JP3440394B2 - Road condition determination system, road management system using the road condition determination system, road condition information collection vehicle, and automatic deicing agent spraying system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle-mounted road surface condition determination system for detecting and determining the condition of a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, and particularly to a road surface for ensuring high recognition performance.
Using the condition determination system and the road surface condition determination system
Road management system, vehicle for collecting road surface condition information, and freezing
The present invention relates to an automatic agent spraying system .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of vehicle-mounted road surface discriminating device, there is known a device for optically detecting and discriminating a road surface state using a spatial filter in a non-contact manner (for example, internationally. See publication number WO 95/01549).

[0003]

However, the area detected by the sensor of the conventional road surface discrimination device as described above is small with a diameter of about 10 mm, and is a partial information of the road surface on which the vehicle travels. However, the amount of information was extremely small. Therefore, for example, when recognizing the road surface condition and managing the road, there is a problem that the road surface information is too small to perform appropriate management. Further, in the conventional device, there is a problem that a response time is required because the detection information is small when the vehicle is traveling and the road surface condition is determined. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a plurality of road surface state detecting means are mounted on a vehicle so that a road surface state in a wide area can be recognized by a detection signal of each detecting means. Therefore, in the case of performing road management, it is possible to perform appropriate management, and yet to reduce the response time of road surface determination, a road surface condition determination system ,
And a road management system using a road surface condition determination system,
Vehicles for collecting road surface condition information and automatic anti-freezing system
The purpose is to provide a system.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a vehicle-equipped road surface condition determination system for detecting and determining the condition of a road surface on which a vehicle is traveling, the left tire of the vehicle. The condition of the road surface near the vehicle, the vehicle
Condition of the road near the right tire of the
A plurality of the road surface condition detecting means, a plurality of on the basis of the detection signal from the road surface state detection means determining means for determining the state of the road surface for the entire road surface to detect the state of the road surface in the vicinity between Ya, respectively optically And information output means for outputting road surface state information to another device based on the determination result by the determination means . Also, the invention of claim 2, in the configuration described in claim 1, and detects the state of the road surface on the basis of the spatial frequency component road surface condition detecting means represents the state of the road surface. The invention of claim 3 is the configuration according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The information output means has a transmission function of transmitting the road surface state information to the outside of the vehicle. A fourth aspect of the present invention is a road including the road surface state determination system according to the third aspect and a management unit that is installed outside the vehicle and receives road surface state information transmitted from the system to manage the road state. It is a management system. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a road surface state determination system that is installed in a vehicle and that detects and determines the states of a pavement road, a gravel road, a dry road, a wet road, etc. on a road surface on which the vehicle travels, a plurality of different road surfaces are provided. A plurality of road surface state detecting means for optically detecting the state of the area, and a judging means for judging a road surface state based on a comparison result of detection signals from the plurality of road surface state detecting means, and a judgment by the judging means. An information output means for outputting road surface state information to another device based on the result. Further, in the invention of claim 6 , the road surface state determination system of claim 5 , a GPS system for recognizing the traveling position of the vehicle, and road surface state information determined by the road surface determination system are recognized by the GPS system. It is a road surface state information collection vehicle provided with a communication unit for transmitting to a road management center that manages the state of a road together with vehicle position information. According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, a road surface condition determining system according to the fifth aspect , an antifreezing agent spraying device for spraying the antifreezing agent, and an antifreezing agent spraying device based on the road surface condition determined by the road surface condition determining system. And a control device for controlling the spraying of the antifreezing agent by means of the automatic antifreezing agent spraying system.

[0005]

In the structure of claim 1 having the above structure,
The left side tire of the vehicle can be
The road surface near where the vehicle passes and the road surface where the right tire of the vehicle passes
And the condition of the road surface near both the left and right tires is optically detected, and the judgment means determines the entire road surface based on these detection signals.
Of the road surface state, and the information output means outputs the road surface state information to another device based on the determination result. The other devices operate appropriately according to the received road surface state information. Here, the road surface condition can be detected in a wide area, the response time for road surface determination is fast, and accurate information can be obtained. In addition, the road surface on which the tires of the vehicle pass often
It is possible to measure the information of the road surface at the same time,
Accurate understanding of transient phenomena that are beginning to change
And are possible. Further, in the configuration of claim 2 , the state of the road surface is optically detected in a non-contact manner based on the spatial frequency component. Further, in the configuration of claim 3 , the road surface state information is transmitted to the outside of the vehicle, and the external device that receives the information operates appropriately. Further, in the structure of claim 4 , the management means that receives the transmitted road surface state information can perform management such that the road surface information is displayed for a driver who passes the road. Further, in the structure of claim 5 , the judging means judges the state of the paved road, the gravel road, the dry road, the wet road, etc. of the road surface based on the comparison result of the detection signals from the plurality of road surface state detection means. The information output means outputs the road surface state information of the pavement road, the gravel road, the dry road, the wet road, etc. to other devices based on the determination result. Further, in the structure of claim 6 , the state of the road surface is detected while actually traveling on the road, and the road surface state information is transmitted to the road management center together with the vehicle position information. As a result, the road management center can manage the road condition by collecting detailed road condition information in real time. Further, according to the configuration of claim 7 , an appropriate amount of the antifreezing agent can be sprayed to a necessary place according to the detected road surface condition.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which a road surface state determination system is mounted on a vehicle, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle equipped with the system is traveling on a road. The road surface condition determination system includes a plurality of road surface condition determination sensors 1 mounted on a vehicle A and using a spatial filter.
2 and 3 and one CPU 6 for road surface discrimination. It is suitable that the sensors 1, 2 and 3 are mounted on the vehicle A so as to face the road B and optically detect the spatial frequency component of the road B in a non-contact manner. The sensors 2 are mounted in the center of the front part of the vehicle at positions close to both side surfaces of the part. The sensor 1 passes the condition of the road surface near the right tire 4 of the vehicle, the sensor 2 passes the condition of the road surface between the left and right tires (wheels) 4 and 5 of the vehicle, and the sensor 3 passes the left tire 5 of the vehicle. The condition of the road surface in the vicinity is detected. In other words, the sensors 1 and 3 have the road areas through which the tires pass well as the detection areas 1'and 3 ', and the sensor 2 has the road surface in the center where the tires do not pass so much as the detection area 2'. Each output of each sensor 1, 2, 3 is
The road surface information input to the road surface determination CPU 6 and determined by the CPU 6 is output to any of various other devices described below.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of one of the road surface state determination sensors 1, 2, 3 (representatively sensor 1), and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the circuit configuration of the sensor 1. The sensor 1 includes light emitting elements (for example, LEDs) 8 and 9 that project light toward a road surface 7.
And a light-receiving lens 10 that receives the reflected light from the road surface 7,
A collimator lens 11, a prism array 12 forming a spatial filter optical system, a condenser lens 13, and two photodetectors (light receiving elements such as photodiode PD) 14
including. Further, the sensor 1 includes an operational amplifier 15 for operating and amplifying the detection signals of the two photodetectors 14, and a demodulation circuit 16
And a pulse oscillation circuit 17 for driving the LED 9. The output of the demodulation circuit 16 passes through the A / D converter 18 and the memory 1
9 and then from the memory 19 to the CPU 6. The CPU 6 performs signal frequency analysis and signal amplitude analysis for determining the road surface condition, and the results are output to an ECU (not shown) that controls the vehicle engine. Since the operation of the spatial filter optical system is shown in International Publication No. WO95 / 01549,
Detailed description is omitted.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a road surface discrimination processing procedure performed by the CPU 6. CPU6 performs three types of analysis,
Analysis is low frequency intensity / center frequency intensity, analysis is center frequency intensity / reflected light intensity, and analysis is the timing of maximum signal amplitude within a predetermined period. It is possible to determine the road surface states in the cases of (a) to (i) based on the magnitude relation of the above-mentioned respective analysis results of the detection signals of the sensors 1, 2, and 3. Note that the case divisions shown here are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

Next, specific examples of road surface discrimination will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described with reference to. Now, from sensors 1, 2, 3 to FIG.
It is assumed that a signal as shown in is detected. In this case, since the low frequency fluctuations occur at the same timing, it is presumed that the low frequency fluctuations are generated by detecting the seam on the expressway as shown in FIG. This phenomenon is a change in a state in which the road surface is different, and it similarly occurs when the paved road enters an unpaved road or vice versa. Therefore, when such a signal is detected, it can be determined that the road surface condition has changed rapidly. This corresponds to the case of (f) of FIG. Then, if such road surface discrimination information is used for the suspension control of the vehicle, the riding comfort can be improved.

Next, it is assumed that the sensors 1, 2, 3 detect signals as shown in FIG. In this case, the detection signal of the sensor 2 for detecting the road surface between the right and left tires has a large signal amplitude, and the sensors 1, 3 for detecting the road surface through which the right and left tires pass.
The detection signal from has a small signal amplitude and has no low-frequency fluctuation. As shown in FIG. 9, this is a case where information corresponding to a rut is obtained, in which the road surface on which the right and left tires pass is in a dry state due to vehicle traffic, and the road surface between the right and left tires is in a wet state. It is speculated that This is (i) in FIG.
It occurs in the initial state at the time of snowfall and rain,
Such a road surface phenomenon can be detected. The low frequency fluctuation correlates with the low frequency intensity and is obtained from the analysis result, and the signal amplitude correlates with the center frequency intensity and is obtained from the analysis result.

Next, it is assumed that the sensors 1, 2, 3 detect signals as shown in FIG. In this case, the sensor 1,
The detection signal from 3 has a large signal amplitude, and the detection signal from the sensor 2 has a large low frequency fluctuation. As shown in FIG. 11, this is the initial state of snowfall, and the portion where the tire passes through when the vehicle is running is in a state close to a wet state in which the heat of the tire melts the snow, during which time snow is accumulated due to snowfall. It is speculated that there is. This corresponds to the case of (j) of FIG.

Next, suppose that the signals shown in FIG. 12 are detected from the sensors 1, 2, and 3. In this case, the sensor 1,
The detection signal from 3 has a small low frequency fluctuation, and the detection signal from the sensor 2 has a large low frequency fluctuation. As shown in FIG. 13, this is a gravel road with a relatively large amount of traffic, and it is presumed that this is a bad road with a small amount of gravel only at the portion where ruts are made and the tire passes. This corresponds to the case of (g) of FIG. As described above, it becomes possible to determine the combined road surface condition.

Further, in order to stably extract the spatial frequency component ratio, which is the main parameter for determining the road surface condition, it takes several meters of traveling, but the outputs of the three sensors 1, 2, 3 are simultaneously output. By processing, it is possible to determine the road surface condition with a running distance of 1/3 that when processing one sensor output. That is, since the road surface condition can be output in a short traveling distance, it can be installed in a control system that requires a quick response.

Next, an example of a traffic accident reducing system which can be constructed by mounting the road surface condition judging system of the present invention will be described. FIG. 14 shows a case where it is applied to a road management system.
A vehicle A equipped with a road surface state determination system transmits road surface determination information to a road management center C by radio waves, and the road management center C uses the information to freeze the road, cover snow, or wet the road surface. Is displayed on beacon D. Therefore, the driver of another vehicle E passing through the road can be informed of the necessity of safe driving, and a traffic system that does not cause a traffic accident can be constructed. FIG. 15 shows a configuration example of a vehicle A equipped with a road surface state determination system used in the road management system. The vehicle A has road surface state determination sensors 1, 2,
3 and the road surface determination CPU 6, a GPS antenna 21 for recognizing position information, a GPS system 22,
The communication unit 23 for transmitting the PS signal and the road surface discrimination information and the communication antenna 24 are provided.

FIG. 16 shows an example in which a vehicle F is equipped with an automatic anti-freezing agent spraying system utilizing a road surface condition determining system. The vehicle 25 includes road surface state determination sensors 1, 2,
3, an anti-freezing agent storage tank 27 and an anti-freezing agent spraying device 28 are provided to form an automatic spraying system. With this system, an appropriate amount of the antifreezing agent 29 can be automatically sprayed according to the freezing condition of the road surface 7 detected by the road surface condition determination system. Conventionally, even if a driver looks at the road surface, it is impossible to distinguish between a "compacted snow road and an ice burner (mirror van)" and a "wet road and an ice film (black ice)", so more than the required amount of anti-freezing agent is sprayed. The current situation is that a large amount of antifreezing agent has caused pollution called salt damage. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the road surface condition and spray an appropriate amount of the antifreezing agent, so that it is possible to prevent both traffic accidents due to slip and salt damage.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a system for recognizing the safe inter-vehicle distance by the road surface condition. The vehicle 30 includes road surface state determination sensors 1, 2, and 3 of the road surface state determination system and a front inter-vehicle distance sensor 31, and the front inter-vehicle distance sensor 31.
Is for detecting the inter-vehicle distance from the vehicle 32 ahead by using the reflected light of the light beam 33. Since the slip ratio of the road surface B greatly changes depending on the state, by constructing a system that uses the front inter-vehicle distance sensor 31 and the road surface state determination sensors 1, 2, and 3 together, the road surface state and the inter-vehicle distance are detected. The driver can be notified for safe driving, or the accelerator and brake can be automatically controlled to perform optimal safe driving in various situations.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the road surface state determination sensors 1, 2, and 3 are preferably those that detect the spatial frequency component of the road surface, but other sensors may be used.

[0018]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1,
It detects the state of different areas on the road surface, determines the road surface state based on the detection signal, and outputs the road surface state information to other devices, so it can detect information in a wide area. You can accurately recognize the road condition,
A lot of data can be obtained in a shorter mileage, and the response time of detection can be shortened. Also vehicle tires
Detects the condition of the road surface that the
The state of the road surface for the entire road surface based on the detection signal
As the road condition is starting to change,
It is possible to accurately grasp such transient phenomena and
The recognition performance can be exhibited. In addition, for example, it is possible to easily and quickly detect seams on elevated roads and sudden changes in road surface conditions (such as entry from a paved road to an unpaved road), and if a suspension control is adopted, a comfortable vehicle can be realized. it can. Further, it is effective when applied to, for example, an anti-freezing agent spraying control and a safety inter-vehicle distance maintenance system . Also, according to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the above effects, it can be accurately detected based on the state of the road surface to the spatial frequency components. Further, according to the invention of claim 3 , since the road surface condition information is transmitted to the outside of the vehicle, it is possible to prevent a traffic accident by applying it to a system requiring a road surface condition, for example, a road surface information providing system. In addition, claim 4
According to the invention, the road condition can be appropriately and promptly managed according to the received road condition information. Further, according to the invention of claim 5 , as in the effect of the invention of claim 1 , a large area is provided.
Since it is possible to accurately recognize the road surface condition by information detection at
In addition, many data can be obtained and
The output response time can be shortened. In addition to this , the state of a pavement road, a gravel road, a dry road, a wet road, and the like on the road surface is determined, so that the present invention can be applied to a wide range of systems based on the determined road surface state. Further, according to the invention of claim 6 , since the road surface state is detected while actually traveling on the road, detailed and real-time road surface state information can be collected and transmitted to the road management center. Further, according to the invention of claim 7, since an appropriate amount of the antifreezing agent can be applied to a necessary place, it is possible to prevent traffic accidents caused by slip and prevent salt damage by applying a large amount of antifreezing agent.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing how a road surface state determination system according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a vehicle equipped with the system is traveling on a road.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structural example of one road surface state determination sensor.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration example of the sensor.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a road surface determination processing procedure performed by a CPU.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of signals detected by sensors 1, 2, and 3.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a road surface when a seam is detected on a highway or the like.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of signals detected by sensors 1, 2, and 3.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a road surface when information corresponding to a rut is obtained.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of signals detected by sensors 1, 2, and 3.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a road surface in an initial state of snowfall.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of signals detected by sensors 1, 2, and 3.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a gravel road having a relatively large traffic volume.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram when the road surface state determination system is applied to a road management system.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a vehicle equipped with a road surface state determination system.

FIG. 16 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an automatic spraying system of an antifreezing agent using a road surface state determination system.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a system for recognizing a safe inter-vehicle distance based on a road surface condition.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2 and 3 Road surface condition determination sensor (road surface condition detection means) 6 Road surface determination CPU (determination means, information output means) 4,5 tires 23 Communication unit (information output means) A vehicle C road management center (management means)

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Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A road surface condition determination system mounted on a vehicle for detecting and determining a condition of a road surface on which the vehicle travels, comprising: a road surface condition near a left tire of the vehicle; and a right side of the vehicle.
The condition of the road near the tires and between the left and right tires
A plurality of road surface condition detecting means for detecting the state of the road surface in the vicinity of the respective optically, determination means for determining the state of the road surface for the entire road surface based on a detection signal from the plurality of road surface condition detecting means, A road surface state determination system, comprising: an information output unit that outputs road surface state information to another device based on a determination result by the determination unit. 2. The road surface state determination system according to claim 1, wherein the road surface state detection means detects a road surface state based on a spatial frequency component representing a road surface state. Wherein said information output means, road surface state discrimination system according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that a transmission function of transmitting the road surface condition information outside the vehicle. 4. The road surface condition determination system according to claim 3 , and a management means installed outside the vehicle for receiving the road surface condition information transmitted from the system and managing the road condition. Road management system. 5. A road surface condition determination system which is installed in a vehicle and detects and determines the condition of a pavement road, gravel road, dry road, wet road, etc. on a road surface on which the vehicle travels, the condition of a plurality of different areas on the road surface. A plurality of road surface condition detecting means for optically detecting, a judging means for judging a road surface state based on a comparison result of detection signals from the plurality of road surface condition detecting means, and a judgment result by the judging means. A road surface state determination system, comprising: an information output unit that outputs road surface state information to another device based on the information output unit. 6. A road surface state determination system according to claim 5 , a GPS system for recognizing a traveling position of the vehicle, and a vehicle position where the road surface state information determined by the road surface determination system is recognized by the GPS system. A vehicle for collecting road surface condition information, comprising: a communication unit that transmits information together with information to a road management center that manages the condition of the road. 7. The road surface condition determining system according to claim 5 , an antifreezing agent spraying device for spraying an antifreezing agent, and freezing by the antifreezing agent spraying device based on the road surface condition determined by the road surface condition determining system. An automatic anti-freezing agent spraying system, comprising: a control device for controlling spraying of the anti-freezing agent.