JP2020087884A - Street light system and emergency vehicle passing supporting system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a street light system useful for smoothing passage of emergency vehicle, and to provide an emergency vehicle passage supporting system.SOLUTION: A street light system 100 includes multiple street lights 101 installed along a road on which vehicles travel, capable of lighting with multiple lamp colors including at least one alert color, and having a sound sensor 102 for picking up the sound from the surroundings and generating pickup sound data SD, an acoustic signal processing section 110 for receiving the pickup sound data SD, detecting a target sound indicating an emergency vehicle on the basis of the pickup sound data SD, and a generation position thereof, and generating emergency vehicle route data D1 indicating the present position and the direction of travel of the emergency vehicle, and a lamp color control section 112 generating an alert color lighting signal S1 indicating lighting with the alert color of at least one street light 101 installed on the route of the emergency vehicle, on the basis of the vehicle route data D1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a street light system and an emergency vehicle traffic assistance system.

Various proposals have been made from the viewpoint of increasing the added value of street lights. For example, a street light having an information display function of projecting advertisement information and road guidance information on the road by illumination light (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and a size that an approaching vehicle fits in a nearby parking space. A street light that checks whether or not is proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP, 2009-145718, A Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-517228

The present inventors have studied street lights installed along a road on which a vehicle travels, and have come to recognize the following problems. While driving a car, you may come across an emergency vehicle such as an ambulance. Depending on the situation, such as an emergency vehicle approaching from behind and trying to pass, you must give way to the emergency vehicle. Emergency vehicles sound sirens and illuminate warning lights, but in actual traffic situations, it is often difficult for the driver to accurately grasp the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle and the positional relationship with the vehicle. Is. However, there are no existing street lights that deal with such problems.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of the exemplary objects of a certain aspect thereof is to provide a streetlight system and an emergency vehicle traffic assistance system that are useful for facilitating the traffic of an emergency vehicle. It is in.

In order to solve the above problems, a street light system according to an aspect of the present invention is installed along a road on which a vehicle travels, and is capable of being illuminated in a plurality of light colors including at least one warning color, each of which is a surrounding light. A plurality of streetlights having a sound sensor that collects sound from the sound source to generate sound collection data, and receives the sound collection data, detects the target sound indicating the emergency vehicle and its generation position based on the sound collection data, and Based on the acoustic signal processing unit that generates emergency vehicle route data indicating the current position and the traveling direction, at least one street light installed on the route of the emergency vehicle is instructed to turn on with a warning color based on the emergency vehicle route data. And a lamp color control unit that generates a warning color lighting signal.

The warning color lighting signal may instruct the warning color to blink.

The street light can be turned on with a plurality of warning colors, and the light color control unit determines the distance between the emergency vehicle and the street light for at least two street lights installed on the route of the emergency vehicle based on the emergency vehicle route data. It may be instructed to turn on with a different warning color according to.

Another aspect of the present invention is an emergency vehicle traffic assistance system. This system is installed along a road on which a vehicle travels, can be illuminated with a plurality of light colors including at least one warning color, and each has a sound sensor that collects sound from the surroundings and generates sound collection data. Sound that receives multiple street lights and sound collection data, detects the target sound indicating the emergency vehicle and its generation position based on the sound collection data, and generates emergency vehicle course data indicating the current position and traveling direction of the emergency vehicle A signal processing unit and a traffic signal system that controls a traffic signal installed on the route of the emergency vehicle based on the emergency vehicle route data so as to support the passage of the emergency vehicle.

The emergency vehicle traffic assistance system further includes a light color control unit that generates a warning color lighting signal for instructing lighting of at least one street light installed on the path of the emergency vehicle with a warning color based on the emergency vehicle path data. May be.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the street light system and the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system which are useful for smoothing traffic of an emergency vehicle can be provided.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the street light system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a street light according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of emergency vehicle traffic assistance based on sound recognition, which is executed in the street light system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the street light system according to the first embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system which concerns on Embodiment 2. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of emergency vehicle traffic assistance based on sound recognition, which is executed in the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The embodiment is an example, not a limitation of the invention, and all features and combinations thereof described in the embodiment are not necessarily essential to the invention. The same or equivalent constituent elements, members, and processes shown in each drawing are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated description will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the scales and shapes of the respective parts shown in the drawings are set for the sake of convenience of description, and should not be construed as limiting unless otherwise stated. Further, the terms "first", "second", etc. used in the present specification and claims do not indicate any order or importance, and are used to distinguish one configuration from another configuration. Is.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a street light system according to the first embodiment. The street light system 100 includes a plurality of street lights 101 installed along a road on which a vehicle travels. The street light system 100 is configured to monitor the road condition by analyzing in real time the sound emitted by the vehicle traveling on the road. For example, the street light system 100 detects a sound emitted by an emergency vehicle, such as a siren sound, and monitors the current position and traveling direction of the emergency vehicle. It can be said that the street light system 100 is an emergency vehicle traffic assistance system.

Each of the plurality of street lights 101 includes a sound sensor 102, a street light controller 104, and a lamp 106. The street light control unit 104 includes an acoustic signal processing unit 110 and a light color control unit 112.

The sound sensor 102 collects sound from the surroundings and generates sound collection data SD. The sound sensor 102 outputs the collected sound data SD to the street light control unit 104. The number of the sound sensors 102 installed in each street light 101 is, for example, one, but it is not limited thereto. When the plurality of sound sensors 102 are installed in the street light 101, the sound collection data SD is understood as a general term for output data of the plurality of sound sensors 102. The sound collection data SD includes a sound indicating the behavior of the traveling vehicle (hereinafter, also referred to as a target sound) and noise.

The sound sensor 102 is, for example, an omnidirectional microphone that picks up an audible sound (for example, about 20 to 20000 Hz), but is not limited to this, and may be a directional microphone or another sound sensor. ..

The plurality of sound sensors 102 provided on the plurality of street lights 101 collectively form a so-called sound sensor array (for example, a microphone array).

Sounds that reach the sound sensor 102 from a sound source such as a traveling vehicle include a direct sound coming straight from the sound source, a diffracted sound diffracted by a structure or terrain near the road, and a reflected sound reflected. For convenience of description, the direct sound and the diffracted sound may be collectively referred to as a non-reflected sound in this document.

The lamp 106 can be turned on in a plurality of light colors, and the plurality of light colors include a normal color (eg, white) and at least one warning color different from the normal color (eg, red, orange, yellow, etc.). .. The lamp 106 may be capable of lighting with a plurality of warning colors. The lamp 106 may be capable of lighting in any other color (for example, blue, green, etc.). The lighting color, the presence/absence of blinking, and brightness of the lighting 106 such as brightness are controlled by the lighting color control unit 112. The configuration of the lamp 106 is not particularly limited, and may include, for example, a light source such as an LED (light emitting diode) and a lighting circuit that drives the light source to light it. The lighting circuit may be controlled by the lighting color control unit 112 so that the light source emits light in a desired manner. The light source can emit light in the three primary colors of light and may have red, green, and blue LED chips.

The acoustic signal processing unit 110 receives the sound collection data SD, detects the target sound and its generation position, and generates the generation position data of the target sound. Therefore, in the acoustic signal processing unit 110, a sound recognition algorithm for generating target sound data indicating at least one characteristic of the target sound from the collected sound data SD, and generation position data indicating a generation position of the target sound from the target sound data. A sound source localization algorithm is implemented. The acoustic signal processing unit 110 performs such acoustic signal processing in real time.

As the sound recognition algorithm, an existing sound recognition algorithm capable of recognizing a target sound can be appropriately adopted, and for example, a sound recognition algorithm based on machine learning such as deep learning may be used. The sound recognition algorithm may be based on pattern matching between a large number of sample sound data prepared in advance for various vehicle types and various driving scenes and the sound collection data SD.

As the sound source localization algorithm, an existing sound source localization algorithm capable of specifying the generation position of the target sound can be appropriately adopted. For example, a sound source localization method that specifies the sound source position from the sound arrival time difference from the sound source to each sound sensor 102. May be based on. It is known that the arrival time of a sound from a sound source to each sound sensor 102 is a function of the position of the sound source. The sound source direction can be estimated from the arrival time difference obtained from the two sound sensors 102, and the sound source direction can be estimated from the arrival time difference obtained from the other two sound sensors 102. The position of the sound source is measured from the two estimated sound source directions by the principle of triangulation. Therefore, if there are two sound sensors 102, the direction of the sound source and if there are three sound sensors, the position of the sound source can be specified.

For example, when the street lights 101 are installed on both sides of the road, the three sound sensors 102 are the sound sensors 102 of the two street lights 101 adjacent to each other on one side of the road, and the two sound sensors 102. The sound sensor 102 of the street light 101 on the opposite side of the road from the sound sensor 102 can be used.

As the number of sound sensors 102 increases, the accuracy of sound source position measurement improves. Therefore, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 uses the sound collection data SD from the sound sensors 102 of each of the four or more street lights 101. The generation position of the target sound may be detected.

The acoustic signal processing unit 110 receives the sound collection data SD, detects the target sound indicating the emergency vehicle and the generation position thereof based on the sound collection data SD, and outputs the current position and the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle D1. To generate. An example of the target sound indicating the emergency vehicle is a siren sound. When an emergency vehicle of a certain vehicle type generates a unique traveling sound, such traveling sound may be used as a target sound indicating the emergency vehicle. The traveling direction of the emergency vehicle, that is, whether the emergency vehicle is traveling in the direction approaching the street light 101 or in the direction away from the street light 101, can be grasped from the temporal change of the current position of the emergency vehicle. If the frequency of the siren sound is known, the advancing direction of the emergency vehicle may be grasped based on the change in frequency due to the Doppler effect with respect to the known frequency.

The acoustic signal processing unit 110 determines whether the target sound is a non-reflected sound that is a direct sound or a diffracted sound or a reflected sound, and detects the generation position of the target sound based on the non-reflected sound. The acoustic signal processing unit 110 may detect the generation position of the target sound based only on the non-reflected sound. The acoustic signal processing unit 110 may detect the generation position of the target sound based on both the non-reflected sound and the reflected sound. Alternatively, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 may detect the generation position of the target sound based on only the reflected sound.

When the reflected sound and the non-reflected sound arrive from one sound source to one sound sensor 102, the reflected sound has a longer sound propagation path than the non-reflected sound, and therefore arrives at a slight delay. Therefore, in the collected sound data SD, when a plurality of target sounds having the same or similar characteristics are temporally close to each other, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 determines that the sound that arrives first is a non-reflected sound. By determining other sounds as reflected sounds, reflected sounds and non-reflected sounds can be distinguished.

Alternatively, as compared with the direct sound, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 uses the fact that the high-frequency component is attenuated in the diffracted sound and the frequency component is changed in the reflected sound due to the physical properties of the reflector to analyze the frequency of the collected sound data SD. The direct sound, the diffracted sound, and the reflected sound may be distinguished by.

The diffracted sound reaches the sound sensor 102 from the corner of the object, and the reflected sound reaches from the reflection surface (that is, not the corner). By utilizing this difference, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 may distinguish the diffracted sound and the reflected sound.

The light color control unit 112 generates a warning color lighting signal S1 for instructing lighting of at least one street light 101 installed on the path of the emergency vehicle with a warning color based on the emergency vehicle path data D1. The warning color lighting signal S1 may instruct blinking in a warning color. Based on the emergency vehicle route data D1, the light color control unit 112 turns on at least two street lights 101 installed on the route of the emergency vehicle with different warning colors according to the distance between the emergency vehicle and the street light 101. You may instruct. The light color control unit 112 may generate a signal for instructing lighting in the normal color based on the emergency vehicle course data D1.

The street light control unit 104 can be implemented by a combination of a processor (hardware) such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a microcomputer, and a software program executed by the processor (hardware). For example, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 can be configured by a digital signal processor, for example, a combination of a CPU or a microcomputer and a software program, or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or an ASIC (Application Specified IC). You may comprise.

Further, the street light 101 has a communication device 114. The street light control unit 104 transmits the collected sound data SD, the emergency vehicle route data D1, and the warning color lighting signal S1 to the street light control unit 104 of another street light 101 or the street of another street light 101 through the communication device 114. It can be received from the road light control unit 104. The communication device 114 has an antenna 114a, and the street lights 101 can wirelessly communicate with each other. The configuration of the communication device 114 is not particularly limited, and the street lights 101 may be able to communicate by wire.

Therefore, in addition to the sound collection data SD collected by the sound sensor 102 provided in itself, the street light control unit 104 of a certain street light 101 collects data from another street light 101 (for example, the neighboring street light 101). The emergency vehicle track data D1 can be generated by using the collected sound data SD. Further, the street light control unit 104 of a certain street light 101 can generate the warning color lighting signal S1 according to the emergency vehicle course data D1 generated by another street light 101 or the warning color lighting signal S1.

Although the acoustic signal processing unit 110 and the lamp color control unit 112 are provided in each street light 101, the present invention is not limited to this. One acoustic signal processing unit 110 and one light color control unit 112 may be provided for a plurality of street lights 101, for example, for some street lights 101 (one set of street lights 101) that are close to each other. Therefore, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 generates the emergency vehicle track data D1 from the sound collection data SD from the set of street lights 101, and the lamp color control unit 112 calculates the emergency vehicle track data D1 from the set of street lights. The warning color lighting signal S1 may be generated for each of the 101. The acoustic signal processing unit 110 and the light color control unit 112 may be provided in any of the street lights 101, or may be provided separately from the street lights 101 in the vicinity of the road or in another place (for example, a traffic light). May be

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the street light 101 according to the first embodiment. The street light 101 has a pillar 120 installed on the ground on the side of the road, and the sound sensor 102, the street light controller 104, the lamp 106, and the communication device 114 are attached to the pillar 120. A sensor installation stand 122 protruding to the road side is attached to the pillar 120. The sensor mount 122 is located at a lower height than the lamp 106, but this is not the only option. The sound sensor 102 is installed on the sensor installation table 122, so that it is arranged above the road.

The lamp 106 and the communication device 114 are installed on the upper or upper end of the column 120. Another sound sensor 102 may be provided in the lamp 106, and two sound sensors 102 may be provided at different heights for one street light 101. Alternatively, the sound sensor 102 may be provided only on one of the lamp 106 and the sensor installation base 122. One streetlight 101 may be provided with three or more sound sensors 102. For example, the plurality of sound sensors 102 may be provided at different heights and/or provided at different horizontal positions. The location of the sound sensor 102, the street light controller 104, the lamp 106, and the communication device 114 shown in FIG. 2 is an example, and other locations are possible.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of emergency vehicle traffic assistance based on sound recognition executed in the street light system according to the first embodiment. This routine is repeatedly executed by the street light control unit 104 in a predetermined cycle (for example, a cycle of several milliseconds to several tens of milliseconds).

First, the street light system 100 picks up sounds from the surroundings in each street light 101 (S10). The sound sensor 102 of each street light 101 generates the sound collection data SD, and the street light control unit 104 acquires the sound collection data SD. If each street light 101 is provided with a plurality of sound sensors 102, the street light control unit 104 acquires the sound collection data SD of the sound sensors 102. When only one sound sensor 102 is provided for each street light 101, the street light control unit 104 collects the sound collected by the sound sensor 102 of another street light 101 via the communication device 114. The data SD is acquired.

A target sound indicating an emergency vehicle is detected (S11). The acoustic signal processing unit 110 receives the collected sound data SD and analyzes the collected sound data SD with a sound recognition algorithm to detect a target sound indicating an emergency vehicle.

Next, the generation position of the target sound is specified (S12). The acoustic signal processing unit 110 applies a sound source localization algorithm to the detected target sound, and specifies the generation position of the target sound. The acoustic signal processing unit 110 generates emergency vehicle course data D1 indicating the current position and traveling direction of the emergency vehicle.

Then, it is determined whether or not the lighting color of the street light 101 is changed (S13). For example, the light color control unit 112 obtains the distance from the street light 101 to the current position of the emergency vehicle based on the emergency vehicle route data D1 and compares this distance with a predetermined distance threshold. Alternatively, the light color control unit 112 obtains the distance to the current position of the emergency vehicle based on the emergency vehicle course data D1 or the warning color lighting signal S1 from another street light 101 (for example, the neighboring street light 101), This distance is compared to a predetermined distance threshold. If the distance to the emergency vehicle is smaller than the distance threshold, the light color control unit 112 determines that the light color of the street light 101 should be changed. If the distance to the emergency vehicle is larger than the distance threshold, the light color control unit 112 determines that the light color of the street light 101 should not be changed.

When it is determined that the lighting color of the street light 101 should be changed (Y of S13), the lighting color control unit 112 generates the warning color lighting signal S1 for the street light 101. The lamp color control unit 112 outputs a warning color lighting signal S1 to the lamp 106. Upon receiving the warning color lighting signal S1, the lamp 106 lights up with a warning color (S14). When the warning color lighting signal S1 indicates blinking, the lamp 106 blinks in the warning color.

When it is determined that the lighting color of the street light 101 should not be changed (N of S13), the lighting color control unit 112 does not generate the warning color lighting signal S1 for the street light 101, or does not change the normal color. A signal for instructing lighting is generated. Therefore, the lamp 106 lights up in a normal color (S15). In this case, for example, when it is not necessary to turn on the street light 101 during the daytime, the lamp 106 may be turned off.

In this way, the light color control based on the emergency vehicle route data D1 is performed, and this routine ends.

The plurality of street lights 101 may be turned on in a lighting pattern that is linked to each other. For example, the plurality of street lights 101 may be lit in different colors depending on the distance to the emergency vehicle. By using multiple alert colors, the range of expression is expanded. For example, the streetlight 101 of the first group closest to the emergency vehicle lights in the first warning color, and the streetlight 101 of the second group adjacent to the streetlight 101 of the first group on the path of the emergency vehicle has the first warning color. You may light with a different 2nd warning color. As the first warning color, a color showing a higher warning level than the second warning color is selected. For example, the first warning color is red and the second warning color is orange or yellow. Three or more warning colors may be used, the plurality of street lights 101 may be divided into three or more groups according to the distance to the emergency vehicle, and different light colors may be assigned to each group.

The range of expression can be expanded by using blinking as well as continuous lighting. For example, the plurality of street lights 101 may be sequentially lit so as to indicate the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle.

In step S13, the light color control unit 112 uses different distance thresholds for the front side (that is, the side where the emergency vehicle is about to pass) and the rear side (the side where the emergency vehicle has already passed) in the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle. You may. A first distance threshold may be used in the front of the traveling direction and a second distance threshold smaller than the first distance threshold may be used in the rear of the traveling direction. By doing so, the lighting range of the warning color can be made wider on the side where the emergency vehicle is about to pass. A larger number of street lights 101 are lit in the warning color in the front of the traveling direction than in the rear of the traveling direction.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the street light system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a case where the emergency vehicle 130 is urgently traveling on the road on which the street light system 100 is installed. The emergency vehicle 130 is traveling from the left side to the right side in the figure. In the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 130, general vehicles 132a and 132b are traveling upstream (forward) of the emergency vehicle 130.

The emergency vehicle 130 is running while producing a siren sound 134. The siren sound 134 is picked up by the sound sensor 102 of the surrounding street light 101. As described above, the street light system 100 detects the current position and the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 130 in real time by the acoustic signal processing of the siren sound 134. The street light system 100 generates a warning color lighting signal S1 for each street light 101 based on the current position and the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 130.

As a result, the first group of street lights 101a closest to the emergency vehicle 130 on the path of the emergency vehicle 130 is lit in the first warning color (for example, red). The street lights 101b of the second group, which are adjacent to the street lights 101a of the first group on the path of the emergency vehicle 130, are lit in the second warning color (for example, orange). The other street lights 101c are turned on or off in a normal color (for example, white).

At this time, the street light 101 located near the emergency vehicle 130 (for example, the street light 101a of the first group) can be turned on with a warning color in response to the siren sound 134. However, as the distance from the emergency vehicle 130 increases, it becomes difficult to hear the siren sound 134. Therefore, the street light 101 (for example, the street light 101b of the second group) that is some distance from the emergency vehicle 130, instead of responding to the siren sound 134, the warning color lighting signal S1 (arrow 136) transmitted from the neighboring street light 101. (Indicated by) in response to the warning color. Further, the street light 101c (for example, the rightmost street light in FIG. 4) far from the emergency vehicle 130 is turned on or off in a normal color. Further, the street light 101c (for example, the leftmost street light in FIG. 4) that the emergency vehicle 130 has already passed is turned on or off in a normal color.

According to the street light system 100, the current position and the traveling direction of the emergency vehicle 130 can be notified to the drivers of the general vehicles 132a and 132b by changing the light color of the street light 101. In this way, the driver who notices the emergency vehicle 130 can yield to the emergency vehicle 130. Therefore, the street light system 100 helps to facilitate the passage of the emergency vehicle 130.

Generally, many street lights 101 are installed along the road. By mounting the sound sensor 102 on each street light 101, a siren sound or another target sound indicating the emergency vehicle 130 is detected at a large number of sound pickup positions along the road, and the generation position and traveling direction thereof are accurately specified. can do.

In order to detect the emergency vehicle 130, a method in which a large number of cameras are arranged along the road and the image data captured by the cameras is used can be considered. However, since such cameras can be regarded as surveillance cameras, there are also privacy concerns in arranging them in large numbers in the city. On the other hand, since the streetlight system 100 uses sound recognition, there is also an advantage that such a concern does not occur.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an emergency vehicle traffic assistance system according to the second embodiment. The emergency vehicle traffic assistance system 200 includes a traffic light system 202 having a plurality of traffic lights 202a in addition to the street light system 100 according to the first embodiment.

The traffic signal system 202 controls the traffic signal 202a installed on the route of the emergency vehicle based on the emergency vehicle route data D1 so as to support the passage of the emergency vehicle. The traffic light system 202 is controlled by a traffic control system 204 (eg, traffic department or police). The traffic light system 202 can communicate with the traffic control system 204 via a wireless or wired communication line 206. The street light 101 and the traffic light 202a are installed in one area, while the traffic control system 204 is installed in a remote area and integrates the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system 200 in a plurality of areas including this area. Control.

A traffic light control unit 203 is provided in the traffic light 202a. The traffic light control unit 203 includes a communication device 208, and the traffic light 202a is used as a relay device for communication between the traffic control system 204 and the street light system 100. The street light 101 and the traffic light 202a are divided into a plurality of groups, and each group includes at least one traffic light 202a and a plurality of the street lights 101 installed in the vicinity of the traffic light 202a. The traffic light control unit 203 collects information from the street lights 101 of the same group and transmits the information to the traffic control system 204. Further, the traffic light control unit 203 receives a control signal or other information from the traffic control system 204 and transmits it to the street light 101 of the group.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of emergency vehicle traffic assistance based on sound recognition, which is executed in the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system according to the second embodiment.

First, the traffic light 202a acquires information from the street light 101 (S20). Similar to the street light system 100 according to the first embodiment, the emergency vehicle route data D1 and the warning color lighting signal S1 are generated by the street light 101. The street light 101 sends the emergency vehicle route data D1 and the warning color lighting signal S1 to the traffic signal 202a. At this time, the traffic light 202a collects the emergency vehicle route data D1 and the warning color lighting signal S1 from a plurality of street lights 101 belonging to the same group.

Next, the traffic light 202a sends the information collected from the plurality of street lights 101 to the traffic control system 204 (S22). Information on the area to which the traffic signal 202a belongs is sent to the traffic control system 204.

The traffic control system 204 controls the traffic light 202a based on the information (S24). The traffic control system 204 generates a control signal for controlling the traffic light 202a and sends it to the traffic light control unit 203. The traffic light control unit 203 controls the traffic light 202a according to the control signal. In this way, the traffic light system 202 controls the traffic light 202a so as to support the passage of an emergency vehicle under the control of the traffic control system 204. For example, a traffic light 202a installed on the path of an emergency vehicle is turned to a green signal to allow the emergency vehicle to pass. Alternatively, all the traffic lights 202a installed at the intersections on the path of the emergency vehicle are red. By doing so, entry of ordinary vehicles into the intersection is prohibited, only emergency vehicles can enter, and passage of emergency vehicles can be supported.

Further, the control signal sent from the traffic control system 204 is sent to the street light 101 via the traffic signal 202a. Therefore, not only the traffic light system 202 but also the street light system 100 can be controlled by the traffic control system 204.

According to the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system 200 of the second embodiment, similar to the street light system 100 of the first embodiment, the driver of the general vehicle is notified of the approach of the emergency vehicle by changing the color of the street light 101. can do. In addition, the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system 200 can control the traffic light 202a so as to assist the traffic of the emergency vehicle.

In the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 and the lamp color control unit 112 may be provided in the traffic light control unit 203. In that case, the traffic light control unit 203 is The sound collection data SD may be collected from the sound sensor 102 of the road lamp 101, and the emergency vehicle route data D1 and the warning color lighting signal S1 may be generated. The traffic light control unit 203 transmits the warning color lighting signal S1 to the street light 101, so that each street light 101 lights in the warning color according to the warning color lighting signal S1. At the same time, the traffic light control unit 203 may transmit the emergency vehicle route data D1 and the warning color lighting signal S1 to the traffic control system 204.

Further, the sound sensor 102 may be provided in the traffic signal 202a. Additionally or alternatively, a camera may be provided at the traffic light 202a.

By the way, the collected sound data SD may include not only the siren sound of the emergency vehicle but also the running sound of the general vehicle (for example, the operation sound of the engine or the motor, the friction sound between the tire and the road surface, etc.). Therefore, the acoustic signal processing unit 110 receives the sound collection data SD, detects the target sound indicating the general vehicle and the generation position thereof based on the sound collection data SD, and determines the traffic volume (the number of vehicles traveling, the traveling speed, etc.) in the vicinity. The traffic data shown may be generated. The traffic light control unit 203 may transmit the traffic volume data to the traffic control system 204.

The traffic control system 204 may control the emergency vehicle traffic assistance system 200 based on the traffic volume data. The traffic control system 204 may control the signal color of the traffic signal 202a and the street color of the street light 101 installed on the route of the emergency vehicle so as to increase or maximize the traffic volume in the route of the emergency vehicle. .. If the traffic volume on the route of the emergency vehicle is sufficiently secured, the emergency vehicle can smoothly travel with other traveling vehicles.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and the embodiments and modifications may be combined and further modifications such as various design changes may be added based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. The embodiments and modified examples in which such combination or further modification is added are also included in the scope of the present invention. The above-described embodiments and modifications, and a new embodiment resulting from a combination of the above-described embodiments and modifications and the following modifications, combine the effects of the combined embodiments, modifications and further modifications. Hold.

The street light 101 may have a camera. The street light controller 104 may generate the emergency vehicle course data D1 based on the sound collection data SD and the image data captured by the camera.

Although the present invention has been described by using specific words and phrases based on the embodiments, the embodiments only show one aspect of the principle and application of the present invention. Many modifications and changes in arrangement are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention defined in the range.

100 street light system, 101 street light, 102 sound sensor, 110 acoustic signal processing unit, 112 light color control unit, 130 emergency vehicle, 200 emergency vehicle traffic assistance system, 202 signal system, 202a signal, D1 emergency vehicle route data, S1 Warning color lighting signal, SD sound collection data.

Claims (5)

A plurality of street lights installed along a road on which a vehicle travels, capable of lighting in a plurality of lighting colors including at least one warning color, and each of which has a sound sensor for collecting sound from the surroundings and generating collected sound data. When,
An acoustic signal processing unit that receives the collected sound data, detects a target sound indicating an emergency vehicle and a generation position thereof based on the collected sound data, and generates emergency vehicle course data indicating a current position and a traveling direction of the emergency vehicle. When,
A lighting color control unit that generates a warning color lighting signal for instructing lighting of the at least one street light installed on the path of the emergency vehicle with the warning color based on the emergency vehicle path data. Street light system to be. The street light system according to claim 1, wherein the warning color lighting signal instructs flashing in the warning color. The street light can be turned on in a plurality of warning colors,
The light color control unit, based on the emergency vehicle path data, lights at least two street lights installed on the path of the emergency vehicle with different warning colors according to the distance between the emergency vehicle and the street light. The street light system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an instruction is given. A plurality of street lights installed along a road on which a vehicle travels, capable of lighting in a plurality of lighting colors including at least one warning color, and each of which has a sound sensor for collecting sound from the surroundings and generating collected sound data. When,
An acoustic signal processing unit that receives the collected sound data, detects a target sound indicating an emergency vehicle and a generation position thereof based on the collected sound data, and generates emergency vehicle course data indicating a current position and a traveling direction of the emergency vehicle. When,
An emergency vehicle traffic assistance system comprising: a traffic signal system that controls a traffic signal installed on the route of the emergency vehicle so as to assist the traffic of the emergency vehicle based on the emergency vehicle route data. .. A lighting color control unit configured to generate a warning color lighting signal for instructing lighting of the at least one street light installed on the path of the emergency vehicle with the warning color based on the emergency vehicle path data. The emergency vehicle traffic assistance system according to claim 4.

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