JP2014056483A - Road traffic control method, road traffic control system, and in-vehicle terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To autonomously control traffic between vehicles so as to ensure safe traffic even if a traffic light in an intersection fails.SOLUTION: A road traffic control method for autonomously controlling traffic between vehicles at an intersection using inter-vehicle communication includes the steps of: detecting an abnormal condition of a traffic light installed in an intersection; stopping a vehicle or prompting the vehicle to stop when the vehicle approaches the intersection where the faulty traffic light is installed; detecting the number of vehicles in the vehicle group entering from the same direction toward the intersection by means of the inter-vehicle communication; determining priority of each vehicle group to enter the intersection on the basis of the number of vehicles in the vehicle group; and allowing the vehicle groups to enter the intersection according to the priority.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for autonomously controlling traffic between vehicles at an intersection where a traffic light is not operating normally.

  Various technologies for supporting driving of vehicles have been researched and developed. Patent Document 1 discloses that a lighting interval of a traffic light is appropriately changed on a traffic flow control target road, and the contents of the change are notified to a traveling vehicle. Thereby, the lighting interval of the traffic light can be changed so that traffic is smooth according to the actual traffic volume, and the remaining time until the signal is switched in the vehicle can be grasped.

  Although the technology for adjusting the traffic flow at the intersection by the above-described technology is known, the driving support technology when the traffic infrastructure at the intersection stops functioning is not known. When a traffic light or the like stops functioning, vehicles and pedestrians lose traffic instructions at intersections, increasing the risk of causing an accident.

  There is also a driving support technology such as Patent Document 2 that uses a vehicle-to-vehicle communication to issue a warning such as an encounter collision. However, such a technique provides a collision warning and is not a technique for determining which vehicle has the priority of traffic, so it is not very useful at intersections where traffic lights stop functioning.

JP 2012-63174 A JP 2007-323185 A

  An object of the present invention is to perform traffic control that provides support so that safe traffic can be performed even when a traffic light or the like stops functioning at an intersection.

A road traffic control method according to the present invention is a road traffic control method for autonomously controlling traffic between vehicles at an intersection using inter-vehicle communication,
Detecting an abnormality of a traffic light installed at an intersection;
A step of controlling the vehicle to stop or urge the vehicle to stop when approaching the intersection where the traffic signal where the abnormality is detected is approached;
Detecting the number of vehicles in the vehicle group entering from the same approach direction with respect to the intersection by inter-vehicle communication;
Determining the priority of entry into the intersection of each vehicle group based on the number of vehicles in each vehicle group;
Entering an intersection according to the priority;
including.

Detection of an abnormality of a traffic signal at an intersection can be performed by an arbitrary method. For example, it is conceivable to acquire an emergency state notification that informs of a traffic signal abnormality from a traffic information center by wireless communication or to acquire a notification from another vehicle by inter-vehicle communication, but other methods may be used. Absent.

  The approach to the intersection where the traffic signal where the abnormality is detected can be detected by comparing, for example, map information storing the position of the intersection with position information acquired from the position information acquisition device. . The vehicle may control to automatically stop the vehicle, or may notify the driver to stop the vehicle.

  The number of vehicles in the vehicle group entering from the same approach direction can be detected by each vehicle notifying a message storing its own vehicle position, travel direction, and the like and counting them. Each vehicle may periodically send such a message. Alternatively, a notification that a certain vehicle at the intersection starts measuring the number of vehicles may be transmitted, and the other vehicle may transmit the message in response to the notification. It is preferable to take a certain amount of time for detecting the number of vehicles, and it is also preferable that no vehicle enters the intersection during that time. For example, after one approach to the intersection from each approach direction is completed, a stop period is set during which the vehicle does not enter from any approach direction, during which the pedestrian is allowed to pass the intersection and the next entry Therefore, it is also preferable to measure the number of vehicle groups.

  It is preferable that the priority for entering the intersection is assigned to a higher priority for a vehicle group with a larger number of vehicles. However, from the viewpoint of traffic safety, the priority determination method may be arbitrary. For example, a higher priority may be assigned to a vehicle group with a smaller number of vehicles.

  When the priority assignment is completed, it is preferable to start entering the intersection from a vehicle group having a high priority. When priority is determined during the stoppage period of all vehicles (pedestrian traffic period), the stopped vehicle will sound a horn and prompt the pedestrian to stop passing Is also preferable. You may make it notify all the vehicles by the timing of the driving | running | working start of a vehicle notifying the specific vehicle (leader vehicle) in an intersection. Further, the timing at which each vehicle in the intersection has passed a predetermined time after the start of measurement of the number of vehicle groups or the stop of all vehicle groups may be determined as the vehicle travel start timing. The start of the intersection approach by the vehicle may be realized by the vehicle automatically controlling the driving, or may be realized by notifying the driver of the driving.

  When the entry of the intersection of one vehicle group is completed, the vehicle group having the next highest priority enters the intersection. That is, the vehicles constituting the vehicle group having the next highest priority control the vehicle so as to enter the intersection, or notify the driver to enter the intersection. Completion of the passage of the vehicle group can be performed by, for example, detecting that the number of vehicles constituting the vehicle group have passed the intersection by inter-vehicle communication. Alternatively, it can be performed by detecting that the last vehicle in the vehicle group has passed the intersection by inter-vehicle communication. The determination may be made based on the fact that communication from vehicles in the vehicle group cannot be received. Further, the detection of the passage of the vehicle group may be left to the driver's visual observation, and a notification may be given that the vehicle may enter the intersection after the currently passing vehicle group stops. In this way, when each vehicle group completes the passage to the intersection, a period in which the vehicle is stopped again and a pedestrian can pass is provided, and measurement of the number of vehicle groups is started.

  When the approach to the intersection is completed from all the approach directions, an all-vehicle stop period in which the approach is not entered from any approach direction again is provided. During this period, the pedestrian can freely pass through the intersection. In order to notify the pedestrian of the start of the entire vehicle stop period (pedestrian traffic period), at least the leading vehicle among the vehicles stopped at the intersection performs control to automatically flash the hazard lamp. It is also preferable.

If a notification that the emergency vehicle is traveling is received during the above process, all vehicles stop entering the intersection or stop the driver from entering the intersection. It is preferable to encourage it.

  Through the processing as described above, even in an intersection where traffic infrastructure such as traffic lights breaks down or where there is no traffic infrastructure, it is possible to perform traffic safely by cooperation of vehicles by inter-vehicle communication.

  In addition, this invention can also be grasped | ascertained as the road traffic control method containing at least one part of the said method. The present invention can be understood as a road traffic control system or an in-vehicle terminal provided with means for executing at least a part of the above processing. The present invention can also be understood as a computer program for causing a computer to execute this method. Each of the above means and processes can be combined with each other as much as possible to constitute the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to perform traffic control that provides support so that safe traffic can be performed even when a traffic light or the like stops functioning at an intersection.

It is a functional block diagram of the vehicle which comprises a road traffic control system. It is a figure which shows the system outline | summary of a road traffic control system. It is a time chart regarding the traffic of the intersection performed in a road traffic control system. It is a flowchart which shows the process which a vehicle performs. It is a flowchart which shows the process which a leader vehicle performs. It is a flowchart which shows the process which a general vehicle performs. It is a flowchart which shows the process which a waiting vehicle performs.

<System overview>
This embodiment is a road traffic control system that performs communication between vehicles autonomously at intersections where traffic lights stop functioning, autonomously determines the approach timing of intersections, and safely controls traffic even when there are no traffic lights instructions. is there. Hereinafter, the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an intersection where the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment functions. The functions of all traffic lights installed at the intersection are stopped due to a failure or the like. When each vehicle detects that the traffic light has stopped functioning, it shifts to an emergency mode and autonomously controls traffic between the vehicles. In the following, as shown in FIG. 2, an example of an intersection (crossroad) where two roads intersect and can enter from four directions will be described, but the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment is an arbitrary intersection. It will be clear that this is effective.

FIG. 3 is a time chart regarding intersection traffic performed by the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment. Basically, a period in which all vehicles stop and pedestrians pass is provided. Since all vehicles are stopped, pedestrians can pass in either direction. After a certain period of time, the parked vehicle rings a horn to alert the pedestrian that the vehicle will begin to pass. And the passage of vehicles is started. Vehicle traffic is permitted for each approach path. Therefore, the vehicle permitted to enter can either go straight or turn right or left. Here, the order in which entry permission is given is a priority order determined by the size of the vehicle group existing on each approach path (the number of vehicles constituting the vehicle group). Although details of the priority determination method will be described later, the size of the vehicle group of each approach path is determined by performing inter-vehicle communication during the vehicle stop period, and the priority is determined based on the size. And when the passage of vehicles is completed from all approach directions, all the next vehicle groups are temporarily stopped. Then, the hazard lamp blinks to encourage pedestrians to pass. Thereafter, this process is repeated to realize safe traffic at the intersection.

<Configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing functional blocks of an in-vehicle terminal included in a vehicle constituting the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment. The vehicle includes an emergency information receiving unit 11, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication unit 12, a GPS device 13, a map information storage unit 14, a vehicle speed sensor 15, a hazard lamp 16, a horn 17, an output unit 18, a control unit 19, and the like. The vehicle has other functional units other than those shown here, which a general vehicle has. The in-vehicle terminal is a computer including an arithmetic processing device, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, a communication interface, an input / output device, and the like, and the emergency processing unit 11 executes the program stored in the memory. The functional units such as the inter-vehicle communication unit 12 and the control unit 19 are realized.

  The emergency information receiving unit 11 is a functional unit that receives emergency state information that notifies an abnormality of a traffic signal at an intersection. The emergency state information can be notified from a traffic information center via a mobile phone network, for example. However, as long as emergency status information can be received, the source of the notification and the communication method may be arbitrary. The emergency state information includes information that can identify the location of the traffic signal where the abnormality has occurred, such as a traffic signal identifier or position information.

  The inter-vehicle communication unit 12 is a functional unit that performs wireless communication with other vehicles. As long as wireless communication can be performed with other vehicles, the communication method may be arbitrary. However, in the present embodiment, the same frequency is used according to the CSMA / CA communication control procedure using a single frequency of 760 MHz band. We perform news communication. Each vehicle transmits at intervals of 100 milliseconds, and each message transmits header information such as vehicle ID, position information, vehicle speed, and traveling direction, and arbitrary data. In the road control system in the present embodiment, traffic control processing is performed based on header information and other arbitrary data.

  The GPS device 13 is a functional unit that acquires the current position of the vehicle based on a signal from a GPS satellite. The positioning method may be single positioning, DGPS positioning (relative positioning method), or RTK positioning (interference positioning method). Further, a hybrid positioning method using information obtained from a vehicle speed sensor or a gyro may be used. The map information storage unit 14 is a functional unit that stores a road map. In the road map, in particular, the installation position of the traffic light is stored. By using the GPS device 13 and the map information storage unit 14, when a function stop of a certain traffic signal is notified, it is possible to know whether the vehicle has approached the intersection where the traffic signal is installed.

  The output unit 18 is a functional unit for presenting information to passengers in the vehicle, and includes, for example, a video display device and an audio playback device. By using the output unit 18, it is possible to give an instruction to the driver to stop or allow traffic by video output or audio output.

  The control unit 19 controls the entire vehicle. Specifically, a transition process to an emergency mode accompanying emergency information reception, a traffic control process using inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles, a notification to the driver, and the like are performed. Details of processing performed by the control unit 19 will be described later.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 19 does not intervene in vehicle travel control. That is, the in-vehicle terminal does not automatically control the brake operation, the steering wheel operation, and the accelerator operation. Although the in-vehicle terminal notifies the driver to stop or drive the vehicle, the operation of actually stopping or driving the vehicle is left to the driver. However, control is performed to sound a horn or blink a hazard lamp. However, in another embodiment, the control unit 19 may perform control to automatically stop or run the vehicle instead of performing control to prompt the driver to stop or run the vehicle. .

<Processing content>
Hereinafter, the flow of processing performed by each vehicle in the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  First, a description will be given with reference to FIG. The emergency information receiving unit 11 receives emergency state information from the traffic information center (S11). When the emergency state information is received, the control unit 19 shifts to the emergency state mode (S12). In the emergency mode, the processes after step S13 are performed. When shifting to the emergency state mode, the control unit 19 stores in the memory the identifier or position information of the traffic signal whose function has been stopped, which is included in the received emergency state information. When the identifier of the traffic signal is given, the installation location of the traffic signal can be known by referring to the map information stored in the map information storage unit 14.

  In the emergency mode, the vehicle approaches the intersection (hereinafter simply referred to as an intersection) where the functioning signal is stopped by comparing the position information acquired from the GPS device 13 and the position of the functioning signal. It is detected whether or not (S13). When approaching the intersection, the control unit 19 notifies the driver of the vehicle via the output unit 18 that prompts the vehicle to pause because the traffic signal at the next intersection is broken (S14). ).

  Vehicles arriving at the intersection determine their roles according to the situation at the time of arrival. In the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment, one specific vehicle among the vehicles in the intersection behaves as a leader. When a vehicle arrives at the intersection, it is determined whether there is a leader vehicle in the intersection (S15). If there is no other leader vehicle, the newly arrived vehicle becomes the leader vehicle (S16). As will be described later, since the leader vehicle sets a flag indicating that the own vehicle is the leader vehicle in a periodically transmitted message, if a newly arrived vehicle does not receive a message from the leader vehicle for a certain period of time, its intersection It can be determined that there is no leader vehicle.

  When the leader vehicle already exists in the intersection, it is determined whether or not the current period is a period in which all the vehicles are stopped (that is, a pedestrian passage period) (S17). If it is during the all vehicle stop period, the vehicle that newly arrives at the intersection behaves as a general vehicle (vehicle other than the leader vehicle) that passes through the intersection during the passage period after the all vehicle stop period (S18). On the other hand, when the vehicle arrives at the intersection, it behaves as a standby vehicle that does not pass the intersection during the current passage period (S19). The standby vehicle passes the intersection in the next traffic period after the current traffic period. As will be described later, a notice to that effect is given from the leader vehicle during the stop period of all the vehicles, and a notice to that effect is sent from the leader vehicle or other vehicles during the passage period of the vehicle. Therefore, a newly arrived vehicle can determine whether it is in the all vehicle stop period or the traffic period by receiving the inter-vehicle communication.

  Next, the content of the process performed by the leader vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. The leader vehicle first determines the vehicle start time at the intersection (S22). The timing for starting the travel of the vehicle may be arbitrary, but may be, for example, 60 seconds after the arrival of the leader vehicle (or the start of the entire vehicle stop period). The leader vehicle transmits vehicle information regularly (for example, every 100 milliseconds) (S23). This vehicle information includes the vehicle identifier, the current position, the vehicle speed, the traveling direction, the fact that the vehicle is a leader vehicle, and the travel start time of the vehicle. Note that the time may be adopted as long as the information indicates the vehicle travel start time, or the remaining time until the start time may be employed.

  Further, vehicle information transmitted from other vehicles is collected during this period (S24). Similarly, the vehicle information transmitted from other vehicles includes the identifier of the vehicle, the current position, the vehicle speed, the traveling direction, and the fact that the vehicle is a general vehicle. Based on the traveling direction, it can be determined from which direction (or approach path) each vehicle is about to enter the intersection. Therefore, it is possible to grasp how many vehicles exist for each approach path.

  Until the vehicle travel start time arrives, it waits while periodically transmitting vehicle information, and when the vehicle travel time arrives (S25-YES), the leader vehicle determines how many vehicles exist for each approach path, It is determined from the vehicle information received during standby (S26). For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 2, there are three vehicle groups entering from the lower direction, two vehicle groups entering from the right direction, two vehicle groups entering from the upper direction, and left direction. It can be seen that there is only one vehicle group entering from.

  The leader vehicle determines the traffic priority of each vehicle group based on the size of the vehicle group (the number of vehicles included in the vehicle group) (S27). Specifically, the higher the number of vehicles included in the vehicle group, the higher the priority is determined. If the number of vehicles is equal, it may be determined by an appropriate method. For example, it is conceivable to select at random or to select according to a predetermined criterion based on the approach direction. The leader vehicle notifies the priority of each vehicle group to other vehicles by inter-vehicle communication. It should be noted that vehicles are not necessarily present on all approach roads at this time. Therefore, for example, when a vehicle exists only in three of the four approach roads, the priority for the three vehicle groups is notified. By this notification, other vehicles can grasp that there is an approach path where no vehicle exists.

  When the priority is determined, the leader vehicle notifies other vehicles of the start of vehicle travel by inter-vehicle communication (S28). Although other vehicles can grasp that the vehicle travel start time has arrived without receiving such notification, in this embodiment, after receiving this notification, the vehicle starts to travel. Yes. In another embodiment, this notification may be omitted, and the vehicle may be started upon receiving a priority notification from the leader vehicle.

  Before starting the traffic at the intersection, the leader vehicle automatically controls the horn of the vehicle to urge the pedestrian to stop the traffic at the intersection (S28). Then, the vehicle starts to run in order of priority (S29). Control for passing the vehicle group in order of priority will be described later.

  Next, the contents of processing performed by a general vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the general vehicle here is a vehicle that arrives at the intersection at the time when the leader vehicle exists and during the stop period of all the vehicles. This can be determined by receiving a message notifying the start time of travel from the leader vehicle when the intersection arrives. In addition, it is preferable to perform different control between the vehicle positioned at the head of the approach path (leading vehicle) and the vehicle positioned after the second (following vehicle). Each vehicle can determine whether or not the own vehicle is the head vehicle by comparing the position of the own vehicle acquired from the GPS device with the position of another vehicle notified by inter-vehicle communication.

When the general vehicle arrives at the intersection, it receives vehicle information from the leader vehicle and other vehicles (S31), and the own vehicle also periodically transmits vehicle information (S32). The vehicle information transmitted by the general vehicle includes the identifier of the vehicle, the current position, the vehicle speed, the traveling direction, and the fact that it is a general vehicle. Then, a message including the priority for each vehicle group is received from the leader vehicle (S33-YES), and further, when a vehicle travel start notification is received (S34), at least the leading vehicle stopped at the intersection automatically horns. Control is performed to urge the pedestrian to stop passing the intersection (S35). Then, the vehicle starts to run in order of priority (S3).
6). Control for passing the vehicle group in order of priority will be described later.

  Next, the contents of the process performed by the standby vehicle will be described with reference to FIG. As described above, the standby vehicle is a vehicle that has arrived at an intersection during the passage of the vehicle. The standby vehicle does not pass the intersection during the current intersection passage period, and passes the intersection during the next vehicle passage period with the pedestrian passage period in between.

  When the standby vehicle detects that all the vehicle groups in the current traffic period have completed the traffic at the intersection (S38), it determines whether the host vehicle is closest to the intersection center among the standby vehicles existing at the intersection. (S39). Here, since the standby vehicles regularly transmit inter-vehicle communication messages, it is possible to grasp each other's position. The vehicle (S39-YES) located closest to the center of the intersection is the vehicle that will behave as a leader vehicle next time. This vehicle notifies the surrounding vehicle by lighting a hazard lamp to the vehicle (S40), and also turns on the hazard lamp of the host vehicle to encourage a pedestrian to pass through an intersection (S41). Thereafter, this vehicle is a leader vehicle and executes the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

  A vehicle (S39-NO) other than the vehicle located closest to the center of the intersection is a vehicle that behaves next as a general vehicle. When an instruction to turn on the hazard lamp is received by inter-vehicle communication, if the host vehicle is the leading vehicle at the intersection, the hazard lamp is turned on to prompt the pedestrian to pass through the intersection (S43). Based on vehicle information transmitted by inter-vehicle communication, whether or not there is a vehicle positioned ahead of the own vehicle among vehicles having the same traveling direction as the own vehicle Can be judged. Thereafter, the vehicle executes a process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 as a general vehicle.

  Here, the next leader vehicle is carried out when the passage of all the vehicle groups in the current passage period is completed, but the next leader vehicle may be determined at an arbitrary timing. Further, the selection criteria for the next leader vehicle may be other than the above. For example, the vehicle that arrives at the intersection earliest may be the next leader vehicle.

  Next, the control for passing the vehicle group in order of priority shown in step S30 in FIG. 5 and step S36 in FIG. 6 will be described. When the vehicle starts running and the warning for pedestrians is completed, the leading vehicle belonging to the vehicle group having the highest priority notifies the following vehicle (vehicles in the same vehicle group) of the start of traffic. To do. The leading vehicle and the succeeding vehicle that has received this notification give the driver a notification of prompting the driver to start passing the intersection via the output unit 18. The moving vehicle that has started passing the intersection notifies the surroundings of the vehicle group number of the host vehicle through inter-vehicle communication. For example, the message of “vehicle group number / total number of vehicle groups” is transmitted in a message for inter-vehicle communication. Here, the priority is preferably used for the vehicle group number, but other information may be sent as long as the priority of the passing vehicle group can be grasped from this message. By this notification, the other vehicle can grasp the current period during which the vehicle is passing and the period during which the vehicle group having the highest priority is passing. When the above-mentioned inter-vehicle communication message is transmitted when the vehicle arrives at the intersection, it can be seen that the time when the vehicle arrives is during the intersection traffic period of the vehicle.

  There are several control methods for completing the passage of one vehicle group and starting the passage of the vehicle group assigned the next highest priority. One is a method based on the visual observation of the driver. During the passage of a certain vehicle group, the leading vehicle of the vehicle group having the next highest priority passes through the intersection when the current vehicle group completes the traffic of the intersection to the driver via the output unit 18. Notify that it is possible. When the driver confirms that the passage of the preceding vehicle group has been completed based on visual observation, the driver starts passing the intersection. At the start of the travel, the leading vehicle notifies the subsequent vehicle of the start of traffic through inter-vehicle communication. The succeeding vehicle prompts the driver to pass based on the traffic start notification from the head vehicle and passes through the intersection.

  As another method, there is a method of determining the start of traffic of the next vehicle group using inter-vehicle communication. Vehicles passing through the intersection not only include the “vehicle group number / total number of vehicles” in the inter-vehicle communication message, but also notify the “number of vehicles included in the vehicle group” and pass through the intersection. Notify when you have completed. As a result, the vehicles waiting at the intersection can grasp the number of vehicles in the currently passing vehicle group and the number of vehicles that have completed the traffic at the intersection. Accordingly, when it is found that a number of vehicles equal to the number of vehicles in the vehicle group have completed the traffic at the intersection, the next highest priority vehicle starts to pass through the intersection. More specifically, the head vehicle notifies the subsequent vehicle of the start of passage, and prompts the driver to start the passage of the intersection via the output unit 18.

  As another method, when the last vehicle in the vehicle group completes the traffic at the intersection, the last vehicle may notify the vehicle through the inter-vehicle communication that the vehicle group has completed the traffic at the intersection. Whether or not the host vehicle is the last vehicle in the vehicle group can be grasped from the vehicle information exchanged by inter-vehicle communication, and the completion of traffic at the intersection can be grasped from the position information. Therefore, when the last vehicle in the vehicle group completes the traffic at the intersection, it can notify that by inter-vehicle communication. When the next highest priority vehicle receives this notification, it prompts the driver to start passing the intersection via the output unit 18. In this case, it is not necessary to notify the start of traffic from the leading vehicle to the following vehicle, but it may be performed.

  As yet another method, when the above-mentioned message transmitted by inter-vehicle communication from a vehicle passing the intersection cannot be received by the vehicle waiting at the intersection, the traffic at the intersection of the preceding vehicle group is completed. It can also be judged. This is because if the vehicle group moves and is far enough away, the inter-vehicle communication message cannot be received due to the deterioration of the received power. At this time, a notification of the start of traffic is sent from the leading vehicle to the following vehicle, and the driver is prompted to start traffic to the intersection via the output unit 18.

  By repeating the process as described above, it is possible to pass through the intersection according to the priority. In addition, the vehicle waiting at the intersection detects that the traffic of the vehicle group with the lowest priority has been completed, so that the vehicle travel time is once ended, and the next is the pedestrian traffic period. I can grasp.

<Operation and effect of this embodiment>
According to the road traffic control system according to the present embodiment, even if there is no traffic instruction from a traffic light, it is possible to perform traffic control autonomously by communicating between vehicles. Therefore, even when the traffic light stops functioning due to a failure or the like, the intersection can be safely passed.

<Modification>
In the above description, the in-vehicle terminal does not automatically perform a brake operation or an accelerator operation of the vehicle, but only prompts the driver to stop or pass the vehicle. However, it may be controlled such that the in-vehicle terminal actively intervenes in driving and stops the vehicle or starts running.

  Further, in the above description, based on an instruction from the leader vehicle or the leading vehicle, the passage of the vehicle group is started, and horns and hazard lamps are controlled. However, it is possible for each vehicle to determine the timing for performing these controls by judging the message of inter-vehicle communication, and even if these controls are performed autonomously without being based on instructions from the leader vehicle or the like. I do not care. However, more reliable control can be realized by giving an instruction from the leader vehicle or the like.

Further, in the above description, each vehicle transmits various types of information by periodically broadcasting a message through inter-vehicle communication. However, the communication method in the inter-vehicle communication may be arbitrary, and may be a method that returns a response in response to an inquiry from a certain vehicle. For example, in the process of detecting the number of vehicles constituting the vehicle group, the number of vehicles in the vehicle group can be detected by transmitting a message from the leader vehicle or the like and counting the number of vehicles that have responded to the message. .

  In addition, the traffic priority at the intersection may not necessarily be higher as the number of vehicles in the vehicle group is larger. In order to realize safe traffic, if the priority is determined without duplication, the determination criterion may be arbitrary.

  Moreover, it is conceivable that emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire engines pass when the signal stops functioning at the intersection. When the emergency vehicle approaches the intersection where the traffic signal is stopped, the emergency vehicle notifies that the emergency vehicle passes by inter-vehicle communication. The vehicle that has received this notification can make all vehicles enter the intersection in order to prioritize the passage of the emergency vehicle over the traffic control between the vehicles described above.

  In addition to the modifications listed here, various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle 11 Emergency information receiving part 12 Inter-vehicle communication part 13 GPS apparatus 14 Map information storage part 18 Output part 19 Control part

Claims (8)

A road traffic control method that autonomously controls traffic between vehicles at an intersection using inter-vehicle communication,
Detecting an abnormality of a traffic light installed at an intersection;
A step of controlling the vehicle to stop or urge the vehicle to stop when approaching the intersection where the traffic signal where the abnormality is detected is approached;
Detecting the number of vehicles in the vehicle group entering from the same approach direction with respect to the intersection by inter-vehicle communication;
Determining the priority of entry into the intersection of each vehicle group based on the number of vehicles in each vehicle group;
Entering an intersection according to the priority;
Including road traffic control methods. In the step of determining the priority, a higher priority is assigned to a vehicle group having a larger number of vehicles.
The road traffic control method according to claim 1. A step of allowing a pedestrian to pass the intersection by providing a stop period in which no vehicle group from any approach direction enters the intersection after the vehicle group from all approach directions has finished entering the intersection. Further including
The road traffic control method according to claim 2. At the beginning of the stop period, the vehicle that stops at least at the beginning of the intersection blinks a hazard lamp.
The road traffic control method according to claim 3. Further comprising the step of sounding a horn at the end of the stop period to prompt a pedestrian to stop.
The road traffic control method according to claim 3 or 4. Further including a step of performing control to stop or urge entry into an intersection when an emergency vehicle travels notification is received,
The road traffic control method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A traffic control system that autonomously controls traffic between vehicles at an intersection using inter-vehicle communication,
Each vehicle
Detecting an abnormality of a traffic light installed at an intersection;
A step of controlling the vehicle to stop or urge the vehicle to stop when approaching the intersection where the traffic signal where the abnormality is detected is approached;
Detecting the number of vehicles in the vehicle group entering from the same approach direction with respect to the intersection by inter-vehicle communication;
Determining the priority of entry into the intersection of each vehicle group based on the number of vehicles in each vehicle group;
Entering an intersection according to the priority;
Run the road traffic control system. An anomaly detection means for detecting an anomaly in a traffic light installed at an intersection;
Stop control means for performing control to stop the vehicle or to prompt the stop when approaching the intersection where the traffic signal where the abnormality is detected is approached,
Vehicle group number detection means for detecting the number of vehicles in the vehicle group entering from the same approach direction with respect to the intersection by inter-vehicle communication;
An entry priority determining means for determining the priority of entry to the intersection of each vehicle group based on the number of vehicles in each vehicle group;
Entry control means for entering the intersection according to the priority;
An in-vehicle terminal.

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