JPH07272190A - Signal control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a superior signal control system whereby the traffic conditions of the whole system is correctly analized, proper control parameters are easily and surely set without requiring a lot of labor and system signal control which sufficiently copes with a jam is possible. CONSTITUTION:A traffic flow collecting device 3 totals the output of respective sensors, a travel time estimating device 6 estimates travel time between the respective intersections, a jam judging device 7 judges whether or not the respective intersections are in a jam state and a system direction judging device 8 judges the system direction of the respective intersections. The traffic conditions of the whole system is grasped by information obtained from the devices 3, 6-8, the intersection group of the whole system is classified into a jam intersection group, an upstream intersection group, a downstream intersection group and a normal intersection group by a control parameter setting device 9 and the individual control parameters are set for signal groups belonging the respective intersection groups.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a signal control system equipped with a system signal control means for alleviating or eliminating a traffic jam condition by setting a control parameter of a traffic signal in a traffic jam network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, such a signal control system has been
A group of traffic lights that control the flow of vehicles associated with a road network including multiple intersections, a group of sensors that sense the passage of vehicles associated with each intersection, a traffic flow collection device that aggregates the output of each sensor, and traffic It has a system signal controller which sets the control parameter of each signal from the output of the flow collector, and a signal controller which controls each signal based on the control parameter set by this system signal controller. this house,
The system signal control device sets, as the control parameters, the control parameters including the lighting length of the blue signal and the red signal of each traffic light and the lighting start time of the blue signal and the red signal.

At present, in such a signal control system, a system signal control device which implements a system signal control method according to the following procedure is widely used as the system signal control device.

First, an intersection group to be controlled is classified into a plurality of intersection groups called a sub-area in advance, and a traffic signal group associated with the sub-area is composed of three types of elements: cycle, split, and offset. A table of control parameters is prepared in advance as a plurality of sets corresponding to a plurality of stages of traffic conditions from a quiet state to a traffic jam state. Of these, the cycle is the time from the start of the lighting of the green signal to the lighting of the red signal and then the lighting of the next green signal. The split is the ratio of the length of the green signal given to each traffic route that intersects with each other, and the offset is
It is the difference in time when the green light of each traffic light starts.

Next, a set of control parameters to be actually used is selected from the control parameter table according to the traffic situation. The method is as follows. That is, for the cycle, first, the traffic situation at the point where each sensor is placed in the sub-area, the traffic volume that is the number of vehicles passing through the sensing point of the sensor during the unit observation cycle,
Classification is performed according to the size of the occupancy rate, which is the ratio of the time that the vehicle was present at the sensing point of the sensor during the unit observation period. Then, one of the traffic conditions for each sensor is selected as the representative value in the sub-area, and the cycle corresponding to this representative value is
Select from the table as the cycle that applies to the entire subarea. Regarding the offset, first, the traffic situation at this intersection is classified based on the information of the sensor selected as the representative value and the sensor attached to the same intersection as this sensor. Then, a set of offsets including offsets for all traffic signals in the sub-area corresponding to this traffic situation is selected from the table as a set of offsets to be applied to the entire sub-area. Furthermore, for splits, the traffic conditions at each intersection are classified based on the sensor information associated with each intersection. Then, the split corresponding to this traffic situation is selected from the table as the split to be applied to each intersection.

In the above system signal control method, when the cycles selected in adjacent subareas are close to each other, the cycles are compared with each other, and the larger one is set as a common cycle, and the subareas are separated from each other. Offsets are also set between intersections that sandwich roads that are in contact with each other. This operation is to increase the scale of the traffic signal group that performs synchronized control, and means to merge the sub areas.

On the other hand, the method of setting the actual parameter value in each control parameter set in the above system signal control method is as follows. For the cycle,
Webster of the British Road Research Institute for single intersections where traffic is not excessive and vehicles arrive randomly
Research (Reference: FV Webster; “Tr
afic Signal Settings "; Roa
d Research Technical Paper
No. 39. H. M. S. O. Based on the optimum cycle obtained from 1958). The split is basically a split that is given in proportion to each traffic volume on the intersecting traffic routes. For offset,
If the traffic conditions on opposite roads in the system are almost the same, a simultaneous offset that starts turning on the green light of all traffic lights at the same time when viewed from the direction of these traffic roads, or lighting of the green light of each traffic light It is based on an alternating offset that delays the start time of each half cycle. If there is a large difference in traffic conditions between the opposite traffic routes, the direction of the traffic route with the greater traffic volume is taken as the system direction, and the time when the green light starts for the travel time calculated from the design system speed is changed from upstream to downstream. It is based on a strict priority offset that is sequentially delayed. In an actual signal control system, the basic control parameters corresponding to the typical traffic situation as described above are appropriately adjusted and set according to the situation at the site.

[0008]

By the way, in the conventional signal control system using the system signal control method as described above, when a traffic jam occurs in the road network to be controlled, the following situation occurs. Will occur.

(1) Since the sub-areas are set in advance, the selection contents of the control parameters are limited according to the classification structure of the sub-areas. Therefore, the control parameters necessarily reflecting the traffic conditions of the entire system. Is not always selected. That is, since the control parameters are selected for each sub-area according to the traffic conditions in the sub-area, there are sub-areas with different intersections that are considered to be closely related to each other under the current traffic conditions. In such a case, different control parameters will be selected for the traffic light groups associated with these intersections. Therefore, when considering the traffic conditions of the entire system, for each traffic signal associated with an intersection that actually has a close relationship, control parameters that reflect that relationship are not always selected.

(2) Since the representative value is selected from the information of the sensors existing in the sub-area and the control parameter is selected from the value, the information of the sensor not selected as the representative value is not sufficiently utilized. Therefore, the information on each intersection may be lost, and the same control parameter may be applied to traffic situations that should be classified as different situations. In other words, the individual information of the intersections associated with the sensors not selected as representative values will be lost, which intersections in the sub-area will be in a congestion state, and which intersections will be in a quiet state. Information is lost. Therefore, for a traffic signal associated with an intersection that is actually in a traffic jam, an appropriate control parameter that eliminates the traffic jam is not always selected.

(3) When subareas are merged, the same control parameter set for each merged subarea as when the subareas were not merged but controlled independently was used. Therefore, it is not possible to cope with changes in traffic conditions due to the merger of sub-areas.

Due to the above-mentioned situations, it can be said that the conventional signal control system has the following problems. That is, first, the traffic condition of the entire system including an intersection in a traffic jam cannot be accurately analyzed, and it is difficult to reliably select appropriate control parameters, so that control that sufficiently copes with traffic jam cannot be performed. Also, the control parameters to be finally used are the control parameters after being adjusted by the designer according to the situation of the site based on the roughly set control parameters. Since it is difficult to reliably select a proper control parameter, a great amount of labor is required to select the optimum control parameter.

The present invention has been proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to:
Excellent signal control that can accurately analyze the traffic conditions of the entire system, can set appropriate control parameters easily and reliably without much effort, and can perform system signal control that sufficiently copes with traffic congestion It is to provide a system.

[0014]

The signal control system according to the present invention basically comprises a group of traffic signals for controlling the flow of vehicles in association with a road network including a plurality of intersections, and passage of vehicles in association with each intersection. A sensor group for detecting the traffic flow, a traffic flow collecting means for summing the outputs of the respective sensors, a system signal control means for setting a control parameter from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, and a control parameter set by the system signal control means. A traffic signal control means for controlling each traffic signal based on the above is provided. Among these, the system signal control means, as a control parameter,
The control parameters, which are the lighting lengths of the green and red signals of each traffic light and the lighting start times of the blue and red signals, are set.

In the signal control system according to the first aspect, in addition to the basic configuration as described above, the system signal control means further includes a travel time estimation means, a traffic jam determination means, a system direction determination means, and control. It is characterized by having a parameter setting means. Of these, the travel time estimation means is
The travel time required for the vehicle to pass between the intersections is estimated from the output of the traffic flow collecting means. The traffic jam judging means judges from the output of the traffic flow collecting means whether or not each intersection is in a traffic jam state. The system direction determination means determines the system direction of the system passing through the intersection determined to be in a traffic jam state from the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, and the output of the traffic jam determination means. The control parameter setting means is for normal control for performing normal control of the traffic signal group from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the output of the travel time estimating means, the output of the traffic jam determining means, and the output of the system direction determining means. The traffic signal group and the traffic signal group for traffic congestion control for controlling traffic congestion are classified, and control parameters for coping with traffic congestion are set for this traffic signal group for traffic congestion control.

The signal control system according to a second aspect is characterized in that, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the control parameter setting means further includes a control parameter generating means. This control parameter generation means, among the traffic signal group for traffic congestion control, the traffic light associated with the traffic jam intersection in the traffic jam state, from the output of the travel time estimation means, the start time of the green light of this traffic signal, The control parameter is generated so as to be earlier than the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light associated with the intersection located immediately upstream of the intersection with the traffic light.

According to a third aspect of the signal control system, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the control parameter generating means has first, second and third control parameter generating means and control parameter selecting means. It is characterized by that. Among these, the first control parameter generation means outputs the output of the travel time estimation means to the traffic light in the traffic light group for traffic congestion control from the output of the travel time estimation means to indicate the start time of the green light of this traffic light at the intersection to which this traffic light is attached. The control parameters are generated so as to be earlier than the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light that accompanies the intersection located immediately upstream of. The second control parameter generation means, for the traffic light in the traffic light group for traffic congestion control, determines from the output of the travel time estimation means that the lighting start time of the red signal of this traffic light is immediately after the intersection to which this traffic light is attached. The control parameter is generated so as to be later than the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light associated with the intersection located upstream. The third control parameter generation means outputs, to the traffic lights in the traffic light group for traffic congestion control, from the output of the travel time estimation means, the lighting start time of the green light of this traffic light is just upstream of the intersection to which this traffic light is attached. The control parameter is generated so as to be later than the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light associated with the intersection located at.

Further, in the signal control system according to claim 3, the control parameter selecting means is based on the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the output of the travel time estimating means, the output of the traffic jam determining means, and the output of the system direction determining means. , A traffic signal group is associated with a first traffic signal group associated with a traffic jam intersection in a traffic jam, a second traffic signal group associated with an intersection located upstream of the traffic jam intersection, and an intersection located downstream of the traffic jam intersection The third traffic signal group is classified into three types of traffic signal groups for traffic congestion control, and a traffic signal group for normal control.
And first, second, and third for the third traffic light group
The control parameter generating means of is applied respectively.

According to a fourth aspect of the signal control system of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, the control parameter setting means further has a basic control parameter generating means, and the control parameter selecting means has first and second control parameters. The basic control parameter generating means is configured to be applied to each of the second and third traffic signal groups. That is, in the signal control system according to claim 4, the basic control parameter generation means outputs the traffic signal from the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, the output of the traffic jam determination means, and the output of the system direction determination means. Set the lighting length of the green and red traffic lights of each traffic light of the group. Further, in the signal control system according to claim 4, the control parameter selecting means applies the first control parameter generating means to each of the traffic signals of the first traffic signal group and then applies the first control parameter generating means to the first traffic signal group. The second control parameter generating means is applied to each traffic signal of the second traffic signal group, and then the second control parameter generating means is applied to the traffic signal of the second traffic signal group, and the basic control parameter generating means is applied to each traffic signal of the third traffic signal group. After that, the third control parameter generating means is applied.

The signal control system according to a fifth aspect is characterized in that, in addition to the configuration of the fourth aspect, the basic control parameter generating means has a control parameter correcting means. That is, in the signal control system according to the fifth aspect, the control parameter correction means corrects the lighting lengths of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light of the traffic light group according to the traffic condition including the positional relationship with the traffic jam intersection.

A signal control system according to a sixth aspect is characterized in that, in the configuration of the fourth aspect, the first, second and third control parameter generating means are configured as follows. That is, in the signal control system according to claim 6, the first control parameter generation means outputs the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, and the basic control for each traffic light of the first traffic light group. The lighting start times of the blue signal and the red signal are set based on the lighting lengths of the blue signal and the red signal set by the parameter generating means. Also,
The second control parameter generation means outputs, for each traffic light of the second traffic light group, the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, and the blue signal and the red signal set by the basic control parameter generation means. The lighting start time of the green signal and the red signal is set based on the lighting length of. Furthermore, the third control parameter generation means outputs, for each traffic light of the third traffic light group, the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, and the green signal set by the basic control parameter generation means. It is configured to set the lighting start time of the blue signal and the red signal from the lighting length of the red signal.

A signal control system according to a seventh aspect further comprises a fourth control parameter generating means in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, and the control parameter selecting means has a signal group for normal control. It is characterized in that the fourth control parameter generating means is applied to each traffic signal. In this case, the fourth control parameter generating means is means for setting the control parameter of each traffic signal of the traffic signal group for normal control from the output of the traffic flow collecting means.

The signal control system according to claim 8 is characterized in that, in addition to the configuration of claim 7, the fourth control parameter generating means is configured as follows. That is, in the signal control system according to claim 8, the fourth control parameter generation means turns on a blue signal and a red signal from the output of the traffic flow collecting means with respect to each traffic signal of the traffic signal group for normal control. It is configured to set the length and the lighting start time of the green signal and the red signal.

The signal control system according to a ninth aspect is characterized in that, in addition to the configuration of the seventh aspect, the control parameter selecting means is configured as follows. That is, the control parameter selection means, in the traffic signal group, when there is no traffic signal corresponding to the first traffic signal group associated with the traffic jam intersection, determines all of the traffic signals of this traffic signal group as traffic signals for normal control, The fourth control parameter generating means is configured to be applied to each traffic signal of this traffic signal group.

The signal control system according to claim 10 is
In addition to the configuration of claim 1, the traffic flow collecting means, the travel time estimating means, the traffic jam determining means, and the system direction determining means are configured as follows. That is,
11. The signal control system according to claim 10, wherein the traffic flow collecting means uses a ratio of a traffic volume and a time during which the sensor senses a vehicle in a unit observation cycle, based on an output of each sensor for each preset observation cycle. It is configured to aggregate a certain occupancy rate. Further, the travel time estimating means obtains the traffic volume and the average speed for each observation cycle from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, and it is necessary for the vehicle to pass between the intersections based on the distance between the intersections and the traffic volume and the average speed. Configured to measure travel time. Further, the traffic congestion determination means monitors the traffic volume and the occupancy rate for each observation cycle from the output of the traffic flow collection means, and the current traffic volume is smaller than the traffic volume in the previous observation cycle and the occupancy rate this time. Based on the traffic volume and the occupancy rate when is larger than the occupancy rate in the previous observation cycle, the traffic volume threshold value and the occupancy rate threshold value for traffic congestion determination are calculated, and the A traffic route whose traffic volume is less than the traffic volume threshold value and whose occupancy rate is greater than the occupancy rate threshold value is configured to be determined to be in a congestion state. Further, the system direction determination means is, based on the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, and the output of the traffic jam determination means, upstream and downstream of the intersection associated with the traffic route determined to be in a traffic jam state. Is configured to determine the relationship between

[0026]

In the signal control system of the present invention having the above structure, first, the traffic flow collecting means
The output of each sensor is totaled for every fixed observation period. From the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the travel time estimating means estimates the travel time between the intersections, and the traffic jam determining means determines whether or not each of the intersections is in a traffic jam state. Then, from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the output of the travel time estimating means, and the output of the traffic jam determining means, the system direction determining means determines the system direction passing through the system of the congestion intersection. Then, based on the traffic situation of each intersection of the whole system obtained from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the output of the travel time estimating means, the output of the traffic jam determining means, and the output of the system direction determining means, by the control parameter setting means, The traffic signal group in the system is classified into a traffic signal group for normal control and a traffic signal group for traffic congestion control, and control parameters for coping with traffic congestion are set for the traffic signal group for traffic congestion control. After that, the traffic light control means controls each traffic light based on the set control parameters, whereby the traffic jam condition can be alleviated or eliminated.

In particular, by the control parameter selection means,
Based on the traffic conditions of the intersections to which they are attached, a first set of signals attached to the congested intersection, a second set of signals attached to the intersection located upstream of the congested intersection, and a downstream of the congested intersection. No. 3 associated with the intersection located at
Traffic signal group of three types for traffic congestion control,
It is classified into a traffic signal group for normal control, and the first, second, and third control parameter generation means are applied to the first, second, and third traffic signal groups for traffic congestion control, respectively. By doing so, the congestion state can be alleviated or eliminated more effectively.

That is, first, for the traffic lights of the first traffic light group associated with the traffic jam intersection, the lighting start time of the green traffic light is advanced with respect to the start time of the green traffic light of the traffic light associated with the upstream traffic intersection. As a result, after passing the vehicle at the traffic jam intersection, the vehicle from the upstream is entered to promote the flow of the vehicle at the traffic jam intersection.

For the traffic lights of the second traffic light group associated with the intersection located upstream of the traffic jam intersection, the red traffic lights are lit at the start time of the green traffic lights of the traffic lights associated with the upstream intersection. By delaying the start time,
The vehicle from the upstream is stopped at this intersection to delay the arrival of the vehicle from the upstream to the congested intersection and suppress the flow of the vehicle at this intersection.

Further, with respect to the traffic lights of the third traffic light group associated with the intersection located downstream of the traffic jam intersection, the start of lighting of the green traffic light is started with respect to the start time of the green traffic light of the traffic light associated with the upstream traffic intersection. By delaying the time, the vehicle that has passed through the congested intersection is allowed to pass therethrough and is quickly sent further downstream, facilitating the flow of vehicles at this intersection.

On the other hand, before applying the first, second, and third control parameter generation means to the three types of traffic light groups classified by the control parameter selection means, the basic control parameter generation means performs each intersection. By setting the lighting length of the green and red traffic lights of each traffic light in the traffic light group based on each traffic status, a basic signal cycle based on the traffic status of each corresponding intersection is set for each traffic light. Therefore, it is possible to perform signal control that better reflects the individual traffic conditions at each intersection. Further, the control parameter correction means corrects the lighting lengths of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light of the traffic light group according to the traffic situation including the positional relationship with the traffic jam intersection, so that the traffic lights are associated with each traffic light. Since it is possible to reflect the traffic conditions between multiple intersections, including crossing intersections and congestion intersections, smooth the saturation distribution on the intra-system traffic routes and perform signal control that better reflects the traffic conditions of the entire system. be able to.

As described above, according to the signal control system of the present invention, the signal groups are classified according to the traffic conditions, and the control purpose set based on the positional relationship between the intersections and the congested intersections associated with each signal group. By providing the, it is possible to easily generate appropriate control parameters that reflect the traffic conditions in each traffic signal group, and appropriately control traffic signals based on these control parameters to effectively alleviate traffic congestion. Or it can be resolved.

[0033]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of a signal control system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[1] Configuration of First Embodiment [1-1] Outline of Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a first embodiment of a signal control system according to the present invention, and FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the detailed structure of the control parameter setting device of FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the signal control system according to the present embodiment first includes a group of traffic signals 1a to 1c for controlling the flow of vehicles in association with a road network including a plurality of intersections, and passage of vehicles in association with each intersection. A group of detectors 2a to 2c that detect a pulse, a traffic flow collection device 3 that collects the outputs of each of the sensors 2a to 2c in a fixed observation cycle, and system signal control that sets control parameters from the output of the traffic flow collection device 3. The device 4 and the traffic signal control device 5 for controlling the traffic signals 1a to 1c based on the control parameters set by the system signal control device 4 are provided. Among them, the traffic flow collecting device 3 is configured to collect the traffic volume and the occupancy rate from the outputs of the respective sensors 2a to 2c, and send the traffic volume information and the occupancy rate information to the system signal control device 4. There is. Although FIG. 1 exemplarily shows three sensors and traffic lights, a larger number of sensors and traffic lights are actually provided.

Further, the system signal control device 4 of this embodiment is
A travel time estimation device 6, a traffic jam determination device 7, a system direction determination device 8, and a control parameter setting device 9 are provided. The travel time estimation device 6 obtains the average speed for each observation period from the traffic volume information and the occupancy information received from the traffic flow collection device 3,
The travel time required for a vehicle to pass between each intersection is estimated from the distance between each intersection, the traffic volume, and the average speed. The traffic congestion determination device 7 determines the traffic volume related to the traffic congestion determination based on the comparison between the traffic volume and the occupancy rate two cycles before, based on the traffic volume information and the occupancy rate information received from the traffic flow collection device 3. The threshold value and the occupancy rate threshold value are obtained, and it is determined whether or not each intersection is in a congestion state. From the traffic volume information and occupancy information of the traffic flow collection device 3, the travel time estimation information of the travel time estimation device 6, and the traffic jam determination information of the traffic jam determination device 7, the system direction determination device 8 determines which traffic route the intersection is facing. The system direction determination value of is obtained and compared with each other to determine the system direction passing through the system of the intersection.

[1-2] Configuration of Control Parameter Setting Device The control parameter setting device 9 is the traffic flow collecting device 3
From the traffic volume information and the occupancy information, the travel time estimation information of the travel time estimation device 6, the traffic jam determination information of the traffic jam determination device 7, and the system direction determination information of the system direction determination device 8, the intersection group is controlled normally. Control parameters that classify into the intersection group for normal control and the intersection group for traffic congestion control that performs control to deal with traffic jams, and to deal with traffic jams for the traffic signal group that accompanies this intersection group for traffic jam control To set. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the control parameter setting device 9 includes a control parameter selection device 10, a basic control parameter generation device 11, a congestion intersection control parameter generation device 12, an upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13, and a downstream portion. An intersection control parameter generation device 14 and a normal control parameter generation device 15 are provided.

Of these, the control parameter selection device 10
Is a central device of the control parameter setting device 9, and includes traffic volume information and occupancy information of the traffic flow collection device 3, travel time estimation information of the travel time estimation device 6, traffic congestion determination information of the traffic congestion determination device 7, and Based on the system direction determination information of the system direction determination device 8, the intersection groups in the system are classified into a congestion intersection group in a congestion state, an upstream intersection group located upstream of the congestion intersection, and a downstream intersection group located downstream of the congestion intersection. Are classified into three types of intersection groups for traffic congestion control and normal intersection groups for normal control. Then, the control parameter selection device 10 applies the basic control parameter generation device 11 to each of the traffic signal groups associated with the congested intersection group, the upstream intersection group, and the downstream intersection group, and then the congested intersection control parameter generation device. 12, upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13, downstream intersection control parameter generation device 1
4 is applied respectively. Further, the control parameter selection device 10 applies the normal control parameter generation device 15 to the traffic signal group associated with the normal intersection group.

The basic control parameter generation device 11 has a first
-For each traffic light of the third traffic light group, traffic volume information and occupancy information of the traffic flow collection device 3, travel time estimation information of the travel time estimation device 6, traffic jam determination information of the traffic jam determination device 7, and system direction The lighting lengths of the blue signal and the red signal are set based on the system direction determination information of the determination device 8.

Congestion intersection control parameter generation device 12
Is a device corresponding to the first control parameter generation means in the present invention. For each traffic signal of the first traffic signal group associated with the traffic jam intersection group, the green signal and the red signal set by the basic control parameter generation device 11 are displayed. Based on the lighting length of the signal
From the output of the traffic flow collection device 3 and the output of the travel time estimation device 6, the lighting start times of the green and red traffic lights are set.

Upstream intersection control parameter generator 13
Is a device corresponding to the second control parameter generation means in the present invention, and for each traffic signal of the second traffic signal group associated with the upstream intersection group, the green signal and the red signal set by the basic control parameter generation device 11 Based on the lighting length of the signal
From the output of the traffic flow collection device 3 and the output of the travel time estimation device 6, the lighting start times of the green and red traffic lights are set.

Downstream intersection control parameter generator 14
Is a device corresponding to the third control parameter generating means in the present invention, and for each traffic signal of the third traffic signal group associated with the downstream intersection group, the green signal and the red signal set by the basic control parameter generating device 11 Based on the lighting length of the signal
From the output of the traffic flow collection device 3 and the output of the travel time estimation device 6, the lighting start times of the green and red traffic lights are set.

The normal control parameter generating device 15 is a device corresponding to the fourth control parameter generating means in the present invention, and is provided for the traffic flow collecting device 3 with respect to each traffic signal of the traffic signal group associated with the normal intersection group. From the output, the lighting length of the blue signal and the red signal and the lighting start time of the blue signal and the red signal are set.

[2] Operation of the First Embodiment [2-1] Outline of Operation of Signal Control System FIGS. 3 and 4 show an outline of operation of the signal control system of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration. It is a flowchart shown.

First, in step 301, the traffic flow collection device 3 totals the outputs of the sensors 2a to 2c for each fixed observation period, and collects the traffic volume information and the occupancy information into the travel time of the system signal controller 4. It is sent to the estimation device 6, the traffic jam determination device 7, the system direction determination device 8 and the control parameter selection device 10. Next, in step 302, the travel time estimation device 6 estimates the travel time between each intersection from the traffic volume information and the occupancy information, and the travel time estimation information is sent to the system direction determination device 8 and the control parameter selection device 10. send. At the same time, in step 303, the traffic congestion determination device 7 determines whether or not each intersection is in a traffic congestion state from the traffic volume information and the occupancy information, and the traffic congestion state determination information is used as the system direction determination device 8 and the control parameter selection device. Send to 10. After this, step 30
4, the system direction determination device 8 determines, from the traffic volume information, the occupancy information, the travel time estimation information, and the traffic congestion determination information,
The system direction that passes through the system of each intersection is determined, and this system direction determination information is sent to the control parameter selection device 10.

Subsequently, in step 305, the control parameter selection device 10 determines, based on the traffic condition of the entire system obtained from the traffic volume information, the occupancy information, the travel time estimation information, the traffic jam determination information, and the system direction determination information. Determine whether there is a traffic jam intersection. If there is a traffic jam intersection, the control parameter selection device 10 causes the step 30
In 6, the intersection groups of the entire system are classified into the congestion intersection group, the upstream intersection group, the downstream intersection group, and the normal intersection group based on the traffic conditions of the entire system, and this intersection classification information is controlled together with other information as a basic control. Parameter generator 11
And sent to the normal control parameter generation device 14.

Then, in step 307, the basic control parameter generation device 11 causes the congestion intersection group based on the traffic volume information, occupancy information, travel time estimation information, congestion determination information, system direction determination information, and intersection classification information. ,
For the upstream intersection group and each traffic signal group associated with the downstream intersection group, the lighting lengths of the green signal and the red signal are set, and this lighting length information, together with other information, is added to the congestion intersection control parameter generation device 12, the upstream. Intersection control parameter generation device 13 and downstream intersection control parameter generation device 14
Send to.

Subsequently, at step 308, the traffic jam intersection control parameter generation device 12 determines whether the inputted traffic intersection classification information is traffic jam intersection information. If it is traffic jam intersection information, the traffic jam intersection control parameter generation device 12 determines in step 309 the traffic jam intersection based on the travel time estimation information, the system direction determination information, the intersection classification information, and the lighting length information of the green and red traffic lights. The lighting start times of the green signal and the red signal are set for the traffic signal group associated with the group, and these signal information are sent to the control parameter selection device 10 as control parameters of the traffic signal group associated with the traffic jam intersection group.

In step 308, if the input intersection classification information is not the congestion intersection information, in step 310, the upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13 determines whether the input intersection classification information is the upstream intersection information. Determine whether or not. In the case of the upstream intersection information, the upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13 determines in step 311 based on the travel time estimation information, the system direction determination information, the intersection classification information, and the lighting length information of the green and red traffic lights. The lighting start times of the green signal and the red signal are set for the traffic signal group associated with the group, and these signal information are sent to the control parameter selection device 10 as control parameters of the traffic signal group associated with the upstream intersection group.

Further, in step 310, if the inputted intersection classification information is not the upstream intersection information,
In step 312, the downstream intersection control parameter generation device 14 determines whether the input intersection classification information is downstream intersection information. In the case of the downstream intersection information, the downstream intersection control parameter generation device 14 determines in step 313 the downstream intersection based on the travel time estimation information, the system direction determination information, the intersection classification information, and the lighting length information of the green signal and the red signal. The lighting start times of the green signal and the red signal are set for the traffic signal group associated with the group, and these signal information are sent to the control parameter selection device 10 as control parameters of the traffic signal group associated with the downstream intersection group.

If there is no congestion intersection in step 305 and if it is not a downstream intersection in step 312, the normal control parameter generation device 15 receives the intersection classification information of the normal intersection. In this case, in step 314, the normal control parameter generation device 15 sets the lighting lengths of the blue signal and the red signal to the traffic signal group associated with the normal intersection group based on the traffic volume information, the occupancy information, and the intersection classification information. And lighting start time are set, and these signal information are sent to the control parameter selection device 10 as control parameters of the traffic signal group associated with the normal intersection group.

Finally, in step 315, the control parameter selection device 10 sends the control parameters of the traffic signal groups associated with the congestion intersection group, the upstream intersection group, the downstream intersection group, and the normal intersection group to the traffic signal control device 5. ,
Control of each traffic light is performed by these control parameters.

[2-2] Explanation of symbols and terms used Next, the symbols and terms used will be explained as a premise for the explanation of the operation of the signal control system of the present embodiment.

Each intersection is denoted by I _i , each traffic route is denoted by P _ijk , each sensor is denoted by D _ijk , and each traffic signal is denoted by S _ijk . Subscript i,
Among j and k, i is an identification number of an intersection associated with a traffic route, a sensor, or a traffic light. j is a current identification number which is a group of traffics which are simultaneously given a green light and are given the right to pass. This indication will be described later. k is an identification number indicating the correspondence between the traffic route and the sensor or traffic light associated with it in each display.

[0054] Further, the number of intersections o, crossing the number of current-of I _i p _i, the number of q _ij of the sensing and signal terminal contained in the current-j of intersection I _i, two intersection I _i-1 The distance between I and I _i is L _i , the traffic volume detected by the detector D _ijk is Q _ijk , the occupancy rate is O _ccijk , and the maximum amount that can pass through the traffic route where each sensor is located within a single observation cycle ^Let Q ^S _ijk be the saturated traffic volume that is And the saturated traffic volume Q ^S
_If the ratio of _ijk to the current traffic volume Q _ijk is called saturation, the saturation ρ _ijk at the point where each sensor is placed is expressed by the following equation (1).

[Equation 1] The presentation will be supplementarily described with reference to an example of the standard cross intersection shown in FIG. This intersection I ₁ is composed of two roads that are orthogonal to each other, and has traffic routes P ₁₁₁ and P ₁₁₂ , P ₁₂₁ and P ₁₂₂ that travel in opposite directions.
It is a standard cross intersection with four sensors _D111 , _D112 , _D121 , _D122 and four traffic lights _S111 , _S112 , _S121 , _S122 .

Here, the four sensors measure the traffic volume and the occupancy rate of the traffic road having the corresponding number among the four traffic roads passing through this intersection, and the four traffic lights signal this intersection. It controls the passage of the traffic passage having the corresponding number among the four traffic passages. The two traffic routes P ₁₁₁ and P ₁₁₂ controlled by the two traffic lights S ₁₁₁ and S ₁₁₂ facing each other are simultaneously given the right of traffic, and controlled by the other two traffic lights S ₁₂₁ and S _{122 which} are facing each other. The other two transportation routes P ₁₂₁ and P ₁₂₂ are simultaneously given the right of passage. In this case, in order to avoid the intersection of traffic, the right of passage is not given to the two traffic routes P ₁₁₁ and P ₁₁₂ and the two traffic routes P ₁₂₁ and P ₁₂₂ at the same time.

In this way, a group of traffic routes to which the right of passage is given at the same time is referred to as an indication, and the traffic lights S ₁₁₁ and S
Two traffic routes P ₁₁₁ and P controlled by _112
112 is included in the same display, and two traffic routes P ₁₂₁ and P ₁₂₂ controlled by traffic lights S ₁₂₁ and S ₁₂₂ are included in another display. Here, for convenience, the detectors D ₁₁₁ and D
_{The representation} measured by ₁₁₂ and including the two traffic routes P ₁₁₁ and P ₁₁₂ controlled by the traffic lights S ₁₁₁ and S ₁₁₂ is referred to as the first display and is measured by the sensors D ₁₂₁ and D ₁₂₂ and the traffic light S _121. The display including the two traffic routes P ₁₂₁ and P ₁₂₂ controlled by S ₁₂₂ and S ₁₂₂ will be referred to as a second display.

[2-3] Operation of Each Component Next, the operation of each component of the system signal control device 4 in the signal control system of this embodiment will be described in detail.

[2-3-1] Operation of Travel Time Estimating Device 6 FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the travel time estimating device 6, and the travel time estimating device 6 is shown in FIG. A)
The travel time between two consecutive intersections I ₁ and I ₂ as shown in ( ₁₎ is estimated as the travel time of the link formed between these intersections I ₁ and I ₂ . That is, the travel time estimation device 6 uses two intersections I ₁ located at both ends of the link,
The traffic volume information and occupancy information of the detectors D ₁₁₁ and D ₂₁₁ associated with I ₂ are input, and the detectors D ₁₁₁ and D ₁₁₁ are input from these information.
The average speed on D ₂₁₁ is calculated and the travel time T _L between the intersections I ₁ and I ₂ is estimated based on this average speed.

Specifically, the traffic volume (the number of vehicles) is Q, the occupancy rate (decimal display) is O _cc , and the fixed observation period (sec) is T.
(= 300 (sec)), the average vehicle length (m) is 1 (= 10)
(M)), the average occupation time t (s) of one vehicle
ec) is calculated by the following equation (2).

[Equation 2] Then, from this equation (2), the average velocity v on the sensor
(M / s) is calculated by the following equation (3).

[Equation 3]

Next, the sensors D ₁₁₁ , D at both ends of the link
Average velocity on the ₂₁₁ , v _i (m / s), v _o (m / s),
Then, the travel time T _L (s) between the intersections I ₁ and I ₂ is estimated from the link length L (m). For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, it is assumed that the velocity v changes according to the position x in the link of FIG. 6A as shown in the following expression (4).

[Equation 4]

Then, the reciprocal 1 / v (x) of the velocity v (x) expressed by the above equation (4) is integrated by x as shown in the following equation (5), and the result is Output as estimated travel time. In addition, (C) of FIG.
It is a conceptual diagram which shows.

[Equation 5]

[2-3-2] Operation of Congestion Judgment Device 7 FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the congestion judgment device 7. The congestion judgment device 7 is shown in FIG. As shown, for each observation cycle, the traffic volume threshold and occupancy rate threshold for traffic congestion determination are calculated based on the comparison between the traffic volume and the occupancy rate two cycles before this time. Or not.

That is, the traffic jam judging device 7 first inputs the traffic volume information and the occupancy information from the traffic flow collecting device 3,
As shown in FIG. 7 (A), the current traffic volume Q (t) and the occupancy rate O _cc (t) and the traffic volume Q one cycle before in each observation cycle.
(T-1) and the occupancy rate _Occ (t-1), and the traffic volume Q (t-2) and the occupancy rate _Occ (t-2) two cycles before,
It is determined whether the following expression (6) is true.

[Equation 6] When this expression (6) is true, the traffic volume Q (t-1) and the occupancy rate _Occ (t-1) of one cycle before are used as the traffic volume threshold Th for traffic congestion determination. _{As Q} and occupancy threshold Th _Occ , it is determined whether the following expression (7) is true.

[Equation 7] Then, when the expression (7) is true, the traffic jam determination device 7 determines that the location where the sensor corresponding to the traffic volume information and the occupancy information is arranged is traffic jam.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the traffic volume information and occupancy information of the sensor D ₂₁₁ arranged between the _two intersections I ₁ and I ₂ can be calculated by the above equation (6). True, and when the traffic volume threshold Th _Q and the occupancy threshold Th _Occ obtained thereby are true of the above equation (7),
The traffic route on which the sensor D ₂₁₁ is arranged is determined to be in a traffic jam.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7 (C), a plurality of continuous traffic routes in the same traveling direction, which are arranged between successive intersections I ₁ , I ₂ , I ₃ , and I ₄ , are measured. Sensor D
_211, when considering the central detector D ₃₁₁ of D _311, D _411, the detector D ₃₁₁ is, even when it is determined not to be congested, immediately upstream of the detector D ₂₁₁ and immediately downstream of the sensing When it is determined that the device D ₄₁₁ is congested, it is determined that the entire traffic route on which the detectors D ₂₁₁ , D ₃₁₁ , and D ₄₁₁ are arranged is continuously congested.

[2-3-3] Operation of system direction determination device 8 The system direction determination device 8 inputs traffic volume information and occupancy information from the traffic flow collection device 3 and travels between each intersection from the travel time estimation device 6. The travel time estimation information is input, the traffic congestion determination information is input from the traffic congestion determination device 7, and each traffic route P _ijk is input in the following procedure.
The system direction determination value H _ijk is calculated for the above, and the system direction determination values are compared to determine the system direction. In particular,
Each traffic route P _ijk is classified by the same traveling direction, and a subscript s _{indicating the} traveling direction is added. That is, the following equation (8)
As shown in, the system direction determination value for each traffic route is calculated.

[Equation 8] In this equation (8), W ₁ and W ₂ are preset coefficients for using the weighted sum of the traffic volume and the occupancy rate as indicators of the traffic condition, and are generally expressed by the following equation (9). It is assumed to be a ratio.

[Equation 9] Normally, α = β = 0.5, but α <β is set particularly when the sensitivity to a congestion state is increased.

Further, in the equation (8), M _iu is a load coefficient between the intersections, and this load coefficient M _iu is obtained by the following equation (10).

[Equation 10] And about the traffic routes that face each other at each intersection,
The system direction determination values H _ijk are compared, and the traveling direction of the traffic route having a large value is set as the system direction at this intersection. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of such a system direction determination device 8. In FIG. 8, is on one of the lanes P ₅₁₁ is congested of traffic routes P _511, P ₅₁₂ facing each other at an intersection I _5, shows the case where the other lanes P ₅₁₂ is in a relatively quiet state ing. In this case, the system direction determination value H ₅₁₁ of the traffic route P ₅₁₁ in a traffic jam is the other traffic route P _511.
512 larger than the line direction determination value H ₅₁₂ in the traveling direction of the transportation path P _{51 1} becomes the line direction of the intersection I _5. Arrows 801 to 808 indicate the system directions of the respective intersections I _{1 to} I ₈ thus obtained.

[2-3-4] Operation of Control Parameter Selection Device [2-3-4-1] Classification of Intersection The control parameter selection device 10 stores the system direction determination information determined by the system direction determination device 8 and the system direction determination information. , Traffic volume information and occupancy information collected by the traffic flow collection device 3,
The travel time estimation information between each intersection estimated by the travel time estimation device 6 and the traffic congestion determination information determined by the traffic congestion determination device 7 are input. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the control parameter selection device 10 first classifies, as shown in FIG. 9, an intersection including at least one traffic jam 901 whose traveling direction is the same as the system direction as a traffic jam intersection 902.

First, as shown in FIG. 9 (A), when a traffic jam intersection 902 having a traffic jam road 901 exists alone or as a continuous group, this traffic jam intersection (or traffic jam intersection The intersections located upstream and downstream of the group) 902 are classified as follows based on the positional relationship with the congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection group) 902.
In other words, from the system direction information, among the intersections existing upstream of the traffic jam intersection (or the traffic jam intersection group) 902, from the intersection located immediately upstream of the traffic jam intersection (or the traffic jam intersection group) 902, the number of traffic jam intersections is constant. The number of intersections including 2 is sequentially classified as an upstream intersection 903. Also,
Congestion intersections (or congestion intersection groups) from system direction information
Among the intersections existing downstream of 902, the intersections located immediately downstream of the congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection group) 902 and the number of intersections obtained by adding a constant 2 to the intersections are sequentially classified as downstream intersections 904. To do. The other intersections are classified as normal intersections 905.

In this case, in the example of FIG. 9A, since the number of the traffic jam intersections (or the traffic jam intersection groups) 902 is one (intersection I ₅ ), this traffic jam intersection 902 (intersection I
₅ ) Three intersections located just upstream (intersection I ₂ ,
I ₃ and I ₄ ) are classified as an upstream intersection 903, and three intersections (intersections I ₆ , I ₇ , and I ₈ ) immediately downstream of the traffic jam intersection 902 (intersection I ₅ ) are classified as a downstream intersection 904. Has been done.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, two congestion intersections (or congestion intersection groups) 902
If there is an intersection that is not a traffic jam intersection between a and 902b, this traffic jam intersection (or a traffic jam intersection group)
Intersections located upstream and downstream between 902a and 902b are designated as the congestion intersection (or congestion intersection group) 90
Based on the positional relationship with 2a and 902b, they are classified as follows.

That is, as shown in FIG.
Two traffic jam intersections (or traffic jam intersection groups) 902a, 90
In the case where 2b are close to each other, specifically, here, the congestion intersections (or the congestion intersection groups) 902a and 902b.
If the number of intersections located between the intersections is less than the number of intersections in these congestion intersections (or congestion intersection groups) 902a, 902b plus a constant 4, the congestion intersection (or congestion intersection group) ) The intersection between 902a and 902b is classified as the upstream intersection 903. Then, among the intersections located further upstream of the congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection group) 902a on the upstream side, from this intersection located immediately upstream of this congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection group) 902a, this congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection) Intersection group) 9
The number of intersections in which the constant 2 is added to the number of 02a is sequentially classified as an upstream intersection 903. Further, among the intersections located further downstream of the congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection group) 902b on the downstream side, from the intersection located immediately downstream of this congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection group) 902b, this congestion intersection (or the congestion intersection) Intersection group) The number of 902b is a constant 2
The number of intersections added with is sequentially classified as a downstream intersection 904. The other intersections are classified as normal intersections 905.

In this case, in the example of FIG. 9B, the upstream and downstream traffic congestion intersections (or traffic congestion intersection groups) 902
The number of a and 902b is one (intersection I ₃ ,
I ₆ ), and these traffic congestion intersections 902a, 902b
The number of intersections located between is two (intersection I ₄ ,
I ₅ ) and the total number of traffic congestion intersections 2 plus 6 which is a constant 4 is less than 6. Therefore, these two intersections (intersections I ₄ and I ₅ ) are classified as upstream intersections 903, and three intersections (intersections I ₁ and I ₂ and not shown) located immediately upstream of the upstream traffic jam intersection 902a are classified. Intersection) is classified as an upstream intersection 903. Also,
Three intersections (intersections I ₇ , I ₈ and an intersection not shown) located immediately downstream of the traffic jam intersection 902b (intersection I ₅ ) on the downstream side are classified as a downstream intersection 904.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9C, two traffic congestion intersections (or traffic congestion intersection groups) 902a and 902b.
In the case where there is a distance between the traffic congestion intersections (or traffic congestion intersection groups) 902a and 902b, the number of traffic intersections located between these traffic congestion intersections (or traffic congestion intersection groups) 902a and 902b is determined to be within the traffic congestion intersections (or traffic congestion intersection groups) 902a and 902b. If the number of intersections is equal to or more than the number of intersections in 4 above, there is a single congestion intersection (or congestion intersection group) upstream and downstream of each congestion intersection (or congestion intersection group) 902a, 902b. Intersections are classified in the same way as at times. Then, the other intersections are classified as normal intersections 905.

In this case, in the example of FIG. 9C, the number of upstream congestion intersections (or congestion intersection group) 902a is two.
(Intersections I ₄ and I ₅ ), and the number of traffic congestion intersections (or traffic congestion intersections) 902b on the downstream side is 1 (intersection I 4
₁₃ ) and these traffic congestion intersections 902a, 90
The number of intersections located between 2b is 7 (intersection I ₆ ,
And _{I 7, I 8, I 9} , I 10, I 11, I 12), equal to 7 is a number obtained by adding 4 to the total number of three congestion intersection. Therefore, these seven intersections (intersections I ₆ , I ₇ , I ₈ ,
I ₉ , I ₁₀ , I ₁₁ , I ₁₂ ) are the traffic congestion intersections 90 on the upstream side.
2a and the downstream congestion intersection 902b are respectively classified in the same manner as when they exist as a single congestion intersection (or a congestion intersection group). That is, among the seven intersections, the four intersections (intersections I ₆ , I ₇ , I ₈ , I ₉ ) located immediately downstream of the upstream traffic jam intersection 902a (intersections I ₄ , I ₅ ) are the downstream intersections 904. Traffic congestion intersection 902b (intersection I ₁₃ ) on the downstream side
The three remaining intersections (intersection I ₁₀ ,
I ₁₁ , I ₁₂ ) are classified as an upstream intersection 903. In addition, the upstream traffic jam intersection 902a (intersection I ₄ ,
I ₅ 4 single intersection located just upstream of) (intersection _{I 1, I 2, I 3} , and illustrated non intersection) is classified as an upstream intersection 903, the downstream congestion intersection 9
The three intersections (intersections I ₁₄ , I ₁₅ , I ₁₆ ) located immediately downstream of 02b (intersection I ₁₃ ) are classified as downstream intersections 904.

[2-3-4-2] Control Parameter Setting Next, the control parameter selection device 10 causes the traffic volume information and the occupancy information, the travel time estimation information, the system direction determination information, and the intersection classification information. And are output to the basic control parameter generation device 11. Then, the control parameter selection device 1
For 0, the lighting lengths of the green signal and the red signal are set by the basic control parameter generation device 11, and based on the lighting lengths of the traffic light intersection control parameter generation device 12, the upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13, and the downstream intersection control parameter 14, respectively. Enter the generated control parameters. That is, the control parameter selection device 10
A traffic light control parameter associated with the traffic jam intersection generated by the traffic jam intersection control parameter generation device 12;
A control parameter of a traffic light associated with the upstream intersection generated by the upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13;
The control parameters of the traffic signal associated with the downstream intersection generated by the downstream intersection control parameter generation device 14 are input.

Also, the control parameter selection device 10
Outputs the traffic volume information, the occupancy rate information, and the intersection classification information to the normal control parameter generation device 15, and outputs the control parameters of the traffic signals associated with the normal intersection generated by the normal control parameter generation device 15. input.

After that, the control parameter selection device 10
The traffic light controller 5 inputs the control parameters of each intersection.
To control the traffic light.

It should be noted that the control parameter selection device 10 sets the number of intersections located upstream of the congested intersection to n, out of o intersections for traffic congestion control for controlling the congestion.
_{1, 2} n number of congested intersections, the number of intersections located downstream of the jam intersection when the _three n, attaches the respective numbers as follows at each intersection.

Intersections located upstream of the congested intersections: I ₁ to I _n1 Congested intersections: I _{n1 + 1} to I _{n1 + n2} Intersections located downstream of the congested intersections: I _{n1 + n2 + 1} to I _{n1 + n2 + n3} [2-3-5] Operation of basic control parameter generation device 11 The basic control parameter generation device 11 includes the traffic volume information and the occupancy rate information collected by the traffic flow collection device 3 from the control parameter selection device 10, and the travel time. The travel time estimated by the estimation device 6, the system direction determination information determined by the system direction determination device 6, and the intersection classification information set by the control parameter selection device 7 are input, and a green signal and a red signal are obtained by the following procedure. Set the lighting length of the signal. Here, as the intersection classification information, the upstream intersection group 10 as shown in FIG.
01, traffic jam intersection group 1002, and downstream intersection group 10
A case where the information having 03 is input will be described.

First, the basic control parameter generator 11
For each manifestation of each of the intersections of the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1003, the maximum value of the saturation of each sensor associated with this manifestation is obtained by the following equation (11).

[Equation 11] Here, ρ ⁰ is called the actual saturation. In addition, the sum of the saturation of each of the above-mentioned indications is calculated for each intersection by the following expression (12).

[Equation 12] In this case, λ is called the saturation of the intersection. It should be noted that FIG. 10B shows one intersection I ₁ that constitutes the upstream intersection group 1001, and the traffic route passing through this intersection I ₁ is
All are non-congested traffic routes 1004.

Next, the basic control parameter generator 11
In the congestion intersection group 1002, sensors and traffic lights associated with traffic routes passing through the intersections are classified into those in which this traffic route is in a congestion state (congestion traffic route) and those not in a congestion state (non-congestion traffic route). Classify into. Then, a sensor and a traffic signal associated with the non-congested traffic route, and a symbol with (. ′) Added to the indication that does not include any traffic route, the sensor and the traffic signal associated with the traffic route, The symbol including (. ″) Is added to the indication that includes even one congested traffic route. Among the indications of the congestion intersection group 1002, the indication that includes even one congested traffic route is added to this indication. The maximum amount of traffic at each sensor associated with the included traffic jam
It is calculated by the following equation (13).

[Equation 13] It should be noted that FIG. 10C shows such a congestion intersection group 10
02 shows an intersection I ₄ which constitutes 02, and this intersection I
Of the _four signs, one sign does not include any traffic jam, and the other sign contains one traffic jam. In this case, the two non-congested traffic routes included in one of the indications are referred to as non-congested manifested non-congested traffic routes 1005, and the two non-congested traffic routes and non-congested traffic included in the other manifestation. Down the road
Each can be referred to as a traffic jam showing traffic jam 1006 and a traffic jam showing no traffic jam 1007.

Further, the sum of the maximum values of the traffic volume of the congested traffic roads of the respective traffic signs including the congested traffic roads is calculated for each intersection by the following formula (14).

[Equation 14]

By the above-described processing, the saturation ρ _ijk of each indication and the saturation λ _{i of} each intersection are obtained for the non-congested intersection, and for the congestion intersection, the indication including the congested traffic route is calculated. The maximum value of the traffic volume at each sensor associated with the congested traffic route included in this display and the total thereof are obtained.

Next, the basic control parameter generation device 11
Calculates the common cycle length T _c to be applied to the intersection group that controls the traffic congestion based on the saturation level of the downstream intersection group. Each intersection I _i (n ₁ + n ₂₎ classified as a downstream intersection
+ 1 ≦ i ≦ n ₁ + n ₂ + n ₃ ) degree of saturation λ
_i (n ₁ + n ₂ + 1 ≦ i ≦ n ₁ + n ₂ + n ₃ ) is selected to be the maximum λ _max, and the number of intersections having saturation λ _max is p _i , and the following expression ( Determine the common cycle length according to 15).

[Equation 15]

Next, the lighting lengths of the actual green signal and red signal at each intersection included in the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1003 are obtained. That is, these intersection groups 10
The lighting length G _ij of the j-th present green signal at each intersection included in 01, 1003 is calculated from the ratio of the saturation degree λ _{i of the} intersection and the present saturation degree ρ _ij and the common cycle length T _c as follows. (16) is obtained.

[Equation 16] Then, the lighting length R _ij of the j-th indicated red traffic light at each intersection included in the intersection groups 1001 and 1003 is calculated by the formula (1
From the lighting length G _ij of the green signal and the common cycle length T _c obtained by 6), it is obtained by the following equation (17).

[Equation 17]

Subsequently, the lighting lengths of the actual green and red traffic lights at the intersections included in the traffic jam intersection group 1002 are determined. In this case, in the congestion intersection group 1002, the lighting length G _{ij ′} of the indicated green signal that does not include any congested traffic route takes into consideration the time required for a pedestrian to cross the traffic route included in this traffic route. _Is set to the minimum time G _{ij min} determined by the above. Further, the lighting length G _{ij ″} of the indicated green light including at least one traffic jam is _{calculated from} the common cycle length T _c and the lighting length G _{ij ′} of the indicated green traffic light not including any traffic jam. It is calculated by the following equation (18).

[Equation 18] The lighting length R _ij (R _{ij ′} , R _{ij ″} ) of the red signal at each intersection included in the traffic jam intersection group 1002 is the lighting length G _ij (of the green signal) obtained as described above. G _{ij ′} ,
G _{ij ″} ) and the common cycle length T _c are obtained by the following equation (19), where R _{ij ′} is the lighting length of the indicated red traffic light that does not include any congested traffic route, R
_{ij ″} is the lighting length of the indicated red traffic light including even one traffic jam.

[Formula 19]

Furthermore, at each intersection of each intersection group 1001 to 1003, the lighting length G _ijk of the green signal and the lighting length R _ijk of the red signal of each traffic light included in each display are obtained as described above. Further, the lighting lengths G _ij and R _{ij of the} indicated blue signal and red signal are obtained by the following equation (20).

[Equation 20]

[2-3-6] Operation of Congested Intersection Control Parameter Generating Device 12 The congested intersection control parameter generating device 12 receives the travel time estimation information estimated by the travel time estimating device 6 from the basic control parameter generating device 11. , System direction determination information determined by the system direction determination device 8 and the control parameter selection device 1
The intersection classification information set at 0 and the lighting length information of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light set by the basic control parameter generation device 11 are input. Then, the operation is performed when the input intersection classification information is the congestion intersection information, and the lighting start time of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light is set by the following procedure.

First, the traffic jam intersection control parameter generation device 12 selects the jth indication of the intersection i so that the green signal is not simultaneously output to the traffic lights controlling different indications among the traffic lights associated with the intersection. A tentative time t ^* _Gij for starting lighting of the _blue signal and a tentative time t ^* _Rij for starting lighting of the red signal are set as shown in the following expression (21).

[Equation 21]

Next, the traffic jam intersection control parameter generation device 12 causes the intersection I _{i as} shown in FIG.
(1101) traffic control of traffic along the system direction and traffic along the system direction of intersection I _i-1 (1102) located immediately upstream of this intersection when viewed from the system direction. And the intersection controlling the intersection I _i
Of the lighting start time of the current-green light, as compared to the intersection I _i-1 (1102) current-green light of the lighting start time of the located upstream, the upstream intersection I _i-1 (1102) from the intersection I _It is set such that the travel time to _i (1101) is _{advanced by TL (i-1i)} , and different indications of the intersection I _i (1101) do not emit the green signal at the same time. Specifically, the lighting start time of the green signal and the lighting start time of the red signal at each intersection I _i (1101) are calculated by the following equation (22).
Set by.

[Equation 22]

[0092] In addition, the green light of the lighting start time t _Gijk and a lighting start time of a red signal t _Rijk of traffic signals that are included in each current shows
Is calculated by the following equation (23) from the lighting start times of the indicated blue signal and red signal.

[Equation 23]

That is, in the example of FIG. 11A, the information of the sensor 1103 attached to the traffic route in the system direction of the intersection 1101 and the information of the sensor 1104 attached to the traffic route in the system direction of the upstream intersection 1102. Traffic lights 1105-110 at the intersection based on the travel time calculated from
Traffic light 1105 for controlling traffic routes in the system direction
The lighting start time of the green signal is set to be earlier than the lighting start time of the green signal of the traffic signal 1109 that controls the traffic route in the system direction of the upstream intersection 1102. In addition, a traffic signal 11 for controlling each traffic route including the traffic route in the system direction.
05 and 1106 and the other traffic lights 1107 and 1108 for controlling the respective traffic routes are set so as not to emit green signals at the same time. Also, FIG. 11 (B)
Are the two representations of the intersection 1101 according to equations (21) to (23) (1st: a representation including a traffic route in the system direction, 2nd: a presentation not including a traffic route in the system direction). ) Shows the flow of the process of setting the lighting start time of the green signal and the red signal, G shows the green signal, and R shows the red signal.

[2-3-7] Operation of upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13 The upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13 receives the travel time estimation information estimated by the travel time estimation device 6 from the basic control parameter generation device 11. , System direction determination information determined by the system direction determination device 8 and the control parameter selection device 1
The intersection classification information set at 0 and the lighting length information of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light set by the basic control parameter generation device 11 are input. Then, the operation is performed when the input intersection classification information is upstream intersection information, and the lighting start time of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light is set by the following procedure.

First, the upstream intersection control parameter generation device 13 selects the jth signal of the intersection i so that the green signal is not simultaneously output to the traffic signals controlling different signals among the traffic signals associated with the traffic signal. A tentative time t ^* _Gij for starting lighting of the _blue signal and a tentative time t ^* _Rij for starting lighting of the red signal are set as shown in the following equation (24).

[Equation 24]

[0096] Next, the upstream intersection control parameter generating unit 13, as shown in FIG. 12 (A), the intersection I _i
(1201) Traffic control along the system direction of the traffic route along the system direction and traffic route along the system direction of the intersection I _i-1 (1202) located immediately upstream of this intersection when viewed from the system direction. And the intersection controlling the intersection I _i
The lighting start time of the corresponding red traffic light is compared with the lighting start time of the green traffic light of the intersection I _i-1 (1202) located upstream, and the intersection from the upstream crossing I _i-1 (1202) slower only I _i (1201) to the travel time T _{L (i-1i),} and current-to different the intersection I _i (1201) is set as not emit green light at the same time. Specifically, the lighting start time of the green signal and the lighting start time of the red signal at each intersection I _i (1201) are calculated by the following equation (25).
Set by.

[Equation 25]

[0097] In addition, the green light of the lighting start time t _Gijk and a lighting start time of a red signal t _Rijk of traffic signals that are included in each current shows
Is calculated by the following equation (26) from the lighting start times of the indicated blue signal and red signal.

[Equation 26]

That is, in the example of FIG. 12A, the information of the sensor 1203 associated with the traffic route in the system direction of the intersection 1201 and the information of the sensor 1204 associated with the traffic route in the system direction of the upstream intersection 1202. Traffic lights 1205-120 at the intersection based on the travel time calculated from
Traffic light 1205 that controls traffic routes in the system direction
The lighting start time of the green signal is set to be earlier than the lighting start time of the green signal of the traffic signal 1209 controlling the traffic route in the system direction of the upstream intersection 1202. In addition, a traffic signal 12 for controlling each traffic route including the traffic route in the system direction.
05 and 1206, and the traffic lights 1207 and 1208 for controlling the respective traffic routes on the other side are set so as not to emit green signals at the same time. In addition, FIG.
Are the two representations of the intersection 1201 according to Equations (24) to (26) (1st: a representation including a traffic route in the system direction, 2nd: a representation not including a traffic route in the system direction). ) Shows the flow of processing of the start time of lighting of the green signal and the red signal, G shows the green signal, and R shows the red signal.

[2-3-8] Operation of Downstream Intersection Control Parameter Generation Device 14 The downstream intersection control parameter generation device 14 receives the travel time estimation information estimated by the travel time estimation device 6 from the basic control parameter generation device 11. , System direction determination information determined by the system direction determination device 8 and the control parameter selection device 1
The intersection classification information set at 0 and the lighting length information of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light set by the basic control parameter generation device 11 are input. Then, the operation is performed when the input intersection classification information is downstream intersection information, and the lighting start time of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light is set in the following procedure.

First, the downstream intersection control parameter generator 14 selects the jth signal of the intersection i so that the green signal is not simultaneously output to the traffic signals that control different signals among the traffic signals associated with the traffic signal. A tentative time t ^* _Gij for starting lighting of the _blue signal and a tentative time t ^* _Rij for starting lighting of the red signal are set as shown in the following expression (27).

[Equation 27]

Next, the downstream intersection control parameter generation device 14 determines the intersection I _{i as} shown in FIG. 13 (A).
(1301) traffic control of traffic along the system direction and traffic along the system direction of intersection I _i-1 (1302) located immediately upstream of this intersection when viewed from the system direction. And the intersection controlling the intersection I _i
Of the lighting start time of the current-green light, as compared to the intersection I _i-1 (1302) current-green light of the lighting start time of the located upstream, the upstream intersection I _i-1 (1302) from the intersection I only _i travel time T _{L (i-1i)} to (1301) slower, and current-to different the intersection I _i (1301) is set as not emit green light at the same time. Specifically, the lighting start time of the green signal and the lighting start time of the red signal at each intersection I _i (1301) are calculated by the following equation (28).
Set by.

[Equation 28]

[0102] In addition, the green light of the lighting start time t _Gijk and a lighting start time of a red signal t _Rijk of traffic signals that are included in each current shows
Is calculated by the following equation (29) from the lighting start times of the indicated blue signal and red signal.

[Equation 29]

That is, in the example of FIG. 13A, the information of the sensor 1303 attached to the traffic route in the system direction of the intersection 1301 and the information of the sensor 1304 attached to the traffic route in the system direction of the upstream intersection 1302. Traffic lights 1305 to 130 at the intersection based on the travel time calculated from
Traffic light 1305 that controls traffic routes in the system direction
The lighting start time of the green signal is set to be earlier than the lighting start time of the green signal of the traffic signal 1309 that controls the traffic route in the system direction of the upstream intersection 1302. In addition, a traffic signal 13 for controlling each traffic route including the traffic route in the system direction.
05 and 1306, and the traffic signals 1307 and 1308 for controlling the respective traffic routes on the other side are set so as not to emit green signals at the same time. Also, FIG. 13 (B)
Are the two representations of the intersection 1301 according to the equations (27) to (29) (1st: a representation including a traffic route in the system direction, 2nd: a presentation not including a traffic route in the system direction). ) Shows the flow of processing of the start time of lighting of the green signal and the red signal, G shows the green signal, and R shows the red signal.

[2-3-9] Operation of Normal Control Parameter Generating Device 15 The normal control parameter generating device 15 uses the control parameter selecting device 10 to collect traffic volume information and occupancy rate by the traffic flow collecting device 3. Information and control parameter selection device 1
Input the intersection classification information set at 0. The operation is performed when the input intersection classification information is normal intersection information. This normal control parameter generation device 15
It operates according to the conventional system signal control device, classifies the traffic situation from the sensor information, and according to the classification result, the lighting length information of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light,
The lighting start time of the blue signal and the red signal is set by selecting an appropriate one of a plurality of sets of control parameters prepared in advance.

[3] Effects of First Embodiment As described above, according to the present embodiment, the travel time estimation device 6, the traffic jam determination device 7, and the travel time estimation device 7 are based on the sensor information collected by the traffic flow collection device 3. The system direction determination device 8 can accurately grasp the traffic condition of the entire system.
Then, based on the traffic conditions of the entire system obtained in this way, the control parameter setting device 9 classifies the intersections in the system into an intersection group for congestion control and a normal intersection group for normal control. As a result, the traffic situation can be analyzed accurately. For the traffic signal group that accompanies the intersection group for traffic congestion control, it is possible to easily and reliably set the control parameters that deal with traffic congestion, so by controlling each traffic signal with these control parameters. , It is possible to effectively alleviate or eliminate congestion.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the intersection groups for controlling during congestion are classified into three types of intersection groups, namely, a congestion intersection group, an upstream intersection group, and a downstream intersection group, and are associated with each intersection group. Since the individual control parameter generation devices 12 to 14 are applied to the traffic signal groups, respectively, the congestion state can be alleviated or eliminated more effectively.

That is, in this embodiment, by making the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light associated with the traffic jam intersection earlier than the lighting start time of the green traffic light immediately upstream, the vehicle is passed at this traffic jam intersection and then upstream. Since the vehicle from can be entered, it is possible to promote the flow of the vehicle at the traffic intersection. Also, by delaying the lighting start time of the red traffic light of the traffic light associated with the upstream intersection to be later than the lighting start time of the green traffic light immediately upstream, the vehicle from the upstream is stopped at this upstream intersection, and the traffic from the upstream to the traffic jam intersection is stopped. Since the arrival of the vehicle can be delayed, the flow of the vehicle at the upstream intersection can be suppressed. Further, by delaying the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light associated with the downstream intersection to be later than the lighting start time of the green traffic light immediately upstream, it is possible to pass the vehicle that has passed through the traffic jam intersection and send it to the downstream side more quickly. For,
The flow of vehicles at the downstream intersection can be promoted. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to promote the flow of vehicles from the traffic jam intersection to the downstream traffic intersection, and to suppress the entry of the vehicle from the upstream traffic intersection to the traffic congestion intersection, so that the traffic jam state can be efficiently and reliably alleviated or It can be resolved.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the number of intersections in the congestion intersection group is used as a reference, and the number of intersections immediately upstream and just downstream of the number obtained by adding a constant 2 to this number are used as the upstream intersection group and the downstream intersection group. Since it is classified as, it is possible to set the upstream intersection group and the downstream intersection group according to the size of the traffic jam condition, and thereby it is possible to perform appropriate system signal control according to the traffic condition of the entire system. There is also.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the basic control parameter generation device 11 is applied before the three types of control parameter generation devices 12 to 14 are applied to the three types of traffic signal groups classified by the control parameter selection device 10. By setting the lighting length of the green and red traffic lights of each traffic light in the traffic light group, based on the traffic conditions at each intersection,
A basic signal cycle can be set for each traffic light based on the traffic conditions at each corresponding intersection. Therefore, it is possible to perform signal control that better reflects the individual traffic conditions at each intersection.

[4] Second Embodiment FIG. 14 is a block diagram schematically showing a second embodiment of the signal control system according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 14, in the present embodiment, in particular, the control parameter correction device 1 is added to the basic control parameter generation device 11 of the first embodiment described above.
This is an example in which 1A is provided. The control parameter correction device 11A corrects the lighting lengths of the green signal and the red signal according to the traffic situation including the positional relationship with the traffic jam intersection. Since the configuration other than this part is exactly the same as that of the first embodiment described above, only the operation and effect of the change of the basic control parameter generation device 11 will be described below.

That is, in this embodiment, the basic control parameter generation device 11 operates as shown in FIG. First, in step 1501, the basic control parameter generation device 11 obtains a common cycle length to be applied to an intersection group that performs control to cope with congestion. Specifically, first, the equations (11) and (1
By the processing using 2), the saturation degree of each display and the saturation degree of each intersection are obtained for each intersection other than the congested intersection. Next, by the processing using the above-mentioned equations (13) and (14) in the first embodiment, the indication including the traffic jam at the traffic jam intersection is attached to the traffic jam included in the traffic jam. Find the maximum and maximum traffic volume at each sensor.

Then, the basic control parameter generation device 11
Calculates the common cycle length T _c to be applied to the intersection group that controls the traffic congestion, based on the saturation of the downstream intersection group among the values thus obtained. That is,
Each intersection I _i (n ₁ + n ₂ +1) classified as a downstream intersection
≦ i ≦ n ₁ + n ₂ + n ₃ ) Saturation degree λ _i (n ₁
+ N ₂ + 1 ≦ i ≦ n ₁ + n ₂ + n ₃ ), the maximum one λ _max is selected, and the number of intersections having saturation λ _max is p _i , the same as in the first embodiment. The common cycle length is obtained by the equation (15).

Here, the equation (15) determines the cycle length common to the upstream intersection group and the congested intersection depending only on the information of the downstream intersection group, but in the present embodiment,
In step 1502, the cycle length determined in this way is further corrected by the control parameter correction device 11A according to the following equation (30) according to the traffic conditions at each intersection of the upstream intersection group and the congested intersection.

[Equation 30] In this equation (30), D _s is a subscript indicating a system direction traffic route, and α and β are correction effect coefficients (integers). In addition, the saturation degree ρ _iDs
Is the ratio of this traffic volume Q _{iDs to} the saturated traffic volume Q ^s _iDs ρ _iDs = Q _iDs / Q ^s _iDs . Further, ρ marked with a straight line and ρ marked with a wavy line are the average value and the variance of the saturation in the system direction, respectively, and these values are expressed by the following equations (30) and (31). Required by. In addition,
In these equations, o is the number of intersections that perform control to cope with traffic congestion.

[Equation 31]

[Equation 32]

Next, the basic control parameter generation device 11
In steps 1503 to 1505, the lighting lengths of the indicated green signal and red signal of each intersection included in the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1003 are obtained. That is, first, in step 1503, the lighting length G _ij of the j-th display green signal of each intersection included in these intersection groups 1001 and 1003 is calculated as the saturation λ _{i of the} intersection and the saturation of this display. From the ratio of ρ _ij and the common cycle length T _c ,
Similar to the first embodiment, it is obtained as the basic control parameter by the equation (16).

Subsequently, the basic control parameter generation device 11
In step 1504, the lighting length of the current green signal obtained as the basic control parameter is corrected according to the traffic situation including the positional relationship between each intersection and the congested intersection. That is, since the equation (16) determines the lighting length of the indicated green signal of each intersection included in the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1003 depending on only the information of each intersection, this step At 1504, the length of the green signal shown at each intersection thus determined is corrected by the traffic condition information including the positional relationship between each intersection and the congested intersection. Specifically, first, the correction amount in the system direction is determined by the following equation (33).

[Expression 33] Here, ρ with a straight line added above is the average degree of saturation obtained by the above equation (31), and γ is the correction effect coefficient (integer). Next, according to the correction amount determined by the equation (33), the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1
The length of the actual green signal at each intersection of 003 is calculated by the following equation (3
Correct according to 4) and (35). Here, the formula (3
4) is an expression for correcting the lighting length of the indicated blue signal in the system direction, and Expression (35) is an expression for correcting the lighting length of the indicated blue signal in directions other than the system direction.

[Equation 34]

[Equation 35] After that, in step 1505, the basic control parameter generation device 11 determines whether the intersections included in the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1003 represent the intersections based on the lighting length of the indicated green signal corrected as described above. Find the lighting length of the red traffic light. That is, in this step 1505, the lighting length R of the j-th indicated red signal at each intersection included in the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1003.
_ij is obtained by the equation (17) from the lighting length G _ij of the present green signal and the common cycle length T _c obtained by the equations (34) and (35), as in the first embodiment.

Next, the basic control parameter generation device 11
In steps 1506 and 1507, the lighting lengths of the indicated green signal and red signal of each intersection included in the congestion intersection group 1002 are obtained. First, in step 1506, j of each intersection included in this congestion intersection group 1002.
The lighting length of the second green signal is calculated as follows depending on whether there is a traffic jam. That is, in this step 1506, among the indications of the intersections included in the congestion intersection group 1002, the lighting length G _{ij ′} of the indicated green signal that does not include any traffic route is included in this indication. The minimum time G _{ij min} is set in consideration of the time required for a pedestrian to cross the traffic route. Further, regarding the lighting length G _{ij ″} of the indicated green signal including even one traffic jam, the common cycle length T _c and the lighting length G _{ij ′ of the} indicated green traffic light not including any traffic jam , As in the first embodiment.

Subsequently, the basic control parameter generation device 11
Is calculated in step 1507 from the lighting length G _ij (G _{ij ′} , G _{ij ″} ) and the common cycle length T _c of the blue signal shown above obtained in the same manner as in the first embodiment. (1
In step 9), the lighting length R _ij (R _{ij ′} , R _{ij ″} ) of the indicated red traffic light at each intersection included in the congestion intersection group 1002 is obtained.

Finally, the basic control parameter generator 1
1 corresponds to the above step 15 in step 1508.
Intersection groups 1001-100 obtained in 03-1507
Based on the lighting length G _ij of the green signal and the lighting length R _{ij of the} red signal of each intersection included in 3 in the same manner as in the first embodiment, each traffic signal included in each of the traffic lights is calculated by the equation (20). The lighting length G _{ijk of the blue} signal and the lighting length R _ijk of the red signal are obtained.

As described above, in the present embodiment, first, similarly to the above-described first embodiment, for the three types of traffic signal groups classified by the control parameter selection device 10,
Before applying the three types of control parameter generation devices 12 to 14, the basic control parameter generation device 11 sets the lighting lengths of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic signal of the traffic signal group based on the traffic situation at each intersection. be able to. Therefore, similar to the first embodiment, it is possible to set a basic signal cycle for each traffic signal based on the traffic conditions of the corresponding intersections, and a signal that better reflects the individual traffic conditions of each intersection. Control can be performed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control parameter correction device 11A provided in the basic control parameter generation device 11 causes the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light of the traffic light group according to the traffic condition including the positional relationship with the traffic jam intersection. The lighting length of can be corrected. Therefore, it is possible to reflect the traffic conditions between multiple intersections, including the intersections and congested intersections associated with each traffic signal, so that the saturation distribution on the intra-system traffic routes can be smoothed, and It is possible to perform signal control that better reflects the traffic situation. Particularly, in the present embodiment, the control parameter correction device 11A divides the indications of the system direction and the indications other than the system direction among the indications of the intersections included in the upstream intersection group 1001 and the downstream intersection group 1003. Since it is configured to make separate corrections separately, it is possible to perform signal control limited to within the system for non-congested intersections,
It is possible to avoid adverse effects on off-grid traffic conditions.
When the correction effect coefficients α, β, γ in the above equations (30) and (33) are all equal to zero, the function of the basic control parameter generation device 11 is the same as that of the first embodiment. Become.

[5] Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various other embodiments are possible.

First, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the travel time was estimated by the equation (4) assuming that the speed distribution in the link is a linear speed distribution. However, the speed distribution used to estimate the travel time is It is not limited to such a linear velocity distribution. For example, in consideration of the shape of the traffic route, etc., the velocity distribution in the link is assumed to be a velocity distribution with little change at the link inflow part and a large change at the outflow part, and such a non-linear velocity distribution is used. It is also possible to estimate travel time.

Next, in the above embodiment, the traffic congestion information and the occupancy rate information this time are compared with the traffic volume information and the occupancy rate information up to two cycles before to judge the traffic jam. The congestion determination method can be freely selected, for example,
It is also possible to make a traffic jam determination by comparing the current traffic volume information and occupancy rate information with the traffic volume information and occupancy rate information of three or more cycles before. On the contrary, it is also possible to compare the current traffic volume information and occupancy rate information with only the traffic volume information and occupancy rate information one cycle before to make the traffic jam determination. Furthermore, set a certain congestion judgment reference value in advance,
It is also possible to compare this reference value with the traffic volume information and occupancy rate information at each observation cycle.

Further, in the above embodiment, the number of intersections obtained by adding the constant 2 to the number of intersections of the congestion intersection group is classified as the upstream intersection group and the downstream intersection group, respectively.
The constant in this case is not limited to 2, and an appropriate number can be selected, and can be equal to or less than the number of intersections in the congestion intersection group. further,
The criterion of whether or not a plurality of congestion intersection groups are close to each other or separated from each other (thus, can be regarded as a single congestion intersection group) can be appropriately changed.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the intersection group including the intersections in the congestion state is used as the intersection group for controlling during congestion, and there are three types of intersection groups: a congestion intersection group, an upstream intersection group, and a downstream intersection group. However, it is possible to further classify the traffic congestion level into a larger number of intersection groups by classifying the traffic congestion levels into a plurality of levels. In this case, by setting finer control parameters according to a plurality of traffic congestion levels, it is possible to perform more appropriate system signal control for the traffic conditions of the entire system. Conversely, it is also possible to classify into only two types of intersection groups, a congestion intersection group and a normal intersection group, and to set control parameters for congestion control for the congestion intersection group. Even so, compared to the conventional method in which the control parameters are set in advance by dividing them into sub-areas,
It is possible to perform remarkably excellent system signal control.

Further, in the second embodiment, the control parameter correction device 11A distinguishes between the indications of the system direction and the indications other than the system direction among the indications of the respective intersections, and individually corrects them. Although configured, it is also conceivable to make a correction to give a blue signal and a red signal of the same lighting length at each intersection without making such a distinction according to the system direction.

[0127]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Utilizing the sensor information collected by the traffic flow collecting means, based on the traffic condition of the entire system obtained by the travel time estimating means, the traffic jam determining means, and the system direction determining means, the control parameter setting means allows the Classify intersections into intersection groups for traffic congestion control and normal intersections for normal control, and set control parameters that deal with traffic congestion for traffic signal groups attached to intersection groups for traffic congestion control. With this configuration, it is possible to accurately analyze the traffic conditions of the entire system, and it is possible to easily and reliably set appropriate control parameters without requiring much labor, and system signal control that sufficiently copes with traffic congestion is possible. It is possible to provide an excellent signal control system.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a signal control system of a first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the signal control system of FIG. 1, in particular, a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a control parameter setting device.

3 is a flowchart showing an outline of the first half of the operation of the signal control system of FIG.

4 is a flowchart showing an outline of the latter half of the operation of the signal control system of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a standard cross intersection.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the travel time estimation device, FIG. 6A is an explanatory diagram showing intersections and links;
(B) is a conceptual diagram of Formula (4), (C) is a conceptual diagram of Formula (5).

7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the traffic congestion determination device, FIG. 7A is a logic diagram for traffic congestion determination, FIG. 7B is an explanatory diagram showing a single traffic congestion path, and FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows a road.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the system direction determination device.

9A and 9B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the control parameter selection device, FIG. 9A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a classification result when a traffic jam point exists alone, and FIG. 9B is two traffic jam intersections. Explanatory diagram showing an example of the classification result when the groups are close,
(C) is an explanatory view showing an example of a classification result when two traffic congestion intersection groups are separated.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the basic control parameter generation device, (A) is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an intersection classification state and an example of selecting λ _max , and (B) is an upstream diagram of (A). Explanatory drawing which shows one intersection which comprises an intersection group, (C)
Is an explanatory diagram showing one intersection that constitutes the congestion intersection group of (A).

11A and 11B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the congestion intersection control parameter generation device, FIG. 11A is an explanatory diagram showing intersections and links, and FIG. 11B is two showing green and red traffic lights of a congestion intersection. Explanatory diagram showing the flow of the setting process of the lighting start time of.

12A and 12B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the upstream intersection control parameter generation device, where FIG. 12A is an explanatory diagram showing an intersection and a link, and FIG. 12B is a diagram showing two green and red traffic lights of the upstream intersection. Explanatory diagram showing the flow of the setting process of the lighting start time of.

13A and 13B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the operation of the downstream intersection control parameter generation device, FIG. 13A is an explanatory diagram showing an intersection and a link, and FIG. 13B is two visible green and red signals of the downstream intersection. Explanatory diagram showing the flow of the setting process of the lighting start time of.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an outline of a signal control system of a second embodiment according to the present invention.

15 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the basic control parameter generation device of the signal control system of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a-1c ... Signal 2a-2c ... Sensor 3 ... Traffic flow collection device 4 ... System signal controller 5 ... Signal controller 6 ... Traveling time estimation device 7 ... Congestion determination device 8 ... System direction determination device 9 ... Control parameter setting Device 10 ... Control parameter selection device 11 ... Basic control parameter generation device 11A ... Control parameter correction device 12 ... Congested intersection parameter generation device 13 ... Upstream intersection control parameter generation device 14 ... Downstream intersection control parameter generation device 15 ... Normal control parameter generation apparatus

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Sakae Someya Sakae Someya, a stock company at Toshiba Hino Factory, 3-chome, Asahigaoka, Hino City, Tokyo

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A traffic signal group for controlling a flow of a vehicle in association with a road network including a plurality of intersections, a sensor group for detecting passage of a vehicle in association with each intersection, and an output of each sensor. Traffic flow collecting means for totalizing the traffic flow collecting means, and a system signal control for setting a control parameter consisting of the lighting length of the green signal and the red signal of each traffic light and the lighting start time of the blue signal and the red signal from the output of the traffic flow collecting means. Means, and a traffic signal control means for controlling each of the traffic signals based on the control parameter set by the power system signal control means, wherein the power system signal control means is one of the traffic flow collecting means. From the output, travel time estimating means for estimating the travel time required for the vehicle to pass between the intersections; and from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the intersections are in a congestion state. From the output of the traffic flow collection unit, the output of the travel time estimation unit, and the output of the traffic congestion determination unit, the traffic congestion determination unit that determines whether or not the system that passes through the intersection determined to be in the traffic congestion state From the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, the output of the traffic jam determination means, and the output of the system direction determination means, the traffic signal group, , The traffic signal group for normal control and the traffic signal group for traffic congestion control for dealing with traffic congestion, and the control parameters for coping with traffic congestion for this traffic signal group for traffic congestion control A control parameter setting means for setting, and a signal control system comprising: 2. The control parameter setting means outputs, from the output of the travel time estimating means, a green signal of a traffic signal associated with a traffic jam intersection in a traffic jam in the traffic signal group for traffic congestion control from the output of the travel time estimating means. It has a control parameter generating means for generating a control parameter so that the lighting start time of is earlier than the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light associated with the intersection located immediately upstream of the intersection with which this traffic light is associated. The signal control system according to claim 1. 3. The control parameter setting means attaches to a traffic light in the traffic light control group for congestion control, from the output of the travel time estimating means, the lighting start time of the green light of this traffic light, which is associated with this traffic light. A first control parameter generating means for generating a control parameter so as to be earlier than a lighting start time of a green light of a traffic light associated with the intersection located immediately upstream of the intersection; For the traffic light of the above, from the output of the travel time estimation means, the lighting start time of the red traffic light of this traffic light is the lighting start time of the blue traffic light of the traffic light associated with the intersection located immediately upstream of the intersection with which this traffic light is associated. A second control parameter generating means for generating a control parameter so as to be slower than that of the traffic signal for traffic control for congestion control; From the output of the time estimating means, the control parameter is set so that the lighting start time of the green signal of this traffic light is later than the lighting start time of the green light of the traffic light associated with the intersection located immediately upstream of the intersection with which this traffic light is associated. From the output of the third control parameter generating means, the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the output of the travel time estimating means, the output of the traffic jam determining means, and the output of the system direction determining means, the traffic light group is generated. A first traffic signal group associated with a traffic jam intersection in a traffic jam state, a second traffic signal group associated with an intersection located upstream of the traffic jam intersection, and a third traffic light associated with an intersection located downstream of the traffic jam intersection. Traffic signal groups are classified into three types of traffic signal groups for traffic jam control and traffic signal groups for normal control, and further, the first, second, and third traffic signal groups have the first, 2. The signal control system according to claim 1, further comprising: a control parameter selection unit that applies each of the second and third control parameter generation units. 4. The traffic light group is controlled by the control parameter setting means based on the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the output of the travel time estimating means, the output of the traffic jam determining means, and the output of the system direction determining means. The basic control parameter generation means for setting the lighting lengths of the blue signal and the red signal of each traffic signal of, and the control parameter selection means, for each traffic signal of the first traffic signal group, the basic control parameter generation means. After applying the first control parameter generating means, and for each traffic signal of the second traffic signal group, applying the basic control parameter generating means and then applying the second control parameter generating means. , The third control parameter generating means is applied after the basic control parameter generating means is applied to each traffic signal of the third traffic signal group. That, the signal control system according to claim 3, wherein a. 5. The basic control parameter generation means determines the lighting lengths of the blue signal and the red signal of each traffic light of the traffic light group,
5. The signal control system according to claim 4, further comprising control parameter correction means for correcting according to traffic conditions including a positional relationship with a traffic jam intersection. 6. The first control parameter generating means,
For each traffic light of the first traffic light group, from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, the output of the travel time estimating means, and the lighting lengths of the blue signal and the red signal set by the basic control parameter generating means, The second control parameter generation means is configured to set the lighting start times of the green signal and the red signal, and the output of the traffic flow collecting means and the output of the traffic flow collection means for each of the traffic signals of the second traffic signal group. The third control parameter is configured to set the lighting start time of the blue signal and the red signal from the output of the travel time estimating means and the lighting lengths of the blue signal and the red signal set by the basic control parameter generating means. The generation means outputs, for each traffic signal of the third traffic light group, the output of the traffic flow collection means, the output of the travel time estimation means, and the blue signal and the red signal set by the basic control parameter generation means. Signal control system according to claim 4 wherein the lighting length of No. configured to set the lighting start time of the green signal and red signal, characterized in that. 7. The control parameter setting means includes fourth control parameter generation means for setting control parameters of each traffic signal of the traffic signal group for the normal control from the output of the traffic flow collecting means, The signal control system according to claim 3, wherein the parameter selection means is configured to apply the fourth control parameter generation means to each traffic signal of the traffic signal group for normal control. . 8. The fourth control parameter generation means,
It is configured to set the lighting length of the green signal and the red signal and the lighting start time of the blue signal and the red signal from the output of the traffic flow collecting means for each traffic signal of the traffic signal group for normal control. The signal control system according to claim 7, wherein: 9. The control parameter selecting means normally controls all the traffic signals of the traffic signal group when there is no traffic signal corresponding to the first traffic signal group associated with the traffic jam intersection in the traffic signal group. 8. The signal control system according to claim 7, wherein the signal control system is configured to determine that the traffic light is for a traffic light and apply the fourth control parameter generating means to each traffic light of the traffic light group. 10. The occupancy, which is a ratio of a traffic volume and a time during which a sensor detects a vehicle in a unit observation cycle, based on an output of each sensor for each preset observation cycle, The travel time estimation means obtains the traffic volume and the average speed for each observation period from the output of the traffic flow collection means, and the distance between the intersections and the traffic volume and It is configured to measure the travel time required for the vehicle to pass between the intersections from the average speed, the traffic congestion determination means, from the output of the traffic flow collection means,
The traffic volume and the occupancy rate are monitored for each observation cycle, and the current traffic volume is smaller than the traffic volume in the previous observation cycle and the current occupancy rate is larger than the occupancy rate in the previous observation cycle. Based on the traffic volume and occupancy rate, the traffic volume threshold value and the occupancy rate threshold value for traffic congestion determination are obtained, and among the traffic routes associated with the intersection, the traffic volume is smaller than the traffic volume threshold value and The road whose occupancy rate is greater than the occupancy rate threshold is configured to be determined to be in a traffic jam state, and the system direction determining means outputs the traffic flow collecting means and the travel time estimating means. The output and the output of the traffic congestion determination means are configured to determine a relationship between an upstream side and a downstream side of an intersection associated with a traffic route determined to be in a traffic congestion state. Signal control system Temu.