JP2010238037A - Signal prediction device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a signal prediction device for easily and accurately predicting the change of the lighting color of a traffic light installed on a road while it is a simple means for which time-consuming operation is not required. <P>SOLUTION: As regards a traffic light in which lighting duration information of the lighting color is stored in a traffic light information database 1C, the current lighting color information is acquired so as to be associated with the current time by a traffic light lighting situation acquisition part 1E. Thus, in which point of time of the lighting period of the traffic light the current time exists, is determined on the basis of the lighting color information of the current time and the lighting duration information of the lighting color. As a result, the change of the lighting color of the traffic light installed on a road is easily and accurately predicted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a signal predicting device that predicts a change in lighting color of a traffic light installed on a road.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a device that predicts a change in the lighting color of a traffic signal so that a vehicle can smoothly pass through an intersection of a road where the traffic signal is installed is generally known. As this type of device, for example, in Patent Document 1, a traffic light is photographed with a vehicle-mounted camera, and the lighting color information of the photographed traffic light and the information of the photographing date and time are accumulated, so that the lighting cycle of each lighting color of each traffic light is A technique for constructing a database of lighting times is disclosed.

JP 2006-48624 A

  By the way, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to obtain the lighting cycle of each traffic light, it is necessary to accumulate information so that all of the lighting color switching timings of each traffic light are included, and the database is completed. Has the problem that it takes a lot of time.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a signal prediction device that can easily and reliably predict a change in the lighting color of a traffic light installed on a road while being a simple means that does not require a great amount of time. To do.

  The signal prediction apparatus according to the present invention includes a traffic signal information database that stores traffic signal information including lighting duration information of lighting colors of traffic signals obtained by passing the host vehicle, and lighting duration information of lighting colors stored in the traffic signal information database. It is characterized by comprising a traffic light lighting state acquisition means for acquiring current lighting color information of a traffic light being associated with the current time.

  In the signal predicting apparatus according to the present invention, for the traffic light whose lighting color lighting duration information is stored in the traffic light information database, the current lighting color information is acquired in association with the current time by the traffic light lighting status acquisition means. For this reason, based on the lighting color information of the current time and the lighting duration information of the accumulated lighting color, it is determined at which point in the lighting cycle of the traffic light the current time is. As a result, a change in the lighting color of the traffic light installed on the road can be predicted easily and reliably.

  In the signal prediction device according to the present invention, the lighting duration information of the lighting color of the traffic light can be easily obtained by road-to-vehicle communication when the host vehicle passes the traffic light. In this case, in order to accurately associate the lighting cycle of the traffic light with the current time, it is preferable that the lighting duration information of the lighting color of the traffic light is information acquired at a time closest to the current time.

  Further, in the signal prediction device according to the present invention, the current lighting color information of the traffic light in which the lighting duration information of the lighting color is accumulated in the traffic signal information database and the elapsed time since the current lighting color is set as the current time. It is possible to further include a traffic light lighting state acquisition unit that acquires the association. In this case, the lighting color can be predicted with higher accuracy than simply associating the lighting color information with the current time.

  According to the signal predicting apparatus according to the present invention, since the current lighting color information of the traffic signal in which the lighting color lighting duration information is accumulated in the traffic signal information database is acquired in association with the current time, the lighting color of the current time Based on the information and the stored lighting duration information of the lighting color, it is determined at which point in the lighting cycle of the traffic light the current time is. As a result, it is possible to easily and reliably predict a change in the lighting color of the traffic light installed on the road.

It is a schematic diagram of the road near the intersection where the vehicle provided with the signal prediction apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention passes. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the signal prediction apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the traffic signal information accumulation | storage process which signal prediction ECU shown in FIG. 2 performs. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the traffic light lighting color change prediction process which signal estimation ECU shown in FIG. 2 performs.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for implementing a signal prediction apparatus according to the present invention will be sequentially described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the terms “lighting color”, “lighting pattern”, “lighting cycle”, and “lighting timing” of the traffic light mean the current color, current pattern, current cycle, and current timing, respectively.

  The signal predicting apparatus according to the embodiment has a lighting color of the traffic light S so that the host vehicle C can smoothly pass through an intersection of a road where the traffic light S as shown in FIG. It is a device that predicts changes.

  The traffic light S shown in FIG. 1 is a standard traffic light having, for example, a blue light, a yellow light, and a red light. And the roadside machine B which transmits the signal apparatus information regarding this signal apparatus S toward the nearby vehicle by the optical beacon etc. is installed with the signal apparatus S.

  The traffic signal information transmitted by the roadside device B includes information that can identify the traffic signal S (ID number and position information), the format of the traffic signal S, the lighting sequence of each lighting color of the traffic signal S (lighting pattern), the lighting duration, and each lighting. Information such as a lighting cycle (lighting cycle) in which the lighting of the color is completed and an elapsed time since the current lighting color is obtained is included.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the signal prediction apparatus according to the embodiment includes a signal prediction ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 1, a receiver 2, a camera unit 3, and a GPS receiver 4 that start operation when an ignition switch is turned on. And a display 5 or the like.

  The signal prediction ECU 1 includes an input / output interface I / O, an A / D converter, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores programs and data, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores input data and the like, and a CPU ( It consists of a microcomputer equipped with Central Processing Unit) as hardware.

  The signal prediction ECU 1 includes a signal information acquisition unit 1A, a signal information storage unit 1B, a signal information database 1C, a map information database 1D, a signal lighting state acquisition unit 1E, a signal lighting color change prediction unit 1F, a vehicle speed guidance control unit. 1G and the like are configured by software.

  The receiver 2 receives information on the traffic signal S transmitted by the roadside device B when the host vehicle C passes through the vicinity of the roadside device B installed together with the traffic signal S. That is, after the ID number and position information that can identify the traffic light S, the format of the traffic light S, the lighting sequence of each lighting color of the traffic light S, the lighting duration, the lighting cycle in which each lighting color is cycled and the current lighting color are obtained. Receive information such as the elapsed time.

The traffic signal information acquisition unit 1A acquires information related to the traffic signal S received by the receiver 2. Among the information, for example, the traffic signal ID, date and time, lighting color, lighting elapsed time, blue lighting duration, yellow lighting duration, red Each information of lighting continuation time is sent to the traffic signal information storage part 1B. Then, the traffic signal information accumulating unit 1B accumulates each information sent from the traffic signal information acquiring unit 1A, that is, each information shown in Table 1 below in the traffic signal information database 1C at a predetermined timing.

  Here, the map information database 1D constitutes a GPS (Global Positioning System) together with the GPS receiver 4 and the display 5, and the map information database 1D stores map information including the position information of the traffic light S. Yes.

  The camera unit 3 is mainly composed of a color CCD camera, for example, and sequentially captures a lighting state of the traffic light S ahead of the host vehicle C in the traveling direction as a color image. The camera unit 3 can send a color image signal taken together with a shooting time signal to the traffic light lighting state acquisition unit 1E.

  The traffic light lighting state acquisition unit 1E is closest to the host vehicle C based on the current position information of the host vehicle C acquired from the GPS receiver 4 and the position information of the traffic signal S stored in the map information database 1D. The distance from the front traffic light S is calculated. And this traffic light lighting condition acquisition part 1E is the signal of the color image of the front traffic light S which the camera unit 3 image | photographs sequentially, when the distance of the own vehicle C and the nearest front traffic light S becomes predetermined distance N (m), The signal of the photographing time is acquired from the camera unit 3 and sent to the traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F.

  The traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F refers to the traffic signal information stored in the traffic signal information database 1C to determine whether or not the traffic signal information of the front traffic signal S is stored in the traffic signal information database 1C. When the traffic light information of the front traffic light S has already been accumulated in the traffic light information database 1C, the traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F includes the color image signal and the shooting time signal sent from the traffic light lighting status acquisition unit 1E, the traffic light Based on the traffic light information (see Table 1) of the front traffic light S stored in the information database 1C, a change in the lighting color of the front traffic light S is predicted.

  That is, for example, when the lighting color of the front traffic light S is switched from yellow to red at the timing of the photographing time 20:05:00, the traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F displays “red lighting duration time” according to traffic signal information (see Table 1). "Is 20 seconds, it is predicted that the lighting color of the front traffic light S will switch to blue at 20:05:20, 20 seconds later.

  Further, when the traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F cannot acquire information on the time when the front traffic light S is switched to red, for example, the lighting color of the front traffic light S at the shooting time 20:05:00 is red, If “blue lighting duration”> “red lighting duration”, the lighting color of the front traffic light S switches to blue at 20:05:20 after 20 seconds which is the maximum value of “red lighting duration”. Predict. If “blue lighting duration” ≦ “red lighting duration”, the traffic light lighting color change predicting unit 1F determines the time when the lighting color of the front traffic light S will next switch to blue from the closest date and time information. Ask.

  Further, when the traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F executes vehicle speed control based on the interrupt information from the roadside device B, for example, when the traffic signal information as shown in Table 1 is acquired from the traffic signal information storage unit 1B, the current blue lighting current state is obtained. 100 seconds of “blue lighting duration” is added to the time 20:06:00, and it is predicted that blue lighting will continue until 20:06:50, 50 seconds after the lighting elapsed time 50 seconds is subtracted. .

  Information on the lighting timing of the blue light of the front traffic light S predicted by the traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F is input to the vehicle speed guidance control unit 1G. When this information is input, the vehicle speed guidance control unit 1G, based on the current position information of the host vehicle C acquired from the GPS receiver 4 and the position information of the forward traffic light S stored in the map information database 1D, The distance between the host vehicle C and the front traffic light S is calculated.

  And this vehicle speed guidance control part 1G calculates the plan passing speed of the own vehicle C, and displays it on the display 5 so that the own vehicle C can pass an intersection at the timing when the blue light of the front traffic light S is lit. . In addition, the vehicle speed guidance control unit 1G outputs a predetermined control signal to an engine ECU (not shown) so as to control the engine speed so that the host vehicle C travels at the scheduled passing speed.

  Next, a procedure of processing executed by the signal prediction ECU 1 configuring the signal prediction device according to the embodiment will be sequentially described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. This signal prediction ECU 1 stores the traffic signal information of the traffic signal S received from the roadside device B in the traffic signal information database 1C by the processing procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  Further, the signal prediction ECU 1 predicts the timing at which the blue light of the traffic signal S immediately ahead of the host vehicle C is turned on by the processing procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG. The vehicle speed of the own vehicle C is guided so that the vehicle C can pass through a place where a traffic signal is installed such as an intersection or a pedestrian crossing, and the vehicle speed of the own vehicle C is automatically controlled.

  In the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, in step S <b> 10, the signal prediction ECU 1 determines whether or not the traffic signal information acquisition unit 1 </ b> A has acquired the traffic signal information of the traffic signal S from the receiver 2.

  If the determination result in step S10 is NO, the process proceeds to the end and ends the series of processes. If the determination result is YES, in the next step S11, the signal prediction ECU 1 turns on the traffic signal ID, the date and time, the lighting on the traffic light S Information on color, lighting elapsed time, blue lighting duration, yellow lighting duration, and red lighting duration is sent from the traffic signal information acquisition unit 1A to the traffic signal information storage unit 1B.

  In the next step S12, each information sent from the traffic signal information acquisition unit 1A is stored in the traffic signal information database 1C at a predetermined timing by the traffic signal information storage unit 1B. Of the information related to the traffic light S, “blue lighting duration”, “yellow lighting duration” and “red lighting duration” indicate that the traffic volume at the intersection where the traffic light S is installed changes depending on the time zone. Update to the latest information as it may change accordingly.

  On the other hand, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 4, in step S20, the signal prediction ECU 1 determines whether or not the traffic signal information acquisition unit 1A has acquired the traffic signal information of the forward traffic signal S that the receiver 2 receives from the roadside device B. In other words, it is determined whether or not the traffic signal information acquisition unit 1A has acquired interrupt information for vehicle speed control transmitted from the roadside device B.

  If the determination result in step S20 is YES, the process proceeds to step S25 described later. If the determination result is NO, in step S21, the signal prediction ECU 1 determines the distance between the host vehicle C and the nearest forward traffic light S. That is, the traffic light lighting state acquisition unit 1E is caused to calculate the distance of the front traffic light S.

  In the next step S22, the signal prediction ECU 1 determines whether or not the distance between the host vehicle C and the nearest front traffic light S is within a predetermined distance, that is, whether or not the front traffic light S is within a predetermined distance N (m). If the determination result is NO, the process returns to step S20.

  On the other hand, if the determination result in step S22 is YES, in step S23, the signal prediction ECU 1 obtains the traffic light lighting status from the camera unit 3 for the color image signal of the front traffic light S sequentially captured by the camera unit 3 and the shooting time signal. Part 1E is made to acquire. That is, the lighting color information of the front traffic light S is acquired.

  In the next step S24, the signal prediction ECU 1 causes the traffic light lighting color change prediction unit 1F to determine whether or not the traffic signal information of the front traffic light S is accumulated in the traffic signal information database 1C.

  If the determination result in step S24 is NO, the process proceeds to the end and the series of processes is terminated. If the determination result is YES, in the next step S25, the signal prediction ECU 1 turns the lighting color of the front traffic light S to blue. The traffic light color change prediction unit 1F predicts the switching time, that is, the blue lighting time of the front traffic light S.

  In subsequent step S26, the signal prediction ECU 1 causes the vehicle speed guidance control unit 1G to calculate the distance between the host vehicle C and the nearest front traffic light S, and based on the distance from the front traffic light S, the blue light of the front traffic light S The vehicle speed guidance control unit 1G calculates a planned passing speed for allowing the host vehicle C to pass through a place where a traffic signal is installed such as an intersection or a pedestrian crossing at the timing when is lit.

  Then, the signal prediction ECU 1 displays the planned passing speed of the host vehicle C calculated by the vehicle speed guidance control unit 1G on the display 5 (S27), and sends a predetermined control signal from the vehicle speed guidance control unit 1G to an engine ECU (not shown). By outputting and controlling the engine speed, the vehicle speed is controlled so that the host vehicle C travels at the planned passing speed.

  As described above, in the signal predicting apparatus according to the embodiment, the current lighting color information is the signal lighting for the traffic signal in which the lighting duration information of the lighting color is accumulated in the traffic signal information database 1C illustrated in FIG. It is acquired in association with the current time by the situation acquisition unit 1E. For this reason, based on the lighting color information of the current time and the lighting duration information of the accumulated lighting color, it is determined at which point in the lighting cycle of the traffic light the current time is. Therefore, according to the signal prediction device of one embodiment, it is possible to easily and reliably predict a change in the lighting color of a traffic signal installed on a road.

  The signal prediction apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the planned passing speed of the host vehicle C described above may be calculated based on the distance between the traffic signal S through which the host vehicle C has passed and the traffic signal S located in front of the traffic signal S.

  Further, when the calculated planned passing speed of the host vehicle C is faster than a predetermined vehicle speed, the scheduled passing speed may be calculated again by adding the time until the blue light next lights up.

  Further, the traffic signal information database 1C constructed in the host vehicle C may be provided at an appropriate center as a shared traffic signal information database accessible by an appropriate communication system so that a large number of vehicles can be used jointly. .

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Signal prediction ECU, 1A ... Traffic light information acquisition part, 1B ... Traffic light information storage part, 1C ... Traffic light information database, 1D ... Map information database, 1E ... Traffic light lighting condition acquisition part, 1F ... Traffic light lighting color change prediction part, 1G ...... Vehicle speed calculation unit, 2 ... receiver, 3 ... camera unit, 4 ... GPS receiver, 5 ... display.

Claims (4)

A traffic signal information database for storing traffic signal information including lighting duration information of the lighting color of the traffic light obtained by passing the host vehicle;
A signal predicting device comprising: a traffic light lighting state acquisition means for acquiring current lighting color information of a traffic light whose lighting color lighting duration information is stored in the traffic light information database in association with a current time. .   The signal prediction device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting duration information of the lighting color of the traffic light is acquired by road-to-vehicle communication when the host vehicle passes the traffic light.   The signal prediction device according to claim 1, wherein the lighting duration information of the lighting color of the traffic light is information acquired at a time closest to a current time. A traffic light lighting status acquisition means for acquiring the current lighting color information of a traffic light whose lighting color lighting duration information is accumulated in the traffic light information database and the elapsed time since the current lighting color is obtained in association with the current time. The signal prediction apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

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