KR20100047202A - Apparatus and method for controlling traffic signal-lamp in cross roads - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A traffic light control method is provided to prevent a traffic accident due to congestion at an intersection by making the traffic flow at an intersection smooth. CONSTITUTION: A first traffic light(A) and a second traffic light(B) are installed at an intersection. Second sensing information corresponds to the number of stopped vehicles in order to enter a command that changes the first traffic signal and second traffic signal green. The second sensing information and the first sensing information are compared with each other. The first sensing information corresponds to the number of stopped vehicles in order to enter a command into the first traffic signal. The green lamp of the first traffic lamp is controlled by comparing the first sensing information with the second sensing information. The second sensing information is received from at least two sensors which are under the road and senses the movement of the vehicles.

Description

{Apparatus and method for controlling traffic signal-lamp in cross roads}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling traffic light at an intersection, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for controlling traffic light at an intersection which prevents accidents due to a traffic jam in the vicinity of an intersection frequently occurring during times of heavy traffic. will be.

Intersection means three, four and five streets.

Traffic lights are installed at intersections or pedestrian crossings to instruct vehicles and pedestrians to move smoothly. The driver requires various information such as traffic jam information, regulatory information, guidance information, intersection signal information, etc. while driving, and the driver relies on the perspective of cognitive means for more than 90% of safe driving on the road. Traffic light information is the most important to the driver's attention.

Therefore, in order to secure such visibility, the traffic signal display system (sometimes referred to as “signal system”) and structure, which accurately conveys the direction of the traffic light, ensures that all drivers can observe the traffic light instructions at their own timely location. The information transfer function should be effectively designed to inform the driver conveniently and accurately.

Traffic lights are typically provided with a light bulb inside, and a hemispherical cover for protecting the light bulb and displaying green / yellow / red signifying progress / caution / stop, when the bulb is turned on. It has a structure that can be seen by the driver through the cover. On the other hand, a traffic light controller is usually installed in the vicinity of the road where the traffic light is installed to control the lighting and turn off cycle of the traffic light. It is well known that control is to be made.

In general, the four-color traffic light used at the intersection is divided into a green signal as a straight running signal, a red signal as a stop signal, a left turn signal as a left turn switching signal and a yellow signal as a preliminary signal.

However, there are many vehicles stagnated at the intersection when the traffic vehicles increase. This may be caused by the driver's failure to comply with the signal system or the temporary increase in traffic volume.

The present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for detecting the traffic volume of the vehicle in the vicinity of the intersection to control the traffic light in accordance with the traffic volume in order to solve the above problems.

The present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for smoothly controlling vehicle traffic at an intersection by efficiently controlling the traffic volume of the vehicle.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a device for controlling a traffic light installed at an intersection where at least two roads intersecting, in the opposite direction of the intersection on the basis of a specific point of the road, the road at a set interval At least two sensors installed at the bottom of the vehicle and detecting whether the vehicle is stopped on the road, and calculating a lighting time of the green traffic light according to the sensing information received from the sensors, and calculating the green traffic light during the calculated lighting time. And a control unit for instructing to turn on, and a traffic light driver for turning on and off the lights constituting the traffic light according to the instruction of the control unit.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method for controlling a traffic light installed at an intersection where at least two roads intersect each other, in a direction opposite to the intersection with respect to a specific point of the road, at predetermined intervals. Receiving sensing information from at least two sensors installed at a bottom surface of the vehicle and detecting whether the vehicle is stopped on the road; calculating a lighting time of a green traffic light according to the received sensing information; Lighting the green traffic light during a lighting time.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a method of controlling at least two traffic lights including a first traffic light and a second traffic light installed at an intersection, wherein the green traffic light of the first traffic light is turned on. Receiving second sensing information corresponding to the number of vehicles stopped to enter the intersection according to an instruction of a second traffic light, and in response to the received second sensing information and the first traffic light, etc. Comparing the first sensing information corresponding to the number of vehicles stopped to enter the intersection, and turning on the green traffic light of the first traffic light according to the comparison result of the first sensing information and the second sensing information. Process of maintaining or extinguishing.

As described above, the present invention can provide a traffic light control device and method at the intersection to facilitate communication at the intersection, thereby preventing traffic accidents due to congestion at the intersection.

In particular, it is expected to not only contribute greatly to the economic life of citizens by facilitating communication of vehicles, but also to reduce congestion, reduce fuel consumption, reduce logistics costs, and reduce environmental pollution.

1 is a view showing a crossroad traffic light control method using a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a crossroad traffic light control method using a sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a detailed view of the intersection shown in FIG.
4 is a block diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation performed by a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is another flowchart illustrating an operation performed by a control unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment for controlling a traffic light at an intersection. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

According to Figure 1, the intersection is provided with vehicle traffic lights for four directions, and a camera for real-time monitoring is installed on one side of the vehicle traffic lights. That is, the traffic light A includes a camera 11 and the traffic light B includes a camera 12. In addition, the traffic light C includes a camera 13 and the traffic light D includes a camera 14.

Considering only straight driving, direction ⓐ represents vehicle progression from south to north, and direction ⓑ represents vehicle progression from west to east. In addition, the ⓒ direction represents the vehicle traveling from the north to the south, and the ⓓ direction represents the vehicle traveling direction from the east to the west.

In addition, it is determined whether the traffic light of the traffic light A turns on in the direction ⓐ, and whether the traffic light of the traffic light B turns on in the ⓑ direction is determined by whether the traffic light turns on in the direction of ⓑ. In addition, whether to enter the intersection in the direction ⓒ is determined whether the traffic light of the traffic light C is lit, and whether the intersection proceeds in the D direction is determined by whether the traffic light of the traffic light D is lit.

Camera 11 captures the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in direction ⓐ, and camera 12 captures the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in direction ⓑ. The camera 13 photographs the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the direction ⓒ, and the camera 14 photographs the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the direction of ⓓ.

When the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the direction ⓐ increases according to the information captured by the camera 11, the green lighting time of the traffic light A is increased. When the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the ⓑ direction increases according to the information captured by the camera 12, the green lighting time of the traffic light B is increased. When the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the ⓒ direction increases according to the information captured by the camera 13, the green lighting time of the traffic light C is increased. When the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the ⓓ direction increases according to the information captured by the camera 14, the green lighting time of the traffic light D is increased.

Of course, when the traffic volume of the vehicle passing in a specific direction is reduced according to the photographed information, it is obvious that the green lighting time of the traffic light corresponding to each direction can be reduced. In general, the traffic volume of the vehicle at the intersection does not increase at the same time in all directions, but only the traffic in a specific direction is temporarily increased so that the green lighting time of the four traffic lights does not increase at the same time.

2 illustrates an embodiment for controlling a traffic light at an intersection. Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

According to Fig. 2, the intersection is provided with vehicle traffic lights in four directions.

Considering only straight driving, direction ⓐ represents vehicle progression from south to north, and direction ⓑ represents vehicle progression from west to east. In addition, the ⓒ direction represents the vehicle traveling from the north to the south, and the ⓓ direction represents the vehicle traveling direction from the east to the west.

In addition, it is determined whether the traffic light of the traffic light A turns on in the direction ⓐ, and whether the traffic light of the traffic light B turns on in the ⓑ direction is determined by whether the traffic light turns on in the direction of ⓑ. In addition, whether to enter the intersection in the direction ⓒ is determined whether the traffic light of the traffic light C is lit, and whether the intersection proceeds in the D direction is determined by whether the traffic light of the traffic light D is lit.

In addition, at least one sensor 21 / 21-1 is attached on the road before entering the intersection to determine the traffic volume of the vehicle traveling in the direction ⓐ. The sensor may include a sensor installed on the bottom of the road or a sensor installed on the side of the road. When a plurality of sensors are attached, the distance between the sensors may be the same, or the distance between the sensors may increase as the distance from the intersection increases. In addition, in order to accurately grasp the traffic volume of the vehicle, it is desirable to reduce the distance between the sensors.

Attach at least one sensor 22 / 22-1 on the road before entering the intersection to determine the traffic volume of vehicles traveling in the direction of ⓑ. Attach at least one sensor 23 / 23-1 on the road before entering the intersection to determine the traffic volume of vehicles traveling in the ⓒ direction. Attach at least one sensor 24 / 24-1 on the road before entering the intersection to determine the traffic volume of vehicles traveling in the ⓓ direction.

Hereinafter, a method of identifying a traffic volume of a vehicle traveling in the direction ⓐ and using the same will be described with reference to FIG. 3. The method of identifying the traffic volume of vehicles traveling in the ⓑ to ⓓ directions is also performed in the same way. In addition, it is assumed that the sensor is a sensor installed on the bottom of the road.

In order to enter the intersection in the direction of ⓐ, traffic light A determines whether the red light has reached the green light. When the traffic light A turns green, the traffic light A determines the number of vehicles that are currently going to the intersection using a sensor attached to the road. That is, if the sensor 21 and the sensor 21-1 are not detected, it is determined that the vehicle which attempts to enter the intersection is in the ㉮ section. If the vehicle is only in the section, the traffic volume A is reduced, so the green lighting time of traffic light A is reduced.

If detected by the sensor 21, but not detected by the sensor 21-1, it is determined that the vehicle to enter the intersection is in the ㉮ section and ㉯ section. If there are vehicles in the ㉮ and ㉯ sections, the traffic volume is the same as usual, so keep the green lighting time of traffic light A the same as usual. When detected by the sensor 21 and the sensor 21-1, it is determined that the vehicle to enter the intersection is in section ㉮ or section ㉰. If there are vehicles in the ㉮ section or ㉰ section, the traffic volume is increased, so the green lighting time of traffic light A is increased more than usual. By doing so, the traffic light may be controlled according to the traffic volume of the vehicle to enter the intersection.

4 is a block diagram illustrating devices for practicing the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the apparatus for implementing the present invention includes a first sensor 40, an n-th sensor 40-n, a controller 41, a memory 42, a traffic light driver 43, and a traffic light 44. As described above, the number of sensors may be increased or decreased according to a user's selection, but the number of sensors is preferably increased for accurate traffic volume control. In addition, the number of sensors installed on each road in four directions based on the intersection is the same, or according to the user's setting, the number of sensors installed on the road in a specific direction is increased than the number of sensors installed on the road in other directions. Or reduce.

The sensor 40 / 40-n is installed on the road to determine the traffic volume of the vehicle to enter the intersection.

The sensor 40 / 40-n transfers the sensed information to the controller 41. The memory 42 stores sensing information and information on the green lighting time of the traffic light 44. The controller 41 determines the green lighting time of the traffic light 44 using the sensing information received from the sensor 40 / 40-n and the information stored in the memory 42. Table 1 below shows an example of the information stored in the memory 42.

Sensing  Information Traffic light green lighting time sec ) Vehicle not detected 15 Vehicle detection only with one sensor 30 Vehicle detection by two sensors 60

The traffic light driver 43 drives the traffic light 44 according to a control command received from the controller 41. That is, when the control unit 41 instructs to turn on the green signal lamp, the green signal lamp is driven. When the yellow signal turns on, the yellow signal lamp is driven. In addition, when the control unit 41 instructs the lighting of the red signal lamp, the red signal lamp is driven.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling one traffic light according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a method of controlling one traffic light according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 5.

In step 50, the controller receives the sensing information from the sensor. In step 51, the controller calculates a green traffic light turn-on time according to the received sensing information. As described in Table 1, the lighting time of the green traffic light is calculated differently according to the received sensing information.

In step 52, the controller instructs the green signal to be turned on according to the calculated lighting time of the green signal. In step 53, the controller determines whether the green traffic light turn-on time calculated in step 51 has elapsed. To this end, the controller performs counting at the same time as the green signal light turns on. If the green traffic light turn-on time has not elapsed, the controller moves to step 52 to maintain the green traffic light turn on. If the green traffic light turns on, the controller moves to step 54 to turn off the green traffic light, and then sequentially turns on the yellow traffic light and the red traffic light.

6 is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling four traffic lights according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, a method of controlling four traffic lights according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

6 illustrates a method of controlling the traffic lights B to the traffic lights D while the traffic light A is kept green. That is, while the traffic light A is green, the driver of the vehicle cannot enter the intersection using the traffic light B or the traffic light D. That is, it is not fair to wait for a driver who uses the traffic light B or the traffic light D until the green light of the traffic light A turns off. Therefore, FIG. 6 grasps the urgency in each direction and controls the traffic lights A to D according to the identified urgency. The emergency stops behind the crosswalk to enter the intersection and corresponds to the number of vehicles. In other words, if the number of vehicles stopping behind the crosswalk is low, the urgency is low. If the number of vehicles stopping behind the crosswalk is high, the urgency is high. Of course, the number of vehicles stopping behind the crosswalk is calculated from the sensing information received from the sensor.

In step 61, the controller turns on the green light of the traffic light A. FIG. In step 62, the controller determines whether the green signal lighting time of the traffic light A has elapsed. If the green signal lighting time of the traffic light A has elapsed, the controller moves to step 66. If the green signal lighting time of the traffic light A has not elapsed, the controller moves to step 63.

In step 63, the controller receives the sensing information from the sensors corresponding to the traffic light B to the traffic light D. Sensors corresponding to each traffic light are located on opposite sides of the intersection. Referring to FIG. 2, the sensors corresponding to traffic light A are sensors 21 and sensor 21-1, and the sensors corresponding to traffic light B are sensors 22 and sensor 22-1. Sensors corresponding to traffic light C are sensors 23 and sensor 23-1, and sensors corresponding to traffic light D are sensors 24 and sensor 24-1.

In step 64, the controller calculates an urgency corresponding to the received sensing information. As mentioned above, urgency is related to the number of vehicles stopping behind the crosswalk. Table 2 describes an example of the urgency calculated by the control unit.

Traffic light corresponding to sensor Urgency Traffic light B 5 Traffic light C 3 Traffic light D 2

According to Table 2, the urgency of the traffic light B is the highest, and the urgency of the traffic light D is the lowest.

In step 65, the control unit determines whether the calculated urgency is higher than the urgency of traffic light A. If one of the calculated urgency is higher than the urgency of the traffic light A, the controller moves to step 66. If the calculated urgency is lower than the urgency of the traffic light A, the controller moves to step 61 and maintains the green signal of the traffic light A. FIG. Of course, the urgency of the traffic light A is lower as the time when the green signal is turned on. That is, even if the emergency is high when the green signal is turned on, the emergency is lowered as the number of vehicles passing through the intersection increases.

In step 66, the control unit turns off the green signal of the traffic light A, and then turns on the yellow traffic light and the red traffic light sequentially. In addition, the controller lights the green signal of the traffic light B having a high degree of urgency. In this way, it is possible to smoothly communicate the vehicle on the intersection.

As described above, with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be variously modified and modified within the scope of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. It is obvious that it can be changed.

First sensor: 40 N-th sensor: 40-n
Control unit: 41 Memory: 42
Traffic light driver: 43 Traffic light: 44

Claims (1)

A method of controlling at least two traffic lights including a first traffic light and a second traffic light installed at an intersection,
Receiving second sensing information corresponding to the number of vehicles stopped to enter the intersection according to the instruction of the second traffic light while the green traffic light of the first traffic light is turned on;
Comparing the first sensing information corresponding to the number of vehicles stopped to enter the intersection according to the received second sensing information and the first traffic signal;
Maintaining or turning off the green traffic light of the first traffic light according to a result of the comparison between the first sensing information and the second sensing information;
The second sensing information may be received from at least two sensors installed on the bottom of the road at predetermined intervals in a direction opposite to the intersection based on a specific point of the road to detect whether the vehicle is stopped on the road. The traffic light control method.

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