JPS6251477B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a road information display device that reads character information stored in a memory in a terminal device based on information transmitted from a central control device and displays the read character information as road information on a display board with a predetermined number of display characters. In particular, the present invention relates to a control method for a road information display device in which display characters (including symbols) are constructed using a dot spelling method.

Generally, when displaying road information etc. using characters (symbols), the characters are constructed using the dot spelling method, but methods for displaying characters using this dot spelling method include electronic and magnetic reversal methods. is used. However, the electronic character display method and the magnetic reversal type character display means differ only in the material of the display element, and there is no major difference in the control method.

The present invention is directed to a road information display device that displays characters using a dot spelling method using an electric or magnetic reversal type character display means.
Next, as a conventional technology, an electric road information display device will be taken as an example and its drawbacks will be explained.

In electronic road information display devices, there are two types of control methods that can be broadly classified depending on the location where the character information memory is installed, which stores character information that is obtained by decomposing characters into point information of a predetermined density and converting them into a large number of point information. There is. One of them is to install a character information memory in the central control unit, read desired character information from this character information memory in units of point information, transmit this point information sequentially to terminal devices, and display it on the display board of the terminal device. This is a free pattern display control method in which display lamps corresponding to each point information are lit in sequence to reproduce and display desired characters. The other method is to store word information consisting of multiple characters, such as place names and sections, in a character information memory, install this character information memory in the terminal device, and store the desired word information from the central control device. This is a modular pattern display control method in which an address signal indicating a storage area is transmitted, desired word information is sequentially read out using this address signal, and the desired word information is reproduced on a display board as road information consisting of a plurality of words.

Here, the term "free pattern" in the free pattern display control method is used to mean that characters are broken down into point information and transmitted, thereby making it possible to display characters in any pattern. ``Module pattern'' in the module pattern display control method is used to mean that it is possible to select and display arbitrary word information using a predetermined pattern of word information as a unit. It is something that will be done. Therefore, the address signal in the module pattern display control method is
It specifies the entire storage area in which one word information is stored, and corresponds to a page address signal in information processing.

As can be seen from the above, in the free pattern display control method, since the character information memory is located on the central control unit side, it is easy to add or change character information, and the degree of freedom in display character patterns is high. However, on the other hand, since it is necessary to command and control all indicator lamps to turn them on or off, it takes a long time from the start of the command to the display, and the road information display device requires instant road information. There is a problem in that it is not desirable from a display point of view.

On the other hand, the module pattern display control method is as follows:
Since the desired word can be selected by simply transmitting one address signal that specifies the entire storage area of the character information memory in which one word information is stored, it is possible to display road information immediately, but the display characters The disadvantage is that the pattern is limited to a predetermined pattern and the degree of freedom is low. In particular, when a diode matrix method or a ring core method is adopted as a storage method for word information in a module pattern display control method, changing or adding word information requires hardware changes, which increases the time it takes to change the word information. There is a drawback. On the other hand, there is a method that uses semiconductor non-volatile memory (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 142892/1986: Electric information display method), but the disadvantage is that the displayed character pattern is limited to a predetermined one and the degree of freedom is low. It has not yet been developed to solve problems.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional control system for road information display devices.The purpose of the present invention is to shorten the control time from specifying the characters to be displayed to displaying them, and to provide display character patterns with a high degree of freedom. The object of the present invention is to provide a control method that achieves this.

In order to achieve such an object, in the present invention, the character information memory provided in the terminal device is a read/write memory in which character information of a desired pattern can be freely read and written in units of character information, and road information is displayed. In the control mode, a control mode signal for setting the read/write memory in read mode is transmitted from the central controller in advance, and then an address signal specifying the storage area where desired character information is stored is transmitted from the central controller. In the control mode, the desired character information is read out in units of character information, and the stored content of the character information memory consisting of a read/write memory, that is, the character information is changed or new character information is added. A control mode signal for setting the character information memory to write mode is transmitted from the central controller, and then an address signal for storing the desired character information is transmitted, and then the storage area specified by this address signal is transmitted. Desired character information to be stored in the memory is transmitted in units of character information, and any pattern of character information can be stored.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a road information display device to which the present invention is applied.

In the same figure, 1 is a central surrounding control device;
01 is a setting circuit for setting various control information such as control mode information, storage area information for character information memory, and character information; 102 is a setting circuit 101
104 is a serial-to-parallel converter that converts parallel signals to serial signals or serial signals to parallel signals; 103 is input to the serial-to-parallel converter 104; A buffer memory 105 temporarily stores command information and received information to be sent, and a modulator/demodulator 105 modulates the signal output from the serial/parallel converter 104 and sends it to the transmission line 3, and also demodulates the modulated signal input from the transmission line 3. circuit (hereinafter referred to as a modem); 106 is a control circuit that is in charge of overall control for each of the above circuits; 120 is a control circuit that displays road information when the setting circuit 101 issues a command to display road information; 107 is a display information amount determination circuit for monitoring whether the point information capacity for the display board exceeds the total capacity of the display lamps on the display board and for preventing the display of road information from being omitted at the setting stage; This is an alarm display circuit that generates an alarm when the amount judgment circuit determines that there is a lack of display.

2 indicates a terminal device, 201 a modem with the same function as the modem 106, and 202 a serial/parallel converter 10.
A serial/parallel converter having the same function as 4, 203 is a first character information memory in which character information necessary for displaying road information is stored in advance in units of character information, and 203 is a first character information memory for controlling the display of road information. In this mode, each character information is read using the address signal used when writing the character information. A second character information memory 204 is used to write desired character information to be newly added, and after writing the character information, it can be used in the same manner as the first character information memory 203. 205 is a control judgment circuit that checks the transmission and reception signals of the serial/parallel converter 202 and performs control and judgment processing for each circuit; 206 is an OR circuit; 207
208 is a latch circuit that sequentially stores column information including one set of vertical point information of a character pattern among the character information outputted from the OR circuit 206 to form a character pattern, and 208 represents all display information of the display pattern. A counting circuit for counting the quantity, 209 is a latch circuit 2
When the total display information amount of the display character pattern stored in step 07 is smaller than the total amount of display lamps on the display board, a dimming pattern sending circuit 201 sends the difference in amount to the display board as a dimming pattern signal; The circuit 211 is a display board for displaying path information, and includes a buffer memory 2110, a lamp drive circuit 2111, and a display lamp section 2112.
The display character pattern signal (latch circuit 207
) and a dimming pattern signal are stored in the lamp drive circuit 211 according to this stored signal.
1 to control the blinking of each display lamp in the display lamp section 2112. 3 is the central control unit 1
This is a transmission path that connects the terminal device 2 and the terminal device 2.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the transmission format of information transmitted between the central control device 1 and the terminal device 2. FIG. 2a shows the display command format when displaying road information, and FIG. This is a write command format when writing new character information to the second character information memory 204 in the second character information memory 204.

The display command format includes a terminal address signal _A1 for selecting one of the terminal devices 2 when multiple terminal devices 2 are installed, and command signals for control mode (display, writing, dimming pattern display position, brightness adjustment, etc.). ), the first character information memory ₂₀₃ and the second character information memory 20
Address signal for reading character information from 4
Composed of C ₁ .

The write command format is the terminal address signal.
A ₁ , a control mode signal B ₁ , and write data C ₂ including an address signal for writing information to the second character information memory 204 and character information. In order to distinguish between a display command and a write command, display command information is always given as a control mode signal B ₁ when a display command is given, and write command information is always given as a control mode signal B ₁ when a write command is given.

Figure 3a is a diagram showing the configuration of the display lamp section of the C type free pattern variable information board used by the Metropolitan Expressway Corporation. It is a directional type, with 12 large windows arranged in a row, each consisting of 240 small windows (16 rows vertically x 15 columns horizontally), and the total number of display lamps is
2880 pieces (240 x 12) are implemented. Normally, the number of display lamps required to display one kanji character is 16 vertically.
Consisting of 195 rows and 13 horizontal columns, one large window is allocated to display one character (number of lamps in one large window = 240), and two horizontal columns are used as space between adjacent characters. It is designed to display lights. This allows it to be used as a variable information board C type. In other words, the maximum number of kanji used on variable information board type C is
Although the number of characters is 12, it is possible to reduce the number of display lamps assigned to display simple characters such as hiragana and katakana, so it is possible to display more than 12 characters. The character pattern can be compressed in both the vertical and horizontal directions, but in the case of a display board that does not perform two-way display, only the horizontal direction is sufficient.

FIG. 3b is a diagram showing the blinking state of the display lamp when the kanji character "Yuki" is decomposed into point information and patterned, compressed in the horizontal direction and displayed.

FIG. 3c is a diagram showing the blinking state of the display lamp when the hiragana "no" is decomposed into point information and patterned, compressed in the horizontal direction and displayed.

4a to 4c show the latch circuit 20 of the terminal device 2.
When the horizontal column information amount of the display character pattern stored in 7 is smaller than the horizontal column amount of the display lamp, the difference in amount is used as a dimming pattern signal to be sent from the dimming pattern sending circuit 209 to the display board 211. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the insertion position of the light-off pattern when sent out. In the figure, the shaded area is the off pattern area,
The blank area with text displayed indicates the character display pattern area. Figure a shows an example inserted on the left side of the display lamp section 2112, and figure b shows an example where the character display pattern is inserted into the display lamp section 211.
2 is inserted on the right side of the display lamp section 2112, and FIG.

Note that the insertion position of this dimming pattern is instructed by the dimming pattern display position command included in the control mode signal _B1 .

Also, as you can see in the example of "snow" in Figure 3b, the characters are broken down into 240 point information, 15 horizontal columns and 16 vertical rows, and the display lamps are turned on. Point information to be turned off is stored as "H" level, and point information to be turned off is stored as "L" level in each column in the character information memory. That is, the 16 point information in each column is stored in order from the 1st column to the 15th column as 16-bit parallel information. Therefore, character information memory is used to store one character.
It requires a storage capacity of 240 bits, and when writing or reading character information in the first character information memory 203 and second character information memory 204, 16-bit parallel information transfer is performed in units of point information in each column. .

Next, the operation of the road information control device configured as above will be explained. For ease of explanation, the number of display lamps and display format of the display lamp section 2112 are the same as those shown in Fig. 3a, and the displayed information is also the same as that shown in Fig. 3a. This will be explained using "Be careful when passing" as an example.

First, a case in which a display operation is performed will be explained. In this case, the setting circuit 101 of the central control device 1
(a) Terminal address signal A ₁ (b) Control mode signal indicating display command
B ₁ (c) Set an address signal C ₁ for instructing the address where the desired character information to be read from the first character information memory 203 or the second information memory 204 is stored.

These setting signals are stored in buffer memory 104 via serial/parallel converter 103 under the control of control circuit 106 . The setting signal stored in the buffer memory 104 is displayed on the monitor display circuit 102 and can be monitored by the operator.

Next, the control circuit 106 outputs a control mode signal B ₁
After obtaining a determination result that the is a display command, control is performed to transmit the setting signal stored in the buffer memory 104 to the terminal device 2 via the modem 105 and further via the transmission line 3. As a result, a signal conforming to the display command format shown in FIG. 2a is transmitted to the terminal device 2.

Then, in the terminal device 2, the control determination circuit 205 first determines whether the terminal address signal _A1 corresponds to its own terminal address. If it corresponds to the own terminal address, the control mode signal _B1 is determined. As a result of this judgment operation, if the control mode signal _B1 indicates a display command, that is, if it instructs a read operation of the first character information memory 203 or the second information memory 204, the control judgment circuit 205 A signal is sent to make these memories 203 and 204 readable, and then an address signal C ₁ transmitted from the central control unit 1 is supplied. In this case, address signal _C1 is given for each display character. As a result, the first character information memory 203
Alternatively, character information corresponding to "K" to "I" of "Caution on traffic due to snow in Kofu City" is sequentially read from the second character information memory 204. This character information is held in the latch circuit 207 in the order of reading, and a character pattern is formed.

At this time, the total number of point information constituting the character information held and stored in the latch circuit 207 is as shown in FIG.
As explained in , the number of point information per kanji character is
240, and the number of point information per hiragana character is 208, then 9 kanji characters x 240 + 3 hiragana characters x 208 = 2784.

This 2784 point information is counted in the counting circuit 208, and this counted value is further sent to the control judgment circuit 208.
The total number of display lamps is 2880 in 05. As a result of this comparison, it can be seen that the number of points forming the road information is 96 fewer than the total number of display lamps. This is 6 in the display lamp section 2112.
This corresponds to the number of display lamps for each column. Therefore, in such a case, it is appropriate to turn off the display lamps for six columns, so the latch circuit 20
7 through the OR circuit 211 to the display board 211, a light-off pattern signal is sent out from the light-off pattern sending circuit 209 before and after the character information sent from 7 to the display board 211 via the OR circuit 211.

As a result, the buffer memory 2111 having the same bit capacity as the number of display lamps is filled with the display character pattern signal and the light-off pattern signal, and each display lamp is turned on or off. In this case, the road information display format will be one of those shown in FIGS. 4a to 4c depending on the insertion position of the lights-off pattern signal.

On the other hand, the display information amount determination circuit 1 of the central control device 1
20 monitors whether the amount of displayed information does not exceed the total number of display lamps, 2880, in terms of the number of sent address signals _C1 , when the address signal _A1 corresponding to each character is transmitted. If the amount of displayed information exceeds the total number of display lamps, an alarm is generated from the alarm display circuit 107. This warning is given by a lamp display or an alarm sound.

Next, a case in which a write operation is performed will be explained. In this case, the setting circuit 101 of the central control device 1
(a) Terminal address signal A ₁ (b) Control mode signal B ₁ indicating a write command (c) Write data consisting of an address signal C ₁ in which desired character information is to be stored and desired character information.

Set.

In this case, the desired character information is stored in the setting circuit 101.
All the point information constituting one character is set by a total of 240 switches arranged in 16 vertical rows and 15 horizontal columns.

Each signal (information) set in this way is
It is stored in the buffer memory 104. Then, after obtaining the determination result that the control mode signal B ₁ is a write command in the same manner as in the display operation, the control circuit 106 transmits each of the above setting signals stored in the buffer memory 104 via the modem 105. It is transmitted to the terminal device 2. As a result, the terminal device 2 has the following information:
A signal according to the write command format shown in FIG. 2b is transmitted.

In the terminal device 2 that receives such a signal, the control determination circuit 205 determines whether or not the terminal address signal _A1 corresponds to its own terminal address. If it corresponds to the own terminal address, then it is determined whether the control mode signal _B1 is a write command or a display command. If the control mode signal B ₁ is a write command, the first character information memory 203 and the second information memory 204 are set to a writable state, and then the address signal C ₁ transmitted from the central control device 1 is sent to these memories 2.
03 and 204, and further supplies character information to be written later. As a result, the same character information as the character information set by the setting circuit 101 of the central controller 1 is written in the memory area of the memory 203 and 204 corresponding to the address signal _C1 . be included. The character information written in this manner can be subsequently read out using the same address signal as the address signal _C1 used during writing.

Therefore, it is possible to display road information using arbitrary character information. In this case, reading and writing of character information can be performed in units of characters, so it is possible to greatly increase the types of road information that can be displayed, and the time from setting to display is short. .

In addition, the mode signal B ₁ controls the light-off pattern position.
Since it can be specified by , road information can be displayed while being freely shifted in the left-right direction of the display board, and it can be extremely effective when used at curved sections of roads.

In the embodiment, the character information memory is
Although it is constructed from two memories, the character information memory and the second character information memory, the same read/write memory may be used. In this case, there is an advantage that after the terminal device is installed, the stored contents of the character information memory can be freely changed only by setting operations on the central control device.

In addition, the display information amount judgment circuit is provided in the terminal device as shown in FIG. The information may be transmitted to the alarm display circuit 107 via the alarm display circuit 107.

As can be seen from the above description, according to the present invention, the time from designation of characters to be displayed to display is short, and a display character pattern with a high degree of freedom can be obtained. Furthermore, since the light-off pattern position can be specified freely, it has the excellent effect of being able to shift and display road information to a position where it is easy to see.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a road information display device to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a transmission format of a transmission signal, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a C-type variable information board display lamp. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the insertion position of the light-off pattern signal, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a modification of FIG. 1. 1...Central control device, 2...Terminal device, 101
...Setting circuit, 103,202...Serial-to-parallel converter, 104...Buffer memory, 105,201
...Modulation/demodulation circuit (modem), 106... Control circuit, 120, 220... Display information amount determination circuit, 2
03...First character information memory, 204...Second character information memory, 207...Latch circuit, 209...
...Dark pattern sending circuit, 211...Display board, 2
112...Display lamp section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A road information display device that reads character information stored in a memory in a terminal device based on information transmitted from a central control device and displays it as road information on a display board made up of a predetermined number of display elements. In this case, the memory in the terminal device stores arbitrary character information in one
The read/write memory has a plurality of storage areas capable of storing character information in units of character information, and the central control unit includes control mode information setting means for setting control mode information for instructing the read/write mode of the read/write memory. and a storage area information setting means for setting storage area information corresponding to a desired storage area of the read/write memory, and a character information setting means for setting desired character information to be written in the read/write memory, When displaying desired road information, a set of information consisting of control mode information for instructing read mode and storage area information of the read/write memory in which desired character information is stored is transmitted as information to the terminal device. transmit,
A set of information consisting of control mode information for instructing a write mode when writing desired character information into the read/write memory, storage area information in which the desired character information is to be stored, and desired character information to be stored. is transmitted as transmission information to a terminal device, and the terminal device reads character information from a desired storage area of the read/write memory and writes desired character information to the desired storage area based on the transmission information. 1. A control method for a road information display device, characterized in that a control means for performing the following is provided, and road information based on a combination of character information in units of arbitrary character information can be displayed using the transmitted information. 2. In a road information display device that reads character information stored in a memory in a terminal device based on information transmitted from a central control device and displays it as road information on a display board consisting of a predetermined number of display elements, The memory of can store arbitrary character information as 1
The read/write memory has a plurality of storage areas capable of storing character information in units of characters, and the central control unit instructs the read/write memory to read and write modes, and also displays the number of display elements on the display board. control mode information setting means for setting control mode information for instructing a lighting off pattern according to the difference between the number of characters and the number of character information to be displayed; and a memory for setting storage area information corresponding to a desired storage area of the read/write memory. A control mode comprising an area information setting means and a character information setting means for setting desired character information to be written in the read/write memory, and instructing a read mode and a light-off pattern when displaying desired road information. When transmitting a set of information consisting of information and storage area information of the read/write memory in which the desired character information is stored as transmission information to the terminal device, and write the desired character information in the read/write memory, A set of information consisting of control mode information for instructing a write mode, storage area information in which desired character information is to be stored, and desired character information to be stored is transmitted as transmission information to the terminal device; a control means for reading character information from a desired storage area of the read/write memory and writing desired character information to the desired storage area based on the transmission information;
and a light-off pattern signal generation means for outputting a light-off pattern signal for turning off the display element in accordance with the light-off pattern instruction, and a combination of character information in arbitrary character information units based on the transmission information. 1. A control method for a road information display device, characterized in that the display device displays road information according to the method of the invention, and is capable of turning off a display element corresponding to an instruction of a turning-off pattern.