JPH05266395A - Signal controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lighten the load of a central processing unit, and in adition, to prevent a control level from being lowered at the time the abnormality of a system by connecting a signal controller to the central processing unit through a radio communication channel, and letting the signal controller have a real-time processing function so as to control a signal by the control parameter of the signal controller side in accordance with a time zone and the day of the week. CONSTITUTION:The control parameter from the central processing unit 2 is received by a receiving antenna 3, and at the time of a usual state, a signal lamp apparatus 7 is controlled by a signal lamp apparatus control part 5 on the basis of the received control parameter. Then, the traffic volume of a street intersection is detected by a hoop coil 6, and is transmitted to the central processing unit 2 from a transmitting antenna 4. Further, the control parameter optimum to control the street intersection is stored in a storage part 5 as being coordinated with the day of the week and time, and when the control parameter can not be received from the central processing unit 2, an abnormal time dealing means 5 controls each signal lamp apparatus 7 on the basis of the contents of the storage part 5. Thus, the load of the central processing unit is lightened, and besides, the control level is never lowered at a stroke at the time of the an abnormal state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a signal controller for controlling the lighting timing, lighting color, etc. of a traffic signal light device based on a command from a central processing unit, and particularly, the central processing unit can be lightly loaded, The present invention also relates to a signal controller that realizes an advanced fail function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional traffic control system based on a remote control system includes a plurality of signal controllers installed at the positions of signal lights and a traffic control center for exchanging various data with each signal controller. , A traffic control center and a dedicated line (wired line) that electrically connects each signal controller.

Here, each signal controller detects the traffic volume at the point and transmits it to the traffic control center, and at the same time, sets the control parameter for signal lamp control transmitted from the traffic control center for 1 second. Receiving at intervals. Then, the signal controller operates the signal light device at the intersection according to the control parameter. Also, the traffic control center receives the traffic volume data sent from each signal controller, determines various lighting operations such as the lighting timing of each signal lamp, and sets the control parameter every one second. It is sent to each signal controller via a dedicated line.

By the way, the above-mentioned processing in the traffic control center is performed by a computer, which is divided into two layers, a lower computer and an upper computer. Lower processor (dedicated processor)
Receives traffic volume data from each signal controller, and transmits control parameters indicating the number of stage seconds of the signal light device at intervals of 1 second. In addition, the upper processor (statistical processor) performs statistical processing on the data received by the dedicated processor and calculates the control parameter to be transmitted to each signal lamp.

[0005]

However, the conventional traffic control system has the following problems. First of all, because of the low capacity of each signal controller, the traffic control center must calculate the lighting timing of each signal lamp every one second, and in order to cope with this load, it is inevitable. There is a problem that the above-mentioned dedicated processor is required.

Further, when the operation of the traffic control center is stopped for some reason, each signal controller is low in capability, so that it is only possible to control the signal lamps at a constant cycle, and the control level is all at once. There was also a problem that it would be reduced to. Further, since the conventional traffic control system uses a wired line, there is a problem that communication costs and construction costs are high.

The present invention has been made in view of this problem, and the load on the side of the central processing unit is relatively light, and the control level of the signal lamp does not drop so much even when the system is abnormal. The purpose is to provide a controller.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a signal controller according to the present invention is connected to a central processing unit through a wireless communication line, and when the wireless communication line is normal, the central processing unit is connected. A signal controller for controlling a traffic signal light according to the control from the device, the receiving means for receiving control parameters such as the number of stage seconds transmitted from the central processing unit at regular intervals, and the receiving means. When the control parameter can be received normally, the signal light device control means for controlling each traffic signal light device based on the control parameter, and the traffic volume at the installation point of the traffic signal light device are detected, and this is maintained for a certain period of time. For controlling the traffic signal light device based on the transmission means for each transmission to the central processing unit and the past traffic volume at the installation point of the traffic signal light device, etc. Control parameter storage means for storing the control parameter that seems to be appropriate in association with the day of the week and the time, and the control means if the receiving means fails to receive the control parameter normally for a predetermined number of consecutive times. Characteristically, there is provided an abnormal time coping means for controlling the traffic signal light device in correspondence with the day of the week and the time based on the stored contents of the parameter storage means.

[0009]

The signal controller according to the present invention is connected to the central processing unit via a wireless communication line, and when the vehicle is normal, controls the traffic signal lights according to the control from the central processing unit.
On the other hand, in the event of an abnormality, it is a device that controls the traffic signal light according to the control parameters stored by itself. The operation of each component will be described below.

The receiving means receives control parameters such as the number of stage seconds transmitted from the central processing unit at regular intervals. Here, the "fixed time interval" means an appropriate time interval according to the traffic volume of each traffic signal light device, but it is a longer time cycle than the conventional system, which has been an interval of 1 second, for example, an interval of 5 minutes. .. In addition, the control parameter refers to the data required for each signal controller to control each traffic light, and the number of seconds (stage seconds) given to each stage at the installation point of the traffic light.
Etc. are applicable.

The signal light device control means controls the lighting timing of each traffic signal light device based on the control parameter when the control parameter is normally received by the receiving means. In this system, since the control parameter is received by the wireless communication method, it may not be received normally, but if it is less than the predetermined number of times, for example, the operation timing before that is maintained. ..

The transmitting means detects the traffic volume at the installation point of the traffic signal light device and transmits it to the central processing unit at regular time intervals. The control parameter storage means stores, based on the past traffic volume at the installation point of the traffic signal light device, the control parameter that seems to be the most appropriate for controlling the traffic signal light device in association with the day of the week and the time. Here, the control parameter considered to be most appropriate may be calculated by, for example, statistical calculation by the central processing unit and transmitted to the signal controller at an appropriate timing. Note that there are a plurality of types of control parameters according to the day of the week and the time of day.

The abnormality coping means corresponds to the day of the week and the time based on the stored contents of the control parameter storing means when the receiving means cannot normally receive the control parameters for a predetermined number of times in succession. Control the traffic signal lights.

[0014]

The present invention will be described in more detail based on the following examples. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of a traffic control system using a signal controller 1 according to the present invention. This traffic control system includes a signal controller 1 installed corresponding to an intersection equipped with a signal lamp, a central processing unit 2 for transmitting and receiving traffic information and signal lamp control parameters between a plurality of signal controllers 1, The transmission / reception antenna 3 is formed on the center side.

The signal controller 1 includes a transmitting / receiving antenna 4 on the terminal side.
The control device 5 also includes a vehicle detector that detects the traffic volume near the intersection by using the loop coil 6. And the control device 5
Receives the control parameter for the signal light device transmitted from the central processing unit 2 side, lights the signal light device 7, and transmits the traffic information obtained by the vehicle detector to the central side antenna 3. ..

The central unit is composed of a display unit MAP for displaying traffic congestion status, a central processing unit CPU2, a wireless central unit RCU, and other input / output devices.
In addition, CRT is a cathode ray tube display device, MPR is a printer, L
P is a line printer, SPR is a serial printer, CO
P is a hard copy device, GDT is a graphic display terminal, and HMP is a hard monitor panel.

Further, the central processing unit 2 is provided with the subsystems shown in FIG. 2, and each subsystem has the following functions. (A) The information collection subsystem collects the vehicle detection information primarily processed by the signal controller 1 from the wireless central unit RCU. Then, basic data for signal control, traffic condition display, and recording are created. Specifically, the raw information from various sensors is processed into traffic information (traffic volume, speed, occupancy rate, etc.). In addition, the raw information of the sensor and the traffic information after processing are determined to be abnormal, and the validity / invalidity of the data is notified. In addition, a traffic jam situation is created for each intersection. that's all,
The sensor data obtained by the information collection is expanded to raw information of the sensor, sensor information, and point information, and then editing of point information such as the degree of traffic congestion and demand, and further editing of intersection information.

(B) The signal control subsystem is for optimally controlling the signal lamp 7 for road traffic based on the collected traffic information. The control methods include automatic control, time control, and manual control. Here, the automatic control refers to a method of grasping the traffic situation that changes from moment to moment in the target area or the vicinity of an intersection in real time, and controlling the signal light device based on the traffic situation. Time control is performed by designating a control pattern and control start and end times for a traffic flow predicted in advance, such as commuting traffic flow in the morning and evening, quiet traffic flow at night, or specific traffic flow such as entertainment. Control. This control is used when it is desired to prevent a delay in signal control in collecting traffic information, and when the traffic situation is relatively fixed in terms of time. Furthermore,
The manual control is used when there is a specific traffic situation that cannot be handled by automatic control or time control, or when special traffic control such as VIP traffic is performed. This control is performed manually from the workstation and is executed prior to the above two methods.

The control unit is classified into an intersection and a segment, and the signal control parameters are expanded from the segment unit to each signal lamp unit and sent to the signal controller 1 through the radio central unit RCU. (C) The display subsystem displays information such as traffic congestion status on the control display board MAP so that the traffic controller can smoothly perform traffic condition monitoring work.

(D) The monitoring subsystem provides relevant information so that the operator can promptly respond to the state of the central equipment and various terminals, and the notification of a failure. (E) In the manual intervention subsystem, an operator determines a signal control parameter by operating the workstation and reflects the value in the signal control. Note that there are three types of manual intervention: traffic signal manual intervention, segment manual intervention, and macro manual intervention.

(F) The recording subsystem is to record the data required for the operation of traffic control and the data used for statistics, verification, etc. on the magnetic disk immediately. The record items are roughly classified into traffic information, control information, abnormality information, and control intervention information. The collected information is edited and recorded in a time report, daily report, or the like. (G) The statistics / collation subsystem has a function for statistically outputting the accumulated data.

(H) The workstation-compatible subsystem provides various services such as verification of traffic data to the workstation which is a man-machine interface with the operator. (I) The system operation management subsystem executes each application that operates in real-time processing and batch processing in a predetermined order, and manages the operation status.

(J) Utilities are various support functions prepared for efficiently operating and managing the traffic control system. (K) The constant management subsystem centrally manages the constant file and supports update work such as changing constant settings.
The constant management has functions such as matching, updating, and printing of constant files, and update history information is created at the same time for updated files.

(L) The terminal management subsystem confirms the operation status of the signal controller and collates / updates various constants of the signal controller according to an instruction from the console. (M) The terminal information exchange subsystem is a wireless central device RC.
U, display processing device DIO, device monitoring device HMC, and S
Exchange and monitor information via the IA interface.

(N) The information exchange subsystem exchanges information with the Arabic CRT (CRT control), printer support system (statistics report creation), and collects device monitoring information. The operation of the signal controller 1 in the traffic control system configured as described above will be described below.

The operation mode of the signal controller 1 includes a manual mode, a remote control mode, and an independent control mode. Here, the manual mode refers to a mode in which the signal lamp is controlled by the operation panel or the like. [Remote control mode] The remote control mode is a mode that operates based on an instruction such as a control parameter transmitted from the central processing unit 2 via a wireless communication line. The traffic control system has a normal wireless communication line. If so, it normally operates in this mode. FIG. 3 illustrates the data of 8 words transmitted from the central processing unit 2 every 5 minutes. The signal controller 1 receives the data, grasps the offset seconds and the stage seconds, and controls the signal lamps 7 at the intersection based on these values.

By the way, the signal controller 1 is also provided with a vehicle detector (a maximum of 8 units), and transmits traffic information and the like obtained from the loop coil 6 to the central processing unit 2 every 5 minutes. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the transmission data, and shows that the traffic volume for 5 minutes, the occupancy pulse for 5 minutes, etc. are transmitted from the eight vehicle detectors. The central processing unit 2 broadcasts the time of the system clock to every signal controller every 5 minutes in order to control the signal lights and synchronize the time of the vehicle detector. FIG. 4 illustrates data for time adjustment consisting of 4 words. In the signal controller 1, the difference between the clock on the signal controller side and the clock on the center side is ±
When the time is 30 seconds or more, set the clock on the signal controller side to the central clock.

[Independent Control Mode] The independent control mode is
This mode is used when an instruction from the central processing unit 2 cannot be used due to a defective wireless communication line. Specifically, this mode is switched to when the data transmitted at intervals of 5 minutes cannot be normally received three times or more continuously. If the number of times transmission data cannot be received normally is two or less, the control before that is maintained.

In the independent control mode, the control parameter of the signal lamp 7 is determined according to the "control pattern" built in the controller 1 in advance. Here, the “control pattern” is specified by a time table [see (a) of FIG. 6] and a plan table [see (c) of FIG. 6], and each content of the time table and the plan table is at the intersection. It is updated by the central processing unit 2 once a day, for example, based on the traffic conditions before the present.

The time table defines the control number for each time zone at the intersection for each day of the week, and has a maximum of seven types of patterns [see (a) of FIG. 6]. For example, according to the content of pattern number 1 (for example, Sunday pattern) in the timetable, control number 1 is set after 0:00.
It is stipulated that the control by the control number 2 be performed after 7 o'clock, the control by the control number 2 after 7 o'clock, and so on, and the control by the control number 1 after 2 o'clock [see (b) of FIG. 6].

If the present time is 10:00 on Sunday,
The control number 5 is selected from the contents of the pattern number 1 and the data of the control number 5 is read from the plan table [see (d) of FIG. 6]. Control parameters are stored in the plan table, and according to the control parameters,
At 10 o'clock Sunday, the cycle is 160 seconds, 1 stage is 60 seconds, 2 stages is 40 seconds, 3 stages is 30 seconds, 4 stages is 30 seconds, and the offset is 10 seconds. The four signal lights at the intersection will be controlled. In addition, the 1st signal lamp has an all-red state (Al
60 seconds is given including the red red) and the like, and during that time, the second to fourth signal lamps are in a non-passable state. Thus, according to the control parameter of FIG.
The individual signal lights are controlled to pass one by one in order.

[0032]

As described above, the signal controller according to the present invention is connected to the central processing unit by the wireless communication line. Therefore, in the traffic control system using this signal controller, the line construction cost and communication The cost can be reduced. In addition, since the signal controller, which is each terminal device, has a real-time processing function (function of instructing lighting timing every second), the load on the central processing unit side is reduced, and a dedicated preprocessor or the like is unnecessary. On the other hand, the central processing unit transmits not only the lighting pattern but also the number of seconds of each stage and the like, so that sophisticated control of the signal lamp is performed.

Further, when a communication abnormality occurs, the signal lamps are optimally controlled according to the time zone and the day of the week by the control parameters stored in the signal controller side, and the control level is lowered all at once as in the conventional case. There is nothing to do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a traffic control system using a signal controller according to the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating a subsystem included in the central processing unit in the block diagram of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating signal lamp control data transmitted from a central processing unit to a signal controller.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating clock setting data transmitted from a central processing unit to a signal controller.

FIG. 5 illustrates data transmitted by the signal controller to the central processing unit.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a timetable and a plan pattern.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 signal controller 2 central processing unit 3 central side transmitting / receiving antenna 4 terminal side transmitting / receiving antenna 5 control unit (including vehicle detector) 6 loop coil 7 traffic signal light

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A signal controller which is connected to a central processing unit through a wireless communication line, and which controls a traffic signal light according to control from the central processing unit when the wireless communication line is normal. Receiving means for receiving control parameters such as the number of stage seconds transmitted from the processing device at regular intervals, and when the control parameters can be normally received by the receiving means, each traffic is based on this control parameter. Signal light device control means for controlling the signal light device, transmission means for detecting the traffic volume at the installation point of the traffic signal light device and transmitting this to the central processing unit at regular intervals, and the installation point of the traffic signal light device Based on the past traffic volume, etc., the control parameters considered to be most appropriate for controlling the traffic signal light device are stored in association with the day of the week and the time. If the control parameter storage means to do, and the receiving means can not normally receive the control parameter for a predetermined number of times consecutively, based on the stored contents of the control parameter storage means, in accordance with the day of the week and the time A signal controller, comprising: means for coping with an abnormality in controlling a traffic signal light device.