JPH03144796A - Traffic signal state informing system for visually handicapped person - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain traffic safeness for visually handicapped persons by sending the state of a traffic signal to the receiving antenna of a receiver carried by a visually handicapped person. CONSTITUTION:The state of the traffic signal 1 is detected by a signal state detecting circuit 3 connected to a signal lamp control circuit 2 and the output of the circuit 3 is sent to a transmitter 4. The transmitter 4 modulates the signal to '1' when crossing is available or '0' when crossing is inhibited in accordance with the output of the circuit 3 and sends the signal from a transmitting antenna 5. The transmitted signal from the transmitter 4 is received by the receiving antenna 6 of the receiving equipment 10 carried by the visually handicapped person and amplified and demodulated by a receiver 7, the original signal '1' and '0' is detected by a signal detecting circuit 8, and the state of the traffic signal 1 is informed by an alarm tone generator 9. Thus, also the visually handicapped person can safely pass a cross the normal roads.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired people, and in particular, a system for notifying visually impaired people about the status of traffic lights using wireless communication when they are about to cross a road. This invention relates to a traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons.

[Prior Art] As shown in FIG. 6, a conventional traffic signal status notification system for the visually impaired of this type includes a signal status detection circuit 13, a sound generation section 15 such as a tape recorder, and a sound generation section 15. a sound generation section control circuit 14 that controls the sound generation section, and a sound amplification circuit 16
, and a speaker 17. When the traffic signal 11 indicates that crossing is possible, the signal state detection circuit 13 detects this and operates the sound generator 15, The system was broadcasting to people crossing the road (not limited to visually impaired people) from a speaker 17 installed in the area. The status of the traffic signal 11 is
It was possible to identify them by distinguishing between music and chime patterns, and by the installation location and orientation of the speaker 17. Also,
The volume of the speaker 17 was adjusted for each location depending on the level of traffic noise.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned conventional traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons indiscriminately notifies all passersby of the traffic signal status by voice; Because the announcement was being made internally, a loud volume was required.

Therefore, there is a problem in that the traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons cannot be used in residential areas due to the noise.

In addition, the conventional traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired people has not been widely used at all traffic signals, so it is still difficult to know whether it is possible to cross the street when there is no audio notification of traffic signal status. There is a problem in that it is not possible to determine whether a status notification system is installed or not.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and allows visually impaired people to easily understand the location of intersections, the locations of crosswalks, and the location of crosswalks, without emitting noise that disturbs the surroundings. The purpose is to notify the status of traffic signals and to enable visually impaired people to safely travel on general roads, and to achieve this purpose, traffic signals and signal light control circuits that control the lighting of the signal lights of traffic signals. , a signal state detection circuit that detects the lighting state of the signal light, a transmitter that modulates and transmits the output signal of the signal state detection circuit, a transmitting antenna that transmits the output signal of the transmitter into the air, and a transmitting transmitting antenna. a receiving antenna that receives a signal transmitted from the receiving antenna, a receiver that receives and demodulates the received signal of the receiving antenna, and a signal detection circuit that detects the output signal of the signal state detection circuit from the signal demodulated by the receiver;
The apparatus is configured to include an alarm sound generator that generates an alarm sound in accordance with the output of the signal detection circuit.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a traffic light status notification system for visually impaired persons according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the signal state (red, yellow, or green) of a traffic signal 1 is detected by a signal state detection circuit 3 connected to a signal light control circuit 2, and the output of the signal state detection circuit 3 is sent to a transmitter 4. Sent. The transmitter 4 uses the output of the signal state detection circuit 3 to determine, for example, if crossing is possible, the NI
If the crossing is prohibited, modulation (for example, amplitude modulation or frequency modulation) is performed so that the signal becomes "NO", and the signal is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 5.

It is desirable that this transmitter 4 is installed near the traffic signal 1 or signal light control circuit 2, and the transmission power is
Since it is preferable for a visually impaired person to receive a signal when he or she approaches within a few meters, a weak radio wave is sufficient, and it is preferable that the radio frequency used be a frequency band designated by an administrative agency.

The transmitted signal from the transmitter 4 is received by the receiving antenna 6 of the receiving device 10 owned by the visually impaired person, and is transmitted to the receiver 7.
Amplification and demodulation are performed in the signal detection circuit 8, and the original "1"
and an "O" signal is detected. This signal detection circuit 8
The detected signal is converted by the alarm sound generator 9 into an intermittent alarm sound as shown in FIG. Notify that crossing is allowed or prohibited. Notifying visually impaired people with an intermittent warning sound as shown in Figure 3 is suitable when a traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired people is installed at a single crosswalk as shown in Figure 2. ing.

FIG. 4 shows a case where a traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons is installed at an intersection. In this case, transmit signals in the A direction and B direction, for example, "0.O" in the A direction.
and 0,1", and direction B as "1.0" and "1.1", and for each direction, an intermittent alarm sound as shown in Figure 5 is selected to alert the visually impaired. This allows the owner of the receiving device 10 (a visually impaired person) to easily know in which direction they can cross.

Using current selective receiver (pager) technology, the receiving device 10 can be incorporated into a so-called "white cane" that visually impaired people usually carry, or into a pendant or pen. , and its feasibility is extremely high.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention provides a traffic signal, a signal light control circuit that controls the lighting of the signal light of the traffic signal, a signal state detection circuit that detects the lighting state of the signal light, and a signal state detection circuit. A transmitter that modulates and transmits the output signal of the transmitter, a transmitting antenna that transmits the output signal of the transmitter into the air, a receiving antenna that receives the signal transmitted from the transmitting transmitting antenna, and a receiving signal that is received by the receiving antenna. and a signal detection circuit that detects the output signal of the signal state detection circuit from the signal demodulated by the receiver, and an alarm sound generator that generates an alarm sound in accordance with the output of the signal detection circuit. This structure allows visually impaired people to easily understand the location of intersections, crosswalks, etc., without making any noise that may be a nuisance to those around them.
It also informs the status of traffic lights and allows visually impaired people to safely navigate public roads.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an installation example of the traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons according to the present invention. , FIG. 3 is a waveform diagram showing an example of the alarm sound of the traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons according to the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another installation example of the traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6, a waveform diagram illustrating an example, is a block diagram illustrating a conventional traffic light status notification system for visually impaired persons. Traffic signal Signal light control circuit Signal status detection circuit Transmitter Transmitting antenna Receiving antenna Receiver Signal detection circuit Alarm tone generator Receiving device

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A traffic signal, a signal light control circuit that controls the lighting of the signal light of the traffic signal, a signal state detection circuit that detects the lighting state of the signal light, and a transmission that modulates and transmits the output signal of the signal state detection circuit. a transmitting antenna that transmits an output signal of the transmitter into the air; a receiving antenna that receives the signal transmitted from the transmitting antenna; and a receiver that receives and demodulates the received signal of the receiving antenna. , for visually impaired persons, comprising a signal detection circuit that detects the output signal of the signal state detection circuit from the signal demodulated by the receiver, and an alarm sound generator that generates an alarm sound in accordance with the output of the signal detection circuit. Traffic signal status notification system. (2) The traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons according to claim 1, wherein the alarm sound generated by the alarm sound generator is of a plurality of types with different intermittent sound intervals. (3) In order to notify the lighting status of the signal lights in the two directions of the intersection, the alarm sound generator generates multiple types of alarm sounds with different intermittent sound intervals depending on the two directions of the intersection. A traffic signal status notification system for visually impaired persons according to claim 2, characterized in that: