JP5332813B2 - Vehicle detection apparatus, abnormality determination method, program, and ETC system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly determine a failure of the first vehicle detector. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle detector includes a vehicle management part 10 including: an allocation counter 14 to be added every time a traveling process of a vehicle 50 is detected when the location of a vehicle 50 is detected by vehicle detectors S1 to S5; and an non-allocation counter 15 to be added every time the vehicle 50 is detected by the other vehicle detectors S2 to S5 while stop of the vehicle 50 is detected by the vehicle detector S1. When there are M (M is a natural number equal to or less than N)vehicle detectors S1 to S5 which detect the vehicle 50 is M during a period from when the vehicle 50 is detected by the vehicle detectors S2 to when the vehicle 50 is not detected by any of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5, the allocation counter 14 and the non-allocation counter 15 are reset when the count value of the allocation counter 14 reaches M, and determines, when the count value of the non-allocation counter 15 reaches a predetermined threshold, that the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle detection device, an abnormality determination method, a program, and an ETC (Electric Toll).
Collection) system.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe a technique for determining an abnormality in an ETC system. According to Patent Literature 1, a plurality of vehicle detectors that detect a vehicle check a detection pattern when detecting a moving state of the vehicle, thereby determining a system abnormality. That is, when a detection pattern of normal determination results output from a plurality of vehicle detectors is stored in advance, and a detection pattern different from the normal detection pattern is obtained, it is determined that the system is abnormal. It is to do.

  According to Patent Document 2, the details of the entrance obtained from the ETC entrance gate and the exit details obtained from the ETC exit gate are compared, and the occurrence of a system failure is determined by examining the contradiction. Yes.

  Here, the vehicle detector refers to a plurality of N (N is a natural number) sensors sequentially installed in parallel with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle in order to detect the movement state of the vehicle. The detection method includes a transmission method and a reflection method. In other words, the transmission method is a method in which a projector and a light receiver are arranged on both sides of the ETC lane so that the optical axis crosses the ETC lane through which the vehicle passes. On the other hand, the reflection method is a method in which one vehicle detector has both a projector and a light receiver, and the light receiver of the same vehicle detector captures the light irradiated from the light projector and reflected on the vehicle.

JP 2003-228747 A JP 2005-284863 A

  The technologies described in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 described above determine whether or not there is an overall abnormality in the ETC system. On the other hand, among the plurality of N vehicle detectors, the vehicle detector located at the head plays an important role as a trigger for starting vehicle management and starting wireless communication. Therefore, it is important to quickly determine the abnormality of the leading vehicle detector before determining the overall abnormality of the ETC system. From this point of view, the above-described techniques of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 cannot satisfy this requirement.

  Further, as a well-known method for determining an abnormality of a vehicle detector, there is a method of determining that this vehicle detector is abnormal when a certain vehicle detector continuously outputs a detection signal for a predetermined time or longer. However, if the predetermined time is, for example, 5 minutes, it is not preferable because abnormality of the vehicle detector cannot be determined until 5 minutes have passed.

  This problem will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11 and FIG. First, an example of device arrangement in a conventional ETC system will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 shows an example in which transmissive vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are installed. The vehicle detectors S <b> 1 to S <b> 5 are arranged on both sides of the ETC lane 51 so as to be parallel to the traveling direction of the vehicle 50.

  The wireless communication by the first antenna 52 is started from the time when the vehicle detector S1 is turned on. In the wireless communication by the antenna 52, confirmation of identification information of an IC (Integrated Circuit) card inserted in an in-vehicle device (not shown) of the vehicle 50 and other processes necessary for ETC are performed. And the radio | wireless communication by the antenna 52 is complete | finished when vehicle detector S2 will be in an ON state.

  If there is no problem with the IC card of the in-vehicle device as a result of the wireless communication by the antenna 52, the bar of the start controller 53 is opened. Thereafter, when the vehicle 50 advances, the vehicle detectors S3 and S4 detect the vehicle 50 and turn ON / OFF, respectively, and when the vehicle detector S5 is turned ON, wireless communication by the second antenna 54 is started. . In wireless communication using the antenna 54, vehicle type correction information and the like are written in an IC card of an in-vehicle device of the vehicle 50. Further, the bar of the start controller 53 is closed when the vehicle detector S4 is turned off.

  The vehicle detectors S1 to S5 and the start controller 53 are controlled by the lane server 55. Further, a lane monitoring control panel 56 is connected to the lane server 55, and the administrator can monitor and operate the ETC system by using the lane monitoring control panel 56. Furthermore, the lane server 55 inputs the detection signals of the vehicle detectors S <b> 1 to S <b> 5 and recognizes the movement state of the vehicle 50. This recognition result is output to the lane monitoring control panel 56.

  In the following description, “the lane server 55 recognizes the vehicle 50 detected by the vehicle detector S1” is expressed as “the lane server 55 assigns the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S1”.

  In addition, wireless communication using the antennas 52 and 54 is performed between the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 50 and the ETC processing device 57.

  In such an ETC system, as shown in FIG. 12, it is assumed that the ON state continues due to dust adhering to the projector or the light receiver of the vehicle detector S1. In such a case, when the vehicle detector S1 is turned on, the lane server 55 assigns the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S1 on the assumption that the vehicle 50 has entered. Here, if the vehicle 50 actually enters, the vehicle detector S1 is already in the ON state, and the vehicle detector S1 cannot detect the entry of the vehicle 50.

  When the vehicle 50 further moves forward and the vehicle detector S2 is turned on, the lane server 55 recognizes that the vehicle 50 has advanced from the position of the vehicle detector S1 to the position of the vehicle detector S2. Thereby, the lane server 55 assigns the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in addition to the vehicle detector S1.

  When the vehicle 50 further moves forward and the vehicle detector S2 is in the OFF state, the vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state at this time, so the lane server 55 moves back to the position of the vehicle detector S1. It is determined that Therefore, the lane server 55 cancels the allocation of the vehicle 50 of the vehicle detector S2. Thereby, the vehicle 50 will be in the state allocated only to vehicle detector S1. At this time, the wireless communication between the vehicle 50 and the ETC processing device 57 by the first antenna 52 is finished. When the lane server 55 receives notification from the ETC processing device 57 that there is no problem in the communication processing with the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 50, the lane server 55 controls the start controller 53 to open.

  Thereafter, the vehicle 50 actually moves to the positions of the vehicle detectors S3, S4, and S5, but the lane server 55 determines that the vehicle 50 that has moved backward to the position of the vehicle detector S1 does not move as it is. ing. Thereby, the lane server 55 ignores the detection outputs of the other vehicle detectors S2 to S5 while allocating the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S1.

  In this state, when five minutes or more have elapsed, the lane server 55 finally recognizes the abnormality of the vehicle detector S1 and performs measures such as outputting an alarm.

  During this time, vehicles other than the vehicle 50 that has entered the ETC lane 51 are not recognized by the lane server 55, so that wireless communication by the antennas 52 and 54 is not performed and the vehicle passes through in an unmanaged state.

  When the state where the vehicle passes without wireless communication occurs at the entrance toll gate, the bar does not open at the exit toll gate, and the vehicle may come into contact with the bar or an accident with the following vehicle may occur. In addition, when a state of passing without wireless communication occurs at the exit toll booth, the toll is not charged. That is, if an abnormality occurs in the vehicle detector S1, it will lead to a big problem.

  On the other hand, if an abnormality occurs in the vehicle detector S2 other than the vehicle detector S1, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on before the vehicle detector S1 is turned on. Such a state can be clearly determined to be abnormal. Therefore, since it can respond quickly about abnormality of vehicle detector S2, it does not lead to a big problem. In addition, even when an abnormality occurs in the vehicle detectors S3 to S5, if the vehicle detector S1 is normal, the indispensable wireless communication has already ended when the vehicle passes through the vehicle detector S2, and this is a major problem. It is not connected to.

  As described above, the leading vehicle detector S1 plays an important role as a trigger for starting vehicle management and starting wireless communication. Further, the abnormality of the vehicle detector S1 is difficult to distinguish from the backward movement of the vehicle 50, as described above, and is difficult to determine. Therefore, it is required to quickly determine the abnormality of the leading vehicle detector S1.

  Further, in order to determine the abnormality of the leading vehicle detector S1, in addition to the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 11, additional hardware such as a monitoring device is added or the hardware configuration shown in FIG. 11 is changed. Is not preferable from the viewpoint of cost and installation man-hours.

  In the present invention, it is assumed that dust (for example, snow) adheres to the projector or light receiver of the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S1 continues to be in an ON state as an abnormal state of the vehicle detector S1. On the other hand, as another abnormal state of the vehicle detector S1, a case where the light receiver of the vehicle detector S1 is electrically failed and the OFF state is continued may be considered. However, in view of the recent level of electronic circuit technology, it can be said that the probability of an electrical failure occurring is very low compared to the probability of occurrence of an abnormality due to dust adhering to a projector or a light receiver. Further, if an electrical failure occurs in the light receiver or the like, the failure can be easily determined by the self-diagnosis function of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5. Accordingly, here, only an abnormal state due to adhesion of dust or the like in the projector or the light receiver is assumed.

  The present invention is carried out under such a background, and provides a vehicle detection device, an abnormality determination method, a program, and an ETC system that can determine an abnormality of a leading vehicle detector in a short time. For the purpose.

  The first aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a vehicle detection device. In other words, the vehicle detection device of the present invention is sequentially installed in parallel with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle, and is positioned at the head with a plurality of N (N is a natural number) vehicle detectors for detecting the movement state of the vehicle. And an abnormality determination unit that determines abnormality of the first vehicle detector. In the vehicle detection device, the vehicle detector is added each time the vehicle forward process is detected by detecting the position of the vehicle. An allocation counter, and an unallocated counter that is incremented every time another vehicle detector detects the vehicle even though the first vehicle detector detects a stop of the vehicle. The number of vehicle detectors that detect a vehicle during the period from when the vehicle detector detects the vehicle until no vehicle detector detects the vehicle is M (M is a natural number equal to or less than N). When assigned, the assigned counter and unassigned The counter is reset when the count value of the allocated counter reaches M, and includes means for determining that the first vehicle detector is abnormal when the count value of the unallocated counter reaches a predetermined threshold value. Is. For example, the predetermined threshold is set to exceed the value of M and equal to or less than the value of N.

  The second aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as an abnormality determination method. That is, according to the abnormality determination method of the present invention, the vehicle detection device that detects the movement state of the vehicle is the first one that is positioned at the head of a plurality of N vehicle detectors that are sequentially installed in parallel with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. In the abnormality determination method for determining an abnormality of the vehicle detector, a step of adding an allocation counter each time a vehicle forward process is detected by detecting the position of the vehicle by the vehicle detector, and a first vehicle detection And a step of adding an unallocated counter each time another vehicle detector detects the vehicle, even though the stop of the vehicle is detected by the detector, and the second vehicle detector detects the vehicle. When the number of vehicle detectors that detect a vehicle is M before any vehicle detector detects a vehicle, and when the count value of the allocation counter reaches M Allocation counter and Perform the step of resetting the unallocated counter, in which the count value of the unallocated counter performs the determining and the first vehicle detector is abnormal when it reaches a predetermined threshold value. For example, the predetermined threshold is set to exceed the value of M and equal to or less than the value of N.

  The third aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as a program. That is, the program of the present invention is installed in the information processing apparatus, thereby realizing the function of the vehicle detection apparatus of the present invention in the information processing apparatus.

  The fourth aspect of the present invention is a viewpoint as an ETC system. That is, the ETC system of the present invention includes the vehicle detection device of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, the abnormality of the leading vehicle detector can be determined in a short time.

It is a figure showing an example of device arrangement of an ETC system concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a block block diagram of the lane server in the ETC system of FIG. It is a figure which shows the detection pattern of the normal vehicle in the vehicle management part of FIG. It is a detection pattern of a vehicle when abnormality occurs in the head vehicle detector in the vehicle management unit of FIG. 2, and is a diagram illustrating an example when abnormality is determined. It is a figure explaining the detection pattern of the vehicle of FIG. 4 in detail. It is a figure which shows the example in which abnormality was not able to be determined, and it is a detection pattern of a vehicle when abnormality occurs in the head vehicle detector in the vehicle management unit of FIG. It is a figure which shows the detection pattern of the vehicle when the "reset threshold value" in the vehicle management part of FIG. 2 is set to "3", and is a figure which shows the example when the vehicle with a short vehicle length passes. It is a figure which shows the detection pattern of a vehicle when the "reset threshold value" in the vehicle management part of FIG. 2 is set to "3", and is a figure which shows the example when a vehicle with a long vehicle length passes. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the vehicle allocation process in the vehicle management part of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the abnormality determination procedure in the vehicle management part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of apparatus arrangement | positioning in the conventional ETC system. It is a figure explaining the conventional method of determining abnormality of the head vehicle detector in the ETC system of FIG.

(Description of the configuration of the lane server 1)
The configuration of the lane server 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of device arrangement in an ETC system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of the lane server 1.

  The lane server 1 includes a vehicle management unit 10. The vehicle management unit 10 includes a vehicle allocation determination unit 11, a vehicle non-allocation number counting unit 12, and a detector abnormality determination unit 13. Further, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 includes an allocation counter 14, and the vehicle unallocation count counter 12 includes an unallocated counter 15.

  The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 receives a detection signal of the vehicle 50 from the vehicle detectors S1 to S5, and determines whether to allocate the detected vehicle 50 as a passing vehicle. Further, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 adds “1” to the allocation counter 14 when the allocation is performed. Here, the case where the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 as a passing vehicle is a case where the forward process of the vehicle 50 is detected by the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 detecting the position of the vehicle 50.

  At this time, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 notifies the vehicle unallocation number counting unit 12 that the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 has performed allocation. The vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 sets the unallocated counter 15 to “1” every time the other vehicle detectors S <b> 2 to S <b> 5 detect the vehicle 50 even though the stop of the vehicle 50 is detected by the vehicle detector S <b> 1. "Add. However, the vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 adds “1” to the unallocated counter 15 even when the vehicle allocation determining unit 11 receives a notification that the allocation has been performed. That is, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 performs the allocation even if the leading vehicle detector S1 is in an abnormal state in which the ON state is continued due to adhesion of dust or the like. Therefore, when the assigned counter 14 is incremented by “1”, “1” is also incremented in the unallocated counter 15 in the same manner.

  Further, when the count value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “2”, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 resets the count value to “0”. This value “2” will be referred to as “reset threshold”. The vehicle allocation determining unit 11 notifies the vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 that the count value has been reset. Upon receiving this notification, the vehicle unallocated count counter 12 resets the count value of the unallocated counter 15 to “0”.

  That is, in the example described with reference to FIG. 12, when the vehicle 50 passes through the ETC lane 51, the detection signal of the vehicle detector S1 and the detection signal of the vehicle detector S2 may partially overlap. Therefore, in this case, the count value of the allocation counter 14 is “2” even if the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal (refers to continuation of the ON state due to dust adhesion, etc.).

  Alternatively, when the vehicle 50 passes through the ETC lane 51, if there is no abnormality in the vehicle detector S1, the vehicle detection is performed even if the detection signal of the vehicle detector S1 and the detection signal of the vehicle detector 2 do not overlap at all. If the detector S1 is abnormal, the detection signal of the vehicle detector S1 and the detection signal of the vehicle detector S2 also overlap. Also in this case, the count value of the allocation counter 14 is “2”.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal, the count value of the allocation counter 14 does not become “2” or more. Therefore, the count value of the allocation counter 14 being “2” or more is meaningless in determining the abnormality of the vehicle detector S1. Therefore, when the count value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “2”, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0”.

  Moreover, when the vehicle 50 is a long vehicle type such as a connected vehicle, not only the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S2 but also the detection signal of the vehicle detector S3 may overlap. In such a case, a “reset threshold” is set so that the assigned counter 14 and the unassigned counter 15 are reset to “0” when the count value becomes “3”.

  That is, when the method of setting the “reset threshold value” is generalized and described, from when the vehicle detector S2 detects the vehicle 50 until any vehicle detector S1 to S5 detects the vehicle 50. M is set as a “reset threshold” when the number of vehicle detectors S1 to S5 that detect the vehicle 50 is M (M is a natural number of 5 or less).

  As a result, even when the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal, it is avoided that an invalid count exceeding the maximum number of allocations that can be allocated is performed by the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15, and the processing of the vehicle management unit 11 Can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, the detector abnormality determination unit 13 indicates that the count value of the unallocated counter 15 of the vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 exceeds the specified number, the start controller 53 is “open”, and the number of vehicles is one. Sometimes it is determined that the detector is abnormal. That is, if the start controller 53 is “closed”, this means that an abnormality determination has already been made, and there is no need for an abnormality determination. If the number of vehicles is plural, the allocation process is normal and there is no need for abnormality determination.

  When it is determined that there is an abnormality in this way, the detector abnormality determination unit 13 notifies the lane monitoring control panel 56 of the abnormality. This specified number of times is referred to as “abnormality determination threshold”. This “abnormality determination threshold value” is preferably a value larger than the above-described “reset threshold value” and not more than “5” which is the number of vehicle detectors S1 to S5.

  That is, since the “abnormality determination threshold” cannot be less than the “reset threshold”, the “abnormality determination threshold” is always larger than the “reset threshold”. Further, by setting the “threshold for abnormality determination” to be equal to or less than the number of vehicle detectors S1 to S5, abnormality determination can be performed while the vehicle detection process makes a round of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5. In addition, setting the “abnormality determination threshold” to be larger than the number of vehicle detectors S1 to S5 is not preferable because the unallocated counter 15 may be reset before the abnormality is determined.

  However, when the vehicle 50 actually stops at the position of the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S1 is in an ON state, and when the vehicle detector S1 is in an ON state due to dust attached to the vehicle detector S1. It is useful to provide a determination time for distinguishing between the two. In this case, if necessary, the “abnormality determination threshold value” may be set larger than the number of vehicle detectors S1 to S5. In such a case, it is preferable to perform a simulation in advance and confirm that the abnormality determination is performed after a desired determination time.

(Description of operation of lane server 1)
An example of equipment arrangement in the ETC lane is as described with reference to FIG. The vehicle detectors S1 to S5 output a detection signal when the head of the vehicle 50 is shielded across the optical axis of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5, and the rear of the vehicle 50 passes the optical axis of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5. When the detectors S1 to S5 are not shielded from light, the detection signal output is stopped.

1. When Vehicle Detector S1 is Normal A detection pattern of the vehicle 50 when the vehicle detector S1 is normal will be described with reference to FIG.

  Timing T0: When the vehicle 50 is not passing, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T1: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S1, the vehicle detector S1 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S1 in response to the vehicle detector S1 being turned on. Thereby, the allocation counter 14 of the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 is incremented by “1”. Further, the vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 notified that the vehicle allocation determining unit 11 allocated the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S <b> 1 adds “1” to the unallocated counter 15. As described above, the allocation is performed even if the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal. Therefore, “1” is also added to the unallocated counter 15 assuming such a case. As a result, the count values of both the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “1”.

  Timing T2: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in response to the vehicle detector S2 being turned on. This situation is regarded as a situation in which the vehicle 50 further moves forward from the position of the vehicle detector S1, and the detection signals of the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S2 are overlapped and detected. In this case, the allocation counter 14 of the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 is incremented by “1”, and the count value becomes “2”. Further, the unallocated counter 15 of the vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 is incremented by “1”, and the count value becomes “2”. That is, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “2”, and the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0”.

  Timing T3: The vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S1, and the vehicle detector S1 is turned off. At this time, the vehicle detector S2 is still ON.

  Timing T4: The vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, and the vehicle detector S2 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T5: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, the vehicle detector S3 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S3 in response to the vehicle detector S3 being turned on. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “1”.

  Timing T6: The vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, and the vehicle detector S3 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T7: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, the vehicle detector S4 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S4 in response to the vehicle detector S4 being turned on. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “2”. Therefore, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0”.

  Timing T8: The vehicle 50 passes the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, and the vehicle detector S4 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T9: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, the vehicle detector S5 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S5 in response to the vehicle detector S5 being turned on. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “1”.

  Timing T10: The vehicle 50 passes the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, and the vehicle detector S5 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state. At this time, the vehicle 50 leaves the ETC lane 51.

  Timing T11: When the second vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S1, the vehicle detector S1 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S1 in response to the vehicle detector S1 being turned on. As a result, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 adds “1” to the allocation counter 14. The vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 that is notified that the vehicle allocation determining unit 11 has allocated the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S <b> 1 adds “1” to the unallocated counter 15. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “2”. Therefore, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0”.

  Timing T12: When the second vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in response to the vehicle detector S2 being turned on. This situation is regarded as a situation in which the second vehicle 50 further moves forward from the position of the vehicle detector S1 and the detection signals of the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S2 are overlapped and detected. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “1”.

  Timing T13: The second vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S1, and the vehicle detector S1 is turned off. At this time, the vehicle detector S2 is still ON.

  Timing T14: The second vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, and the vehicle detector S2 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T15: When the second vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, the vehicle detector S3 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S3 in response to the vehicle detector S3 being turned on. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “2”. Therefore, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0”.

  Timing T16: The second vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, and the vehicle detector S3 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T17: When the second vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, the vehicle detector S4 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S4 in response to the vehicle detector S4 being turned on. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “1”.

  Timing T18: The second vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, and the vehicle detector S4 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T19: When the second vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, the vehicle detector S5 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S5 in response to the vehicle detector S5 being turned on. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “2”. Therefore, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0”.

  Timing T20: The second vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, and the vehicle detector S5 is turned off. At this time, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state. At this time, the second vehicle 50 leaves the ETC lane 51.

2. When Vehicle Detector S1 is Abnormal Next, a detection pattern of the vehicle 50 when the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. The vehicle surrounded by the solid line in FIG. 5 indicates the actual position of the vehicle. Further, the vehicle surrounded by the broken line in FIG. 5 indicates the position of the vehicle (vehicle for vehicle management) detected by the vehicle allocation determination unit 11.

  Timing T30: When the vehicle 50 is not passing, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T31: When dust such as snow adheres to the projector or light receiver of the vehicle detector S1 and crosses the optical axis, the vehicle detector S1 is turned on. The vehicle assignment determination unit 11 assigns the vehicle 50 (actually garbage) to the vehicle detector S1 in response to the vehicle detector S1 being turned on. In addition, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 adds “1” to the allocation counter 14. The vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 notified that the vehicle allocation determining unit 11 has allocated the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S <b> 1 adds “1” to the unallocated counter 15. As a result, as shown in the pattern P1 of FIG. 5, the count values of both the allocated counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 become “1”.

  Timing T32: When the actual vehicle 50 passes through the undetected vehicle detector S1 and crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in response to the vehicle detector S2 being turned on. This situation is regarded as a situation in which the vehicle 50 further moves forward from the position of the vehicle detector S1, and the detection signals of the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S2 are overlapped and detected. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “2”. Accordingly, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0” (pattern P2 in FIG. 5).

  Timing T33: The vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, and the vehicle detector S2 is turned off. However, since the ON state of the vehicle detector S1 continues, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 has moved back to the position of the vehicle detector S1 (pattern P3 in FIG. 5).

  Timing T34: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, the vehicle detector S3 is turned on. However, since the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 is at the position of the vehicle detector S1 and is stopped even when the vehicle detector S3 is turned on, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 places the vehicle 50 on the vehicle detector S3. Not assigned. As a result, the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becomes “1” (pattern P4 in FIG. 5).

  Timing T35: The vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, and the vehicle detector S3 is turned off. The vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state.

  Timing T36: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, the vehicle detector S4 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 is at the position of the vehicle detector S1 and is stopped even when the vehicle detector S4 is turned on, and therefore does not allocate the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S4. . As a result, the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becomes “2” (pattern P5 in FIG. 5).

  Timing T37: The vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, and the vehicle detector S4 is turned off. The vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state.

  Timing T38: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, the vehicle detector S5 is turned on. Since the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 is at the position of the vehicle detector S1 and is stopped even when the vehicle detector S5 is turned on, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 does not allocate the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S5. . As a result, the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becomes “3” (pattern P6 in FIG. 5).

  Timing T39: The vehicle 50 passes the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, and the vehicle detector S5 is turned off. The vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state. At this time, the vehicle 50 leaves the ETC lane 51 (pattern P7 in FIG. 5).

  Timing T40: When the second vehicle 50 passes the undetected vehicle detector S1 (pattern P8 in FIG. 5) and crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on. (Pattern P9 in FIG. 5). The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 that has been at the position of the vehicle detector S1 so far has advanced to the position of the vehicle detector S2 because the vehicle detector S2 is in the ON state. As a result, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in response to the vehicle detector S2 being turned on. As a result, the count value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “1”, and the count value of the unallocated counter 15 also becomes “4”.

  Timing T41: The second vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, and the vehicle detector S2 is turned off. At this time, since the vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 indicates that the first vehicle 50 has retreated from the position of the vehicle detector S2 to the position of the vehicle detector S1 again. Determination is made (pattern P10 in FIG. 5).

  Timing T42: When the second vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, the vehicle detector S3 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the first vehicle 50 is stopped at the position of the vehicle detector S1 even when the vehicle detector S3 is turned on, and therefore the vehicle detector S3 Do not assign 50. As a result, the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becomes “5”. In response to the addition of the count value of the unallocated counter 15, the count value of the allocated counter 14 is reset to “0” (pattern P11 in FIG. 5).

  The detector abnormality determination unit 13 monitors the count value of the unallocated counter 15 of the vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12. The detector abnormality determination unit 13 determines that the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal in response to the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becoming “5”. The detector abnormality determination unit 13 outputs an abnormality determination result to the lane monitoring control panel 56.

3. When “Reset Threshold” is not Set Correctly Next, a detection pattern of the vehicle 50 when “Reset Threshold” is not set correctly will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the processing up to timing T60 in FIG. 6 is the same as the processing up to timing T40 in FIG. 4, and therefore the description from timing T50 to T59 is omitted. The description after timing T62 is omitted.

  Timing T60: When the second vehicle 50 passes through the undetected vehicle detector S1 and crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 that has been at the position of the vehicle detector S1 so far has advanced to the position of the vehicle detector S2 because the vehicle detector S2 is in the ON state. As a result, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in response to the vehicle detector S2 being turned on. As a result, the count value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “1”, and the count value of the unallocated counter 15 also becomes “4”.

  Timing T61: The second vehicle 50 has a long vehicle length, and further crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3 while crossing the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2. That is, all three detection signals of the vehicle detectors S1, S2, and S3 overlap. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 that has been in the position of the vehicle detectors S1 and S2 has moved forward to the position of the vehicle detector S3 because the vehicle detector S3 is in the ON state. As a result, the count value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “2”. Therefore, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both reset to “0”.

  In this way, the “reset threshold” is detected from the time when the vehicle detector S2 detects the vehicle 50 to the time when none of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 detects the vehicle 50. If the number of vehicle detectors S1 to S5 to be set is not set, the abnormality determination shown in FIG. 4 may not be performed normally. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 6, it is appropriate to set the “reset threshold” to “3”.

  FIG. 7 shows a detection pattern when a vehicle 50 having a short vehicle length when the “reset threshold” is set to “3”. In the example of FIG. 7, the counter value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “2” at timing T71, but the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are not reset. Therefore, at timing T78, the detector abnormality determining unit 13 determines that there is an abnormality. Thus, compared with the example of FIG. 4, since the “reset threshold” is set to “3”, the determination time when the vehicle 50 with a short vehicle length passes is shortened. However, the determination time being somewhat short does not pose a problem because it does not contradict the purpose of quickly determining abnormality of the vehicle detector S1.

  Next, the detection pattern of the vehicle 50 when the long vehicle 50 passes through the ETC lane 51 when the “reset threshold” is set to “3” will be described with reference to FIG.

  Timing T80: When the vehicle 50 does not pass, all the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are in the OFF state.

  Timing T81: When dust such as snow adheres to the projector or light receiver of the vehicle detector S1 and crosses the optical axis, the vehicle detector S1 is turned on. The vehicle assignment determination unit 11 assigns the vehicle 50 (actually garbage) to the vehicle detector S1 in response to the vehicle detector S1 being turned on. In addition, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 adds “1” to the allocation counter 14. The vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 notified that the vehicle allocation determining unit 11 has allocated the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S <b> 1 adds “1” to the unallocated counter 15. As a result, both the assigned counter unit 14 and the unallocated counter unit 15 are set to “1”.

  Timing T82: When the actual vehicle 50 passes through the vehicle detector S1 where no detection is made and crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in response to the vehicle detector S2 being turned on. This situation is regarded as a situation in which the vehicle 50 further moves forward from the position of the vehicle detector S1, and the detection signals of the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S2 are overlapped and detected. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “2”.

  Timing T83: When the vehicle 50 passes the vehicle detector S2 and further crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, the vehicle detector S3 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S3 in response to the vehicle detector S3 being turned on. This situation is regarded as a situation in which the vehicle 50 further moves forward from the positions of the vehicle detectors S1 and S2, and the detection signals of the vehicle detectors S1, S2, and S3 are overlapped and detected. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are both “3”. As a result, the count values of the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are reset to “0”.

  Timing T84: The vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, and the vehicle detector S2 is turned off. However, since the ON state of the vehicle detector S1 continues, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 has moved backward to the position of the vehicle detector S1.

  Timing T85: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, the vehicle detector S4 is turned on. However, since the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 is at the position of the vehicle detector S1 and has stopped even when the vehicle detector S4 is turned on, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle detector S4 has been stopped. Not assigned. As a result, the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becomes “1”.

  Timing T86: The vehicle 50 passes the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, and the vehicle detector S3 is turned off. The vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state.

  Timing T87: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, the vehicle detector S5 is turned on. Since the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 is at the position of the vehicle detector S1 and is stopped even when the vehicle detector S5 is turned on, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 does not allocate the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S5. . As a result, the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becomes “2”.

  Timing T88: The vehicle 50 passes the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, and the vehicle detector S4 is turned off. The vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state.

  Timing T89: The vehicle 50 passes the optical axis of the vehicle detector S5, and the vehicle detector S5 is turned off. The vehicle detector S1 is still in the ON state. At this time, the vehicle 50 leaves the ETC lane 51.

  Timing T90: When the second vehicle 50 passes through the undetected vehicle detector S1 and crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, the vehicle detector S2 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 that has been at the position of the vehicle detector S1 so far has advanced to the position of the vehicle detector S2 because the vehicle detector S2 is in the ON state. As a result, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S2 in response to the vehicle detector S2 being turned on. As a result, the count value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “1”, and the count value of the unallocated counter 15 also becomes “3”.

  Timing T91: When the second vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S3, the vehicle detector S3 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 that has been in the position of the vehicle detectors S1 and S2 has moved forward to the position of the vehicle detector S3 because the vehicle detector S3 is in the ON state. Accordingly, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 allocates the second vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S3 in response to the fact that the vehicle detector S3 is turned on. As a result, the count value of the allocation counter 14 becomes “2”, and the count value of the unallocated counter 15 also becomes “4”.

  Here, if the “reset threshold” is set to “2”, the reset is generated here, so that the abnormality determination is not executed.

  Timing T92: The second vehicle 50 passes through the optical axis of the vehicle detector S2, and the vehicle detector S2 is turned off. However, since the ON state of the vehicle detector S1 continues, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 has moved backward to the position of the vehicle detector S1.

  Timing T93: When the vehicle 50 crosses the optical axis of the vehicle detector S4, the vehicle detector S4 is turned on. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 determines that the vehicle 50 is at the position of the vehicle detector S1 and is stopped even when the vehicle detector S4 is turned on, and therefore does not allocate the vehicle 50 to the vehicle detector S4. . As a result, the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becomes “5”. In response to the addition of the count value of the unallocated counter 15, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 resets the count value of the allocation counter 14 to “0”.

  The detector abnormality determination unit 13 monitors the count value of the unallocated counter 15 of the vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12. The detector abnormality determination unit 13 determines that the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal in response to the count value of the unallocated counter 15 becoming “5”. The detector abnormality determination unit 13 outputs an abnormality determination result to the lane monitoring control panel 56.

  Thus, the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 that detect the vehicle 50 after the vehicle detector S2 detects the vehicle 50 and before any vehicle detectors S1 to S5 detect the vehicle 50. It is possible to deal with vehicles 50 of various vehicle lengths by setting the number of the “reset threshold”.

  For example, when both the vehicle detector S1 and the vehicle detector S3 output detection signals, the presence or absence of the detection signal of the vehicle detector S2 between them is ignored, and the detection signals of the vehicle detectors S1 to S3 are Some ETC systems apply rules that consider all to overlap. Even in such a case, the vehicle detector that detects the vehicle 50 after the vehicle detector S2 detects the vehicle 50 and before any of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 detects the vehicle 50. A method of setting the number of S1 to S5 as a “reset threshold” can be applied.

  Next, the abnormality determination procedure of the vehicle detector S1 described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  START in FIG. 9: When the power of the lane server 1 is turned on or a start switch (not shown) is turned on, the process proceeds to step A1.

  Step A1: The vehicle management unit 10 performs a vehicle allocation process by the vehicle detector S1, and proceeds to the process of Step A2. At this time, communication is started by the antenna 52 between the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 50 and the ETC processing device 57.

  Step A2: The vehicle management unit 10 performs a vehicle allocation process by the vehicle detector S2, and proceeds to the process of step A3. At this time, the communication by the antenna 52 between the vehicle-mounted device of the vehicle 50 and the ETC processing device 57 is finished.

  Step A3: The vehicle management unit 10 determines whether or not the vehicle 50 satisfies the opening condition of the start controller 53 as a result of communication by the antenna 52 between the in-vehicle device of the vehicle 50 and the ETC processing device 57. When the vehicle 50 satisfies the opening condition of the start controller 53 (Yes in step A3), the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of step A4. On the other hand, when the vehicle 50 does not satisfy the opening condition of the start controller 53 (No in Step A3), the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of Step A5. It should be noted that the vehicle 50 satisfies the opening condition of the start controller 53 means that the identification information and other information of the IC card inserted in the vehicle-mounted device as a result of wireless communication between the vehicle-mounted device of the vehicle 50 and the ETC processing device 57. It is a condition such as legality.

  Step A4: The vehicle management unit 10 controls the start controller 53 to open, and proceeds to the process of Step A5.

  Step A5: The vehicle management unit 10 performs a vehicle allocation process by the vehicle detector S3, and proceeds to the process of step A6.

  Step A6: The vehicle management unit 10 performs a vehicle allocation process by the vehicle detector S4, and proceeds to the process of step A7.

  Step A7: The vehicle management unit 10 determines whether or not the vehicle 50 satisfies the closing condition of the start controller 53. The closing condition of the start controller 53 means that the vehicle 50 has passed the vehicle detector S4 and the vehicle detector S4 is in an OFF state. When the vehicle 50 satisfies the closing condition of the start controller 53 (Yes in Step A7), the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of Step A8. On the other hand, when the vehicle 50 does not satisfy the closing condition of the start controller 53 (No in Step A7), the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of Step A9.

  Step A8: The vehicle management unit 10 controls the start controller 53 to close, and proceeds to the process of Step A9.

  Step A9: The vehicle management unit 10 performs a vehicle allocation process by the vehicle detector S5 and ends the process (END).

  The flowchart shown in FIG. 10 shows a processing procedure common to steps A1, A2, A5, A6, and A9 in the flowchart of FIG.

  The START: vehicle management unit 10 in FIG. 10 proceeds to the processing in step B1 when executing the processing procedure in steps A1, A2, A5, A6, and A9 in the flowchart in FIG.

  Step B1: When the vehicle detection signal from any of the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 is input, the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of Step B2.

  Step B2: The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 determines whether there is a vehicle allocation associated with the input of the vehicle detection signal. The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of step B3 when there is vehicle allocation accompanying the input of the vehicle detection signal (Yes in step B2). On the other hand, when there is no vehicle allocation accompanying the input of the vehicle detection signal (No in step B2), the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of step B8.

  Step B3: The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 adds “1” to the count value of the allocation counter 14, and proceeds to the process of step B4.

  Step B4: The vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 of the vehicle management unit 10 adds “1” to the count value of the unallocated counter 15, and proceeds to the process of Step B5.

  Step B5: The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 determines whether the count value of the allocation counter 14 is “2” or more. When the count value of the allocation counter 14 is “2” or more (Yes in Step B5), the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of Step B6. On the other hand, when the count value of the allocation counter 14 is less than “2” (No in Step B5), the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 ends the process (END).

  Step B6: The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 resets the count value of the allocation counter 14 to “0”, and proceeds to the process of step B7.

  Step B7: The vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 of the vehicle management unit 10 resets the count value of the unallocated counter 15 to “0” and ends the processing (END).

  Step B8: The vehicle unallocated number counting unit 12 of the vehicle management unit 10 adds “1” to the count value of the unallocated counter 15, and proceeds to the process of Step B9.

  Step B9: The vehicle allocation determination unit 11 of the vehicle management unit 10 resets the count value of the allocation counter 14 to “0”, and proceeds to the process of step B10.

  Step B10: The detector abnormality determination unit 13 of the vehicle management unit 10 determines whether or not the count value of the unallocated counter 15 is “5” or more. When the count value of the unallocated counter 15 is “5” or more (Yes in Step B10), the detector abnormality determination unit 13 of the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of Step B11. On the other hand, when the count value of the unallocated counter 15 is less than “5” (No in Step B10), the detector abnormality determination unit 13 of the vehicle management unit 10 ends the process (END).

  Step B11: The detector abnormality determination unit 13 of the vehicle management unit 10 determines whether or not the bar of the start controller 53 is “open” and the number of vehicles is one. When the open / close bar is “open” and the number of vehicles is one (Yes in Step B11), the detector abnormality determination unit 13 of the vehicle management unit 10 proceeds to the process of Step B12. On the other hand, when the open / close bar is “open” and the number of vehicles is not one (No in step B11), the detector abnormality determination unit 13 of the vehicle management unit 10 ends the process (END).

  In the process of step B11, if the bar of the start controller 53 is closed, it means that an abnormality has already been determined, and the process is terminated because there is no need for an abnormality determination (END). Further, in the process of step B11, if there are a plurality of vehicles, the allocation process is normal and the process is terminated because there is no need for an abnormality determination (END).

  Step B12: The detector abnormality determination unit 13 of the vehicle management unit 10 determines that there is an abnormality and ends the process (END).

Each unit of the lane server 1 is a general-purpose information processing device (CPU (Central
Processing Unit), DSP (Digital Signal Processor), microprocessor (microcomputer), and the like. For example, a general-purpose information processing apparatus has a memory, a CPU, an input / output port, and the like. The CPU of the general-purpose information processing apparatus reads and executes a control program as a predetermined program from a memory or the like. Thereby, the function of each part of the lane server 1 is realized in the general-purpose information processing apparatus. As for other functions, functions that can be realized by software can be realized by a general-purpose information processing apparatus and a program.

  Even if the control program executed by the general-purpose information processing apparatus is stored in the memory or the like of the general-purpose information processing apparatus before the lane server 1 is shipped, the general-purpose information is not displayed after the lane server 1 is shipped. It may be stored in a memory or the like of the processing device. A part of the control program may be stored in a memory of a general-purpose information processing apparatus after the lane server 1 is shipped. The control program stored in the memory of a general-purpose information processing apparatus after the lane server 1 is shipped may be, for example, an installed program stored in a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM. In addition, a program downloaded via a transmission medium such as the Internet may be installed.

  The control program includes not only a program that can be directly executed by a general-purpose information processing apparatus, but also a program that can be executed by being installed on a hard disk or the like. Also included are those that are compressed or encrypted.

(Explanation of effect)
As described above, the vehicle management unit 10 of the lane server 1 includes the allocation counter 14 that is added each time a forward process of the vehicle 50 is detected by the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 detecting the position of the vehicle 50. The unallocated counter 15 is added each time the other vehicle detectors S2 to S5 detect the vehicle 50 even though the stop of the vehicle 50 is detected by the vehicle detector S1.

  In addition, the number of vehicle detectors S1 to S5 that detect the vehicle 50 after the vehicle detector S2 detects the vehicle 50 and before any vehicle detectors S1 to S5 detect the vehicle 50. Is a “reset threshold value” M (M is a natural number of 5 or less), the vehicle allocation determination unit 11 and the vehicle unallocation count counter 12 count the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 to the count of the allocation counter 14. Reset when the value reaches M. Furthermore, the detector abnormality determination unit 13 determines that the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal when the count value of the unallocated counter 15 reaches the “determination threshold”. The “determination threshold value” exceeds the value of M, and is set to 5 or less, for example.

  Thereby, the lane server 1 can reduce the vehicle which passes without radio | wireless communication by determining rapidly abnormality of vehicle detector S1. For example, in the example described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, the abnormality can be detected when the second vehicle 50 passes through the ETC lane 51 after the abnormality has occurred in the vehicle detector S1. In addition, by reducing the number of vehicles that do not communicate wirelessly, when it occurs at the entrance toll booth, the bar does not open at the exit toll booth, and the vehicle can touch the bar or reduce the possibility of an accident with the following vehicle . In addition, if it occurs at the exit toll gate, it can reduce toll collection.

  Further, in order to realize such a lane server 1, it is not necessary to add or change the hardware configuration in the device arrangement example of the conventional ETC system shown in FIG. That is, the lane server 1 can be realized by simply changing the control program of the vehicle management unit 10 and causing the vehicle management unit 10 to execute the procedures of the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

(Other embodiments)
The embodiment of the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10, the example using five vehicle detectors S1 to S5 has been described, but the number of vehicle detectors may be N. In this case, the “abnormality determination threshold value” exceeds the value of the “reset threshold value”, and is set, for example, to a value of N or less.

  As a result, the allocation counter 14 and the unallocated counter 15 are reset when the count value of the allocation counter 14 reaches the “reset threshold” M, and the count value of the unallocated counter 15 reaches the “abnormality determination threshold”. It can be determined that the vehicle detector S1 is abnormal.

  If the “abnormality determination threshold” is set to a small value (however, larger than the “reset threshold”), the time from the occurrence of the abnormality to the determination of the abnormality can be shortened. Further, the “abnormality determination threshold value” is not necessarily equal to or less than the value of N. When the “abnormality determination threshold value” is set to a value larger than N, as described with reference to FIG. 6, the possibility that the unallocated counter 15 is reset before the abnormality determination is increased. On the other hand, the time from occurrence of abnormality to determination of the abnormality can be lengthened. Therefore, the “abnormality determination threshold value” may be an appropriate value according to the use environment of the user.

  In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle detectors S1 to S5 are transmissive, but this may be reflective.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Lane server, 10 ... Vehicle management part (determination means), 11 ... Vehicle allocation determination part (a part of determination means), 12 ... Vehicle unallocation number counting part (a part of determination means), 13 ... Detector abnormality determination unit (abnormality determination unit), 14 ... allocation counter, 15 ... unallocated counter

Claims (6)

A plurality of N (N is a natural number) vehicle detectors that are sequentially installed in parallel with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle and detect the movement status of the vehicle;
An abnormality determination unit for determining an abnormality of the first vehicle detector located at the top;
Comprising
In the vehicle detection device,
An allocation counter that is added each time a forward process of the vehicle is detected by detecting the position of the vehicle by the vehicle detector;
An unallocated counter that is incremented each time the other vehicle detector detects the vehicle, even though the first vehicle detector detects the stop of the vehicle;
With
The number of vehicle detectors that detect the vehicle from when the second vehicle detector detects the vehicle to when no vehicle detector detects the vehicle is M. (M is a natural number of N or less)
The allocation counter and the unallocated counter are reset when the count value of the allocation counter reaches M,
Means for determining that the first vehicle detector is abnormal when the count value of the unallocated counter reaches a predetermined threshold;
The vehicle detection apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. The vehicle detection device according to claim 1,
The predetermined threshold is set to exceed the value of M and equal to or less than the value of N.
The vehicle detection apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A vehicle detection device for detecting a movement state of a vehicle determines an abnormality of the first vehicle detector located at the head of a plurality of N vehicle detectors installed sequentially in parallel with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle. In the abnormality determination method to
A step of adding an allocation counter each time the vehicle forward process is detected by detecting the position of the vehicle by the vehicle detector;
A step of adding an unallocated counter each time the other vehicle detector detects the vehicle in spite of detection of the stop of the vehicle by the first vehicle detector;
Run
The number of the vehicle detectors that detect the vehicle from when the second vehicle detector detects the vehicle to when no vehicle detector detects the vehicle is M. And when
Executing a step of resetting the allocated counter and the unallocated counter when the count value of the allocated counter reaches the M;
Executing a step of determining that the first vehicle detector is abnormal when the count value of the unallocated counter reaches a predetermined threshold;
An abnormality determination method characterized by the above. In the abnormality determination method according to claim 3,
The predetermined threshold is set to exceed the value of M and equal to or less than the value of N.
An abnormality determination method characterized by the above.   A program for realizing the function of the vehicle detection device according to claim 1 or 2 in the information processing apparatus by being installed in the information processing apparatus. An ETC (Electric) comprising the vehicle detection device according to claim 1.
Toll Collection) system.

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