JP5526788B2 - Traffic signal control system, traffic signal controller, central device and program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic signal control system for preferentially driving a public vehicle such as a bus at an intersection or the like.

  Conventionally, at an intersection on a route on which a public vehicle such as a bus travels, for example, if the signal display of the traveling direction of the public vehicle is a blue signal at the time when it is detected that the public vehicle is approaching, In order to extend the display time, if it is a red signal, control to reduce the display time of the red signal (the shortening of the red signal shortens the green light on the crossing road). A public transport priority system (PTPS), which is a signal control system, is used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this PTPS, the approach of a public vehicle is often detected by an optical beacon installed upstream of an intersection. In road-to-vehicle communication with an optical beacon installed upstream of an intersection, the bus transmits uplink information storing its own vehicle ID to the optical beacon. The vehicle ID includes information indicating that the vehicle that has transmitted the uplink information is a public vehicle, and the traffic signal control system receives an uplink storing the vehicle ID, thereby allowing the traffic signal control system to approach the public vehicle. Can be detected.

JP 2008-305135 A

Since PTPS is a method of changing the time of each signal lamp color appropriately allocated according to traffic demand for the convenience of only public vehicles, roads in a direction intersecting with the approach direction of public vehicles preferentially passing through the intersection However, there is a certain disadvantage that there is a case where a sufficient green light time cannot be allocated to the vehicle and a traffic jam occurs.
However, depending on the operating conditions of public vehicles, there are cases where it is not always necessary to preferentially travel in consideration of this disadvantage.

Moreover, when public vehicles approach at the same time from each direction of two roads that intersect each other, it has been a common practice to prioritize the extension of the green light instead of the reduction of the red light. Therefore, priority is given to the running of the public vehicle in the direction in which the green signal is displayed when the approach of the public vehicle is detected (the green signal currently displayed is extended).
Even when such a plurality of public vehicles approach from different directions, it may be considered that priority should be given to shortening the red light depending on the operation state of each public vehicle.

  That is, in order to further improve the convenience of PTPS, it is desirable to make the operation method flexible without making it fixed. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a traffic signal control system that can be flexibly operated according to the operating state of a public vehicle that is a target of priority control. And

A traffic signal control system according to a first aspect of the present invention includes an in-vehicle device mounted on a public vehicle that is required to travel on a predetermined route on time, and a road based on uplink information transmitted from the in-vehicle device. Traffic signal control means for controlling the signal lamp installed in the vehicle-mounted device, the in-vehicle device includes, in the uplink information, passenger status information regarding the number of passengers of the public vehicle, and the public vehicle on time. Delay status information related to the delay time indicating how much operation delay has occurred, the traffic signal control means, the number of passengers included in the passenger status information and the delay status based on the relationship between the magnitude of the delay time included in the information, the public vehicle to determine whether to preferentially pass, to control the signal lamp device in accordance with the decision result .
The passenger status information can include a level indicating one of the number of passengers representing the number of passengers in a plurality of stages, and the delay status information includes a plurality of delay times. A level indicating any one of the delay time levels expressed in stages can be included, and the traffic signal control unit prioritizes the public vehicle determined according to both the passenger number level and the delay time level. It is in accordance with whether to control whether the determination result that so as to control the signal lamp device has good.

According to the present invention, the traffic signal control is not performed so that any public vehicle in any operating state is preferentially passed as in the conventional PTPS, but the passenger of the public vehicle and the operation delay are controlled. For example, when a public vehicle that is traveling without delay approaches, the operation is advanced so that it is not preferentially passed. It can be realized.
By increasing operational flexibility, it will be possible to limit the impact on the overall traffic flow while supporting the on-time operation of public vehicles.
Note that the traffic signal control for preferentially passing a public vehicle here means that, like conventional PTPS, a green signal for the public vehicle is allowed to pass without waiting for a signal by extending the reference time. This means a control method for shortening the signal waiting time by shortening the red signal for the public vehicle from the reference time.

In another form of the traffic signal control system according to the first aspect of the invention, an in-vehicle device mounted on a public vehicle that is required to travel on a predetermined route on time, and an up-transmission transmitted from the in-vehicle device. Traffic signal control means for controlling a signal lamp installed on the road based on link information, and the in-vehicle device includes the number of passengers of the public vehicle and the public vehicle in the uplink information. The traffic signal control means calculates the total delay time of the passenger from the number of passengers and the delay time. Then, when the total delay time exceeds a predetermined threshold, the signal lamp is controlled so as to pass the public vehicle preferentially (Claim 1 ).

  It is possible to quantitatively grasp the magnitude of the impact of public vehicle delay by calculating the total delay time of the passenger as the passenger's impact due to the delay of the public vehicle and using the total delay time as an index. Thus, the validity of the determination as to whether or not the public vehicle should be passed preferentially increases.

The traffic signal control system according to the second invention is a traffic signal control means for controlling a signal lamp installed at an intersection where at least two roads including the first road and the second road intersect, A first in-vehicle device mounted on a first public vehicle that is required to travel on time on a predetermined operation route including the intersection; a second in-vehicle device mounted on a second public vehicle; The first public vehicle travels on the first road toward the intersection, and the second public vehicle travels on the second road toward the intersection. to is intended, said first and second on-vehicle apparatus, a number of passengers in public vehicles that are self-mounting, the installed public vehicles of the self is how much operational delay with respect to scheduled a storing a delay time indicating which occurred Has a function of transmitting the Uplink information, the traffic signal control means, from said delay time number of passengers and included in the uplink information transmitted from the first vehicle unit and a second on-vehicle device The total delay time of the passengers of each of the first and second public vehicles is calculated, and which public vehicle is preferentially passed according to the comparison result between the total delay time and a predetermined threshold value Then, the signal lamp is controlled according to the determination result (Claim 2 ).

  According to the second traffic signal control system, which public vehicles that have approached almost simultaneously on the roads that intersect each other should be given priority according to the operation state of each public vehicle. Since it becomes possible to make an appropriate decision, it becomes possible to provide more appropriate support for public vehicle operation as compared with the case where the green light extension operation is always executed as in the conventional case.

In addition, it is very useful if the traffic signal control means in these traffic signal control systems is provided in a traffic signal controller installed in the vicinity of an intersection (Claim 3 ).
The traffic signal control means can be provided in a device other than the traffic signal controller installed on the road or a central device, for example (Claim 4 ). Further, a program (Claim 5 ) which is mounted on a traffic signal controller or a central device and operates these devices as traffic signal control means is very useful.

  As described above, according to the traffic signal control system and the traffic signal controller of the present invention, it is possible to appropriately perform traffic signal control according to the operation state of the public vehicle.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline | summary of the traffic signal control system which concerns on this invention. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the traffic signal controller 1a. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the communication control apparatus 21b of the roadside communication apparatus 21. FIG. It is a figure which shows the format of signal control command information. It is a figure which shows an example of a signal control plan. It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the vehicle-mounted apparatus 31 mounted in the vehicle. It is a figure which shows an example of the condition matrix table | surface about the presence or absence of PTPS execution.

(First embodiment)
[Overall system configuration]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a traffic signal control system according to the present invention.
The traffic signal control system includes a traffic signal device 1 (comprising a traffic signal controller 1a and a plurality of vehicle signal lamps 1b, 1c, etc.), a road communication device 21 such as an optical beacon (a communication antenna unit 21a and a communication control device 21b). ) And the roadside communication device 22 (configured by the communication antenna unit 22a and the communication control device 22b), the in-vehicle devices 31 and 32 mounted on the bus B1 and the bus B2, the central device 4, the router 5, and the like. The central device 4 is a device having a function of giving an instruction regarding control of the traffic signal 1, and a function of generating / transmitting traffic information to be provided to the vehicle, and is installed in the traffic control center. The central device 4 may be installed on the road instead of being installed in the traffic control center.
The central device 4 is connected to traffic signals installed at each of a plurality of intersections via a communication line such as a telephone line and a communication device such as a router 5. The traffic signal 1 is connected to road communication devices 21 and 22 installed on each of a plurality of roads flowing into the intersection A between the road R1 and the road R2 via a communication line such as a telephone line.

The traffic signal 1 has a function of controlling a plurality of signal lamps, and the right to pass the vehicle traveling on the road R1 toward the intersection A travels on the road R2 toward the intersection A by the vehicle signal lamp 1b. The right to pass the vehicle is displayed by the vehicle signal lamp 1c.
The traffic signal controller 1a has a function of receiving a signal control command, which is an instruction related to traffic information and control of the signal lamp, from the central device 4, and turns on / off each signal lamp such as the signal lamp 1b according to the instruction. And control blinking.
When there is a pedestrian crossing at the intersection A, a signal light device for pedestrians may be separately connected to the traffic signal controller 1a.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the traffic signal controller 1a. The control unit 101 is composed of one or a plurality of microcomputers. The control unit 101 is connected to the lamp driving unit 102, the communication unit 103, and the storage unit 104 via an internal bus or the like, and the control unit 101 controls operations of these hardware units. Moreover, the control part 101 is provided with the function to perform public vehicle priority control mentioned later.

The lamp drive unit 102 includes a semiconductor relay (not shown). Based on the signal lamp output command input from the control unit 101, each of the blue lamp, the yellow lamp, and the red lamp such as the plurality of signal lamps 1b and 1c is provided. The AC voltage (AC100V) or DC voltage supplied to the signal lights of the respective colors is turned on / off correspondingly.
The communication unit 103 includes a central communication unit 1031 for performing communication with the central device 4, and can receive traffic information, signal control commands, and the like from the central device 4. In addition, the communication unit 103 includes a terminal communication unit 1032 and transmits the received traffic information to the road communication device 21 or the like, or receives information related to the in-vehicle device sent from the road communication device 21 or the like. can do.
The storage unit 104 stores received traffic information, information on signal control commands and in-vehicle devices, and information on various constants such as constants indicating the relationship between each floor and each display.

  The on-road communication devices 21 and 22 are provided on roads R1 and R2 that intersect with each other, respectively, and are installed so as to be able to communicate with a vehicle traveling in the inflow lane to the intersection A. As this roadside communication device, for example, an optical beacon, a radio beacon, a DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication), a WAVE (Wireless Access in Vehicle Environment), or a WiMAX (Worldwide indirect communication), etc. It is a corresponding wireless communication device or the like, and has a function of wirelessly communicating various information with an in-vehicle device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the communication control device 21b of the road communication device 21. The communication control device 22b has the same configuration and function as the communication control device 21b.
The control unit 201 is composed of one or a plurality of microcomputers. The control unit 201 controls the operation of each hardware unit such as the signal communication unit 203 connected via an internal bus or the like.
In the storage unit 202, road shape information related to a distance, a gradient, and the like from the road communication device 21 to the intersection A, information on an area including the intersection A, and the like are stored in advance. Note that these pieces of information are not limited to a configuration stored in advance, and may be a configuration acquired and stored from the central device 4 or the like.

The signal communication unit 203 has a function of receiving traffic information from the central device 4 via the traffic signal 1, and the road-to-vehicle communication unit 204 transmitting these information to the in-vehicle device via the communication antenna unit 21a. .
Further, information related to the in-vehicle device such as uplink information received by the road-to-vehicle communication unit 204 from the in-vehicle device is transmitted to the traffic signal controller 1a and the like by the signal communication unit 203.

The central device 4 transmits traffic information and signal control commands to a plurality of traffic signals at a predetermined cycle. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a format of the signal control command. In FIG. 4, split 1 indicates the split of current display 1, and split 6 indicates the split of current display 6. The details of this format are described in a standard document issued by the New Traffic Management System Association (hereinafter referred to as UTMS Association).
The road communication devices 21 and 22 do not have to be configured to communicate with the central device 4 via the traffic signal controller 1a. The central device without using the traffic signal controller 1a via the router 5 or a communication line or the like. 4 can also be communicated.

The in-vehicle device 31 is mounted on the bus B1 and wirelessly communicates various information with the roadside communication device 21. When the bus B1 on which the in-vehicle device 31 is mounted passes through the communication area Q1 of the road communication device 21 (the shaded portion on the road R1 in FIG. 1), the bus B1 performs wireless communication with the road communication device 21 and Uplink information including information related to the vehicle ID is transmitted and traffic information is received.
Similarly, the in-vehicle device 32 is mounted on the bus B2 and wirelessly communicates with the on-road communication device 22 when passing through the communication area Q2 of the on-road communication device 22 (the hatched portion on the road R2 in FIG. 1). And transmitting uplink information including information related to the vehicle ID of the vehicle and receiving traffic information.

[Signal control method using conventional PTPS]
A conventional traffic signal control method using PTPS when uplink information is received from the buses B1 and B2 will be described below.

The control unit 101 of the traffic signal controller 1a divides one cycle of the signal (period in which the signal display makes a round) into a plurality of floors, and at the start of one cycle, the last signal control command received up to that point Based on the received signal control command, the signal lamp color displayed on each floor and its duration are determined.
For example, in the case of the intersection A in FIG. 1, the floor is defined as a first floor where the vehicle signal lamp 1b that displays the right of traffic with respect to the road R1 is defined as “1G” as a first signal. The state in which the device 1b has a yellow signal is defined as “2Y” as “1Y”, and then the state in which both the vehicle signal lamps 1b and 1c become red signals is defined as “1AR” as the third step.
Similarly, a state in which the vehicle signal lamp 1c displaying the right of traffic to the road R2 is a green signal is defined as “2G” as a fourth floor, and a state in which the vehicle signal lamp 1c is a yellow signal is “2Y”. Is defined as the fifth floor, and thereafter, the state in which both the vehicle signal lamps 1b and 1c are in red light is defined as the second floor as "2AR". These six steps constitute one cycle of intersection A.
If a pedestrian signal lamp is installed in addition to the vehicle signal lamp, the floor “1G” or “2G” where the vehicle signal lamp is a green signal is displayed on the pedestrian signal lamp display (blue (For example, “1G” can be divided into “1PG”, “1PF”, and “1PR”, etc.).

The control unit 101 of the traffic signal controller 1 a determines how many seconds are allocated to each of the six floors according to the signal control command received from the central device 4.
FIG. 5 shows the state of the signal control plan immediately after determining how many seconds are allocated to each floor. The road R1 is assigned 50 seconds of blue time and the road R2 is assigned 30 seconds of blue time. ing.

A signal control method such as PTPS is generally called “point sensitive control”. In this point sensitive control, a vehicle detection signal acquired from a vehicle detector, an on-vehicle device acquired from a road communication device 21 and the like are related. Utilizing information or the like, the number of seconds of one or more floors of the signal control plan determined at the start of one cycle is changed to an appropriate number of seconds.
In addition to PTPS, this point sensitive control includes right turn sensitive control that appropriately changes the display time of the right turn blue arrow signal according to the vehicle detection signal from the vehicle detector installed in the right turn lane, and pedestrians. There is a pedestrian sensitive control that appropriately changes the display time of the green signal of the pedestrian signal lamp according to the information from the sensor that detects the pedestrian.

In PTPS, based on the uplink information transmitted from the bus B1 or the like, it is detected that the bus is approaching the intersection A, and the display time of the vehicular signal lamp is appropriately changed accordingly. The change of the display time includes a blue signal extending operation and a red signal shortening operation (crossing side blue signal shortening operation).
In this extension operation and shortening operation, a changeable floor and a time range are designated by a signal control command from the central device 4.
For example, an instruction that PTPS is allowed on the first floor and the range is from -10 seconds to +10 seconds (up to 10 seconds can be extended or shortened) is stored in the signal control command. In consideration of this point sensitive control instruction, the allocation time of the floor “1G” of the created signal control plan is appropriately changed within a range of 40 to 60 seconds with 50 seconds as a reference. This time range of 40 to 60 seconds is referred to as a sensitive width.

In this case, if the uplink information including the vehicle ID of the bus is not received from the road communication devices 21 and 22, the floor “1G” is finished in the reference time of 50 seconds and proceeds to the next floor “1Y” ( That is, the vehicle signal lamp 1b changes to a yellow signal).
If the uplink information including the vehicle ID of the bus B1 is received from the road communication device 21, the time required for the bus B1 to reach the stop line before the intersection A is determined (usually depending on the time zone). The green signal of the vehicle signal lamp 1b is extended by a sufficient time until the bus B1 reaches the stop line.
For example, if it is calculated that the bus B1 arrives at the stop line before the intersection A is 55 seconds after the start of the floor "1G", the allocation of the floor "1G" is performed at that time. Extend the time by 5 seconds to 55 seconds.
By this extension operation, the bus B1 can pass without being forced to wait for a signal at the intersection A.

On the other hand, when uplink information including the vehicle ID of the bus B2 is received from the road communication device 22, the time required for the bus B2 to reach the stop line before the intersection A is determined, and after the bus B2 reaches the stop line If it is determined that it is necessary to wait for the signal, the blue signal of the vehicle signal lamp 1b is shortened (that is, the red signal of the vehicle signal lamp 1c is shortened) so that the signal waiting time becomes as short as possible.
For example, if it is calculated that the bus B2 arrives at the stop line before the intersection A is 20 seconds after the start of the “1G”, the bus B2 displays a green light on the road R2. You have to wait for 45 seconds until it is done (until the 4th floor "2G" starts). This is because the remaining time of “1G” is 30 seconds, and when the subsequent times of “1Y” and “1AR” are also added, the total signal waiting time becomes 45 seconds.
In this case, in order to shorten the signal waiting time, the allocation time of the floor “1G” is shortened by 10 seconds and changed to 40 seconds. By this shortening operation, the signal waiting time at the intersection A of the bus B2 can be shortened by 10 seconds.

When uplink information including the vehicle IDs of the buses B1 and B2 is received from both the roadside communication devices 21 and 22, the green signal extension operation of the floor “1G” for the bus B1 is preferentially executed.
When the extension operation for the bus B1 is preferentially executed, the signal waiting time of the bus B2 only needs to be increased by 10 seconds at the maximum, but if the shortening operation for the bus B2 is preferentially executed, the bus B1 This is because the vehicle cannot pass through the intersection A and must wait for the signal for a time corresponding to approximately one cycle.
Thus, since the time for the bus B1 to be lost by the shortening operation is longer than the time for the bus B2 to be lost by the extension operation, the extension operation is preferentially executed.

[Traffic signal control method by PTPS of the present invention]
In the conventional PTPS as described above, for example, there are almost no passengers on the bus B1, and even when there is no delay with respect to the scheduled operation time, the operation of the bus B1 is given priority.
If the level “1G” is extended for 5 seconds to support the travel of the bus B1, the signal waiting time of the vehicle on the road R2 on the crossing side will be increased by 5 seconds, which will adversely affect the traffic flow on the road R2. This increase in the signal waiting time has a small effect if it is at most once, but when the bus frequently travels on the road R1, it repeatedly affects the traffic flow on the road R2 due to repeated extension operations. There is a possibility that traffic jam will occur on the road R2.
Therefore, in the present invention, a new function is added to PTPS as described below to enable highly flexible operation.

First, the in-vehicle devices 31 and 32 mounted on the buses B1 and B2 have a function of detecting how much delay has occurred between the on-board devices 31 and 32 and the scheduled time to pass through the bus stop. .
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the in-vehicle device 31 according to the present invention. The in-vehicle device 32 has the same configuration.

[Configuration of in-vehicle devices 31 and 32]
The in-vehicle control unit 301 is composed of one or a plurality of microcomputers. The in-vehicle control unit 301 controls the operation of each hardware unit such as the in-vehicle communication control unit 303 connected via an internal bus or the like.
The storage unit 302 stores in advance a vehicle ID of the bus B1 and a list of scheduled times passing through each bus stop, and the in-vehicle control unit 301 creates uplink information including the vehicle ID. Then, the in-vehicle communication control unit 303 transmits the created uplink information to the road communication device 21.

Further, the GPS receiving unit 305 can grasp the current position and current time of the bus. By comparing the scheduled time of passing the bus stop with the previously stored scheduled time list, the vehicle can be mounted on the vehicle. The control part 301 can calculate how much delay time has arisen with respect to the bus operation schedule.
Each time this delay time is calculated, it is stored in the storage unit 302 as needed, stored in the uplink information, and transmitted to the roadside communication device 21.

In addition, a passenger number detection sensor 3A for counting the number of passengers is separately mounted on the bus B1, and the number of passengers on the bus B1 can be detected.
As the passenger number detection sensor 3A for detecting the number of passengers, for example, a passenger who has a detection unit for detecting the number of passengers at each of the bus entrance and exit, and detects the number of passengers by subtracting the number of passengers. A number detection type, one or more camera units capable of photographing inside the company, and an image processing type that counts the number of people in the company by processing images from the camera, A weight detection unit for detecting the weight is provided, and the number of persons is estimated by subtracting the weight of the passenger space itself from the weight detected by the weight detection unit and then dividing by the average human weight (for example, 65 kilograms). It is possible to adopt a weight estimation type or the like.

  The sensor information receiving unit 304 acquires information on the number of passengers from the passenger number detection sensor 3A as needed, and stores the acquired information in the storage unit 302. Information relating to the number of passengers is read by the in-vehicle control unit 301, stored in the uplink information together with the vehicle ID and the like, and transmitted to the road communication device 21.

[Operation of traffic signal controller 1a]
By receiving the uplink information transmitted from the vehicle-mounted device 31 or the like as described above, the traffic signal controller 1a does not only indicate that the bus has approached the intersection A, but also the number of passengers on that bus. And the delay time from the scheduled time can be acquired.
Therefore, in the traffic signal control system of the present invention, the PTPS is advanced as follows by utilizing the information on the bus operation state obtained from the uplink information.

When the terminal communication unit 1032 receives the uplink information of the bus via the road communication device 21 or 22, the uplink information is stored in the storage unit 104, and the control unit 101 determines the number of bus passengers from the uplink information. The delay time is acquired, and the total delay time of the bus is calculated by multiplying the number of passengers and the delay time.
For example, if the number of passengers is 10 and the delay time is 3 minutes, the total delay time is 30 minutes.
In advanced PTPS, a signal control method in PTPS is determined based on this total delay time.

  When the total delay time of the bus B1 calculated based on the uplink information received from the bus B1 traveling on the road R1 is larger than a predetermined threshold (for example, 20 minutes) stored in advance, the PTPS In order to support the passage of the bus B1, the extension of the green signal (first floor “1G”) or the red signal (fourth floor “2G”) of the vehicle signal lamp 1b is executed.

For example, consider a case where a signal control plan is determined as shown in FIG. 5 and execution of PTPS that allows an extension of a maximum of 10 seconds in the first layer “1G” is permitted.
It is expected that uplink information will be received from bus B1 while the green light is displayed (while the first floor “1G” is running), and bus B1 will pass through intersection A at 55 seconds from the start of the first floor “1G”. If the total delay time is larger than a predetermined threshold (for example, 20 minutes) (for example, 30 minutes), PTPS is executed, and the display time of the first stage “1G” is set to be greater than the reference time of 50 seconds. Extend 5 seconds.
On the other hand, if the device edge time is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, 20 minutes) (for example, 5 minutes), the display time of the first tier 1G is kept at the reference time of 50 seconds without executing PTPS. .

In this way, by determining whether or not to execute PTPS based on the total delay time of the bus calculated based on the uplink information acquired from the bus, compared to the case of executing PTPS unconditionally, It is possible to limit the influence of PTPS on traffic flow to the necessary limit.
In the above description, comparison with a predetermined threshold is performed, but PTPS may be executed except when the total delay time is zero.
In addition, it may be determined whether or not PTPS is executed based on the total delay time only during a time period when the number of passengers is generally small (for example, a daytime time period on a route bus with many passengers for commuting or attending school). .
For example, even when the total delay time is smaller than a predetermined threshold, when the delay time itself is large (for example, when the delay time exceeds 10 minutes), PTPS may be executed. In other words, in addition to the total delay time, a threshold value is provided for the delay time, and whether or not the delay time exceeds the threshold value is used for determining whether or not PTPS is executed.

It is more effective to use such a method using the total delay time when a bus approaches at the same time from roads crossing each other.
As described above, in the first floor “1G”, the extension operation for giving priority to the traveling of the bus B1 approaching the intersection A on the road R1 and the traveling of the bus B2 approaching the intersection A on the road R2 are performed. When the shortening operation for priority is performed, and when the buses B1 and B2 approach at the same time, the conventional PTPS used to perform the extension operation unconditionally. However, in the present invention, the total delay time is used. Thus, it is possible to determine which one of the extension operation and the shortening operation should be performed.

For example, it is assumed that the buses B1 and B2 approach at the same time while executing the first floor “1G”.
Assume that bus B1 is expected to arrive at intersection A 55 seconds after the start of execution of the first tier “1G”, and bus B2 is expected to arrive at intersection A 30 seconds after the start of execution of the first tier “1G”. Conventionally, the extension operation is applied with priority given to traveling on the bus B1, and the display time of the first floor “1G” is changed to 55 seconds.
In the present invention, it is determined in consideration of the total delay time of the buses B1 and B2.
For example, if the total delay time of the bus B1 does not exceed a predetermined threshold value but the total delay time of the bus B2 exceeds a predetermined threshold value, the shortening operation is executed with priority on the traveling of the bus B2. To do. That is, in order to shorten the signal waiting time of the bus B2, the display time of the first ladder “1G” is shortened by 10 seconds and changed to 40 seconds.
In this way, in view of the effect on the customer due to the delay of the bus, the operation of executing PTPS when the effect is large improves the convenience of the bus and improves the convenience of the bus other than the bus by PTPS. It will be possible to limit the influence on traffic flow to the required limit.

It should be noted that when both the buses B1 and B2 have a total delay time exceeding the threshold value, or when both are not exceeding, it is desirable to execute the extension operation as in the prior art.
Further, the threshold value of the total delay time may be set to a different value for each road according to the importance level of the route, or may be set to a different value for each intersection. Further, even on the same road at the same intersection, a plurality of threshold values may be switched and used according to the time zone, day type, or the like.

  In the above embodiment, for example, the communication between the traffic signal controller 1a and the roadside communication devices 21 and 22 may be wireless communication or wired communication, and one or a plurality of information relay devices for relaying information exchange may be used. The structure provided between apparatuses may be sufficient.

  Moreover, in the above-described embodiment, the traffic signal controller 1a and the road communication device 21 and the like are configured to be housed in separate housings. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the traffic signal controller A configuration in which 1a, the on-road communication device 21, and the like are housed in one housing may be employed. In this case, the exchange of information between the traffic signal controller 1a and the on-road communication device 21 or the like may be performed using any of wired, wireless, and internal buses.

In this embodiment, the PTPS operation method is determined by the control unit 101 of the traffic signal controller 1a, but may be determined by the central device 4.
That is, whether or not the central device 4 receives uplink information such as the bus B1 via the road communication devices 21 and 22 and executes PTPS using the total delay time calculated from the uplink information, It may be possible to use a method of deciding which operation of extension or shortening should be performed and giving an instruction about PTPS to the traffic signal controller 1a according to the decision result.
Further, these processes may be executed in a device other than the central device 4 (for example, the information relay device).

In addition, the number of passengers and the delay time included in the uplink information by the in-vehicle device may not be a specific numerical value, and may be expressed by a plurality of levels, for example. For example, the number of passengers can be expressed in five stages, such as “almost no”, “small”, “standard”, “large”, “very large”, etc. It can be expressed in multiple stages, such as “street”, “slightly behind schedule”, “lag behind schedule”, “slightly behind schedule”, “much behind schedule”.
For example, as a condition for operating PTPS, a matrix table as shown in FIG. 7 in which the horizontal and vertical axes are respectively set for the number of passengers and the delay time is prepared. Under which conditions, PTPS is executed. It is also possible to use a method of setting which condition is not executed.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

1 traffic lights,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a, Traffic signal controller 1b, 1c Signal lamp 101 Control part 102 Lamp drive part 103 Communication part 1031 Central communication part, 1032 Terminal communication part 104 Storage part 21, 22 Roadside communication apparatus 21a, 22a Communication antenna part 21b, 22b Communication Control device 201 Control unit 202 Storage unit 203 Signal communication unit 204 Road-to-vehicle communication unit 31, 32 In-vehicle device 301 In-vehicle control unit 302 Storage unit 303 In-vehicle communication control unit 304 Sensor information reception unit 305 GPS reception unit 3A Passenger number detection sensor 4 Center Equipment, 5 Router A Intersection B1, B2 Bus Q1, Q2 Communication area R1, R2 Road

Claims (5)

An in-vehicle device mounted on a public vehicle that is required to travel on time according to a predetermined route;
A traffic signal control system comprising traffic signal control means for controlling a signal lamp installed on a road based on uplink information transmitted from the in-vehicle device,
The in-vehicle device stores, in the uplink information, the number of passengers of the public vehicle and a delay time indicating how much operation delay the public vehicle has occurred on time,
The traffic signal control means calculates a total delay time of a passenger from the number of passengers and the delay time, and passes the public vehicle preferentially when the total delay time exceeds a predetermined threshold. A traffic signal control system for controlling the signal lamp as described above. Traffic signal control means for controlling a signal lamp installed at an intersection where at least two roads including the first road and the second road intersect;
A first in-vehicle device mounted on a first public vehicle that is required to travel on time on a predetermined operation route including the intersection; a second in-vehicle device mounted on a second public vehicle; A traffic signal control system comprising:
The first public vehicle travels on the first road toward the intersection,
The second public vehicle travels on the second road toward the intersection,
Said first and second on-vehicle apparatus, a number of passengers in public vehicles the self are mounted, how much operation delay occurs with respect to the installed public vehicle is scheduled for the self has a function of transmitting the uplink information stored and the delay time indicated,
The traffic signal control means, number of passengers and the delay time from each of the first and second public vehicles included in the uplink information transmitted from the first vehicle unit and a second on-vehicle device The total delay time of the passenger is calculated, and according to the comparison result between the total delay time and a predetermined threshold, which public vehicle is preferentially passed is determined, and the signal lamp according to the determination result A traffic signal control system characterized by controlling the traffic. A traffic signal controller provided with the traffic signal control means according to claim 1 or 2 and installed in the vicinity of the intersection. Central unit including a traffic signal control means according to claim 1 or 2. A program for causing a computer to operate as the traffic signal controller according to claim 3 or the traffic signal controller of the central device according to claim 4 .

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