JP2017073019A - Traffic signal system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique capable of obtaining an image enabling people to learn a lighting signal light (light color) when an intersection including a traffic light is photographed.SOLUTION: A photographing control unit 16 of a traffic signal controller 10 notifies a photographing device 60 of stage information when a stage step is switched. When the stage information is received from the traffic signal controller 10, a camera 62 unit of the photographing device 60 takes a photo by being triggered off by the stage information, and starts an internal timer serving as a clocking reference of a photographing interval by being triggered off by the stage information. This allows photographing timing to be appropriately linked with operation of the traffic signal controller 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic signal system, and more particularly to a traffic signal system provided with a photographing device that photographs the situation of an intersection.

  When confirming the situation at the intersection, it is necessary to confirm at the local intersection. For example, when an accident occurs at an intersection, it is necessary to determine whether the signal lamp is lit and which lamp color is lit on the main road and the secondary road.

  Therefore, there is a technique for photographing the situation of an intersection so that the situation of the intersection can be grasped (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Specifically, the violating vehicle that ignores the signal is automatically detected and recorded, and traffic information (signal display state and the like) including the time at that time is superimposed on the image of the front surface of the vehicle. Furthermore, aiming to secure excellent evidence ability by obtaining traffic flow images of road intersections within a predetermined time before and after the time when a violating vehicle is detected as an image superimposed with traffic information including time Yes.

JP 2005-234774 A

  By the way, in order to ensure the excellent evidence ability by linking the information of the traffic light and the image taken by the camera, it is necessary to ensure the consistency between the lighting timing of the signal lamp and the image. The count of one second of the camera, that is, the time reference of the internal clock of the camera is constituted by an internal clock such as a crystal oscillator or software. However, the time standard of the internal clock of the traffic light uses, for example, a commercial AC power supply frequency of 50 Hz or 60 Hz supplied to the traffic light according to the specifications of the competent authority. Since there is a fluctuation in the frequency of commercial power, a difference occurs with the internal clock of the camera. Therefore, for example, the occurrence time of the accident is determined from the image of the traffic accident scene taken by the camera, and the lamp color that the traffic light was lit is determined based on the time, but the lamp color determined here is actually There is a case where the colors of the lamps are different from each other, and the consistency between the image obtained by photographing the accident site and the color of the lamps on which the traffic lights are lit cannot be obtained. That is, in order to ensure a highly reliable image at an intersection or the like, it is necessary to acquire an image appropriately linked to the lighting start timing of the lamp.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, Comprising: The technique which solves the said subject is provided.

The present invention is a traffic signal system comprising a traffic light, a signal control device that controls the traffic light, and a photographing device that captures an intersection where the traffic light is installed, and the signal control device includes the traffic light. The control unit that transmits the floor information to be used for control to the photographing device when the step is switched, the photographing device is installed so as to photograph the intersection including a signal lamp, The floor information is acquired from the traffic light, photographed based on the timing at which the floor information is acquired, and the floor information is added to the photographed image.
Further, the signal controller may set the operation timing based on the power supply frequency.
Further, the photographing apparatus may include a storage unit that stores an image to which the floor information is added.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when the intersection is imaged including a traffic signal, the technique which can obtain the image which can grasp | ascertain the lighting device (lamp color) which is lighting can be provided.

It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of the signal light apparatus of the traffic signal system in a certain intersection which a main road and a subway cross | intersect based on this embodiment. It is a functional block diagram which shows schematic structure of the traffic signal system based on this embodiment. It is an example of the present | presentation ladder table in the intersection of FIG. 2 based on this embodiment. It is a flowchart of the imaging | photography operation | movement of an imaging device based on this embodiment.

  Next, modes for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter, simply referred to as “embodiments”) will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an arrangement of signal lamps 50 of the traffic signal system 1 at an intersection where a main road and a secondary road intersect. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the traffic signal system 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an example of the current floor plan at the intersection.

  The traffic signal system 1 includes a traffic signal controller 10, a signal lamp 50 that is operation-controlled by the traffic signal controller 10, and a plurality of cameras that connect to the traffic signal controller 10 and photograph the situation of an intersection in conjunction with the signal lamp 50. The imaging device 60 is provided. In FIG. 1, the imaging devices 60 are installed on the lower left side and the upper right side of the intersection.

  In addition, the imaging device 60 captures the situation of the intersection including the signal lamp device 50. Therefore, at a certain shooting timing, it is a traffic light with lights on both sides of the front and back so that the lighting status of all the signal lights 50 can be grasped, or the number of installed in consideration of the performance and orientation of the lens Is determined. Therefore, when the lens is a wide-angle lens or a fisheye lens, the number of installed lenses can be reduced.

  The signal lamp 50 has a general configuration, and includes a blue lamp 51, a yellow lamp 52 and a red lamp 53. The blue lamp 51, the yellow lamp 52, and the red lamp 53 are configured to include, for example, an LED or an electric lamp corresponding to each signal color.

  The traffic signal controller 10 includes a control unit 12, a signal timing unit 17, a power supply unit 18, a lamp opening / closing unit 20, and a communication control unit 24.

  The control unit 12 includes a current floor unit 15 and a shooting control unit 16. The control unit 12 controls the respective components in an integrated manner, and controls the operation of the lamp opening / closing unit 20 according to the step number with the passage of time based on the current level table stored in the current level table 15 in advance. Control.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the current floor table records step numbers, display seconds, and display colors of lamps on the main road and the secondary road as the floor information. For example, in step number “1”, the display seconds is “20 seconds”, the main road lamp color is “blue”, and the secondary road lamp color is “red”.

  Further, the shooting control unit 16 of the control unit 12 notifies the shooting device 60 of the floor information including the step number when the step is switched. In other words, the shooting control unit 16 notifies the shooting start timing by sending the floor information to the shooting device 60.

  The signal time measuring unit 17 measures the time elapsed from the current time and the designated timing based on the frequency of the AC power of the power supply unit 18, and operates the signal lamp 50 and the like based on the measured current time and elapsed time. .

  The power supply unit 18 acquires power from external commercial AC power, supplies power for operation to each component, and supplies power for lighting to the signal lamp device 50 via the lamp opening / closing unit 20.

  The lamp opening / closing unit 20 includes a relay unit, a breaker, and a switchboard, and turns on the blue lamp 51, the yellow lamp 52, and the red lamp 53 of the signal lamp 50 under the control of the control unit 12. The lamp opening / closing unit 20 includes a current / voltage sensor, and measures the current and voltage of each signal line connected to the blue lamp 51, the yellow lamp 52, and the red lamp 53 of the signal lamp 50 to measure the signal lamp. The abnormal state of the device 50 is detected, and when the abnormal state is detected, information is sent to the image processing unit 64 of the photographing apparatus 60 via the control unit 12.

  The communication control unit 24 is a communication interface with an external device, and communicates with the central device 90 via a dedicated line or an Internet line. The central device 90 is a device mounted on a vehicle for maintaining a base station or a traffic signal that performs traffic control in a predetermined area such as a traffic control center. The line may be wired or wireless.

  The photographing device 60 photographs the situation of the intersection in conjunction with the traffic signal controller 10. Specifically, the imaging device 60 includes a camera unit 62, an image processing unit 64, a storage unit 66, and a camera timing unit 68.

  The camera unit 62 includes an image pickup device such as a CMOS sensor, a control unit such as an MPU, and a communication unit, and takes a shooting direction, that is, an intersection at a predetermined shooting interval at a predetermined timing. Here, the photographed image is photographed so that the lighting state of the signal lamp device 50 can be understood. The shooting interval is based on the measurement time of the camera timing unit 68.

  Further, when the camera unit 62 receives the floor information from the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10, the camera unit 62 performs shooting using the floor information as a trigger, resets the time of the shooting interval, and starts counting again. Thereby, the shooting timing is appropriately linked to the operation of the traffic signal controller 10. That is, even when there is a difference in the time of the traffic light measuring unit 17 of the traffic signal controller 10 and the time of the camera timing unit 68 of the photographing device 60, the operation timing at which the lamp color of the signal lamp 50 changes is changed. The time information is added to the image data with the time of the camera timekeeping unit 66 that measures the time taken as the shooting time. The shooting interval is 1 second or a value divided by an integer of 1 second. This is because, as shown in FIG. 3, the display seconds of each step is “unit of 1 second”, and the switching timing of the hierarchical steps is appropriately reflected in the photographing timing. In this way, for example, it is possible to prevent the camera unit 62 from shooting continuously and taking pictures immediately before the signal lamp 50 is switched, at the timing when the step of the floor is switched.

  The image processing unit 64 acquires the level information from the storage unit 66 that stores the level information received from the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10, and stores the level information and time at the time of shooting in the captured image of the intersection. Image data is created by adding information. The time information is included in the properties of the image data even when taken with a general digital camera. Further, if there is information that an abnormal state is detected by the lamp opening / closing unit 20 of the traffic signal controller 10, it is added to the image data. In the present embodiment, in addition to the photographed image and time information, the image data includes an abnormal state of the signal lamp 50, floor information (for example, the step number), or a current floor table stored in the storage unit 66 as a diagram. Added. The image data is transmitted to the central control 90 via the control unit 12 and the communication control unit 24 of the traffic signal controller 10.

  The storage unit 66 records and stores the image data created by the image processing unit 64. It should be noted that the image data is deleted when the expiration date has passed after being stored for a predetermined period. In addition, the displayed ladder is stored in advance. In addition, when the floor information is received from the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10, the floor information is stored.

  The camera timing unit 68 has a clock function using, for example, a quartz oscillator, and provides time information to the camera unit 62 when time information is added to a captured image. The camera timing unit 68 has a function as an internal timer, and measures the elapsed time based on the acquisition timing of the floor information from the traffic signal controller 10.

  Note that the image processing unit 64 and the camera timing unit 68 are provided in each of the imaging devices 60, but may be provided in common to the plurality of camera units 62.

  The photographing operation in the traffic signal system 1 having the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of the photographing operation of the photographing device 60 shown in FIG. Here, the shooting interval is 1 second. In the imaging device 60, when the camera unit 62 receives the floor information from the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10 (Y in S10), the camera unit 62 stores the floor information in the storage unit 66 (S12), and performs shooting (S14). ), The internal timer of the camera timing unit 68 is reset and initialized (S16). If there is no reception of the floor information (N in S10), the reception process is continued.

  Subsequently, the image processing unit 64 acquires the floor information from the storage unit 66, creates the image data by adding the floor information or the information detecting the abnormal state to the photographed image (S18), and creates the created image data. Saving to the storage unit 66 (S20). Further, the image processing unit 64 transmits image data taken to the central device 90 via the traffic signal controller 10 (S22).

  When the transmission of the image data is completed, the camera unit 62 confirms whether the floor information has been received from the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10 (S24).

  If not received (N in S24), it is checked whether the internal timer has passed the shooting interval (1 second count) (S26). If the internal timer has not passed the shooting interval (N in S26), it is confirmed whether the floor information has been received from the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10 (S24). If the internal timer has passed the shooting interval (Y in S26), the camera unit 62 performs shooting with the same level information (S14). In addition, when it is confirmed that the floor information is received from the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10 (Y in S24), the floor information is stored in the storage unit 66 and rewritten. (S12)

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, an image that is reliably linked to the start of lighting of the blue lamp 51, the yellow lamp 52, and the red lamp 53 of the signal lamp 50 can be acquired. In particular, when the traffic signal system 1 has a stand-alone configuration in which the traffic signal controller 10 does not communicate with the central device 90, the traffic signal system 1 cannot be corrected even if a large error occurs in the traffic signal timing unit 17 of the traffic signal controller 10. For this reason, the link between the photographing timing and the timing at which the signal lamp 50 is switched, which has not been conventionally possible, can be realized with high accuracy.

  Further, since the step number is added to the photographed image, it becomes easy to grasp the lighting state of the signal lamp device 50 at the time of photographing. That is, when a vehicle passing through an intersection causes an accident or a violation, it is easy to accurately grasp the situation.

  The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. This embodiment is an exemplification, and it is understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications are possible for the combination of each of those components, and such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, when notifying the floor information notified by the shooting control unit 16 of the control unit 12 by adding the display number of the step number at that time, the storage unit 66 displays the display number of the step number based on the step number. You can rewrite the number and save the latest displayed ladder. That is, it becomes image data provided with the latest displayed floor table, and it can be confirmed whether the control unit 12 of the traffic signal controller 10 was operating normally during that time zone.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traffic signal system 10 Traffic signal controller 12 Control part 15 Present floor table part 16 Shooting control part 17 Traffic light timer part 18 Power supply part 20 Lamp opening / closing part 24 Communication control part 50 Signal lamp 51 Blue lamp 52 Yellow lamp 53 Red light device 60 Imaging device 62 Camera unit 64 Image processing unit 66 Storage unit 68 Camera timing unit 90 Central device

Claims (3)

A traffic signal system comprising a traffic light, a signal control device that controls the traffic light, and a photographing device that captures an intersection where the traffic light is installed,
The signal control device includes a control unit that transmits the floor information used when controlling the traffic light to the photographing device when the floor step is switched,
The imaging device
It is installed so as to photograph the intersection including a signal lamp, obtain the floor information from the traffic light, photograph based on the timing when the floor information is obtained, and add the floor information to the photographed image. A traffic signal system characterized by   The traffic signal system according to claim 1, wherein the signal controller sets an operation timing based on a power supply frequency.   The traffic signal system according to claim 1, wherein the photographing device includes a storage unit that stores an image to which the floor information is added.

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