JPH046704A - Illumination method for road - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To give good visual information to drivers regardless of the weather by setting the direction of road illumination to the opposite direction to the running direction in fine weather, and setting the illumination direction in the running direction in rainy weather. CONSTITUTION:A road illumination apparatus N erected along a road M is set in the illumination direction opposite to the running direction of a vehicle P shown by an arrow in fine weather, and is set to the running direction in rainy weather. A lighting fixture 11 is provided at the upper end of a pole 10 as an illumination apparatus N, and the lighting fixture 11 can be oscillated to the right and left. The lighting fixture 11 is a directive-light distribution apparatus with a beam only in one direction, it is rotated to set the beam to the opposite direction to the running direction in fine weather, and it is rotated to set the beam to the running direction in rainy weather. The state of the road face is detected by a rain detecting means provided on the road face, and the lighting fixture 11 is rotated via a control means and a lighting fixture rotating means (not shown in the figure) based on the detected result.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a road lighting method.

[Conventional technology]

Road lighting equipment commonly used at present is one in which a lamp 71 is provided at the upper end of a pole 70, as shown in FIG. Figure 8 shows the light distribution diagram, and the light distribution curve 7
2 is left-right symmetrical.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which such a lighting device 73 is installed along a road 74, and the light distribution curve 72 is symmetrical in the longitudinal direction with respect to the traveling direction (arrow direction) of a car running on the road 74. There is. In this way, current road lighting equipment has a symmetrical light distribution in the direction of the lane axis, and although it emits a sharp beam that is directed in the same direction as the driving direction for the driver, it also emits a sharp beam that is directed in the opposite direction to the driving direction. It also emits a beam.

The visual information these two beams provide to the driver is quite different in nature. This will be explained below.

(A) Since the road surface is a diffused surface, the beam facing the same direction as the driving direction increases the brightness, but the effect is smaller than that of the beam facing the opposite direction to the driving direction. It has a great effect of increasing the vertical illuminance.

(B) Beam facing opposite to the traveling direction The effect on the brightness amplifier of the road surface is large.

It is not effective in increasing vertical illuminance to illuminate obstacles on the road or roadside objects.

The beam characteristics of conventional lighting equipment have been described above, but the lighting conditions also change depending on the weather. That is,
When the road surface is wet from rain, the road surface becomes almost mirror-like, causing light to be reflected specularly, causing not only beams directed in the same direction as the vehicle to travel, but also beams directed in the opposite direction to the driver's eyes. Since there is no reflected light, the road surface does not become brighter.

In addition, the reflected light that enters the driver's eyes has high brightness, creating specular glare, which reduces visual information for the driver.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventional road lighting methods have the following characteristics depending on the weather and the level of vertical illuminance on the road surface.

■ When the weather is clear, the beam of light emitted toward the driver's side
Road surface brightness is high and the vehicle is bright overall. That is, as shown in FIG. 10(A), the road surface brightness level 76 becomes higher due to the illumination compared to the road surface brightness level 75 without illumination.

■ During rainy weather, there is a beam of light emitted toward the driver, but it is reflected specularly, leaving the road surface dark.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10(B), there is almost no close-up of the bell 77 due to the road noise due to illumination.

■ When the vertical illuminance on the road surface is high When the vertical illuminance on the road surface is high, as shown in FIG. 11(A), the brightness level 79 of the object increases compared to the brightness level 78 of the object without illumination.

■ When the vertical illuminance on the road surface is low When the vertical illuminance on the road surface is low, the brightness level 80 of the object does not increase much as shown in FIG. 11(B).

The effects of the combination of the above conditions will be explained.

In the case of ■+■ (when it is a clear day and the road surface illuminance is high), objects on the road surface appear as if the background road surface brightness level 81 is high and the object brightness level 82 is high, as shown in FIG. 12 (A).
It is also very expensive, so it is difficult to distinguish.

In the case of ■+■, as shown in FIG. 12(B), the road surface brightness level 83 of the background is high and the object brightness level 84 is low, making it easy to recognize objects on the road surface due to the silhouette effect.

In the case of (+), the object on the road surface stands out and is easy to recognize because the road surface brightness level 85 of the background is low and the object brightness level 86 is high, as shown in FIG. 12(C).

In the case of (1) + (3), it is difficult to distinguish the object on the road surface because the road surface brightness level 87 of the background is low and the object brightness level 88 is also low, as shown in FIG. 12(D).

In the above cases (■+■) and (10), obstacles on the road surface become difficult to see, which is a problem. Furthermore, in rainy weather, the beam of light emitted toward the driver's side causes specular reflection glare, which can obstruct visual information on the road surface.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a road lighting method that can provide drivers with good visual information regardless of the weather.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the road lighting method of the present invention, the direction of illumination of the road illumination is opposite to the direction of travel when the weather is sunny, and the direction of illumination is directed toward the direction of travel when it is raining.

0 Effect] According to the road lighting method of the present invention, the lighting is directed in the opposite direction to the direction of travel during clear weather, and obstacles on the road surface are dark compared to the brightness of the road surface, making them easier to recognize. In addition, in rainy weather, the lights are directed toward the direction of travel, making obstacles on the road brighter and easier to recognize compared to the darkness of the road. moreover,
There is no specular glare caused by wet road surfaces.

〔Example〕

First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

That is, as shown in Fig. 1, a road lighting fixture N installed along a road M emits light in the direction opposite to the traveling direction (arrow direction) of the car P on sunny days, and in the direction of travel on rainy days. This is how it was done.

As the lighting equipment N, as shown in FIG.
A lamp 11 is provided at the upper end of the lamp, and the lamp 11 can be swung left and right. The light fixture 11 is a directional light distribution fixture that has a beam in only one direction, and when the weather is clear, the light fixture 11 rotates so that the beam is directed in the opposite direction to the traveling direction.
(Fig. 2 (A)), and during rainy weather, it rotates to face the direction of travel (Fig. 2 (B)). The lamp 11 detects the condition of the road surface by means of a rain detection means provided on the road surface, and is rotated based on the detection result via a control means and a lamp rotation means (not shown).

According to the road lighting method configured in this way, on clear days, the lighting is directed in the opposite direction to the direction of travel, the road surface is brightened by the lighting, and obstacles on the road surface are darkened, making them easier to see due to the silhouette effect. Become.

In addition, in rainy weather, the lights are directed in the direction of travel, making obstacles on the road brighter and easier to see compared to the darkness of the road. Furthermore, in rainy weather, the beam of the lighting equipment is oriented in the direction of travel for the driver, so there is no specular glare from wet road surfaces. Therefore, good visual information can be provided to the driver regardless of the weather.

Second Embodiment A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. The lighting equipment in this embodiment is provided with a lamp 16 having a built-in lamp 17 and a reflector 18 at the upper end of a pole 15.
The reflector plate 18 is rotatable so as to direct the king beam in the traveling direction or in the opposite direction to the traveling direction.

Third Embodiment A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. The lighting equipment in this embodiment is provided with a lamp 21 having a built-in lamp 22 and a main reflector 23 at the upper end of a pole 20, and a pair of auxiliary reflectors 24. 25 are provided. Both auxiliary reflectors 24.25
is housed in the lamp 21, and by using only the main reflector 23, it is possible to emit a symmetrical beam in the traveling direction in the same way as in the conventional case.

When the weather is clear, as shown in FIG. 4(B), only the auxiliary reflector 25 on the opposite side of the driver is projected from the lighting equipment to emit light in the opposite direction to the driving direction. Also, in case of rain, the same figure (B
), only the auxiliary reflector 24 on the driver's side is projected and irradiated in the driving direction. In addition, lamp 2 is directly below the fixture.
The brightness is increased by the direct light of 2 and the reflected light of the main reflecting plate 23.

Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment of this invention will be shown in the fifth article. In this embodiment, a road lighting fixture 30 having a beam 33 facing in the direction opposite to the driving direction for sunny days and a road lighting fixture 31 having a beam 34 facing the driving direction for rainy weather are placed on the side of the road 32. They are arranged alternately at intervals. Then, depending on the weather, the lighting fixture 30 for sunny weather or the lighting fixture 31 for rainy weather is turned on.

Fifth Embodiment A fifth embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. In this embodiment, road lighting equipment 40 installed on the side of a road 41 includes two lamps, one with a beam 42 facing in the opposite direction to the driving direction, and the other with a beam 43 facing in the driving direction. This means that it can be changed depending on the weather.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the road lighting method of the present invention, when the weather is clear, the lighting is directed in the opposite direction to the driving direction, and obstacles on the road surface are dark compared to the brightness of the road surface, making them easier to recognize. In addition, in rainy weather, the lighting is directed toward the direction of travel, making obstacles on the road brighter and easier to recognize compared to the darkness of the road. moreover,
There is no specular glare caused by wet road surfaces. Therefore, it is possible to provide the driver with good visual information regardless of the weather.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the lighting fixture, FIG. 3 is a front view of the lighting fixture of the second embodiment of the invention, and FIG. A front view of a lighting fixture according to a third embodiment of this invention, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a fourth embodiment of this invention, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a fifth embodiment of this invention.
Figure 7 is a front view of a conventional lighting fixture, Figure 8 is its light distribution curve, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of its installation state, and Figures 10 to 12 show how objects on the road are seen. FIG. Figure (A) (B) Figure (A) (B) (C) Figure (A) (B) Figure 11 (A) 79 -do- (B) Figure (C) CD)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A road lighting method in which the lighting direction of road lighting is opposite to the driving direction on sunny days, and the lighting direction is directed in the driving direction on rainy days.