JPH05190004A - Tunnel luminaire and tunnel lighting system using this - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable efficient lighting in a tunnel where the traffic density is light. CONSTITUTION:A luminaire is used, which has an optical system A for effectively informing time driver of an automobile coming close to a tunnel of the linear shape of the road inside a tunnel and an optical system B for effectively elevating the lightness of the road inside the tunnel. In case that the temporal average value of the traffic density inside the tunnel after a certain time is estimated to be above a certain value from the measure results of a traffic density measuring device 12, both of the optical systems A and B are lit by a controller 13. Hereby, a driver can perceive not only the linear shape of the road inside the tunnel but also the existence or nonexistence of an obstacle on the road inside the tunnel. On the other hand, in case that the temporal average traffic density is estimated to fall from the above value from the measure result of the traffic density measuring device 12, only the optical system A is lit by the controller 13. As a result, though he can not perceive the road inside the tunnel or the obstacle on the road, he can perceive time linear shape of the road inside the tunnel being the minimum visual requirement in safe running.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tunnel illuminator used at the entrance of an automobile tunnel with low traffic and a tunnel illuminator using this illuminator.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order for a driver of a vehicle approaching or approaching a tunnel to continue driving smoothly and safely without feeling anxiety, regardless of the amount of traffic in the tunnel, (1) the driver However, if it is illuminated with a brightness that makes it possible to enter the tunnel with peace of mind, (2) When there are obstacles on the road and wall surfaces in the tunnel, the condition of the road, and obstacles, It is necessary to see the details clearly.

Tunnel entrance lighting and basic lighting are provided for this purpose. The luminaire used for these illuminations has a light distribution aiming at efficiently satisfying the above conditions (1) and (2), and as shown in FIG. As the light distribution of the lighting equipment, the one in which the main light flux is emitted in the direction perpendicular to the road axis is adopted.

However, even if such a luminaire is used, in order to satisfy the above conditions (1) and (2), it is necessary to install a fairly high illuminance lighting facility in the tunnel, especially at the entrance. It was necessary and the power load used for this was quite heavy.

On the other hand, in a tunnel with a low traffic volume such as several hundreds of traffic per day, from the viewpoint of cost / benefit, it is necessary to constantly install such a high-level lighting requiring a large amount of electric power in the tunnel. Is not always practical.
For this reason, such tunnels are equipped with lighting equipment that reduces the lighting level to less than 50% of the normal level.
However, in this case, the same type of lighting equipment is used regardless of the traffic volume. That is, the luminaire is similar to a normal tunnel, and the wattage of the lamp to be used is reduced and the mounting interval of the luminaire is lengthened to reduce the overall lighting level.

[0006]

The conventional method as described above has the following problems. In other words, when lowering the lighting level, the same type of lighting equipment (having the same light distribution) as before the lighting level was used, so the brightness of the road surface and wall surfaces in the tunnel became even darker and Since it is not sufficient, it is not only difficult to perceive the details of roads and obstacles in the tunnel described in (1) and (2) above, but it is the minimum condition for safe driving.

It is difficult to even perceive information about (a) the presence or absence of an obstacle on the road in the tunnel and its location, and (b) the alignment of the road in the tunnel (conditions of curves and slopes of the road). There was a problem. As a result, the driver approaching the entrance of the tunnel has little knowledge of the situation inside the tunnel, so suddenly decelerating in the road section in front of the tunnel and driving slowly thereafter, this is a cause of traffic accidents and traffic congestion. It was often the case.

The present invention solves such a problem. In the entrance of a tunnel where the traffic volume is relatively small, such as 1000 to 1500 vehicles a day, from the viewpoint of cost / benefit, the lighting level is reduced. Approaching the tunnel,
The above minimum (a) (b) necessary for the safe running of the entering vehicle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tunnel lighting device and a tunnel lighting device using the tunnel lighting device, which can secure such visual information and realize safe and smooth road traffic.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a safe driving for a driver of an automobile approaching a tunnel with a reduced illumination level when entering a tunnel or traveling in a tunnel. Install a light fixture with a special light distribution in the tunnel that can clearly perceive the minimum visual requirements (a) the presence of obstacles on the road in the tunnel and (b) the alignment of the road in the tunnel. It is a thing.

That is, the luminaire of the present invention does not irradiate the main light flux in the direction perpendicular to the road axis to irradiate the road surface or wall surface as in the prior art, but the main light flux travels substantially parallel to the road axis. It is characterized by having two types of optical systems that radiate in the opposite direction, and an optical system A in which the direction of irradiation of the main light beam is between 80 and 90 degrees from the vertical direction.
It has two optical systems, the optical system B from 70 degrees to 70 degrees, and turns on the optical system A and the optical system B independently by the control signal from the outside.
The light can be turned off. In addition, natural light outside the tunnel is used as the light source of the optical system A from the viewpoint of power saving of the tunnel lighting equipment.

Further, the tunnel lighting device receives a signal from the traffic amount measuring device installed on the approach road to the tunnel, and receives the signal from the traffic amount measuring device to connect the optical system A and the optical system B of the tunnel lighting device. It is provided with a control unit that turns on and off independently, and is further provided with a plurality of tunnel lighting fixtures controlled by this control unit.

[0012]

[Operation] The operation of this configuration is as follows. (1) Depending on the traffic volume in the tunnel, the lighting of only the optical system A and the simultaneous lighting of the optical systems A and B are switched to realize a reduction in lighting power. That is, when the traffic volume is very small (for example, the hourly average traffic volume is 50 or less), only the optical system A is turned on, and when the traffic volume is higher than that, the optical systems A and B are turned on at the same time. This lighting control is automatically performed by the signal from the lighting fixture light distribution control unit connected to the traffic volume measuring device installed on the road related to the tunnel, so that the minimum visual requirement according to the traffic volume can be secured. Becomes

(2) As a light source for the optical system A, natural light received by a light receiving device installed outside the tunnel is guided into the tunnel by a light guide material such as glass fiber, and the light is branched to each lighting fixture. To use. As a result, the illumination power for the optical system A becomes unnecessary.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a configuration diagram of a tunnel lighting device at a tunnel entrance of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a tunnel lighting device used in the tunnel lighting device, and FIG. 3 is FIG.
It is a figure which shows the example of light distribution by the tunnel illuminator.

In FIG. 2, the luminaire 1 includes an optical system A2 located at the front of the housing and an optical system B6 located at the bottom of the housing.
The optical system A2 includes a light source A3, a reflection plate A4 that faces substantially forward, and a front glass A5 that faces the front end.
Reference numeral 6 is composed of a light source B7, a reflector B8 that is directed substantially diagonally forward and a front glass 9 that faces the lower end, and a reflector A4 of the optical system A2.
As shown in FIG. 3, the main luminous flux of the main luminous flux by the reflection plate B8 of the optical system B6 is between 80 and 90 degrees from the vertical direction in the vertical plane parallel to the road axis. As shown in FIG. 3, the irradiation direction of is configured such that the angle from the vertical direction is within the range of 45 degrees to 70 degrees within the same vertical plane.

The optical system A2, as shown in FIG.
Since the light is directly visible to the driver of the car 10 approaching the tunnel 11, the alignment of the rows of the luminaires 1 can effectively indicate the alignment of the road in the tunnel.
It can be used to inform the driver of the alignment of the road in the tunnel. Further, the optical system B6 considerably effectively increases the brightness of the road surface (road surface brightness) and enhances the brightness contrast between the obstacle on the road and the road surface in the background thereof, thereby facilitating the perception of the obstacle. So it can be used to improve the brightness of the road in the tunnel.

FIG. 1 shows a plurality of luminaires 1 attached to a tunnel 11, a traffic amount measuring device 12 installed on an approach road to the tunnel, and a luminaire 1 upon receiving a signal from the traffic amount measuring device 12. The illumination device of the tunnel is provided with the illumination device light distribution control unit 13 for controlling the illumination of the optical systems A and B, and the illumination control of this illumination device is performed as follows.

In FIG. 1, when the time average value of the traffic volume in the tunnel after a certain time is predicted to be a certain value (for example, 50 vehicles. 1200 daily traffic volume) based on the measurement result of the traffic volume measuring device 12. Illuminates both the optical system A2 and the optical system B6 of the luminaire 1 by the luminaire light distribution control unit 13. This will give the driver not only the road alignment in the tunnel,
The presence or absence of an obstacle on the tunnel road and its location, if present, can be perceived.

On the other hand, if it is predicted from the measurement result of the traffic volume measuring device 12 that the hourly average traffic volume is lower than the above value (for example, 50 or less hourly traffic and 1200 or less daily traffic), lighting is performed. The fixture light distribution control unit 13 turns off the optical system B6 of the lighting fixture 1 and turns on only the optical system A2. As a result, the car driver cannot perceive the road in the tunnel or the obstacle on the road, but can perceive the alignment of the road in the tunnel, which is the minimum visual requirement for safe driving. By the way, it is equivalent to the driver of a car on the road about 85m, 40m, and 20m from the luminaire 1 that the light at the angles of 88, 85, and 80 degrees from the vertical direction can be seen directly.

FIG. 5 shows a structure for utilizing natural light as a light source A3 for the optical system A2 of the lighting fixture 1, and a natural light receiving portion 14 for receiving the natural light outside the tunnel and the light is guided to the lighting fixture 1. It consists of a light guide cable 15. In this way, by using natural light for the light source A3 of the optical system A2, it is possible to save illumination power and change the luminous intensity of the light source A3 in proportion to the outdoor brightness outside the tunnel.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained in a tunnel having a small traffic volume.

(1) The tunnel lighting equipment is provided with an optical system A which emits a main light beam in the direction of an angle of 80 to 90 degrees from the vertical direction within a vertical plane parallel to the road axis, and by lighting it, a small electric power is consumed. It becomes possible to effectively show the alignment of the tunnel road to the driver of the car.

(2) The tunnel luminaire is provided with two optical systems, an optical system A and an optical system B that emits a main light beam in a direction of an angle of 45 to 70 degrees from the vertical direction, and these are installed in the tunnel. By properly controlling the lighting and extinguishing in conjunction with the, it is possible to secure the minimum visual requirements according to the traffic volume and save the lighting power.

(3) As the light source of the optical system A, by using a light-emitting body in which natural light outside the tunnel is guided by a light guide cable, it is possible to save electric power, and the luminous intensity of the light source is proportional to the outdoor brightness. Can be changed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a tunnel lighting device at a tunnel entrance according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a tunnel lighting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a light distribution diagram of the tunnel lighting device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between the tunnel lighting device and an automobile driver.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a tunnel illumination device that guides natural light to a light source A of an optical system A according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a light distribution diagram of a conventional tunnel lighting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Lighting Equipment 2 Optical System A 3 Light Source A 4 Reflective Plate A 5 Front Glass A 6 Optical System A 7 Light Source B 8 Reflective Plate B 9 Front Glass B 10 Car (Driver) 11 Tunnel 12 Traffic Measurement Device 13 Lighting Equipment Light Distribution Controller 14 Natural light receiver 15 Light guide cable

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. The irradiation direction of the main light beam is between 45 degrees and 70 degrees with the optical system A whose angle from the vertical direction is between 80 degrees and 90 degrees in the vertical plane parallel to the road axis. A tunnel illuminator having two optical systems, an optical system B, and an optical system A and an optical system B which can be turned on and off independently by a control signal from the outside. 2. The luminaire according to claim 1, wherein the light source of the optical system A is a light-emitting body in which natural light outside the tunnel is guided by a light guide cable to emit light. 3. A plurality of tunnel lighting devices according to claim 1 or 2, a traffic volume measuring device installed on an entrance road to a tunnel, and a plurality of the plurality of traffic light measuring devices receiving signals from the traffic volume measuring device. Lighting the optical systems A and B of the tunnel lighting equipment,
A tunnel lighting device including a control unit that controls turning off.