JP6145291B2 - Traffic signal control device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic signal control apparatus for controlling the step of a signal floor at an intersection.

  As one of the traffic signal controls at the intersection, in order to respond to fluctuations in traffic volume, a sensor for vehicles and pedestrians is installed, and sensitive control is performed to change the display time of each display according to the detection result. is there. As one type of the sensitive control, there is known a vehicle group sensitive control that detects a vehicle group composed of a plurality of vehicles and extends the blue time according to the detection of the vehicle group (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 3412779

  However, the conventional vehicle group sensitive control as shown in Patent Document 1 described above is control for only the main road vehicle group, and does not consider the secondary road vehicle group. Further, the display time of the green signal display is extended in accordance with whether or not the main road vehicle group stops at the red signal display, and the display time of the red signal display is not considered. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances.

The first invention for solving the above-described problems is
A traffic signal control device (for example, in FIG. 1) that uses the detection information indicating that the head and tail of a group of vehicles traveling on one inflow path have passed a predetermined detection position to control the signal level at the intersection. A signal controller 50),
During the period when the signal relating to the one inflow path is displayed in red, it is determined based on the detection information whether the head of the vehicle group arrives at the intersection. Determination means to perform (for example, vehicle group sensitivity control unit 241 in FIG. 3);
The first shortening control means (for example, the vehicle group in FIG. 3) that cuts off the first floor when the determination means determines that the first floor has arrived and the initial time of the first floor has elapsed. Sensitive control unit 241; step B7 of FIG. 5: YES to step B9: YES),
Is a traffic signal control device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the traffic signal control apparatus that controls the step of the signal floor at the intersection, the vehicle in the first floor during the period in which the signal related to the first inflow path is displayed in red. It is determined whether or not the head of the group arrives at the intersection. If it is determined that the group arrives, this one step is cut off after the initial time has elapsed. As a result, when the vehicle group arrives while the signal of one inflow channel is displayed in red, the initial time is secured and the display time of one floor during the period of red display is shortened. The transition to the display can be accelerated, the stop of the vehicle group in red display can be avoided or the stop time can be shortened, and smooth vehicle traffic at the intersection can be promoted.

As a second invention, the traffic signal control device of the first invention,
Based on the detection result of the sensor that senses the vehicle traveling on the other inflow path intersecting the one inflow path at the intersection, the staying number estimating means for estimating the number of staying in the other inflow path (for example, FIG. 3 staying number measuring unit 210),
Second shortening control means (for example, the vehicle group sensitive control unit 241 in FIG. 3) that cuts off the one floor when the number of staying in the one floor exceeds the predetermined number and the initial time has elapsed. ; Step B1: NO to Step B9: YES in FIG.
You may comprise the traffic signal control apparatus provided with.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the number of staying in the other inflow channels is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the display time of one floor is shortened to the initial time. The predetermined number may be one, or three.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a traffic signal control system. An example of the current floor plan. The function block diagram of a signal controller. The flowchart of a signal control process. The flowchart of the red shortening process performed during a signal control process.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 is an installation example of the traffic signal control system 1 of the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the traffic signal control system 1 includes a vehicle signal lamp 10, a pedestrian signal lamp 20, a vehicle sensor 30, a vehicle group sensor 40, and a signal controller 50. Is done. The vehicle signal lamp 10, the pedestrian signal lamp 20, the vehicle sensor 30, the vehicle group sensor 40, and the signal controller 50 are communicably connected by wireless communication or wired communication.

  In addition, the intersection where the traffic signal control system 1 is installed is a cross intersection where a main road having two inflow paths intersects with a secondary road having two inflow paths so as to cross the main road and the secondary road. There is a pedestrian crossing 3 in

  The vehicular signal lamp 10 is installed on an upper portion of a pillar or the like installed on the road side so as to face the vehicle traffic of each inflow channel. The pedestrian signal lamp 20 is installed above the pillars and the like installed on both sides of the pedestrian crossing 3 so as to face the pedestrian traffic of each inflow path. The display of the color of each of the vehicular signal lamp 10 and the pedestrian signal lamp 20 is controlled by a signal controller 50.

  The vehicle sensor 30 is installed at a position overlooking each inflow path from above on the upper part of the pillar installed on the road side, and senses whether or not there is a vehicle passing through a predetermined detection position in the inflow path to be sensed. . As the vehicle sensor 30, a known sensor such as an ultrasonic type, an optical type, and an image type can be used.

  The vehicle group detector 40 is installed above the pillars installed on the roadside so as to look down on the inflow channel from above, and senses the presence or absence of a vehicle group passing through a predetermined detection position in the inflow channel to be detected. To do. The vehicle group sensor 40 includes a vehicle sensor that senses the presence or absence of a vehicle that passes a predetermined detection position. From the detection signal of the vehicle sensor, a vehicle whose vehicle interval or vehicle head interval is a predetermined value or less. Are detected as one vehicle group. The detection signal of the vehicle group detector 40 is, for example, L level (no detection) when the vehicle group does not exist, and H level (with detection) from the first vehicle to the last vehicle in the vehicle group when the vehicle group exists. The signal can be That is, the signal from the first vehicle to the detection position until the last vehicle passes is an H level signal.

  The detection signals of the vehicle sensor 30 and the vehicle group sensor 40 are output to the signal controller 50 as needed. Although the vehicle sensor 30 and the vehicle group sensor 40 are separate devices, they may be configured as an integrated device. In this case, a vehicle detector is provided, and a vehicle detection signal is output from the vehicle detector. A vehicle group is determined based on the vehicle detection signal and a vehicle group detection signal is output.

  For example, the signal controller 50 is installed below or in the vicinity of a pillar to which any of the vehicle signal lamps 10 is attached, and controls the entire traffic signal at the intersection. In the present embodiment, for example, in accordance with the present stage table shown in FIG. 2, signal control of the two present system is performed in which the right of passage is alternately given to the main road and the secondary road.

  FIG. 2 is a current floor plan in the present embodiment. According to the present floor plan, as traffic signal control at the intersection, the main road display 1φ which gives the right of traffic to the main road traffic (vehicles and pedestrians) and the secondary road traffic (vehicles and pedestrians) It is determined to alternately display the secondary road indication 2φ that gives the right. Specifically, the main road indication 1φ is: main road vehicle blue (stage 1), main road pedestrian blue flashing (stage 2), main road pedestrian red (stage 3), main road vehicle yellow (stage 4), Consists of five floors, all red (floor 5). The secondary road indication 2φ is blue on the secondary road (blue 6), blue on the secondary road pedestrian (high 7), and red on the secondary road pedestrian (high 8) The secondary road vehicle is composed of five floors of yellow (floor 9) and all red (floor 10).

[Function configuration]
FIG. 3 is a functional configuration diagram of the signal controller 50. According to FIG. 3, the signal controller 50 includes an operation unit 110, a display unit 120, a communication unit 130, a time measuring unit 140, a processing unit 200, and a storage unit 300.

  The operation unit 110 is realized by, for example, an input device such as a button switch or a touch panel, and outputs an operation signal according to an operation of an administrator of the signal controller 50 to the processing unit 200. The display unit 120 is realized by a display device such as an LCD, and performs various displays according to display signals from the processing unit 200. Note that the operation unit 110 and the display unit 120 are housed in the casing of the signal controller 50 and cannot be operated / viewed by a general person such as a pedestrian.

  The communication unit 130 is realized by, for example, a wired or wireless communication device, and performs wired communication or wireless communication with an external device (mainly another signal controller 50). The timer 140 measures the current time and the elapsed time from the specified timing, and outputs the measured current time and elapsed time to the processing unit 200.

  The processing unit 200 is realized by an arithmetic device such as a CPU, for example, and the signal controller 50 is controlled based on programs and data stored in the storage unit 300, detection signals from the vehicle sensor 30 and the vehicle group sensor 40, and the like. Instructions and data transfer are performed to each component, and overall control of the signal controller 50 is performed. In the present embodiment, the processing unit 200 includes a staying number measurement unit 210, a saturation determination unit 220, a traffic sensitivity control unit 230, and a signal display control unit 240, and performs signal control processing according to the signal control program 310. (See FIG. 4).

  The staying number measuring unit 210 measures the number of staying at its own intersection based on the detection signal from the vehicle detector 30. Specifically, for each inflow path to the own intersection, every time the detection signal of the vehicle detector 30 installed in the inflow path becomes “sensed”, it is assumed that one vehicle has arrived and the staying number is set to “1”. In the blue display period of the vehicle in the inflow path, every time a predetermined number of seconds (for example, 2 seconds) elapses, it is estimated that one vehicle has flowed out, and the number of staying units is decreased by “1”. .

  The saturation determination unit 220 determines the occurrence of saturation (congestion) at the own intersection based on the staying number measured by the staying number measuring unit 210. For example, when the total number of staying units in each inflow channel is equal to or greater than a predetermined number that is considered to be saturated, it is determined that saturation has occurred at the own intersection.

  The traffic-sensitive control unit 230 selects a control pattern according to the traffic volume and occupation rate of the vehicle at its own intersection. The control pattern is data that defines the signal control cycle length, the display time (split) of each level (step) in the current level, offset, etc., and the selection conditions such as traffic volume, occupation rate, day of the week, time zone, etc. The control pattern group 330 is stored in association with each other. The traffic volume and the occupation ratio can be obtained from the detection result of the vehicle detector 30. In addition, the selection of the control pattern is performed at a predetermined change timing determined as a time such as morning or evening, for example.

  The signal display control unit 240 follows the current level table 320 shown in FIG. 2 as an example. Each time the display seconds (standard seconds) determined by the control pattern selected by the traffic sensitive control unit 230 elapses, the signal display control unit 240 Is performed to control the lighting / extinction of the vehicle signal lamp 10 and the pedestrian signal lamp 20.

  In addition, the signal display control unit 240 includes a vehicle group response control unit 241. The vehicle group sensitive control unit 241 determines a level (red shortened level) determined as a red time reduction target according to the control pattern selected by the traffic sensitive control unit 230 according to the vehicle group approaching the intersection. Red shortening control is performed to shorten the display time (hereinafter referred to as “standard time”).

  The red shortened step is a step in which both the vehicle and the pedestrian in the route are displayed in red, and the vehicle and the pedestrian in the other route are both displayed in blue. For example, in the present floor table shown in FIG. 2, both the vehicles on the main road and the pedestrians are displayed in red, and both the vehicles on the secondary road and the pedestrians are displayed in blue, and the vehicles on the secondary road. “Stand 1” in which both the pedestrian and the pedestrian are displayed in red and the vehicle and the pedestrian in the main road are both displayed in blue is the red shortened step.

  In the red shortening control, the presence / absence of a vehicle group approaching the own intersection is determined from the detection signal of the vehicle group detector 40 installed in the inflow path that is displayed in red on the red shortening floor. If there is a vehicle group, it is determined whether the vehicle group arrives at the intersection within the red display period. Here, the red display period is a period between the floor and the vehicle red display floor following the floor. For example, in the present stage table shown in FIG. 2, if the red shortened deck is “Stand 6”, the period from “Stand 6” to “Stand 10” is the red display period, and the red shortened deck is “Stand 1”. ", The period from" Stand 1 "to" Stand 5 "is the red display period.

  Specifically, the expected arrival required for the vehicle to travel from the detection position of the vehicle group sensor 40 to the stop line from the distance L from the detection position of the vehicle group sensor 40 to the stop line and the assumed vehicle speed V. Time Ts is calculated. Then, by comparing the calculated expected arrival time Ts with the remaining time of the red display period, it is determined whether or not the vehicle group arrives at the intersection within the red display period. That is, if the expected arrival time Ts is equal to or less than the remaining time of the red display period, it is determined to arrive, and if the expected arrival time Ts is greater than the remaining time of the red display period, it is determined not to arrive.

  Here, the remaining time of the red display period is the remaining time of the red display period when the vehicle group detection signal becomes “sensed”. In other words, in the present stage table shown in FIG. 2, if the red shortened deck is “Stand 6”, the remaining display time (standard time) of this floor 6 and the display time (standard time) of each of “Stages 7 to 10”. If the red shortened deck is “Stand 1”, it is the sum of the remaining display time (standard time) of this floor 1 and the display time (standard time) of each of “Stages 2 to 5”. . If it is determined that the vehicle group arrives at the intersection during red display, the display time (red time) of the floor is reduced to a predetermined initial red time. On the other hand, if it is determined that the vehicle does not arrive at the intersection during red display, the display time of the floor is kept at the standard time.

  In addition, when the number of staying in the intersecting route is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold number, the display time (red time) of the floor is reduced to a predetermined initial red time regardless of the presence or absence of the vehicle group. Here, the initial red time is the minimum red display time that must be guaranteed, and is defined as a time shorter than the standard time by a predetermined time.

  The storage unit 300 is realized by a storage device such as a ROM, a RAM, and a hard disk, and stores a system program for the processing unit 200 to control the signal controller 50 in an integrated manner, a program and data for realizing various functions, and the like. While being stored, it is used as a work area of the storage unit 300 and temporarily stores calculation results executed by the processing unit 200 according to various programs. In the present embodiment, a signal control program 310, a current floor table 320, and a control pattern group 330 are stored.

[Process flow]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of signal control processing. According to the figure, in the signal control process, the traffic sensitive control unit 230 determines whether or not it is a change timing of the control pattern, and if it is the change timing (step A1: YES), the current traffic volume and occupation ratio A control pattern is selected according to the above (step A3). Then, the signal display control unit 240 performs signal control according to the selected control pattern (step A5).

  In the signal control, in accordance with the current display table 320, stepping control is performed to advance the floor every time the display seconds (standard seconds) determined by the selected control pattern elapses. If the saturation (near saturation or oversaturation) of the intersection has not been determined (step A7: NO) and the step to be executed is a predetermined red shortened step (step A9: YES), the vehicle group is sensitive. The control unit 241 performs red shortening processing (step A11). If the above process is performed, it will return to step A1 and will repeat the same process. If it is determined that the self-intersection is saturated (step A7: YES), execution of the red shortening process is suppressed even if the red shortening step is performed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the red shortening process in the vehicle group sensitive control. According to the figure, the vehicle group sensitivity control unit 241 first compares the number of staying in a route intersecting a route (target route) that is displayed in red on the floor with a predetermined threshold value. If the staying number is less than the threshold number (step B1: YES), based on the vehicle group detection signal from the vehicle group sensor 40 installed in the target route, the vehicle group approaching the own intersection is detected. Determine presence or absence.

  As a result, if there is a vehicle group (step B3: YES), the estimated arrival time Ts of this vehicle group is calculated (step B5). Further, the remaining time of the red display period from the time when the vehicle group detection signal becomes “sensed” is calculated, and the calculated expected arrival time Ts is compared with the remaining time of the red display period. If the expected arrival time Ts is equal to or less than the remaining time of the red display period (step B7: YES), the initial red time has elapsed from the start of the floor (step B9: YES), and the next floor is terminated. (Step B15). On the other hand, if the expected arrival time Ts is longer than the remaining time of the red display period (step B7: NO), when the standard time has elapsed from the start of the floor (step B11: YES), the floor is terminated and the next (Step B15).

  If there is no vehicle group (step B3: NO), when a predetermined standard time has elapsed from the start of the floor (step B13: YES), the floor is terminated and advanced to the next floor (step B15). ).

  Also, if the number of staying on the crossing route is greater than or equal to the threshold number (step B1: NO), after the initial red time has elapsed from the start of the corresponding step (step B9: YES), the corresponding step is terminated and the next step is reached. Proceed (step B15).

[Function and effect]
As described above, in the traffic signal control system 1 of the present embodiment, the signal controller 50 that performs signal control of the intersection performs traffic sensitive control such as changing the control pattern according to the traffic volume, the occupation ratio, the time zone, and the like. At the same time, the time (standard time) of the floor corresponding to the presence or absence of the vehicle group is shortened in a predetermined red shortened floor (the floors 1 and 6) in which both vehicles and pedestrians on the inflow path are displayed in red. Thereby, for each inflow path (main road and secondary road) constituting the intersection, the red time can be shortened according to the presence or absence of the vehicle group.

[Modification]
It should be noted that embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

(A) Vehicle Group Detection For example, the vehicle group sensor 40 may be detected by the signal controller 50 without installing the vehicle group sensor 40. That is, based on the detection signal of the vehicle detector 30, a plurality of vehicles having a distance between the vehicles or the head distance of a predetermined distance or less are determined as one vehicle group, and there is a vehicle group from passing the leading vehicle to passing the trailing vehicle. Is determined.

(B) Intersection Moreover, although it was set as the cross intersection in the above-mentioned embodiment, it is applicable similarly to intersections of shapes other than this, such as a letter intersection.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Traffic signal control system 10 Signal lamp for vehicles, 20 Signal lamp for pedestrians 30 Vehicle detector, 40 Vehicle group detector 50 Signal controller 110 Operation part, 120 Display part, 130 Communication part, 140 Timekeeping part 200 Processing part 210 Number of staying units, 220 Saturation determination unit, 230 Traffic sensitive control unit 240 Signal display control unit, 241 Vehicle group sensitive control unit 300 Storage unit 310 Signal control program 320 Present floor deck, 330 Control pattern group

Claims (2)

A traffic signal control device that uses the detection information of a vehicle group that travels along one inflow path to an intersection to control the signal level at the intersection,
To determine on the basis of whether or not the signal of the inlet channel of the one is the top of the vehicle group during the period in which the red display arrives at the intersection on the detection information in one of the revised during the period Determination means to perform;
Based on the sensing result of a sensor that senses a vehicle traveling on the other inflow path intersecting the one inflow path at the intersection, the staying number estimating means for estimating the number of staying in the other inflow path;
A first shortening control means for ending the first floor when it is determined that the determination means arrives in the first floor and the initial time of the first floor has elapsed;
A second shortening control means for cutting off the one floor when the number of staying in the one floor is equal to or more than a predetermined number and the initial time has elapsed;
A traffic signal control device.   The one floor is
  A signal related to vehicle traffic on the one inflow path at the intersection and a signal related to pedestrian traffic corresponding to the vehicle traffic are displayed in red, and a signal related to vehicle traffic on the other inflow path intersecting with the traffic The signal related to pedestrian traffic corresponding to vehicle traffic is a blue-displayed floor.
  The traffic signal control device according to claim 1.

Images