JP3086285B2 - Traffic signal control device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a traffic signal control device including a traffic signal for road traversers, such as a push-button traffic signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, traffic signal control has been performed in which traffic signals are permitted by a traffic light in response to a pedestrian or a vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a pedestrian) crossing a highway. For example, a traffic signal provided on a pedestrian crossing receives a request for pedestrians crossing the road through a push button, and in response to the request, controls a main-vehicle signal light and a pedestrian signal light to perform a pedestrian crossing. Push-button traffic lights are used to allow people to cross. In this type of traffic signal, in general, in order to maintain the system of highway roadside vehicles, the time from when the push button is pressed until the actual display changes and the vehicle can cross can tend to be longer, and the waiting time becomes longer and If the vehicles traveling on the road are sparse, the pedestrians may feel irritated and eventually ignore the signal. In addition to the pedestrian, a similar situation is conceivable for vehicles and traffic lights that flow into or cross the main road (main road) from the subordinate road. In order to solve this problem and provide convenience to traversers, traffic signal control devices and control methods are being improved.

For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 52-44593 (push-button type traffic signal controller) discloses that one of two present patterns preset by a pedestrian at the time of push-button operation is selected. A technology for reducing the waiting time of a pedestrian by controlling the presenting according to the following is disclosed. In this device, the present pattern is switched only depending on the operation timing of the push button. In addition, a control method has been proposed in which an operation mode is switched by time control to switch to a mode in which a pedestrian is favored at midnight when vehicle traffic is reduced. However, this method has a drawback that the determination of the pedestrian idle state is based only on the time, so that it does not exactly match the actual traffic conditions that fluctuate every day.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and automatically sets the frequency of pedestrians or other pedestrians at midnight hours or the like when traffic is extremely low during off-peak hours. Proposal of a traffic signal control device that detects the judgment and switches to the priority control of the pedestrian who shortens the waiting time of the pedestrian in this case, thereby facilitating the pedestrian and preventing an accident due to ignoring the signal beforehand The task is to

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present application traffic signal control equipment of the first invention, a road crossing according to transverse request by transverse requesting means such as push buttons provided on the main road a traffic signal control system including an authorization to traffic lights, crossing requests transverse allowable number per predetermined time
A determining request frequency determining means as a frequency, the traffic lights when the request frequency based on the judgment result of the request frequency determining means is higher controlled highway passing vehicles priority traversal when the required frequency is low Signal control that gives priority to the user
(10) .

Further, traffic signal control equipment of the present second invention
By means of crossing request means such as push buttons
Traffic signals that allow road crossings in response to
A traffic signal control device,
Send a step signal to maintain the road system, and
Receives a response signal from the received traffic signal and sends a traffic signal
A central control unit for grasping the state of the machine, and the frequency of the crossing request
Request frequency judging means for judging the request frequency.
Control the traffic signal to the main road traveling vehicles priority based on the stepping signal when the required frequency based on the stage of the determination results is high
It sends a response signal to the central control unit as well as control, whereas, if the request frequency is low, exchange not based on stepping signal
Controls the communication machine with crosser priority, generates a pseudo response signal, and sends this pseudo response signal to the central control unit.
And a traffic light control unit.

[0007]

According to the present invention, according to the frequency of the traversing request from the traversing request means, that is, when the request frequency is low, the request frequency judging means automatically judges, and the control unit gives the traffic signal to the traverser priority. Control according to the program to shorten the signal waiting time and make it easier for traversers.

According to another aspect of the present invention, in a normal state, the traffic signal is controlled to give priority to a highway traffic vehicle in accordance with a step signal transmitted under the control of the central control device, and the step signal is received. Then, a response signal is returned. On the other hand, a pseudo response signal corresponding to the response signal is generated and returned even when the control is shifted to the crosser priority control not depending on the control of the central control unit. Therefore, the central control device can always know whether or not each traffic signal is normal by the returned response signal or pseudo response signal.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the traffic signal control device of the present invention. The apparatus of this embodiment includes a signal light (not shown), a signal control unit 10, a plurality of signals including a traversing request unit 1, a central control unit 30.
And a communication line 20 connecting them, and a related receiving means 2
2 and 23 and transmission means 21 and 24. Signal controller 10 for controlling the present state of each signal light
Comprises a frequency determination means 2, a lamp color control means 3, and a program storage means 4. A plurality of programs (a first control program P1 and a second control program P2 in this embodiment) are stored in the program storage unit 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, a sensitive traffic light such as a push-button traffic light according to the present invention has an
It is provided at an intersection or pedestrian crossing section C that intersects 1 to L3. FIG. 3 illustrates a push-button traffic signal S in a perspective view. This push-button type traffic signal S is composed of a vehicle light A for a highway and a pedestrian light P for a pedestrian, a signal control box 7 containing a signal control unit 10 for controlling these, and
The push button box 8 is provided with a push button (crossing request output means) 1 for receiving a pedestrian's crossing request, a response display 9 for clearly indicating that the request has been received, and the like. These traffic signals S are collectively controlled by a central device in order to maintain the system (speed) of the main road M. In accordance with the step signals transmitted from the central control unit 30 of the central device via the communication line 20, respectively, A response signal is returned, and lamp control corresponding to a predetermined step is sequentially performed. In addition, a single traffic light which is not controlled by the central device may be used.

The traversing request means 1 is, for example, a push button operated by a pedestrian in the case of a push button signal, and a vehicle which has traveled on a subway in the case of a sensitive traffic signal in which the vehicle is permitted to traverse. It is a vehicle detector for detecting. The output from the crossing request output unit 1 is input to the frequency determination unit 2. At this time, in the push button type signal , if this is simply transmitted as a crossing request signal each time the push button is pressed, it is pressed continuously by a plurality of pedestrians, or repeatedly pressed by the same person. In such a case, a frequency that does not match the actual situation may be obtained, so the signal obtained when the switching operation of the lamp is started by the operation of the push button is used to traverse the frequency, that is, the number of times of traversing permitted per predetermined time. Request frequency.

The frequency judging means 2 judges whether the frequency of the crossing request is high or low according to the frequency of the input crossing request and sends a corresponding frequency output to the lamp color control means 3. The frequency can be determined based on whether or not a traversal request has been made within an arbitrary period (for example, two periods) using a signal. In addition, for example, it is also possible to realize a configuration in which a count value is reset every predetermined time including a counter and an output corresponding to a predetermined count number is connected to the lamp color control means 3.

The lamp color control means 3 controls lighting and extinguishment of each signal lamp in accordance with one of a plurality of control programs stored in the storage means 4 in advance in accordance with the frequency output (described later). In this embodiment, in principle, the central control unit 30
The lamp color control unit 3 controls each of the signal lamps in synchronization with the stepping signal output from the transmission unit 21, the communication line 20, and the reception unit 23. A response signal is transmitted in response to the reception signal, or a pseudo response signal that does not correspond to the lamp color control state is transmitted to the central control unit via the transmission means 24 and the communication line 20 instead of the response signal as described later. I do. The response signal and the like are input to the central control unit 30 via the receiving unit 22.

The operation and control program of the embodiment will be described below. Transverse request output means some frequency i.e. transverse's resulting cross request signal 1 is determined by the frequency determination means 2, when if the request frequency is high and low signals identifying each is to light color control means 3 Is output. The lamp color control means 3 controls each traffic light in accordance with the first control program P1 which has priority on the main road side stored in the storage means 4 when the frequency of crossing requests is high. However, if the frequency of crossing requests is low, such as at midnight (it can be considered that there is little traffic on the main road side)
, Each traffic light (a group of traffic lights at the intersection) is controlled in accordance with the second control program P2 which gives priority to the pedestrian. Here, giving priority to the traversal means that the waiting time from when the traverser makes a traversal request to when the signal display becomes traversing permission is reduced.

The first control program P1 which gives priority to the main road side used when the above-mentioned crossing request frequency is high (normal state)
As the (normal state program), a so-called step rotation type program can be used in which, when there is a crossing request from a crosser, the present state is switched to the present state after waiting for the second step in synchronization with a step signal from the center. FIG. 4 shows an example of the present floor plan. Further, the second control program P2 which gives priority to the pedestrian who is switched and used when the corresponding traversing request frequency is low (during off-duty) pushes the step stop type program, that is, the first step of the present floor plan diagram of FIG. It is sufficient to use a program that continuously keeps until a crossing request is made by a button or the like, and when there is a crossing request from a traverser, the traffic signal control that permits the traverser to cross is switched immediately in response to the crossing request immediately. . Of course, other programs with different priorities of the traversers can be appropriately selected and used as the first control program P1 and the second control program P2.

According to the technique described above, the main purpose of automatically judging the appropriate time and switching the control to reduce the waiting time by giving priority to the traverser can be achieved and can be applied to a single traffic light. In addition, in the device of this embodiment, in principle, each lamp is controlled in accordance with a stepping signal transmitted from the central control device in order to maintain the system of the main road. This will be described below.

When it is considered that the traffic demand is high and the traffic volume on the main road side is also large, the lamp color control means 3 is shown in the first control program P1 in the current floor plan of FIG. Thus, the steps are sequentially followed in accordance with the step signal transmitted at a predetermined timing in order to maintain the system of the main road from the central control unit 30. In this case, the lamp color control means 3 transmits a return signal indicating completion of reception to the central control unit 30 in response to each reception of the step signal. Thereby, the central control unit 30 can always confirm that each traffic light is functioning normally. However, when the frequency of the crossing request is low, the second control program giving priority to the crosser, that is, as shown as the program P2 in the same present ladder diagram, stays in step 1 until there is a crossing request, and the traffic on the main road side. The operation is switched to a so-called step stop type operation in which only the operation is permitted.
In this case, the present state of the traffic light and the stepping signal from the center are not synchronized. In order to avoid a situation in which the response signal is not transmitted and the monitoring by the central control unit is interrupted due to this, in the present embodiment, the lamp color control means 3 is controlled by the second control program P2 during control (during a quiet time). Also monitors the stepping signal from the central control unit 30, and upon receiving the signal, generates a pseudo response signal equivalent to a response signal in a normal state and transmits this to the central control unit 30. Therefore, even during a quiet time, the state of each traffic light can be grasped by the central control unit 30, and a failure or the like can be quickly detected and dealt with. Conversely, when the frequency of the crossing request increases and the control is switched from the off-duty control to the normal control, the control is synchronized again with the stepping signal from the center and the control returns to the control from the center. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing one embodiment of the traffic signal control method according to the present invention.

In the apparatus of the above embodiment, the frequency judgment means, the lamp color control means, the storage section and the like are shown separately, but the CPU, memory, I / O circuit, clock circuit and the like are integrated. It is also easy to integrally configure each part integrally using the microcomputer circuit described above. It is also conceivable that two or more signal control programs are prepared, the frequency of the traversing requests is determined more finely, and the signal control programs corresponding to the respective determination results are executed to perform more detailed traffic signal control.

[0019]

As described above, the traffic signal control device according to the present invention requires the number of times of traversal permitted per predetermined time.
Having request frequency determination means for determining the request frequency
The push button is pushed continuously by multiple pedestrians
Or if it is pressed many times by the same person
The frequency of crossing requests that does not match the actual situation is never obtained,
The frequency of crossing requests can be determined with certainty. Based on the result of the request frequency determination means, if the request frequency is high, the traffic signal is controlled to give priority to vehicles passing through the main road, and if the request frequency is low, the traffic signal is controlled. A traffic light control unit that controls
As a result , the signal waiting time is shortened during off-peak hours, so that the pedestrian is not irritated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a signal from being ignored or an accident associated therewith.

Further, the traffic signal control device according to another invention of the present application provides a traffic signal with a step signal for maintaining a system of a main road.
Response from the traffic light that transmitted and received the step signal
Central control unit that receives signals and grasps the status of traffic signals
And request frequency determination means for determining the frequency of crossing requests
If the request frequency is high based on the determination result of the request frequency determination means, the traffic signal is switched to the main road based on the step signal.
Road traffic sends a response signal to the central control unit controls the vehicle priority, whereas, if the request frequency is low, increment
If traffic signals are controlled based on pedestrians without being based on traffic lights
Since both of them have a traffic light control unit for generating a pseudo response signal and sending out the pseudo response signal to the central control unit, the central control unit can always know whether or not each traffic light is normal. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a traffic signal control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a road including a road crossing portion according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a push-button type traffic light according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a ladder diagram showing an example of a traffic light control according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a traffic signal control method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Crossing request means, 2 ... Request frequency determination means, 10 ... Traffic signal control part, 30 ... Central control part, M ... Highway S ... Traffic signal.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] In a traffic signal control device including a traffic signal (S ) provided on a main road (M) and permitting a road crossing in response to a crossing request by a crossing requesting means (1) such as a push button, a predetermined time transverse allowed number of times has a determining request frequency determining means as a cross request frequency (2), mains the request frequency determining means (2) of the determination result to the traffic signal when the request frequency is high based on (S) of A signal that gives priority to road-vehicles and gives priority to crossers when the request frequency is low.
A traffic signal control device comprising a machine control unit (10) . 2. A push button or the like provided on a main road (M).
Cross the road according to the crossing request by the crossing request means (1)
The traffic signal control device including the permitted traffic signal (S)
And maintain the system of the main road (M) at the traffic signal (S).
Traffic signal that transmits a step signal and receives the step signal
Receiving the response signal from the traffic signal (S)
A central control unit (30) for grasping the state;
A request frequency determining means (2) for determining a frequency;
Stem traffic signal (S) is based on the stepping signal when the required frequency based on the determination result of the frequency determination means (2) is high
The vehicle is controlled to give priority to highway traffic and the central control unit (3
0), while sending a request signal at low frequency
In this case, the traffic signal (S) must be
Control with priority to the punisher and generate a pseudo response signal
A signal for sending a similar response signal to the central control unit (30)
A traffic signal control device , comprising: a traffic control unit (10) .