JP2014102776A - Signal controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a novel technology for reducing power consumption required for lighting of a signal light device.SOLUTION: With a traffic signal control system 1, when a vehicle detector 40 does not detect a vehicle on a minor road for predetermined time at a crossing where a main road and the minor road intersect and where semi-sensing control (recall control) is carried out, a red light 12 of a signal light 10B of the minor road is dimmed. The dimming is canceled when the vehicle detector 40 senses a vehicle on the minor road.

Description

  The present invention relates to a signal controller for controlling a signal lamp at an intersection where a main road and a secondary road intersect.

  In recent years, traffic signal lamps have been replaced from light bulb types by LED types with lower power consumption and longer life compared to light bulb types. In this LED type traffic signal lamp, dimming that adjusts the luminance by changing the power supplied to the LED of each lamp color by PWM control is possible (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-297399 A

  By the way, a plurality of traffic signal lamps are installed at one intersection, and the total number of traffic signal lamps to be installed is great even when considered on a municipal basis as well as on a nationwide scale. Also, except for the blinking state, the traffic signal lamps are always turned on in red light, yellow light, and blue light throughout the day, and all are not turned off. That is, the total amount of power consumed for lighting these signal lamps is enormous. Particularly in recent years, there has been a demand for further reduction in power consumption required for lighting traffic signal lamps. For example, the above-described dimming is considered to be effective in reducing power consumption.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to realize a new technology for reducing power consumption required for lighting a signal lamp. In particular, the present invention relates to a technique for reducing power consumption related to a signal lamp on a secondary road.

The first invention for solving the above-described problems is
A signal controller (for example, traffic signal controller 50 in FIG. 1) that controls a signal lamp at an intersection where a main road where a vehicle detector is installed on the secondary road and the secondary road intersect,
Time zone determination means for determining whether or not it is a time zone for executing dimming control (for example, the dimming execution determination unit 120 in FIG. 3);
A dimming control unit (for example, the dimming control of FIG. 3) that executes dimming control of the signal lamp for the secondary road using the detection result of the vehicle sensor when the time zone determination unit makes a positive determination. Part 130),
It is a signal controller provided with.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the signal control device controls the signal lamp at the intersection where the main road and the secondary road intersect, and is installed on the secondary road when it is a time zone in which dimming control is executed. A signal controller that performs dimming control of the signal lamp for the secondary road using the detection result of the vehicle sensor is realized. This makes it possible to perform dimming control for dimming the signal lamp for the secondary road when the secondary road is actually without a vehicle in a time zone where the traffic volume is low, such as at night. As a result, it is possible to reduce the power consumption required for lighting the signal lamp on the secondary road when it is not necessary to perform normal lighting.

As a second invention, the signal controller of the first invention,
The dimming control means is a red light dimming control means (for example, dimming control in FIG. 3) for performing control as to whether or not the red light of the signal lamp for the secondary road is dimmed as the dimming control. Part 130),
A signal controller may be configured.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the dimming control of the red lamp of the signal lamp for the secondary road is executed as the dimming control.

Further, as a third invention, the signal controller of the second invention,
Semi-sensitive control means (for example, the signal control unit 110 in FIG. 3) for performing semi-sensitive control based on the detection result of the vehicle sensor is further provided.
The dimming control means performs control by the red light dimming control means when the semi-sensitive control by the semi-sensitive control means is being executed and an affirmative determination is made by the time zone determination means. Run,
A signal controller may be configured.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the semi-sensitive control based on the detection result of the vehicle detector is being executed and the time period during which the dimming control is executed, Light dimming control is executed. The semi-sensitive control is a control method in which a right of passage is usually given to the main road having a large traffic volume, and the right of passage is given to the subway when the traffic on the subway is detected by the vehicle detector. Therefore, during the execution of the semi-sensitive control, the original purpose of displaying the signal indication for the traffic is lost by controlling the red light of the signal lamp for the secondary road where there is no vehicle. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the power consumption of the signal lamp at the entire intersection.

Moreover, as 4th invention, it is the signal controller of 3rd invention,
The red light dimming control means dims the red light when the duration time without sensing by the vehicle sensor is satisfied, and when there is sensing by the vehicle sensor after starting the dimming control Stop dimming control,
A signal controller may be configured.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the red light of the signal lamp for the secondary road is dimmed when the duration condition without sensing by the vehicle sensor is satisfied, and is sensed by the vehicle sensor after starting the dimming control. Dimming control is stopped when there is That is, after the absence of a vehicle on the secondary road continues for a predetermined time, the red light of the signal lamp on the secondary road is dimmed, and this dimming is canceled when the vehicle on the secondary road is present. The driver of the vehicle traveling on the secondary road was driving by visually recognizing the red light that was initially dimmed. However, the dimming is canceled by the detection of the vehicle detector and returns to normal lighting. I get the impression that it was done. For this reason, the secondary effect of making the driver of the vehicle traveling on the secondary road strongly aware of the stop can be exhibited.

Further, as a fifth invention, the signal controller of the first invention,
The dimming control means dimmes the signal lamp for the secondary road when the traffic volume based on the detection result of the vehicle detector satisfies a condition indicating a quiet state, and after the dimming control is started, Stop dimming control when it is no longer satisfied,
A signal controller may be configured.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, as the dimming control of the signal lamp for the secondary road, the signal lamp for the secondary road is reduced when the traffic volume based on the detection result of the vehicle sensor satisfies the condition indicating a quiet state. The dimming control is stopped when the condition is not satisfied after the light is turned on and the dimming control is started. Accordingly, for example, when the traffic volume on the secondary road is small, the signal lamp for the secondary road can be dimmed, and the power consumption required for lighting the signal lamp can be reduced. In addition, for the driver of the vehicle traveling on the secondary road, it was driving by visually recognizing the red light that was initially dimmed, but because the dimming is canceled by the detection of the vehicle detector, it returns to normal lighting, The impression is as if it was brightened. For this reason, when a vehicle traveling on a secondary road reaches the intersection where other vehicles are not stopped, a secondary effect of making the driver of the vehicle strongly aware of the stop is exhibited. obtain.

Installation example of traffic signal control system. Explanatory drawing of the timing of dimming. The structural example of a traffic signal control system. The data structural example of a signal control system setting table. The data structural example of a light control control setting table. The data structural example of a duration condition table. The flowchart of a signal control process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The applicable embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this.

[The entire]
FIG. 1 is an installation example of the traffic signal control system 1 of the present embodiment. The traffic signal control system 1 is a point control system that controls traffic signals independently at its own intersection, and includes a signal lamp 10, a vehicle detector 40, and a traffic signal controller 50. Each signal lamp 10 and each vehicle sensor 40 and the traffic signal controller 50 are connected so that data communication is possible by wired communication or wireless communication.

  The intersection where the traffic signal control system 1 is installed is a cross intersection where the main road and the secondary road intersect. As the signal lamp 10, a main road signal lamp 10A for the main road vehicle traffic and a slave road signal lamp 10B for the sub road vehicle traffic are installed. In addition, a vehicle detector 40 for detecting the vehicle traffic on the secondary road is installed. For the sake of simplicity, the pedestrian crossing and signal device are not installed at the intersection in FIG.

  The signal lamp 10 is for a vehicle whose vehicle is a vehicle traffic entering the intersection, and is attached above a pillar installed at a predetermined position of the intersection so as to face the traffic vehicle to be controlled.

  The vehicle detector 40 targets vehicle traffic entering the intersection from the secondary road, and is installed above the pillar installed on the road side so as to overlook the traveling lane to be detected from above. A sensing signal from the vehicle sensor 40 is output to the traffic signal controller 50 as needed. As the vehicle sensor 40, a known sensor such as an ultrasonic type or an optical type can be used.

  The traffic signal controller 50 is installed, for example, below or in the vicinity of a pillar to which any one of the signal lamps 10 is attached, and controls the entire traffic signal at its own intersection. Specifically, as the signal control method, fixed cycle control or semi-sensitive control (recall control) is switched according to the time zone. In particular, in the present embodiment, in the semi-sensitive control, the red light of the signal light device 10B for the slave road is dimmed when the state where no vehicle is on the slave road is continued for a predetermined time. This dimming is canceled when the vehicle detector 40 detects a vehicle on the secondary road.

  FIG. 2 is a time chart for explaining the dimming timing of the red light in the semi-sensitive control. (1) in FIG. 2 is a time chart of background signal control under semi-sensitive control, and shows a main road and a secondary road. In the background signal control, the display is configured so that the right of passage is alternately given to the main road and the secondary road.

  (2) of FIG. 2 is an example of a time chart of actual signal control under the semi-sensitive control. The detection result of the secondary road by the vehicle detector 40, the indication of the master road, the indication of the slave road, Is shown. In the semi-sensitive control, when the secondary road is not detected, the main road is blue (1G) and the secondary road is red (2R) regardless of the background control. Then, at the time t2 when the continuation time from the time t1 when the slave road becomes red is displayed in the state where the slave road is not detected (the continuation time condition is satisfied), the slave road signal lamp The dimming of the 10B red light is started.

  The dimming of the red light of the slave road signal lamp 10B is then canceled at time t3 when the slave road is detected. In the cycle immediately after sensing, the signal display is changed in accordance with the step progressing in the background (semi-sensitive control). In other words, the secondary road is changed from the red display (2R) to the blue display in accordance with the step of changing the main road from the blue display (1G) to the yellow display (1Y), the red display (1R) and the blue display (1G). Change to indication (2G), yellow indication (2Y) and red indication (2R).

  Here, the prescribed time Ta for starting the dimming of the red light of the secondary road signal lamp B can be arbitrarily set. For example, on the floor of the blue display (1G) of the main road in the background. It is desirable to set the time Tg or more. Of course, time Ta = time Tg may be set.

[Configuration of traffic signal control system]
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the traffic signal control system 1. According to FIG. 3, the traffic signal controller 50 functionally includes a lamp driving unit 20, an operation unit 52, a time measuring unit 54, a processing unit 100, and a storage unit 200.

  The lamp driving unit 20 is provided corresponding to each of the signal lamps 10, and the main road lamp driving unit 20A for driving the main road signal lamp 10A and the secondary road signal lamp 10B are driven. There is a secondary road lamp drive unit 20B.

  The lamp drive unit 20 includes a power supply unit 22 and a relay unit 24. The power supply unit 22 generates DC power to be supplied to each lamp of the signal lamp 10 using a commercial power supply. Specifically, DC power is normally generated by full-wave rectification of a commercial power supply (AC 100V). Further, when a dimming command is input from the dimming control unit 130, the supply power (current) to the signal lamp 10 is reduced by converting the commercial power source into half-wave rectified and converted into DC power. When the dimming cancel command is input, the half-wave rectification is changed to the full-wave rectification. The method of dimming control is not limited to this method, and the PWM method may be used to realize dimming and power saving by changing the pulse width.

  The relay unit 24 is provided corresponding to each of the three lamps (the red lamp 12, the yellow lamp 14, and the blue lamp 16) included in the signal lamp unit 10, and in accordance with a lighting / extinguishing command from the signal control unit 110. The DC power supplied from 22 to the corresponding lamp color is turned on / off.

  The signal lamp 10 has three lamps of a red lamp 12, a yellow lamp 14 and a blue lamp 16 made of LED elements.

  The operation unit 52 is realized by an input device such as a button switch or a touch panel, for example, and outputs an operation signal according to the operation of the administrator of the traffic signal control system 1 to the processing unit 100. The timer 54 measures the current time and the elapsed time from the specified timing, and outputs the measured current time and elapsed time to the processing unit 100.

  The processing unit 100 is realized by an arithmetic device such as a CPU, for example. Based on a program and data stored in the storage unit 200, a detection signal from the vehicle detector 40, and the like, the processing unit 100 is connected to each unit constituting the traffic signal controller 50. Instructions and data transfer are performed, and overall control of the traffic signal controller 50 is performed. The processing unit 100 includes a signal control unit 110, a dimming execution determination unit 120, a dimming control unit 130, and a vehicle presence / absence determination unit 140, and performs signal control processing according to the signal control program 210 (see FIG. 7).

  The signal control unit 110 controls lighting / extinction of the signal lamp device 10. At this time, the signal control method setting table 230 is referred to, and either one of the periodic control and the semi-sensitive control is used according to the current time.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the signal control method setting table 230. According to FIG. 4, the signal control method setting table 230 stores a time zone dividing one day and the type of signal control method in association with each other.

  The dimming execution determination unit 120 determines whether to execute dimming control. Specifically, the current time is a time zone that is determined to execute dimming control in the dimming control setting table 240, and the current signal control method performed by the signal control unit 110 is semi-sensitive control. If it is, it is determined that the dimming control is executed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the dimming control setting table 240. According to FIG. 5, the dimming control setting table 240 stores the execution / non-execution of dimming control in association with the time period divided by one day. In the present embodiment, it is determined that the time zone in which the semi-sensitive control is executed and the time zone in which the dimming control is performed match, but both time zones do not have to match.

  The dimming control unit 130 performs dimming control of the slave road signal lamp 10 </ b> B when it is determined by the dimming execution determination unit 120 to execute the dimming control. Specifically, the signal controller 110 controls the secondary road signal lamp 10B in red, and the vehicle detector 40 senses that no secondary road vehicle is present for a predetermined duration. When the duration time condition is satisfied, a dimming command is output to the power supply unit 22 of the secondary road lamp drive unit 20B to dimm the red lamp 12 of the secondary road signal lamp 10B (see FIG. 2).

  Then, after the red light 12 of the slave road signal lamp 10B is dimmed, when the vehicle presence / absence determination unit 140 determines that there is a vehicle on the slave road, the power supply unit 22 of the slave road lamp drive unit 20B. To cancel the dimming of the red light 12 of the secondary road signal lamp 10B.

  Here, the duration condition is set in the duration condition table 250. The dimming control unit 130 adopts a duration condition corresponding to a time zone including the current time. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a data configuration of the duration condition table 250. According to FIG. 6, the duration condition table 250 stores duration conditions in association with each time zone dividing one day. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the continuation time condition T3 in the time zone from midnight to early morning where the traffic volume is assumed to be the smallest is the same length as the time Tg determined on the floor of the blue display (1G) of the main road. The duration condition is set so that the longer the time zone is, the longer the time zone is.

  The vehicle presence / absence determination unit 140 detects the presence / absence of a vehicle that is about to enter the intersection from the secondary road based on the detection signal of the vehicle detector 40.

  The storage unit 200 is realized by a storage device such as a ROM, a RAM, or a hard disk, and a system program for the processing unit 100 to control the traffic signal controller 50 in an integrated manner, a program and data for realizing various functions, and the like. And is used as a work area of the processing unit 100, and temporarily stores calculation results executed by the processing unit 100 according to various programs. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 200 stores a signal control program 210, a signal control parameter 220, a signal control method setting table 230, a dimming control setting table 240, and a duration condition table 250.

[Process flow]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the signal control process. In FIG. 7, only processing related to light control of the signal lamp device 10, which is a feature of this embodiment, is shown.

  First, the signal control unit 110 determines a signal control method according to the current time. That is, if the current time is not the execution time zone of the semi-sensitive control (step A1: NO), the signal control unit 110 performs signal control with constant cycle control (step A3).

  On the other hand, if it is the execution time zone of the semi-sensitive control (step A1: YES), the signal control unit 110 performs signal control with the semi-sensitive control (step A5). Next, the dimming execution determination unit 120 determines whether or not the current time is in the execution time zone of the dimming control. If the current time is not in the execution time zone of the dimming control (step A7: NO), the secondary road signal lamp The red light 12 of the vessel 10B is normally lit. That is, if it is dimmed, a dimming cancellation command is output to the secondary road lamp drive unit 20B to cancel the dimming of the red light of the secondary road signal lamp 10B (step A9).

  On the other hand, if it is the execution time zone of the dimming control (step A7: YES), the determination result of the presence / absence of the vehicle on the secondary road by the vehicle presence / absence determination unit 140 is further determined, and if it is determined that there is a vehicle (step A11: YES), the dimming control unit 130 outputs a dimming cancellation command to the secondary road lamp drive unit 20B to cancel the dimming of the red lamp 12 of the secondary road signal lamp 10B (step A13).

  If the vehicle presence / absence determination unit 140 determines that there is no vehicle on the secondary road (step A11: NO), the dimming control unit 130 indicates that there is no vehicle in a state where the secondary road signal lamp 10B is red. It is determined whether or not the duration of the determination satisfies a duration condition. As a result, if the duration time condition is satisfied (step A15: YES), a dimming command is output to the secondary road lamp drive unit 20B, and the red lamp 12 of the secondary road signal lamp 10B is dimmed (step 1). A17). Then, it returns to step A1 and repeats the same process.

[Function and effect]
As described above, in the traffic signal control system 1 of the present embodiment, when the semi-sensitive control (recall control) is performed at the intersection where the main road and the secondary road intersect, there is no vehicle on the secondary road by the vehicle detector 40. Is continued for a predetermined time, the red light 12 of the secondary road signal lamp 10B is dimmed. This dimming is canceled when the vehicle detector 40 detects the presence of a vehicle on the secondary road. Thereby, the power consumption required for lighting the signal lamp device 10 can be reduced. In addition, the dimming is performed for the signal lamp 10 on the secondary road where the traffic volume is small, and since it is performed when there is no vehicle on the secondary road, the signal lamp that displays the signal display on the vehicle. The original purpose of 10 is not impaired. In addition, for the driver of the vehicle traveling on the secondary road, it was driving by visually recognizing the red light that was initially dimmed, but because the dimming is canceled by the detection of the vehicle detector, it returns to normal lighting, The impression is as if it was brightened. For this reason, when the vehicle traveling on the secondary road reaches the intersection where other vehicles are not stopped, a secondary effect of making the driver of the vehicle strongly aware of the stop is produced.

[Modification]
It should be noted that embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(A) Duration condition For example, in the above-described embodiment, the duration condition is determined based on the current time (the duration condition table 250 in FIG. 6). You may decide based on it.

  Specifically, the number of times that the vehicle is detected in the immediately preceding predetermined period (a plurality of cycle periods) is counted, and the duration condition is determined according to this number of times of detection. For example, a threshold value indicating that the traffic volume is in a quiet state is set, and the duration time condition is satisfied (the dimming is started) when the number of times of sensing is equal to or less than the threshold value. In this case, the following may be further performed. That is, the smaller the number of detections, the less the traffic on the secondary road, so the shorter the number of detections, the shorter the time is set as the duration condition.

(B) Execution of dimming control In the above-described embodiment, the red light of the secondary road signal lamp 10B is reduced in the semi-sensitive control. The dimming of the device 10B may be performed.

  Specifically, the traffic volume of the follower road is calculated based on the detection result of the vehicle detector 40. And when the state where the calculated traffic volume is less than the predetermined traffic volume regarded as a quiet state continues for a predetermined time or longer, the secondary road signal lamp 10B is dimmed. The cancellation of the dimming is performed when the traffic volume on the secondary road becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined traffic volume described above. Further, this dimming may be performed only for the red light 12 or may be performed for all the light colors.

(C) Lamp drive unit 20
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the lamp drive unit 20 of each signal lamp device 10 is built in the traffic signal controller 50, but each of the lamp drive units 20 is built in the signal lamp device 10 to be driven. Or you may decide to install as a single apparatus in the pillar in which the signal lamp device 10 to be driven was provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traffic signal control system 10 Signal light device, 12 Red light, 14 Yellow light, 16 Blue light 40 Vehicle detector 50 Traffic signal controller 20 Light device drive part, 22 Power supply part, 24 Relay part 52 Operation part, 54 Timekeeping part 100 Processing unit 110 Signal control unit, 120 Dimming execution determination unit 130 Dimming control unit, 140 Vehicle presence / absence determination unit 200 Storage unit 210 Signal control program 220 Signal control parameter, 230 Signal control method setting table 240 Dimming control setting table, 250 Duration condition table

Claims (5)

A signal controller for controlling a signal lamp at an intersection where a main road where a vehicle detector is installed on a secondary road and the secondary road intersect,
A time zone determining means for determining whether or not it is a time zone for executing dimming control;
A dimming control unit that executes dimming control of the signal light device for the secondary road using a detection result of the vehicle detector when an affirmative determination is made by the time zone determination unit;
A signal controller equipped with. The dimming control means has a red light dimming control means for performing control as to whether or not the red light of the signal light device for the secondary road is dimmed as the dimming control.
The signal controller according to claim 1. A semi-sensitive control means for performing semi-sensitive control based on a sensing result of the vehicle sensor;
The dimming control means performs control by the red light dimming control means when the semi-sensitive control by the semi-sensitive control means is being executed and an affirmative determination is made by the time zone determination means. Run,
The signal controller according to claim 2. The red light dimming control means dims the red light when the duration time without sensing by the vehicle sensor is satisfied, and when there is sensing by the vehicle sensor after starting the dimming control Stop dimming control,
The signal controller according to claim 3. The dimming control means dimmes the signal lamp for the secondary road when the traffic volume based on the detection result of the vehicle detector satisfies a condition indicating a quiet state, and after the dimming control is started, Stop dimming control when it is no longer satisfied,
The signal controller according to claim 1.

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