JP4736922B2 - Intersection traffic control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention generally relates to an intersection traffic control system that sets priority for a vehicle entering an intersection and controls the speed of the vehicle entering the intersection so as to pass through the intersection according to the set priority. In particular, the present invention relates to an intersection traffic control system in which a vehicle speed control range is appropriately set.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an intersection traffic control system is known in which priority is set for a vehicle entering an intersection, and the speed of the vehicle entering the intersection is controlled so as to pass through the intersection according to the set priority. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a system that enters a service area at an intersection and decelerates and prevents a head-on collision when a vehicle is present on a priority road.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a collision prevention support method that determines the possibility of collision at an intersection and gives warning or deceleration control as necessary.

Patent Document 3 discloses a device that sets priority from a cart information (emergency vehicle, etc.) installed at an intersection and approaches the cart to allow entry or stop.
JP 2001-126198 A JP 2002-140799 A JP 2003-288119 A

  However, according to the conventional devices / systems described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the traffic control contents at each intersection are uniform and the traffic control at each intersection is performed independently of each other. Inconvenience may occur when there are adjacent intersections that are traffic controlled by conventional devices / systems.

  An example of how traffic control target intersections are adjacent is shown in FIG. Here, the roadside device B1 installed at the intersection 1 with the speed of the vehicle entering the intersection 1 is the roadside device B2 installed at the intersection 2 with the speed of the vehicle about to enter the intersection 2 adjacent to the intersection 1. Are controlled independently of each other.

  In addition, each roadside device B is set so that a vehicle located in a circular area (hereinafter referred to as “control area A”) having a predetermined radius R from the center of each intersection is subject to speed control. And

  In this way, when each roadside device is determined independently, that is, independently of other roadside devices existing in the vicinity, the control area A by the own device is fixedly determined, for example, as shown in FIG. When the distance between the centers of the adjacent intersections is smaller than 2R, the control areas A of the adjacent intersections overlap each other, and the speed control for the vehicle may be confused in the overlapping region.

  Further, in order to avoid such overlapping of the control areas, when the radius R is reduced to narrow the range of the control area A, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, of the roads forming one of the adjacent intersections When the width of one road is relatively wide and the average speed of a vehicle passing therethrough is relatively high, the size of the control area A ′ may not be appropriate.

  This is because the higher the average speed of vehicles that pass through, the lower the speed of the intersection, so that it does not suddenly decelerate before the intersection when the vehicle running on that road becomes a non-priority vehicle. This is because it is considered that a wider control area is preferable.

  Thus, according to the conventional apparatus / system, the traffic control range at each intersection is uniform regardless of the size of the intersection, and the traffic control range can be independently set regardless of the positional relationship with the surrounding intersection. Therefore, there is a possibility that appropriate intersection traffic control may not be realized, particularly when traffic control target intersections are adjacent to each other.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and it is a main object of the present invention to provide an intersection traffic control system in which a vehicle speed control range is appropriately set.

  One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is to set a priority for a vehicle entering the intersection, and the speed of the vehicle entering the intersection so as to pass the intersection according to the set priority. For each traffic control target intersection, the vehicles within a predetermined area including the intersection are subject to speed control, and the traffic control target intersections are adjacent to each other. The predetermined area of the intersection is an intersection traffic control system set so as not to interfere with each other.

  According to the above aspect, even when the traffic control target intersections are adjacent to each other, the range in which the vehicle speed control is performed at each intersection does not interfere with each other, so that a situation where the speed control for the vehicle is confused is appropriately avoided. .

  In the above aspect, the size of each of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections may be such that the predetermined area is preferably wider at an intersection where the average passing speed of the vehicle at each intersection is higher. Based on the insight that the average vehicle speed of passing vehicles will be higher at wider intersections, based on the road width of the roads forming the adjacent intersections, specifically, the predetermined area becomes larger as the road width is wider. Is preferably set.

  More specifically, the predetermined area is a circular area centered on the center position of each traffic control target intersection, and the size of each of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections is set to the adjacent intersections. This is realized by setting the radius ratio of the predetermined area to be equal to the ratio of the road width.

  In this case, if the length of the radius of each of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections is set to a length obtained by dividing the distance between the center positions of the adjacent intersections by the ratio of the road width, As a result, the predetermined area can be easily set, and the predetermined area can be made as wide as possible without interfering with adjacent intersections.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an intersection traffic control system in which a vehicle speed control range is appropriately set.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the following description of the embodiments, a crossroad intersection will be described as an example of a typical intersection.

  Hereinafter, an intersection traffic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The intersection traffic control system according to the present embodiment generally gives priority to vehicles having the possibility of crossing at intersections where no traffic lights for vehicles are installed, and each vehicle passes through the intersection in order according to this priority. This is a system for decelerating vehicles other than the vehicle with the highest priority.

  FIG. 4 shows an outline of an intersection traffic control system 400 according to the present embodiment. The intersection traffic control system 400 is installed at an intersection where no vehicle traffic signal is installed, and a roadside device 401 having a communication function for realizing road-to-vehicle communication with the vehicle V, and each of the roadside devices 401 entering the intersection. The vehicle travel control device 402 is mounted on the vehicle V and has a communication function for realizing road-to-vehicle communication with the roadside device 401, and also has a function of controlling the travel of the vehicle.

  Here, in FIG. 4, for the sake of convenience, the roadside device 401 is illustrated as if it is installed at one corner of a crossroad intersection, but the installation position of the roadside device 401 is determined for each vehicle V entering the intersection. As long as road-to-vehicle communication can be realized between the two, it is optional.

  Also, with regard to specific specifications for road-to-vehicle communication, various communication methods and device configurations have already been proposed and are known to those skilled in the art, so detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  Furthermore, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the road-to-vehicle communication between the roadside device 401 and the vehicle travel control device 402 is not limited to a direct wireless communication connection, but indirectly through vehicle-to-vehicle communication or satellite communication. It may be a typical communication connection.

  The vehicle travel control device 402 mounted on each vehicle V transmits the current position and moving speed (vehicle speed) of the host vehicle to the roadside device 401 using road-to-vehicle communication.

  The roadside device 401 determines an intersection passing priority of each vehicle V based on the position and vehicle speed of each vehicle V received from each vehicle V that is about to enter the intersection, and uses the road-to-vehicle communication to give the highest priority vehicle. A speed control instruction is transmitted so that the vehicle passes through the intersection after accelerating up to the intersection passing upper limit speed. Let This will be described in detail later.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a roadside device 401 according to the present embodiment.

  The roadside device 401 includes a communication unit 501 that communicates with the vehicle travel control device 402. The performance and shape of the antenna provided in the communication unit 501 and the method and frequency band used for communication are not particularly limited and may be arbitrary.

  The roadside device 401 further includes various algorithms used when calculating the intersection passing priority of each vehicle and the speed control amount to each vehicle, which will be described in detail later, and a control area set in advance for each traffic control target intersection. And a storage unit 502 that stores and holds geographic data in advance. The storage unit 502 may be an arbitrary storage medium. Moreover, it is preferable that the algorithm stored and held in the storage unit 502 is appropriately updated to the latest version using, for example, communication.

  The roadside device 401 further includes a main control unit 503 that performs various calculations and comprehensively controls each component of the roadside device 401. The main controller 503 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

  Here, a method for setting the control area stored in advance in the storage unit 502 of the roadside device 401 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In this embodiment, the geographical area of the control area A at each traffic control target intersection is set as a circular area centered on the intersection center position O for the sake of simplicity.

  The radius R of the control area A of each intersection is set so that the control areas A of the adjacent traffic control target intersections do not interfere with each other in consideration of the positional relationship with the intersection controlled by the system existing in the vicinity. It is determined.

  On the other hand, from the viewpoint that the control area A is preferably controlled as far as possible from the intersection in order to correspond to a vehicle with a high vehicle speed, the control area A of each intersection The radius R is set as large as possible as long as it does not interfere with the control area A. That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the control areas A of adjacent traffic control target intersections are in contact with each other.

  Further, the radius R of each of the two traffic control target intersections adjacent to each other that are set as two circular areas that are in contact with each other as described above is such that the passing speed of the passing vehicle is higher at the intersection where the road width is larger. From the viewpoint that the speed control should be started before the position, the speed is determined to be proportional to the size of the road width W of the road forming each intersection.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the road width W2 at the intersection 2 is wider than the road width W1 at the intersection 1, so that the control area A2 at the intersection 2 is larger than the control area A1 at the intersection 1. The radii R1 and R2 of the respective control areas A1 and A2 are determined.

  More specifically, values obtained by dividing the center-to-center distance from the center position O1 of the intersection 1 to the center position O2 of the intersection 2 by the ratio of the road widths W1 and W2 are the respective radii R1 and R2. That is, (distance between O1 and O2) = R1 + R2, and R1: R2 = W1: W2.

  As described above, the radius R of the control area A of each traffic control target intersection is fixedly set in advance according to the shape and positional relationship of the adjacent intersection, and stored in advance in the storage unit 502 of the roadside device 401 at each intersection. It is assumed that

  FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of the vehicle travel control device 402 according to the present embodiment.

  The vehicle travel control device 402 includes a communication unit 701 that communicates with the roadside device 401. The performance and shape of the antenna included in the communication unit 701 and the method and frequency band used for communication are not particularly limited and may be arbitrary.

  The vehicle travel control device 402 further includes a host vehicle position detection unit 702 that detects the position of the host vehicle using, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System). The detection accuracy (resolution) of the own vehicle position detection unit 702 is preferably as high (fine) as possible. For example, it is preferable to use a high-accuracy GPS such as RTK (Real Time Kinetic) -GPS.

  The vehicle travel control device 702 further includes a vehicle speed detection unit 703 that detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The vehicle speed detection unit 703 detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle using, for example, a wheel speed sensor. As an alternative example, the vehicle speed of the host vehicle may be calculated from the time change of the host vehicle position detected by the host vehicle position detection unit 702.

  The vehicle travel control device 402 further controls the magnitude of the driving force generated in the host vehicle independently of the accelerator pedal operation by the driver, for example, by adjusting the engine output by controlling the throttle valve opening. A driving force control unit 704 for controlling the motor.

  The vehicle travel control device 402 further controls the magnitude of the braking force generated in the host vehicle independently of the brake pedal operation by the driver by controlling the brake hydraulic pressure, for example. Have

  The vehicle travel control device 402 further includes a main control unit 706 that comprehensively controls each component of the vehicle travel control device 402. The main controller 707 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

  Next, the flow of the intersection passing control process in this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  First, the main control unit 503 of the roadside device 401 compares the position and speed of each vehicle acquired from the vehicle travel control device 402 through the communication unit 501 with the control area data stored and held in the storage unit 502. Determines whether there are a plurality of vehicles traveling toward the intersection (that is, entering the intersection) in the control area of the intersection to be controlled (S801).

  When it is determined that there are a plurality of vehicles that are about to enter the intersection in the control area (“YES” in S801), the main control unit 503 of the roadside device 401 then moves to a plurality of intersections located in the control area. A priority order indicating which vehicle is allowed to pass through the intersection in what order with respect to the vehicle that is about to enter is determined (S802).

  Subsequently, the main control unit 503 of the roadside device 401 is going to enter the intersection of the control area according to the determined priority order based on the algorithm for determining the speed control amount stored and held in the storage unit 502. Each vehicle is about to enter the intersection in the control area so that the vehicle will not stop as much as possible, minimize deceleration, and pass through the intersection in order from the highest priority vehicle with high efficiency and high density. Speed control is executed on the vehicle (S803).

  More specifically, the main control unit 503 of the roadside device 401 instructs the highest priority vehicle to accelerate to the preset intersection passing upper limit speed and immediately pass the intersection through the communication unit 501. For non-priority vehicles other than the highest-priority vehicle, the deceleration amount calculated to minimize the deceleration of the vehicle and the subsequent value are set so that the highest-priority vehicle does not enter the intersection before passing the intersection. Instructs the fast running speed. When the highest priority vehicle passes through the intersection, the priority of each vehicle is incremented by one and the same process is repeated.

  In this embodiment, the minimum deceleration amount instructed to each of the non-priority vehicles as described above is coordinate-converted to a virtual position where the non-priority vehicle becomes a vehicle traveling in the same direction on the same road / lane as the priority vehicle (Projection) and when the non-priority vehicle after coordinate transformation (projection) is to follow the vehicle with a predetermined distance (margin / margin distance) with respect to the priority vehicle, first secure the predetermined distance It is calculated as the amount of deceleration required to do this.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the control area of each traffic control target intersection is preset for each intersection so as to be as large as possible without interfering with the control area of the adjacent traffic control target intersection. Therefore, it is possible to expand the control area while appropriately avoiding the occurrence of a situation in which the speed control for the vehicle is confused in a region where the control area interferes.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the size of the control area of each traffic control target intersection is set based on the ratio of the road width of the intersection and the road width of the adjacent intersection, so that each traffic control target intersection The size of the control area can be set to an appropriate size according to the road width.

  In the above embodiment, as an example, the vehicle speed of each vehicle is measured locally in the vehicle and transmitted to the roadside device. However, the present invention is not limited to this mode. Only the position information is transmitted to the device, and the moving speed of each vehicle may be calculated from the time change of the vehicle position information received on the roadside device side.

  Further, in the description of the above-described embodiment, a crossroad intersection is taken as an example, but as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the intersection traffic control system according to the present invention can be applied to intersections of any shape. .

  The present invention can be used for an intersection traffic control system for controlling the speed of a vehicle entering an intersection. The power source type, fuel type, appearance design, weight, size, running performance, etc. of the vehicle to be controlled are all unquestioned. Also, the shape of the intersection is not questioned.

1 is a schematic overall view of an intersection traffic control system. It is a figure which shows an example in case a control area interferes at adjacent intersections. It is a figure which shows an example when the control area of an inappropriate magnitude | size is set in light of the road width. 1 is a schematic overall view of an intersection traffic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of the roadside apparatus used in the intersection traffic control system which concerns on one Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the control area set to the mutually adjacent intersection by the intersection traffic control system which concerns on one Example of this invention. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a vehicle travel control device used in an intersection traffic control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the intersection passage control processing in the intersection traffic control system which concerns on one Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

400 intersection traffic control system 401 roadside device 402 vehicle travel control device 501 communication unit 502 storage unit 503 main control unit 701 communication unit 702 own vehicle position detection unit 703 vehicle speed detection unit 704 driving force control unit 705 braking force control unit 706 main control Part

Claims (4)

Priority is set for vehicles entering the intersection, and a speed control instruction is transmitted to the vehicle entering the intersection using road-to-vehicle communication, thereby passing the intersection according to the set priority. a intersection traffic control system for controlling the speed of the vehicle approaching the intersection as,
For each traffic control target intersection, vehicles in a predetermined area including the intersection are subject to speed control,
When traffic control target intersections are adjacent to each other, the predetermined areas of these adjacent intersections are set not to overlap , and
The size of each of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections is set based on a road width of a road that forms these adjacent intersections ,
Intersection traffic control system. An intersection traffic control system according to claim 1 ,
The size of each of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections is set based on the road width of the roads that form these adjacent intersections so that the predetermined area becomes larger as the road width is wider. An intersection traffic control system. An intersection traffic control system according to claim 2 ,
The predetermined area is a circular area around the center position of each traffic control target intersection,
The size of each of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections is set so that a radius ratio of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections is equal to a ratio of the road width. Control system. An intersection traffic control system according to claim 3 ,
The length of the radius of each of the predetermined areas of the adjacent intersections is set to a length obtained by dividing the distance between the center positions of these adjacent intersections by the ratio of the road width. Intersection traffic control system.

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