same format, and information regarding the display lamp color of the signal lamp 2Aa controlled by the traffic signal controller 1A and the schedule of the number of continuous seconds is provided. Different formats may be used as long as they are included.

[Basic operation of traffic signal controller]
Hereinafter, the basic operation of the traffic signal controller 1A will be described.

The signal control plan creation means 101 of the traffic signal controller 1A determines a signal control plan related to the display period of each signal lamp color based on the signal control command information transmitted from the signal control device 5 at the start of the cycle, Store in the signal control plan table 102.
Then, the signal lamp control means 111 controls the signal lamp 2Aa and the like in the order of the states 1 to 7 of the table 102 to turn on and off each signal lamp color.

  For example, when the right turn sensitive control is performed for the right turn blue arrow light displayed in the state 3, the display time of the state 3 is extended as needed, and is terminated at an appropriate timing by the right turn sensitive control. For this reason, the display time of the right turn blue arrow light when the right turn sensitive control is performed is not determined in advance and becomes “unknown”.

  In addition, the signal information creation unit 121 creates signal information based on the signal control plan table 102 at every predetermined period (for example, every 100 ms). The created signal information is transmitted to the communication areas Q1 and Q2 through the optical beacon 3A and the transmitter 7.

[Operation of signal controller]
Next, the operation of the signal control device 5 will be described.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of functional blocks of the signal control device 5.
The signal controller 5 transmits information to and from a plurality of traffic signal controllers including the traffic signal controller 1A and other traffic signal controllers (not shown) by a transmission unit 501 and a reception unit 511 through a communication line or the like. Are sending and receiving.

The traffic condition acquisition means 531 collects sensor information transmitted from one or more vehicle sensors (not shown) installed on the road and accumulates them in the traffic information database 532. Based on these sensor information, the traffic situation on the road where the vehicle sensor is installed and the surrounding area is grasped. In this case, the traffic condition is grasped at a cycle such as every 5 minutes or every traffic light cycle time. In grasping the traffic situation, indicators such as traffic volume, occupation time, average travel speed, queue length of a group of vehicles on each road are used.
For example, the traffic volume ratio on the main road side and the secondary road side fluctuated greatly at one intersection, and the inflow traffic volume exceeded the saturation traffic flow rate at the intersection and reached saturation at another intersection. Know the situation.

Next, based on the traffic situation, a blue time, a cycle length, an offset, and the like assigned to the display of each intersection are determined, and the signal control command creating means 521 creates the signal control command information including these. And the instruction | indication regarding operation | movement of each traffic signal controller is given by transmitting the produced said signal control command information to each traffic signal controller at any time.
Each traffic signal controller that has received the signal control command information determines a signal control plan by the method described above.

[Basic operation of in-vehicle equipment]
Hereinafter, the basic operation of the in-vehicle device 6 will be described in detail.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the functional blocks of the in-vehicle device 6 and the vehicle C equipped with the in-vehicle device 6.

In addition to the in-vehicle device 6, the vehicle C is provided with an engine for advancing the vehicle C and a brake for braking. The engine and the brake can be controlled by a driver operating an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, and the like, but can also be automatically controlled based on an instruction from the in-vehicle device 6 or the like.
In addition, the vehicle C includes a display (head-up display, a display device for a car navigation device, etc.) for notifying a passenger of various types of information based on information from the in-vehicle device 6 by means of images, sounds, etc. A speaker is provided.

The first receiving means 601 receives downlink data transmitted from the optical beacon head 3Aa of the optical beacon 3A in the communication area Q1. The downlink data includes the signal information and road shape information. The first receiving means receives these pieces of information via an optical beacon receiving antenna (not shown) mounted on the vehicle C.
Similarly, in the communication area Q2, the second receiving unit 602 receives the signal information, road shape information, and the like transmitted from the communication antenna 1Aa by a predetermined communication method in a vehicle C (not shown). ) Etc. are received and acquired.

Then, based on the acquired signal information, road shape information, and the like, the display lamp color of the signal lamp 2Aa when the stop line P is reached is predicted from the time required to reach the stop line P, and according to the prediction result Then, the notification information creation means 621 creates voice information for the passenger and notifies it through a speaker, or creates image information and notifies it through a display.
Further, the speed control means 631 controls the engine and the brake to automatically brake the vehicle C and assist the driver's driving.

[Reliability judgment operation of signal information in vehicle equipment]
Next, the signal information reliability determination operation in the in-vehicle device 6 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  The in-vehicle device 6 receives the first signal information from the optical beacon 3A at the first point after the vehicle C enters the communication area Q1. Then, after passing through the first point, after traveling for a predetermined time toward the stop line P and entering the communication area Q2, the second signal information is similarly received at the second point. In this case, the required time from the first point to the second point is 3 seconds.

First, an example in which it can be determined that the reliability of signal information is at a high level will be described with reference to FIG.
Based on the first signal information received at the first point, the reliability determination means 611 of the in-vehicle device 6 indicates that the current lamp color of the traffic signal is a blue signal and the remaining 2 seconds, and the lamp to be displayed next It is recognized that the color is yellow and the duration is 5 seconds, and then the right turn blue arrow signal 10 seconds and the red signal 50 seconds are displayed in this order.
Then, the time is measured by a timer circuit or the like from the time when the first signal information is received.

Next, the second signal information is received at the second point. In this case, the reliability determination unit 611 recognizes that 3 seconds have elapsed from the time when the first signal information is received by the time measurement processing by the timer circuit or the like.
In the second signal information, the current lamp color of the traffic light is the yellow signal and the remaining 4 seconds, the lamp color to be displayed next is the right turn blue arrow signal and the duration is 10 seconds, and then the red signal 50 Recognize that it is displayed in the order of seconds and green light.

  The reliability determination unit 611 predicts signal information when 3 seconds have elapsed from the first signal information. When the first signal information is received, the remaining blue signal is displayed for 2 seconds, and after 3 seconds, the next lamp color of the blue signal, that is, the yellow color is changed to the yellow signal and the yellow signal is displayed. 1 second has elapsed, and the remaining time of the yellow signal can be predicted to be 4 seconds. Then, it can be predicted that the right turn blue arrow signal is scheduled to be displayed in the order of 10 seconds and the red signal is 50 seconds.

  In this case, since the second signal information received after 3 seconds is not inconsistent with the predicted state, the reliability determination means 611 determines whether the received first and second signal information are the validity of the contents and the time information. It is possible to grasp that the reliability is “high” in the accuracy of.

Next, an example in which it can be determined that the reliability of signal information is at a standard level will be described with reference to FIG.
Based on the first signal information received at the first point, the reliability determination means 611 of the in-vehicle device 6 indicates that the current lamp color of the traffic signal is a blue signal and the remaining 25 seconds, and the lamp displayed next It is recognized that the color is yellow and the duration is 5 seconds, and then the right turn blue arrow signal 10 seconds and the red signal 50 seconds are displayed in this order.
Then, the time is measured by a timer circuit or the like (not shown) from the time when the first signal information is received.

Next, the second signal information is received at the second point. In this case, the reliability determination unit 611 recognizes that 3 seconds have elapsed from the time when the first signal information is received by the time measurement processing by the timer circuit or the like.
In the second signal information, the current lamp color of the traffic light is a blue signal and the remaining 21 seconds, the next displayed lamp color is a yellow signal and the duration is 5 seconds, and then the right turn blue arrow signal is 10 seconds. It is recognized that the red signals are displayed in the order of 50 seconds.

  The reliability determination unit 611 predicts signal information when 3 seconds have elapsed from the first signal information. At the time when the first signal information was received, the remaining blue signal was displayed for 2 seconds. Therefore, after 3 seconds, the green signal was displayed and the remaining number of seconds was 22 seconds. It can be predicted that the display will be in the order of an arrow signal of 10 seconds and a red signal of 50 seconds.

Then, the reliability determination unit 611 recognizes that there is an error of 1 second in the remaining time of the blue signal that is the current lamp color by comparing the predicted result with the second signal information. However, it is also recognized that there is no contradiction regarding the display order other than the remaining time of the currently displayed green light and its duration.
In this case, the reliability determination means 611 recognizes that the received first and second signal information have the validity of the contents, but the accuracy of the time information is not so high and the reliability is at the “standard” level. be able to.

Finally, an example in which it can be determined that the reliability of the signal information is at a low level will be described with reference to FIG.
Based on the first signal information received at the first point, the reliability determination means 611 of the in-vehicle device 6 indicates that the current lamp color of the traffic signal is a blue signal and the remaining 2 seconds, and the lamp to be displayed next It is recognized that the color is yellow and the duration is 5 seconds, and then the right turn blue arrow signal 10 seconds and the red signal 50 seconds are displayed in this order.
Then, the time is measured by a timer circuit or the like from the time when the first signal information is received.

Next, the second signal information is received at the second point. In this case, the reliability determination unit 611 recognizes that 3 seconds have elapsed from the time when the first signal information is received by the time measurement processing by the timer circuit or the like.
In the second signal information, the current lamp color of the traffic light is a yellow signal and the remaining one second, the next lamp color displayed is a red signal and the duration is 50 seconds, and then the blue signal and the yellow signal are displayed. Recognize that they are displayed in order.

  The reliability determination unit 611 predicts signal information when 3 seconds have elapsed from the first signal information. When the first signal information is received, the remaining blue signal is displayed for 2 seconds, and after 3 seconds, the next lamp color of the blue signal, that is, the yellow color is changed to the yellow signal and the yellow signal is displayed. 1 second has elapsed, and the remaining time of the yellow signal can be predicted to be 4 seconds. Then, it can be predicted that the right turn blue arrow signal is scheduled to be displayed in the order of 10 seconds and the red signal is 50 seconds.

Then, the reliability determination unit 611 compares the predicted result with the second signal information.
Here, it is consistent that the current lamp color is a yellow signal, but it is recognized that there is an error of 3 seconds in the remaining time. Further, it recognizes that the signal lamp colors scheduled to be displayed after the yellow signal are different.
In this case, the reliability determination unit 611 can recognize that the received first and second signal information are significantly contradictory in content and the reliability is at a “low” level.

  Thus, the reliability determination means 611 receives and compares the signal information at a plurality of points in the road-to-vehicle communication area, and the validity of the content and the accuracy of the duration of the signal lamp color included in the signal information from the reception time difference. By determining this, it is possible to determine the reliability of the signal information.

In addition, although the method of judging based on the comparison result at two points was described here, when three or more road devices are installed, the same judgment is made using signal information received at three or more points. May be.
Also, the reliability level may be simply “high” or “low”, or may be classified more finely.

  In addition, if there is an overlapping area between the communication area Q1 and the communication area Q2, and the signal information can be received simultaneously from the transmitter 7 and the optical beacon 3A in the overlapping area, the contents of the two signal information received simultaneously are displayed. By comparing, the level of reliability may be determined in the same manner.

For example, if the contents of the signal information received at the same time in the overlapping area completely match, it is determined that the reliability is “high” and the display order of the signals is the same, but the display seconds are only a few. If there is a significant difference, the reliability is judged to be “standard”, and if the signal display order is inconsistent or there is a significant difference in the number of seconds displayed, the reliability is “low”. Judgment should be made.
With such a method, the determination process in the in-vehicle device can be made very simple because it is possible to use only whether the contents are the same without considering the factor of time difference in reception time. can do.
In addition, when it can receive simultaneously from three or more road machines, you may judge in the same way using three signal information received simultaneously.

[Safe driving support operation in vehicles]
The safe driving support operation in the vehicle C performed based on the reliability obtained in this manner will be described in detail.

As described with reference to FIG. 7, when it is determined that the reliability obtained by the reliability determination unit 611 is “high”, the content of the received signal information is trusted, and the notification information generation unit 621 and the speed control are performed. The means 631 performs safe driving support control for the driver.
First, the current traveling speed of the vehicle C is acquired by speed acquisition means (not shown) such as a wheel speed sensor, and the distance to the stop line P is acquired based on the received road shape information and the like. And the required time to the stop line P at the time of drive | working with the acquired said travel speed is acquired.

For example, if the required time is calculated as 20 seconds, the traffic light changes to a red signal after 20 seconds, so that it can be determined that the vehicle C should stop before the stop line P.
In this case, the notification information creating means 621 creates sound information such as “the signal will soon turn red” or “should stop before the stop line” as notification information to the driver, and notifies the information through a speaker or the like. Furthermore, these are displayed on the head-up display as character information, or a symbol that prompts the display of the car navigation device to stop is displayed.
Moreover, the speed control means 631 sends a control signal to the accelerator and the brake to prevent the vehicle C from accelerating any more or to decelerate and assist the driver's driving. In this case, it may be displayed separately on a display device or the like that the vehicle is automatically decelerating, or may be notified to the driver by voice.
In addition, when the driver entrusts the driver to fully automatic operation, the brake and the accelerator may be continuously controlled so that the driver stops safely and smoothly before the stop line P.

  If it is determined that a green signal is displayed when the stop line P is reached, the notification information creating unit 621 does not have to create the notification information, and “the vehicle passes through the intersection safely. You may make it produce | generate and alert | report the audio | voice information etc. which should be able to drive calmly. Further, the speed control means 631 does not need to perform an operation such as brake assist.

In addition, as described with reference to FIG. 8, when the reliability obtained by the reliability determination unit 611 is determined to be the “standard” level, the content of the received signal information has some error, but It can be recognized that it can be used as a guide for predicting the display.
And on that assumption, safe driving support control for the driver is performed.

When the reliability is at the “standard” level, the duration of the currently displayed green light can be predicted only to the extent of, for example, approximately 10 seconds or approximately 8 to 10 seconds.
In this case, for example, when it is determined that the time required to reach the stop line P is around 10 seconds, it is difficult to accurately determine the state of the signal lamp color when the stop line P is reached. Therefore, the notification information creating unit 621 may create notification information such as “Be careful because the signal will change soon”, and it is better not to create notification information that strongly instructs “should stop”.
On the other hand, when it is determined that the time required to reach the stop line P is 20 seconds or more, even if there is an error of about several seconds, it is predicted that the signal lamp color is surely a red signal. it can. For this reason, the notification information creation unit 621 and the speed control unit 631 may operate in the same manner as when the reliability level is “high”.

In addition, when the reliability is “low” level, the safe driving support operation should not be performed based on the signal information. Therefore, the notification information creating unit 621 and the speed control unit 631 do not perform any operation in principle. good.
However, if the traffic signal is about to change, the driver may assume that some notification will be given by the safe driving support operation, and the warning information may not be watched carefully. Since the driving support operation is not performed, notification information such as “watch the state of the traffic light” may be generated and notified.

[External output operation by vehicle]
The reliability obtained by the reliability determination unit 611 is preferably output to the outside. For example, the determined reliability as well as identification information for identifying intersections and roads to be traveled, position information of the vehicle C, etc. are sent to the traffic signal controller 1A, the optical beacon 3A, other infrastructure communication devices, etc. (not shown). Good to send. In particular, when it is determined that the reliability is “low”, it is preferable to transmit warning information indicating that the reliability is low.

If the reliability is low, it is considered that some abnormality has occurred in the traffic system. For example, the signal control device 5 that receives the notification immediately notifies the information to the infrastructure side, so that traffic signal control is immediately performed. The machine 1A, the optical beacon 3A, etc. can be instructed to stop the creation and transmission of signal information, or the maintenance staff can immediately go to the site to stop the system.
Whether or not the system is operating correctly has a significant impact on traffic safety, so it is extremely useful to immediately detect and notify system anomalies.

Further, in the determination of reliability, if it is determined that there is a difference in the duration of the currently displayed signal lamp color, the difference (for example, the signal information from the transmitter 7 is the signal information from the optical beacon 3A). May be output to the outside.
For example, the signal information created by the traffic signal controller 1Aa is transmitted to each of the transmitter 7 and the optical beacon 3A, and the signal information received by the transmitter 7 and the optical beacon 3A is transmitted on the road R. Assume a case.
When the traffic signal controller 1Aa can immediately transmit signal information to the built-in transmitter 7, but the transmission of signal information to the optical beacon 3A is greatly delayed, the delay is the cause. Thus, it is considered that a difference occurs in the display time of the signal lamp color included in the signal information.
In such a case, when the vehicle C outputs the difference to the outside, the infrastructure side that has received the difference feeds back the difference to the signal information that is sent on the road R, so that the signal information to be sent It is possible to prevent a difference in content, which is very useful.
If the difference is small, the operation is continued and the maintenance staff is notified that readjustment by maintenance is necessary. If the difference is large, the operation is stopped and the maintenance staff is notified. It is preferable to notify that the operation has been stopped.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the vehicle C receives the signal information from the infrastructure side in the communication areas Q1 and Q2 and compares them to determine the reliability. However, the communication area Q1 or the communication area Q2 The signal information is received from another vehicle (not shown) that has received the signal information by inter-vehicle communication, and the signal information is compared with the signal information received by the vehicle C itself in the communication area Q1 or Q2. Thus, the reliability of the signal information can be determined.
For example, if the vehicle signal is in an abnormal state in which the duration of the current signal light color included in the signal information is not correctly reduced as time passes because the clock signal of the traffic signal controller is disturbed, the vehicle is in the communication area Q1. It is considered that fluctuations occur in the duration time depending on the timing of passing through.

  In such a case, according to the present embodiment, vehicles that received signal information at different time points from the infrastructure side exchange information, and determine the reliability of the signal information by comparing each other's signal information. Is possible.

  In addition, by comparing the signal information obtained through the three communication areas Q1 and Q2 and inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles, for example, there is no contradiction or deviation between these contents and the reception time difference. It is also possible to use a method for determining that the reliability is “high”.

  In addition, the traffic signal controller, the signal control device, and the like in the present invention may be realized by a single casing or may be realized by a combination of a plurality of casings. Each of these may be realized by one computer or may be realized by combining a plurality of computers.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of apparatus arrangement | positioning of the traffic system which concerns on this invention. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the format of the signal information which concerns on this invention, (b) is a figure which shows an example of signal information. It is a figure which shows an example of a signal control plan. It is a figure which shows an example of the functional block structure of 1 A of traffic signal controllers. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional block configuration of a signal control device 5. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a functional block structure of the vehicle equipment. It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the reliability determination method of signal information (when reliability level is high). It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the reliability determination method of signal information (when reliability level is a standard). It is a figure for demonstrating the outline | summary of the reliability determination method of signal information (when reliability level is low).

Explanation of symbols

1A Traffic signal controller 1Aa Communication antenna 2Aa Signal lamp 3A Optical beacon 3Aa Optical beacon head 4 Router 5 Signal control device 6 Onboard unit 7 Transmitter 101 Signal control plan creation means 102 Signal control plan table 111 Signal lamp control means 121 Signal information creation Means 501 Transmission means 511 Reception means 521 Signal control command creation means 531 Traffic condition acquisition means 532 Traffic information database 601 First reception means 602 Second reception means 611 Reliability determination means 621 Notification information creation means 631 Speed control means 641 Reliability outside Output means

Claims (14)

A traffic signal controller having signal information creating means for creating signal information relating to the display of current and future signal lamps;
First transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a first predetermined area on a road connected to an installation point of the traffic signal controller;
A road communication system having second transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a second predetermined area on the road,
Until the vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle traveling on the road toward the installation point of the traffic signal controller arrives at the installation point of the traffic signal controller, the first predetermined area and the A road communication system characterized in that the signal information can be received in a second predetermined area. A traffic signal controller having signal information creating means for creating signal information relating to the display of current and future signal lamps;
First transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a first predetermined area on a road connected to an installation point of the traffic signal controller;
Second transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a second predetermined area on the road;
A road-to-vehicle communication system including an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle traveling on the road toward an installation point of the traffic signal controller,
The in-vehicle device determines the reliability of the received signal information based on the signal information received from the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit until it arrives at the installation point of the traffic signal controller. A road-to-vehicle communication system, comprising: a determination unit that performs the determination. The determination means includes
The signal information received from the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit is compared, and the reliability is determined based on a difference in contents and a time difference in reception time. Road-to-vehicle communication system. A traffic signal controller having signal information creating means for creating signal information relating to the display of current and future signal lamps;
First transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a first predetermined area on a road connected to an installation point of the traffic signal controller;
Second transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a second predetermined area on the road;
A road-to-vehicle communication system including an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle traveling on the road toward an installation point of the traffic signal controller,
The first predetermined area and the second predetermined area are set so that all or part of the area overlaps,
The vehicle-mounted device receives the received signal based on the signal information received from the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit in the overlapping area until the vehicle signal arrives at the installation point of the traffic signal controller. A road-to-vehicle communication system characterized by comprising a determining means for determining the reliability of information. The determination means includes
When signal information is simultaneously received from the first transmission means and the second transmission means within the overlapped area, the contents are compared and the reliability is determined according to whether there is a difference in the contents. The road-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 4. The in-vehicle device is
The traffic system for road-to-vehicle communication according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising safe driving support control means for performing a safe driving support operation for the driver based on the received signal information. The safe driving support control means includes
Including at least one of notification information creating means and speed control means,
The notification information creating means creates notification information to the driver based on the signal information,
The road-vehicle communication system according to claim 6, wherein the speed control unit controls a traveling speed of the vehicle based on the signal information. The road-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the safe driving support operation is configured such that operation content is switched according to the reliability. The in-vehicle device is
The road-to-vehicle communication system according to any one of claims 2 to 8, further comprising reliability notification means for notifying the reliability obtained by the determination means to the outside. The traffic signal controller is
Receiving means for receiving the reliability transmitted from the in-vehicle device;
10. The road according to claim 9, further comprising: a determination unit that determines whether or not to continue transmission of the signal information by the first transmission unit and the second transmission unit based on the received reliability. Inter-vehicle communication system. A traffic signal controller having signal information creating means for creating signal information relating to the display of current and future signal lamps;
Road transmission means for transmitting the signal information to a predetermined area on the road connected to the installation point of the traffic signal controller;
A road-to-vehicle communication system including an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle and receiving the signal information in the predetermined area,
The in-vehicle device is
Vehicle-to-vehicle communication means for transmitting and receiving signal information to and from other vehicles;
Determination means for determining the reliability of the signal information,
The determination means determines the reliability of the signal information based on the signal information received in the predetermined area and the signal information acquired from another vehicle by the vehicle-to-vehicle communication means. system.   It is used for the road-vehicle communication system in any one of Claims 2 thru | or 11, The vehicle equipment characterized by the above-mentioned.   A vehicle equipped with the vehicle-mounted device according to claim 12.   A traffic signal controller used in the road-to-vehicle communication system according to claim 10.

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