WO2012140743A1 - Vehicle sensing apparatus antifreeze method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

An antifreeze device (10) comprises: a heater unit (11), further comprising halogen lamps (125) which are supported by support units (13) which are positioned near installation sites of cylindrical bodies (211) of a vehicle sensing apparatus (2) and in an approximately parallel direction to a vehicle path with respect to the cylindrical bodies (211), and which illuminate prescribed illumination regions (L1, L2) including lower end portions of the cylindrical bodies (211) and lower end forward prescribed ranges of the cylindrical bodies (211) with infrared light; a snowfall gauge (1022) which senses snowfall; and a control unit (100) which carries out a power supply to the heater units (11) when it is determined that a snowfall state is in effect. Decline in sensing performance arising from snow accumulation or freezing is prevented without adding a change to the structure of an already installed vehicle sensing apparatus (2).

Description

Method and apparatus for preventing freezing of vehicle detector

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for preventing freezing of a vehicle detector installed at, for example, a toll road toll gate using infrared rays.

Conventionally, it is known that an automatic toll collection system is installed at toll gates on toll roads. The automatic toll collection system employs a vehicle detector that detects entry of a vehicle into a traffic lane (Patent Document 1). This vehicle detector has a long cylindrical body, a light emitting side detector in which a number of light emitting elements are arranged in the vertical direction, and a light receiving element in which a number of light receiving elements corresponding to the light emitting elements are arranged. It consists of a side detector. The light emitting side detector and the light receiving side detector are arranged to face each other across the traffic lane, and one light shielding sensor is configured by a combination of a light emitting element and a light receiving element corresponding to each other. That is, in the state where the vehicle is not present, the sensor light from the light emitting element is received by the light receiving element, while when the vehicle passes, the sensor light is shielded by the vehicle and is not received by the light receiving element. Whether or not the vehicle has passed can be detected based on whether or not the sensor light is received by the light receiving element.

By the way, the cylindrical body of the vehicle detector is provided with a light-transmitting surface on the light-emitting side detector and a light-receiving surface on the light-receiving side detector, and a transparent glass plate or resin plate is fitted on each surface. A light window and a light receiving window (translucent window) are formed. In the case of a toll road in a cold region, if the outside air falls below freezing, the outer surfaces of the light projecting window and the light receiving window may freeze. When freezing occurs, the sensor light emitted from the light emitting element is diffusely reflected by the light projecting window or light receiving window, or absorbed to cause a decrease in the light quantity. May be erroneously detected. Similarly, the inside of the cylinder constituting the vehicle detector becomes below freezing point, and an icing layer is formed on the surface of the light emitting element, the light receiving element and the surface of the condensing lens installed therein, and the light from the light emitting element is irregularly reflected, etc. Thus, there is a possibility that the vehicle is not irradiated in the predetermined direction and in the predetermined direction, and that the amount of light received by the light receiving element is low, so that the vehicle is erroneously detected even though there is no vehicle passing. Further, even if condensation occurs on the surface of the light emitting element, the light receiving element, the light projecting window, or the light receiving window, and the same erroneous detection as in the case of icing may occur due to rainwater.

It is known to try to solve this problem by heat treatment. Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a heater coil is arranged inside a light transmission lens that is a component of a light projecting unit in a case of a vehicle detection device. When the weather condition reaches the dew point and dew adheres to the light transmission lens and becomes cloudy, the heater coil is energized to warm the light transmission lens to prevent dew adhesion. In order to achieve the same object, a configuration is also described in which a heat transmitting element capable of transmitting light is provided on the back surface of the light transmitting lens.

Further, Patent Document 3 describes a vehicle detection device in which a heat ray is disposed in the outer peripheral area of a lens window provided to face an image sensor. By energizing the heat ray and applying heat to the lens window or the like, clouds and frost adhering to the lens window are removed.

JP 2004-171140 A JP 2002-32891 A JP-A-8-293090

However, this type of vehicle detector has a light emitting element (light receiving element), a light projecting window (light receiving window), and a failure if necessary, as described in JP-A-2003-77089. Since it is necessary to arrange an optical system for detection, it is not always easy to run the heater wire around the surface wall of the housing. In addition, wiring the heater wire to the vehicle detector requires modification of the device and complicates the structure of the vehicle detector.

Furthermore, as described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the configuration in which a heating element is disposed in the case or a heat ray is disposed in the lens window is a clouding of the lens by modifying a part of the structure. Although certain effects such as being able to stop can be obtained, this is only a countermeasure for the optical system of the vehicle detector, and does not correspond to snowfall (snow accumulation) or freezing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is a freezing capable of preventing a decrease in detection performance due to snow accumulation or freezing without any change to the structure of an existing vehicle detector. A prevention method and an apparatus therefor are provided.

An anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to the present invention has a cylindrical body standing upright in a vehicle passage, and one of a light emitting section and a light receiving section directed to the front side in an inner space of the cylindrical body. In the anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector that detects a passing vehicle through a light transmission window in front of the cylinder body, and in the vicinity of the standing position of the cylinder body and the cylinder body Infrared rays are irradiated toward a predetermined irradiation region including a predetermined range in front of a part of a lower end side of the cylindrical body and a lower end of the cylindrical body, supported by a support portion disposed in a direction substantially parallel to the vehicle passage. An infrared irradiation unit having an infrared irradiation source to perform, a weather information acquisition unit that acquires at least weather information related to snowfall, and the infrared ray when it is determined that it is in a snowfall state based on the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit Control unit that supplies power to the irradiation unit The is characterized in that it comprises.

In addition, the vehicle detector freezing prevention method according to the present invention includes a cylindrical body erected with the front facing the vehicle passage, and a light emitting section and a light receiving section directed to the front side in the inner space of the cylindrical body In the method for preventing freezing of a vehicle detector that detects a passing vehicle through a transparent window in front of the cylindrical body and a plurality of one of the two is arranged in the vertical direction, the weather information acquisition unit acquires at least weather related to snowfall Based on the information, the presence or absence of a snowfall state is determined, and when it is determined that the snowfall state is present, the cylinder is disposed in the vicinity of the standing position of the cylinder and in a direction substantially parallel to the vehicle passage. In addition, power is supplied to an infrared irradiation source that irradiates infrared rays toward a predetermined irradiation region including a part of the lower end side of the cylindrical body and a predetermined forward range of the lower end of the cylindrical body.

According to this invention, whether or not it is a snowfall state is determined based on the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit. And if it is judged that it is a snowfall state, electric power will be supplied to an infrared irradiation source, and infrared emission will be started. Infrared rays emitted from an infrared irradiation source are irradiated to a predetermined irradiation area including a part of a lower end side of a cylinder constituting the vehicle detector (outer frame structure thereof) and a predetermined range in front of the lower end of the cylinder. As a result, the lower end portion of the cylindrical body is heated. By this heating, the air inside the cylinder is warmed from below, and the inner space of the cylinder is warmed as a whole by convection. Moreover, the snow which accumulates in the predetermined range ahead of the lower end of a cylinder by the heating by an infrared irradiation source and the ice in freezing are melted. Therefore, even when the environmental temperature is below the freezing point and the transparent window is frozen, ice melting is performed. For this reason, the detection light is not blocked or irregularly reflected by snow or ice blocks, and erroneous detection can be prevented. Moreover, since the melting of the snow remaining on the front surface is promoted by heating the air inside the cylinder, the problem of erroneous detection is solved over the entire detection range for vehicle detection. Furthermore, since the vehicle detector is heated remotely from the outside, there is no need to change the structure of the vehicle detector itself. Further, in the above, as a method for determining the snowfall state, in addition to a method for directly determining whether or not it is snowing, for example, one or more of temperature, humidity, ground temperature, etc. are combined to determine whether or not the snowfall environment exists. An aspect of indirectly determining or an aspect of acquiring weather information of a corresponding area from another weather observation facility via a known communication means may be used.

Note that the present invention is not limited to a mode in which power is supplied to the infrared irradiation source only when it is determined that it is snowing, and other weather elements are acquired and power is supplied to the infrared irradiation source based on separate weather conditions. You may add the aspect which melt | dissolves freezing thru | or dew condensation by supplying.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent a decrease in detection performance due to snow accumulation or freezing without changing the structure of an existing vehicle detector.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a toll gate device of an automatic toll collection system that is an example to which an anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view explaining the detailed structure of a vehicle detector. It is a perspective view explaining the standing structure of a vehicle detector. It is a schematic perspective view which shows arrangement | positioning with the light emission side part (or light-receiving side part) of a vehicle detector, and the heater part of a freezing prevention apparatus. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning with the light emission side part (or light-receiving side part) of a vehicle detector, and the heater part of a freezing prevention apparatus, (a) is a left view, (b) is a front view, (c) is a right view. , (D) is a plan view. It is a schematic plan view explaining the structure of a fixture. It is a figure explaining the structure of a fixture, (a) is a disassembled perspective view, (b) is a partial cross section front view, (c) is a side view. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of a connection part, and is a front view corresponding to FIG.7 (b). It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the attachment structure of a connection part and a heater, and is a figure corresponding to Fig.7 (a). 1A and 1B are views showing an embodiment of a heater structure, in which FIG. 1A is an external perspective view, FIG. 1B is an exploded view, FIG. 3C is a perspective view of a mirror unit including a halogen lamp and its mounting portion, and FIG. It is a perspective view of a mirror unit in a state where a lamp is attached. It is a front view which shows the relationship of the attachment attitude | position of a heater and a support part. It is a front view which shows the relationship of the other attachment attitude | position of a heater and a support part. It is a block diagram for controlling the drive of the heater of an antifreezing apparatus. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the mirror unit of a heater, (a) is a figure which shows the irradiation range of a mirror unit and infrared rays, (b) is explanatory drawing which shows the shape of a mirror unit. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of the mirror unit of the heater shown in FIG. 14, and is a schematic perspective view corresponding to FIG. It is a front view which shows each embodiment in the right-and-left arrangement | positioning of a heater, (a) is a figure at the time of arrange | positioning diagonally ahead of a vehicle detector, (b) is a figure at the time of arrange | positioning in the position which is substantially right next to a vehicle detector. It is. It is a front view which shows embodiment provided with the raising / lowering mechanism which enables raising / lowering of a heater. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of arrangement | positioning of a heater. In another embodiment showing the arrangement of a vehicle detector and a heater for detecting a vehicle of a high vehicle type, (a) is the top of the cylinder of the vehicle detector that is lower than the normal size by a predetermined dimension The perspective view which connected the normal size vehicle detector 2 in series, (b) is the front view which has arrange | positioned the heater. In another embodiment showing the arrangement of a vehicle detector and a heater for detecting a vehicle of a high vehicle type, a normal size vehicle detector is crowned on the top of the dummy body adjacent to the normal size cylinder. (B) is the front view which has arrange | positioned the heater.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a toll gate device of an automatic toll collection system, which is an example to which the anti-freezing device 10 for a vehicle detector according to the present invention is applied. The automatic toll collection system has a predetermined width and a predetermined bulk formed of concrete material or the like on both sides of a vehicle approach path (vehicle path 8) having a vehicle width through which a vehicle can pass (or to provide a vehicle path 8). And installed on roadbeds 81 and 82 having a predetermined length along the approach path.

On the roadbeds 81 and 82, the vehicle detector 2, the gantry 4 with the antenna 3 installed on the top, the start controller 5, the vehicle detector 6, and a display for displaying charges, etc. in order along the traveling direction. A container 7 is arranged.

Vehicle detectors 2 and 6 have the same structure. The vehicle detector 2 detects an approaching vehicle, and the vehicle detector 6 detects a passing vehicle. Hereinafter, the structure will be described on behalf of the vehicle detector 2.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the internal structure of the vehicle detector 2. In the vehicle detector 2, the light emitting side portion 21 is disposed on the road base 81 and the light receiving side portion 22 is disposed on the road base 82 so as to face each other. The light emitting side portion 21 has a long cylindrical body 211 having a predetermined cross-sectional shape, for example, a circular shape or a square shape (square shape) as in the present embodiment. The cylinder 211 is made of a metal material such as steel and is erected on the roadbed 81. In this embodiment, the light receiving side portion 22 has a long cylindrical body 221 having a quadrangular cross section (rectangular shape). The cylinders 211 and 221 have, for example, a longitudinal cross-sectional shape of 240 mm front side × 200 mm side surface, a thickness of about 3 mm, and a normal type (normal size) of 175 cm. The cylinders 211 and 221 constitute an outer frame structure of the light emitting side portion 21 and the light receiving side portion 22 of the vehicle detector 2.

Infrared light emitting elements 212 (light emitting portions) are arranged on the inner wall of the rear surface of the cylinder 211 with a predetermined interval in the vertical direction. Each infrared light emitting element 212 emits beam-shaped infrared light toward the front wall. A long slit is formed in the vertical direction at a position on the front surface of the cylindrical body 211 where the infrared light emitted from each infrared light emitting element 212 hits, and a transparent glass plate or the like is fitted into the slit. Thus, a light projection window 213 is formed. In addition, a lens system for condensing the emitted infrared light to obtain a parallel light beam may be provided inside the cylinder and on the optical axis of each infrared light emitting element 212. Further, if necessary, an infrared light receiving unit for light emission inspection may be provided inside to monitor whether or not the infrared light emitting element 212 is normally emitting light.

The light receiving side portion 22 also has substantially the same structure as the light projecting side portion 21, and a long slit is formed in the vertical direction, and a light receiving window 223 is formed by fitting a transparent glass plate or the like into the slit. . The difference is that infrared light receiving elements 222 are arranged on the inner wall of the rear surface. If necessary, an infrared light emitting unit for light reception inspection is provided corresponding to each infrared light receiving element 222, and whether each infrared light receiving element 222 normally performs a light receiving operation or not. You may make it monitor.

According to the vehicle detector 2, the control unit 100 emits pulsed infrared light from each infrared light emitting element 212 at a predetermined cycle, and the presence or absence of a light reception signal at each opposing infrared light receiving element 222. Is controlled to be detected. If the received light signals are detected by all the infrared light receiving elements 222, it is determined that there is no vehicle as an obstacle in the vehicle path 8, and the received light signals are detected by some of the lower infrared light receiving elements 222. Otherwise, it is determined that there is a passing vehicle. Specifically, it is determined that the vehicle has passed after the detection start and the detection end.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle detector 2 includes the light emitting side portion 21 and the light receiving side portion 22 with the vehicle passage 8 interposed therebetween, but the light emitting side portion 21 and the light receiving side portion 21 are provided on one side of the vehicle passage 8. The light receiving side portion 22 is arranged correspondingly, and when entering the vehicle, the infrared light emitted from each infrared light emitting element of the light emitting side portion 21 is reflected by the vehicle body and each infrared light receiving of the light receiving side portion 22 is received. On the other hand, when there is no vehicle, the infrared light emitted from each infrared light emitting element on the light emitting side portion 21 does not come back, so that each infrared light receiving element on the light receiving side portion 22 is infrared. It is good also as an aspect which detects the presence or absence of a passing vehicle by not receiving light. Further, the arrangement pitch of the infrared light emitting element and the infrared light receiving element in the vertical direction does not need to be constant. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, it is necessary to increase the detection accuracy on the lower side. Further, it is possible to adopt a mode of concentrating at the lower part.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the antenna 3 receives information from the onboard device of the approaching vehicle, and transmits toll equipment and the like at the exit of the toll road. The start controller 5 usually has both bars (a pair) of bars 51 descending on the vehicle passage 8 side. When the vehicle detector 2 detects an approaching vehicle, the bars 51 on both sides are rotated upward after a predetermined time. When the vehicle passage 8 is opened and the vehicle detector 6 detects a passing vehicle, control is performed so that the bars 51 on both sides are lowered after a predetermined time.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the standing structure of the vehicle detector 2. In the present embodiment, the vehicle detector 2 is installed on the roadbed 81. A base 811 having a required width and a required thickness is laid on the roadbed 81 and fixed by a fixing tool such as a screw. A support plate 812 having a required width and a required thickness is laid on the upper surface of the base 811, and is similarly fixed to the base 811 with a fixture such as a screw. One side of the vehicle detector 2, for example, the cylindrical body 211 of the light emitting side portion 21 has a bowl-shaped bent portion 211 a whose lower end is bent at right angles to the left and right sides. The light emitting side portion 21 is fixedly supported on the support plate 812 by fixing the bent portion 211a to the side away from the vehicle passage 8 on the support plate 812 via a fixture such as a screw. Is done. Instead of the bent portion 211a, a pair of standing standing pieces for fitting may be fixed on the support plate 812, and the lower end of the cylindrical body 211 may be press-fitted from above and fitted. Similarly, the other light receiving side portion 22 constituting the vehicle detector 2 is supported upright on the roadbed 82. The vehicle detector 2 is disposed on the side away from the vehicle passage 8 on the road bed 81 (road bed 82) so as not to hinder the vehicle passing as much as possible. Further, the base 811 and the support plate 812 may be combined and handled as a support plate.

4 and 5 are diagrams showing the arrangement of the light emitting side portion 21 (or the light receiving side portion 22) of the vehicle detector 2 and the heater portion 11 of the antifreezing device 10, and FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view. 5A is a left side view, FIG. 5B is a front view, FIG. 5C is a right side view, and FIG. 5D is a plan view.

In this embodiment, the antifreezing device 10 includes a pair of heater portions 11 on the left and right sides with the light emitting side portion 21 interposed therebetween. Each heater unit 11 includes a heater 12, a support unit 13 that supports the heater 12, and a fixture 14 that attaches the heater 12 to the support unit 13. Each support portion 13 is on the roadbed 81, spaced from the cylinder 211 by a predetermined distance in the left-right direction (vehicle traveling direction) of the roadbed 81 and at a position facing the support plate 812 (obliquely forward of the cylinder 211). It is erected. Each support portion 13 includes a flat plate-like substrate portion 131 that is laid on the roadbed 81 and fixed by a fixing tool such as a screw, and a vertical portion 132 that is erected on the substrate portion 131 and has a predetermined length. Yes. In the present embodiment, the upright portion 132 has a cylindrical or columnar shape as shown in FIG.

Each heater 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and radiates infrared rays from the lower surface side toward a lower required range as shown by a broken line in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, each heater 12 is supported at a predetermined height position of the upright portion 132 of the support portion 13 and does not protrude from the front wall of the roadbed 81 toward the vehicle passage 8 side. So that it does not become an obstacle to passing vehicles. Each heater 12 is inclined such that the end closer to the cylindrical body 211 is at a relatively higher position than the other end on the far side (see FIG. 5B). As shown in FIG. 4, each heater 12 is set so that infrared rays having a predetermined intensity can be emitted to the required irradiation ranges L1 and L2, and by further adjusting the mounting posture, the heaters 12 shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. As indicated by a broken line, a predetermined irradiation region including a high irradiation range L3 in which a part of each irradiation range L1, L2 overlaps is formed. In addition, the irradiation ranges L1 and L2 include a part of the lower end of the cylindrical body 211, so that the lower part of the cylindrical body 211 is effectively heated to warm the in-cylinder air. By providing a pair of heaters 12 on the left and right sides of the cylindrical body 211 and overlapping a part of the infrared radiation region, the heat generation region can be concentrated near the center of the upper surface of the support plate 812 serving as a vehicle detection infrared light passage. it can. The irradiation range is to melt snow and freezing in the entire surface of the support plate 812 in FIG.

6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining the structure of the fixture 14. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view, FIG. 7 (a) is an exploded perspective view, FIG. 7 (b) is a partially sectional front view, and FIG. c) is a side view. The fixture 14 includes an annular body 141 fitted to the upright portion 132 of the support portion 13, a connecting portion 143 attached to the upper surface of the heater 12, and a positioning member provided between the annular body 141 and the connecting portion 143. 142.

The annular body 141 has an inner diameter that is externally fitted to the upright portion 132 of the cylinder, and is slidable in the axial direction of the upright portion 132. At least one screw hole 1411 is threaded on the peripheral surface of the annular body 141 in the radial direction, and the screw 141a is screwed from the outside to fix the annular body 141 at a desired height position of the upright portion 132. It is possible. When the groove portion is formed in the longitudinal direction of the upright portion 132, the direction of the annular body 141 can be fixed with respect to the upright portion 132. Moreover, when it is set as the aspect which forms a several recessed part in the longitudinal direction of the upright part 132 at predetermined intervals, the height position of the annular body 141 with respect to the upright part 132 can be adjusted corresponding to a desired recessed part. A support shaft 1412 and an angle adjustment shaft 1413 are provided upright on the side surface of the annular body 141 so as to extend by a predetermined length in the radial direction. The distal end sides of the support shaft 1412 and the angle adjusting shaft 1413 are small diameter portions, and male screws into which nuts 1451 and 1452 are screwed are formed.

The positioning member 142 includes a predetermined shape portion on the upper side, here a semicircular portion 1420 having a semicircular shape, and a cylindrical portion 1423 on the lower side. The semicircular portion 1420 has a support hole 1421 formed substantially at the center, and further, an arc hole 1422 having a predetermined radius with the support hole 1421 as the center. The support hole 1421 is inserted through the support shaft 1412, and the arc hole 1422 is inserted through the angle adjustment shaft 1413.

The cylinder portion 1423 is configured integrally with the semicircular portion 1420 in this embodiment. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 7A, a pair of cylindrical portions 1423 are provided on both sides in the radial direction below the semicircular portion 1420. As shown in FIG. 7C, the cylindrical portion 1423 is partially cut out in the circumferential direction, preferably at a right angle.

The connecting portion 143 includes a mounting plate 1431 on the upper surface of the heater 12, a support shaft 1433 fitted into the cylindrical portion 1423, and a connecting portion 1432 that connects the mounting plate 1431 and the support shaft 1433. The connecting portion 1432 is limited to a required thickness as shown in FIG. 7C so as not to interfere with the cylindrical portion 1423 when the supporting shaft 1433 is fitted into the cylindrical portion 1423. 1433 can be smoothly inserted into the cylindrical portion 1423. As shown in FIG. 7B, female screws 1434 are threaded at both ends of the support shaft 1433 to a required depth position. The annular body 141 and the heater 12 are connected by fastening the bolt 144 in a state where the support shaft 1433 is fitted in the cylindrical portion 1423. FIG. 7C is a diagram of a state before the bolt 144 is fastened.

The screw 141a is inserted into the screw hole 1411 so that the annular body 141 is at a predetermined height position of the upright portion 132 of the support portion 13 and in a predetermined horizontal direction, for example, the heater 12 is in the direction of FIG. Screw to fix the position. Next, the nut 1452 is fastened at a predetermined angular position of the arc hole 1422, so that the heater 12 is inclined as shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 7B, showing another embodiment of the connecting portion. However, it is a figure of the state before inserting the cylinder part 1423 in support shaft 1433 '. In the connecting portion 143 'shown in FIG. 8, male screws 1434' are formed on both ends of the support shaft 1433 '. Then, in a state where the support shaft 1433 ′ is inserted through the cylindrical portion 1423, the nut 144 ′ is screwed to the male screw 1434 ′ so that the support shaft 1433 ′ is prevented from coming off.

FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of the attachment structure of the connecting portion and the heater, and corresponds to FIG. 7 (a). In FIG. 9, the connecting portion 143 ″ is provided with a screw shaft 1436 standing below the connecting portion 1432 so that the connecting portion 143 ″ can be inserted into a through hole 120 formed in the ceiling of the heater 12. The screw shaft 146 is screwed with a nut 147 at a required position, for example, substantially in the center. Then, in a state where the screw shaft 146 is inserted through the through hole 120, the nut 148 is inserted from the screw tip and fastened to connect the connecting portion 143 "and the heater 12.

10A and 10B are diagrams showing an embodiment of the structure of the heater 12, where FIG. 10A is an external perspective view, FIG. 10B is an exploded view, and FIG. 10C is a perspective view of a mirror unit including a halogen lamp and its mounting portion. (D) is a perspective view of the mirror unit with a halogen lamp attached. In FIGS. 110C and 110D, the front side of the sheet is the lower side of the mirror unit. The heater 12 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing 121 for housing necessary members therein. The casing 121 includes a terminal block box portion 122 on one end side in the longitudinal direction and a main body bracket 123 on the ceiling portion. The terminal block box 122 is for relaying wiring for drawing in the lamp power supply and the like from the outside. The main body bracket 123 is attached to the ceiling part of the heater 12 and is a part to which the connecting part 143 is attached.

The housing 121 has a space inside, and has an opening 1211 on the lower surface side that is open or preferably stretched with a protective net or the like. A mirror unit 124 having a shape along the inner wall of the housing 121 is loaded in the housing 121. The mirror unit 124 can be inserted into and pulled out of the housing 121 by sliding from one side surface of the housing 121. FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating a state where the mirror unit 124 is inserted into or pulled out from the housing 121 as indicated by an arrow. As shown in FIG. 10C, the mirror unit 124 has a cross-sectional shape along a quadratic curve or a substantially parabola that extends downward, and the length dimension is set to be substantially the same as the length of the casing 121. Yes. The halogen lamp 125 is a long tube (see FIG. 10C), and is stored in the focal position of the mirror unit 124 in the longitudinal direction (see FIG. 10D). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10C, the mirror unit 124 has side portions 126 on both sides in the longitudinal direction, and the halogen lamp 125 is inserted in a position corresponding to the focal position of the side portions 126. A circular notch 1261 is formed. The halogen lamp 125 is fitted into the notches 1261 of the side surface portions 126 on both sides in the longitudinal direction, and the position is fixed between the appropriate position of the mirror unit 124 with the heater fixing bracket 127 or the like (see FIG. 10D). When the halogen lamp 125 is defective or defective, the mirror unit 124 can be slid out of the housing 121 and the heater fixing bracket 127 can be removed to replace the lamp.

Thereby, the infrared rays radiated from the halogen lamp 125 are radiated downward from the opening 1211 after being adjusted to a substantially parallel light by the mirror unit 124 or a required directivity width.

The mirror unit 124 is set so that the emitted infrared rays are parallel or expanded to obtain irradiation areas L1, L2, and L3 as shown in FIG. It is preferable that at least the inner wall facing the mirror unit 126 is made of a material that reflects the infrared rays emitted from the halogen lamp heater 125 with high efficiency, or the inner wall surface is coated with a reflective material.

The halogen lamp 125 has a circular tube with a predetermined diameter, and a lamp with a predetermined wattage can be used. In the halogen lamp 125, a filament made of tungsten is disposed at a substantially central portion in a bulb made of quartz glass, and a halogen gas and an inert gas such as argon or nitrogen are sealed therein. The halogen lamp 125 has a tube surface coated with an infrared radiation material such as black far infrared radiation ceramics. The halogen lamp 125 is suitable for thawing ice, condensation, and drying raindrops in that it has the following characteristics.

That is, the filament of the halogen lamp 125 has a small heat capacity, and can raise the temperature at a speed several times higher than other far infrared heaters such as ceramic heaters and infrared heaters equipped with nichrome wire coils. Further, the halogen lamp 125 can obtain a constant light output until it is disconnected, and the halogen wall does not blacken due to the halogen cycle, and the light output and the color temperature are less attenuated. Further, the halogen lamp 125 is a few tenths of a size and compact compared to a general white light bulb. In addition, the halogen lamp 125 uses quartz glass for the bulb, and thus is extremely resistant to thermal shock. Further, the halogen lamp 125 is highly energy efficient because 75 to 95% of the input power is converted into light and heat, of which 6 to 12% is visible light and the rest is infrared.

Further, the infrared radiation ceramics coated on the halogen lamp 125 efficiently absorbs visible light and near infrared light (eg, 1.3 μm to 2 μm) emitted from the halogen lamp and generates heat, and has a wavelength of 2.5 μm to 15 μm. Infrared rays in the region, particularly infrared rays having a peak at 3 μm, are emitted (radiated). Moreover, since infrared radiation ceramics have a small heat capacity like a filament of a halogen lamp, the temperature can be increased in a short time. Infrared radiation radiated from the halogen lamp 125 is adjusted to a predetermined directivity width by the mirror unit 124, and has an overlapping region L3 at the lower portion of the cylindrical body 211 and the irradiation regions L1 and L2 of the support plate 812, as will be described later. And irradiated.

FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are front views showing the relationship between the mounting postures of the heater 12 and the support portion 13. In FIG. 11, the height position of the heater 12 is 450 mm from the roadbed 81 and is directed to the center of the lower end of the cylindrical body 211. The distance from the heater 12 to the lower end of the cylinder 211 is 500 mm, and the inclination angle of the heater 12 is 65 ° from the horizontal. On the other hand, in FIG. 12, the height position of the heater 12 is 200 mm from the roadbed 81 and is directed to the center of the lower end of the cylindrical body 211. The distance from the heater 12 to the lower end of the cylindrical body 211 is 250 mm (half the distance in FIG. 11), and the inclination angle of the heater 12 is 45 ° from the horizontal. Various members may be arranged in the vicinity of the vehicle detector 2, and there is no guarantee that a space for uniformly arranging the heater portions 11 in a certain form is secured. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, that is, according to the arrangement space, the height and angle are adjusted as appropriate, and the lower side surface of the cylindrical body 211 and the front area of the lower end (in the embodiment, the support plate 812). It is possible to irradiate the upper surface) with a required amount of heat.

Incidentally, FIG. 11, in FIG. 12, a plurality of lines indicated by the broken lines, shows the radiant intensity of a directional infrared, if the halogen lamp 125 of 300 W, from the inside of the ^{line, 2330μW / cm 2, 1480μW /} cm 2 1060 μW / cm ² and 630 μW / cm ² are shown. Infrared rays heat the lower side surface of the cylindrical body 211 to increase the temperature of the inner space of the cylindrical body 211, and the surface of the cylindrical body 211 and the inner space are conducted to warm the front surface of the cylindrical body 211. The inner surface is heated and the light projection window 213 of the cylindrical body 211 is heated to 0 ° C. or higher, so that when the light projection window 213 is frozen, the ice melts (melts ice). Further, when condensation or raindrops are attached, moisture is evaporated by drying.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), by effectively irradiating the front surface of the support plate 812, the snow piled on the support plate 812 or the ice during freezing is effectively melted. Thaw. In the vehicle detector 2 applied to the automatic fare collection system, the number of the arrayed infrared light emitting elements 212 may be denser on the lower side than on the upper side (see FIG. 5B). On the other hand, while higher detection accuracy is required, it is easy to accumulate snow on the upper surface of the support plate 812, and it is difficult to melt as it is, and there is a high possibility of freezing. Then, the light emitted from the infrared light emitting element 212 on the lower side does not go straight due to this snow accumulation, or does not go straight due to the presence of icing, but causes irregular reflection and induces false detection. Thus, the directivity range of the halogen lamp 125 includes the lower end portion of the cylindrical body 211 and the front area of the cylindrical body 211 so as to effectively irradiate both irradiation areas with infrared rays.

Table 1 shows the relationship between the front elevation temperature and the radiation intensity (μW / cm ² ) when 300 W of infrared rays is irradiated onto the side wall of the cylindrical body 211 for 30 minutes. For example, in order to increase 3 ° C. are required 700μW / cm ^2, in order to raise 7 ° C. are required 1620μW / cm ^2, in order to increase 11 ° C. is, 2570μW / cm ² is necessary It is. Also, replacement of the infrared intensity to the distance, in 700μW / cm ² 180cm, 120cm in 1620μW / cm ^2, a 60cm in 2570μW / cm ^2.

In these values, the average temperature in the Kanto region south of Japan in January and February is -2 ° C, and the average temperature in the Tohoku, Hokuriku, and southern Hokkaido regions in Japan in January and February is -6 ° C. In January and February, the average temperature in the Tohoku Mountains and Central Hokkaido is -10 ° C. Therefore, in Table 1, FIG. 11, and FIG. 12, the temperature can be increased by 3 ° C., 7 ° C., and 11 ° C. with 300 W infrared rays. As a result, even in cold regions of −2 ° C. to −10 ° C. The front wall temperature of the cylinder 211 can be raised to 0 ° C. or higher, preferably 1 ° C. or higher.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram for controlling the driving of the heater 12 of the freeze prevention apparatus 10. The heater 12 is controlled by the control unit 100. The control unit 100 is composed of, for example, a micro computer, and includes a power control unit 1001, a storage unit 1002, and a timer 1003. The power supply control unit 1001 generates a control signal in accordance with a control program for preventing freezing stored in the storage unit 1002, drives the power supply unit 101, and supplies and stops power to the halogen lamp 125. The power supply unit 101 includes, for example, a switch circuit that switches power supply (on) and stop (off) to the halogen lamp 125 that is lit by a commercial power supply. The power supply control unit 1001 may be configured to supply power continuously during the ON period of the power supply unit 101, but may be configured to include a switching drive unit and perform intermittent drive. In the case of intermittent driving, the heater 12 intermittently receives power from the power supply unit 101 to heat the lower wall of the cylindrical body 211 and the upper surface of the support plate 812 with the set average infrared radiation intensity. The average infrared radiation intensity can be variably set by adjusting the intermittent period or the on / off duty.

The control unit 100 includes a weather information acquisition unit 102 and, if necessary, an operation unit 103. The weather information acquisition unit 102 is typically a snowfall meter 1021, and may include a thermometer 1022 that measures the temperature as necessary. The snowfall meter 1021 includes a light emitting unit that periodically emits predetermined measurement light such as infrared light, and a light receiving unit that receives return light. The snowfall meter 1021 is disposed at a predetermined height position of the cylindrical body 211 or at an appropriate position of another member, periodically emits infrared light into the air, and whether or not there is return light from within a predetermined distance area. Detect the return level. In the predetermined distance area, a predetermined detection area is secured by providing a gate within a predetermined time from the light emission point of the light emitting unit. More specifically, infrared light is emitted horizontally or obliquely upward, and the infrared light that is reflected and returned by snow or raindrops during or during snowfall is received to detect the presence or absence of snowfall or rain. To detect. The distinction between snow and rain is performed based on the reflection level or the state of the reflection signal. The operation unit 103 is used for checking operations during maintenance, inspection, etc., and adjusting various contents manually.

Here, the control procedure of the heater 12 will be described. The snowfall meter 1021 periodically emits infrared light to monitor the presence or absence of snowfall. The monitoring operation may be performed on the condition that the thermometer 1022 detects a predetermined temperature or less, or may be performed by a monitoring operation instruction to the control unit 100. When snowfall is detected, the power supply control unit 1001 drives the power supply unit 101 and starts an operation of supplying predetermined power to the halogen lamp 125. Monitoring of snowfall will continue even after the start of power supply. When it is detected by the snowfall meter 1021 that the snow has stopped, the timer 1003 starts a time measuring operation. When the timer 1003 counts a predetermined time, it outputs a stop signal to the power supply control unit 1001 to stop the operation of the power supply unit 101. As a result, the operation of the heater 12 is stopped after the snow has stopped and a predetermined time has elapsed. The time lag may be a fixed value, but may be changed according to the temperature measured by the thermometer 1022 at that time, for example, a time lag value obtained by referring to a temperature-time lag table (memory) may be set in the timer 1003.

Note that when the snowfall meter 1002 can detect the amount of snowfall from the light reception level, a time lag value may be set according to the amount of snowfall using a snowfall amount-time lag table (memory). In this case, the amount of snowfall may be only the light reception level, but information on the integration of the light reception level and the detection time may be used. In addition, the weather information acquisition unit 102 is not limited to the snowfall meter 1021 (or the thermometer 1022), but the toll road management station (management center), the weather information of the area from the weather observation base, and each place of the toll road (mainly In this case, information from a snowfall sensor provided in a region having a snowfall record) may be acquired sequentially or periodically via communication means such as wired means or wireless means.

The present invention can further employ the following embodiments.

(1) FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 are diagrams showing another embodiment of the mirror unit of the heater, FIG. 14 (a) is a diagram showing the mirror unit and the infrared directivity range, and FIG. 14 (b) is the mirror unit. FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view corresponding to FIG. The mirror unit 124a in the housing 121 is composed of a wide mirror part 1241 and a narrow mirror part 1242 as a directivity width setting part, which are divided into two in the longitudinal direction. The wide mirror portion 1241 has a small curvature of a curved surface having a quadratic cross section or a parabolic cross section, and the narrow mirror portion 1242 has a large curvature of the curved surface. Therefore, in the wide mirror portion 1241, infrared rays emitted from the halogen lamp 125 are narrowed to a predetermined angle after reflection (substantially parallel light in FIG. 14A), and narrow (condensed) together with direct light (not shown). A) Irradiation range (narrow irradiation region L11). Further, in the narrow mirror part 1242, the infrared rays radiated from the halogen lamp 125 are narrowed to a large angle after reflection (intersect in FIG. 14A), and as a result, combined with direct light (not shown) as a result. The size is different from that of the irradiation region L11, and is a wide irradiation range (wide irradiation region L12) here.

In FIG. 15, the heater 12 a is mounted so as to be inclined so that the wide mirror portion 1241 on the condensing side is higher than the narrow mirror portion 1242, and irradiates infrared rays having a predetermined intensity to the required irradiation ranges L11 and L12. is doing. Thereby, it is possible to effectively irradiate the support plate 812 with the amount of heat by performing spot-like irradiation focused from a high position, as in the irradiation range L11. Furthermore, the irradiation range L11 can be overlapped inside the irradiation range L12. Further, a part of the irradiation range L12 includes a part on the lower end side of the cylindrical body 211, thereby effectively heating the lower part of the cylindrical body 211 to heat the in-cylinder air. In this embodiment, as a method of forming the irradiation range L12, the narrow mirror part 1242 is adopted to increase the curvature of the reflecting surface. However, when the curvature of the reflecting surface is reduced, this is not necessary. This is because the size of the casing 121 itself is increased in the width direction. In FIG. 15, the heater 12 a is one of the left and right sides of the cylindrical body 211, but a pair of left and right is provided, and the irradiation ranges L <b> 11 and L <b> 12 from each heater are set so as to overlap each other. The central area can be a concentrated irradiation area.

14 and 15, the directivity width setting portion is formed in the longitudinal direction of the mirror unit 124a. Instead, a wide mirror portion 1241 is formed in the center portion of the mirror unit 124 in the longitudinal direction. Alternatively, a spot-like narrow irradiation area L11 may be generated, and narrow mirror portions 1242 may be formed on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the mirror unit 124 to generate two wide-angle irradiation areas L12. In this case, the two wide irradiation areas L12 may be overlapped, and the narrow irradiation area L11 may correspond to the overlapped area.

(2) FIG. 16 is a front view showing each embodiment in the left-right arrangement of the heater, FIG. 16 (a) is a diagram in the case of being arranged obliquely in front of the vehicle detector, and FIG. 16 (b) is a diagram of the vehicle detector. It is a figure at the time of arrange | positioning in the position which becomes substantially right side. In FIG. 16A, when the width W of the roadbed 81 is wide and the roadbed 81 is in front of the cylinder 211, it is necessary to irradiate the front side portion of the roadbed 81 with infrared rays in addition to the lower end of the cylinder 211. There is. Therefore, by installing the support portion 13 diagonally forward on the left and right of the vehicle detector 2, it is efficient by irradiating the infrared rays from the heater 12 to the front portion of the cylindrical body 211 from substantially right side (irradiation areas L1, L2). Has achieved a good irradiation.

On the other hand, in FIG. 16B, for example, when the width W of the roadbed 81 is approximately the same as the width of the cylinder 211 (the width W is narrower than that of FIG. 16A), The support part 13 cannot be arranged. Therefore, the support portion 13 is arranged almost directly beside the cylindrical body 211, and the fastening angle of the annular body 141 shown in FIG. 7A is adjusted so that the heater 12 faces obliquely forward. By doing in this way, even when the width of the roadbed 81 is narrow, the irradiation areas L1 and L2 can be set as much as possible in the lower part of the cylindrical body 211 and the front part thereof.

(3) FIG. 17 is a front view showing an embodiment provided with an elevating mechanism that allows the heater to elevate. FIG. 17 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. The heater 12 is the same as the heater shown in FIG. 5, and the irradiation range is also substantially the same. In this embodiment, the upright part 132a of the support part 13 has, for example, a rectangular cross section and a height corresponding to the cylindrical body 211. In this embodiment, the heater 12 is not supported by screwing the screw 141a into the screw hole 1411 of FIG. 7A, but has an annular body 141a fitted to the vertical portion 132a. It is configured to be slidable with respect to 132 and whose rotation is restricted. In addition, when employ | adopting circular cross-section like the upright part 132 and the annular body 141, it can respond | correspond by employ | adopting separately the control member which controls rotation.

The elevating mechanism includes a winch 133 that is rotated by an electric motor or the like at the proximal end of the upright portion 132a. The winch 133 includes a rotating shaft 1331. A pulley 134 is disposed at an appropriate position above the upright portion 132a, for example, at the upper end. A wire 135 is wound from the rotating shaft 1331 of the winch 133 to the heater 12 via the pulley 134, and the tip of the wire 135 is fastened to the engaging tool 136 of the heater 12. In this structure, when the winch 133 is driven assuming that the heater 12 is at the reference position, that is, the position where the heater 12 is irradiated on the support plate 812 shown in FIG. 12 is raised. For example, it stops at the position facing the position of the joint that is the intermediate height position. Since there is a hook-shaped connecting portion 2111 at the joint of the cylindrical body 211 and there is a possibility of snow accumulation on this connecting portion 2111, there is a possibility that erroneous vehicle detection will occur at an intermediate height position if snowing. Therefore, by periodically performing an operation of moving the heater 12 to a position where the connecting portion 2111 can irradiate infrared rays by the winch 133, one unit can irradiate infrared rays to a plurality of locations. Furthermore, by stopping at the position facing the top of the cylinder 211 and irradiating infrared rays at this position, snow is accumulated on the top of the cylinder 211, and there is a risk that it may be caused by snow or ice dripping down the front. Vehicle false detection can also be prevented.

The operation control of the winch 133 may be performed by the control unit 100 shown in FIG. For example, the number of driving pulses from the lower reference position, the driving time, the rotation amount of the pulley 134, or the detection information of a sensor (photo sensor, microswitch, etc.) installed at a corresponding position of the upright portion 132a is used. That's fine. Note that the wire 135 may have a revolving structure that is stretched between the rotating shaft 1331 and the pulley 134, so that the lowering operation of the heater 12 can be performed with a driving force instead of the self-weight. As the lifting mechanism, instead of the winch type shown in FIG. 17, a rack and pinion type that converts rotational motion into linear motion, or a female screw portion engaged with the heater 12 is screwed into a stay formed with a male screw. The heater 12 may be moved up and down by rotating the stay.

(4) FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the arrangement of the heater 12. FIG. 18 corresponds to FIG. In FIG. 18, the roadbed 81 a is wider than in the case of FIG. 4, and the cylinder 211 and the antifreezing device 10 are away from the vehicle passage 8 side, that is, the rear side of the roadbed 81 a in relation to the passing vehicle. Is installed. When the roadbed 81a is wide, the snow is accumulated not only on the upper surface of the support plate 812 but also in the further front region of the support plate 812. Therefore, if the snow accumulated by irradiating the support plate 812 and the front area of the support plate 812 with infrared rays is not melted, erroneous vehicle detection will occur. Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. 18, the heater 12 on one of the left and right sides, here the left side, irradiates a part of the lower end of the cylindrical body 211 and the upper surface of the support plate 812 as an irradiation range L2 as in FIG.

Further, a longer upright portion 132b is employed on the right side, and the heater 12b is mounted at a position higher than the left heater 12, for example, about twice as high, so that the entire width direction of the roadbed 81a is set as the irradiation range L4. The posture is set to. By doing so, the lower end of the cylinder 211 and the area immediately before the lower end are irradiated with L1 + L4, and the front of the cylinder 211, that is, the entire width direction of the road bed 81a is irradiated with the irradiation range L4. Thus, it is possible to melt snow in the entire detection area of the vehicle detector 2. Note that the heater 12b only needs to have a larger wattage than the left heater 12 as the directivity range is expanded. For example, when the left heater 12 is 300 W, the heater 12b is 500 W or 1000 W. When the left heater 12 is 500 W, the heater 12 b may be 1000 W. Alternatively, the power may be adjusted by the control unit 100.

(5) FIGS. 19 and 20 are diagrams showing another embodiment of the arrangement of the vehicle detector 2a for detecting a vehicle of a high vehicle height and a heater. FIG. 19A is a mode in which the normal size vehicle detector 2 is connected in series to the top of the cylinder 211 ′ of the vehicle detector 2 which is a lower stage shorter than the normal size (long size 175 cm) by a predetermined size. FIG. 20A shows the top of a dummy extension post 211 ″ having the same dimensions as the cylinder 211 ′ (see FIG. 19A) corresponding to the lower stage adjacent to the normal-sized cylinder 211. In this embodiment, a normal-sized cylinder 211 is crowned. As shown in FIGS. 19 (a) and 20 (a), each of the cylinders 211, 211 ′ and the extension post 211 ″ has a hook-shaped connecting portion 2111 at the contact portion, and is connected via bolts and nuts. By tightening, it is firmly integrated.

FIG. 19 (b) shows the arrangement of the heaters 12 corresponding to the configuration of FIG. 19 (a), two heaters are provided on the left and right, and two heaters are arranged in the vertical direction. The total four heaters 12 may have the same wattage, or the upper stage may have a slightly smaller wattage. Each heater 12 on the upper stage melts snow that accumulates on the cage of the connecting portion 2111 so that vehicle detection at the intermediate height position is reliably performed. Therefore, it is preferable that the heaters 12 on the upper side are set so that the directing direction is mainly directed to the front surface of the cylindrical body 211.

FIG. 20 (b) shows the arrangement of the heaters 12 corresponding to the configuration of FIG. 20 (a). In this embodiment, two heaters 12 are arranged in the vertical direction on the left side of the cylindrical body 211 in the lower stage. This is because the extension column 211 ″ is installed on the right side of the cylinder 211, and the heater 12 cannot be disposed at this position. On the other hand, a long upright part 132c is erected on the right side of the cylindrical body 211 crowned on the extension column 211 '' on the upper stage, and one heater 12 is attached at a position facing the connecting part 2111 above it. It has been. This is because the upright portion 132c cannot be installed at that position because the one-stage cylinder 211 is installed on the left side of the extension column 211 ''. As described above, by arranging the upright portions 132 and 132c in the vacant space, the heater 12 can be attached to an appropriate place without any trouble.

(6) In the present embodiment, the halogen lamp 125 in which the surface of the tube is coated with an infrared radiation material, for example, a black far infrared radiation ceramic, is not limited thereto. Other lamps may be used. In addition to an automatic toll collection system for toll roads, the present invention can be applied to various uses, for example, a vehicle detector in an outdoor parking lot. Furthermore, in the mode in which ice melting is possible, it is naturally possible to condense and dry moisture of raindrops. Moreover, in the aspect which arrange | positions an antifreeze apparatus corresponding to a several vehicle detector, by connecting in parallel between the heaters of each antifreeze apparatus by a power supply line, and switching sequentially while shifting intermittent operation, As a whole, it is possible to save power.

(7) In the present embodiment, the vehicle detector 2 has been described as an example disposed on the roadbed 81 formed along the traveling path. However, the present invention is not such a roadbed 81 but has a predetermined volume. The present invention is also applicable to a mode in which the vehicle detector 2 is installed on a pedestal or the like.

As described above, the present invention has a cylindrical body erected in front of a vehicle passage, and a plurality of light emitting units and light receiving units directed to the front side in the inner space of the cylindrical body are vertically arranged. In the anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector that is arranged and detects a passing vehicle through a transparent window in front of the cylinder, the vehicle is in the vicinity of the standing position of the cylinder and with respect to the cylinder An infrared irradiation source that is supported by a support portion arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the passage and irradiates infrared rays toward a predetermined irradiation area including a part of a lower end side of the cylindrical body and a predetermined forward range of the lower end of the cylindrical body. An infrared irradiation unit having, a weather information acquisition unit that acquires at least weather information relating to snowfall, and a power to the infrared irradiation unit when it is determined that it is in a snowfall state based on the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit A control unit for supplying It is an butterfly. According to this invention, when snowfall is detected, the air inside the cylinder is heated from below, and the internal space of the cylinder is warmed as a whole by convection. Moreover, the snow which accumulates in the predetermined range ahead of the lower end of a cylinder by the heating by an infrared irradiation source and the ice in freezing are melted. Therefore, even when the environmental temperature is below the freezing point and the transparent window is frozen, ice melting is performed. For this reason, the detection light is not blocked or irregularly reflected by snow or ice blocks, and erroneous detection can be prevented. Moreover, since the melting of the snow remaining on the front surface is promoted by heating the air inside the cylinder, the problem of erroneous detection is solved over the entire detection range for vehicle detection. Furthermore, since the vehicle detector is heated remotely from the outside, there is no need to change the structure of the vehicle detector itself.

The infrared irradiation unit includes first and second infrared irradiation sources, and the predetermined irradiation area is at least one of the first and second irradiation areas irradiated by the first and second infrared irradiation sources. It is preferable that a part overlaps. According to this configuration, the first and second infrared irradiation sources irradiate the first and second irradiation areas with infrared rays, and at least partially overlap the first and second irradiation areas. More effective snow melting treatment. It should be noted that the phrase “at least a part of the first and second irradiation areas overlap” may literally include an aspect in which one of the other irradiation areas includes the other in addition to the aspect in which a part of each irradiation area overlaps. .

The support portion includes first and second support portions that support the first and second infrared irradiation sources, and the first and second infrared irradiation sources sandwich the cylinder. It is preferable to be arranged on both the left and right sides substantially parallel to the vehicle passage. According to this configuration, when there are no obstacles on both the left and right sides of the cylindrical body, the first and second infrared irradiation sources are provided at the left and right positions, and infrared irradiation is performed from both the left and right sides. An effective snow melting process can be achieved by overlapping at least a part of the two irradiation areas.

Moreover, it is preferable that the first and second infrared irradiation sources are supported by the support portion erected at one of the left and right positions substantially parallel to the vehicle passage with the cylinder interposed therebetween. . According to this configuration, even when an obstacle is provided on one side of the cylindrical body, the first and second infrared irradiation sources are provided on the other side, thereby providing the left and right sides. It is possible to irradiate infrared rays having the same amount of heat as the case.

The first infrared irradiation source is supported at a higher position than the second infrared irradiation source, and the irradiation capability of the first infrared irradiation source is higher than the irradiation capability of the second infrared irradiation source. Preferably there is. According to this configuration, it is necessary to provide various obstacles on the left and right sides by arranging the first infrared irradiation source at a high position and irradiating infrared rays with higher irradiation capability. It is possible to cope with some cases.

In addition, at least one of the first and second infrared irradiation sources includes a plurality of infrared irradiation sources in the vertical direction, the lower infrared irradiation source irradiates the predetermined irradiation area with infrared rays, and the upper infrared irradiation source. However, it is preferable to irradiate infrared rays on the side surface at a substantially intermediate position in the height direction of the cylindrical body. According to this configuration, at least one of the upper infrared irradiation sources irradiates infrared rays to the side surface at a substantially intermediate position in the height direction of the cylindrical body. When two are connected in the vertical direction, it becomes possible to melt snow against snow at the connecting portion, thereby preventing erroneous vehicle detection at an intermediate height position.

Further, it is preferable that the control unit sets the power supplied to the lower infrared irradiation source to be larger than the power supplied to the upper infrared irradiation source. According to this configuration, power sufficient for melting snow only at the connecting portion is sufficient, which is efficient.

In addition, the infrared irradiation unit includes an attachment unit that attaches the infrared irradiation source to the support unit in a predetermined posture, and the attachment unit includes a height adjustment unit that adjusts a height of the infrared irradiation source, and the infrared ray It is preferable to include an orientation adjustment unit that adjusts the orientation of the irradiation source. According to this configuration, the height or direction of the infrared irradiation source can be appropriately adjusted according to the situation around the cylinder. In addition, since the height can be adjusted in consideration of the weather conditions (mainly snowfall) of the area, the versatility is high.

Moreover, it is preferable that the infrared irradiation source includes a directivity width setting unit that forms two infrared irradiation areas of different sizes. According to this configuration, regions with different amounts of heat can be formed in the region irradiated from one infrared irradiation source, and heat amount irradiation according to the snow cover condition is possible.

The weather information acquisition unit is preferably a snowfall detector that detects the presence or absence of snowfall. According to this configuration, since the snowfall situation at the site is directly reflected in the snow melting process, the responsiveness is good and effective.

Further, it is preferable that the control unit terminates power supply to the infrared irradiation unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since the meteorological information acquisition unit detected the end of the snowfall state. According to this configuration, depending on the amount of snowfall, even if the snow stops, there is a case where the snow has accumulated to some extent. Therefore, it is possible to surely melt the snow by ensuring the time for melting the remaining snow. In this case, it is preferable to change the predetermined time according to the amount of snow detected by the snowfall detector.

In addition, it is preferable that the infrared irradiation unit is erected on a roadbed having a predetermined width and a predetermined bulk for forming the vehicle passage where the cylinder of the vehicle detector is erected. According to this configuration, snow melting can be performed also on the roadbed surface in front of the cylinder body.

Further, it is preferable that the infrared radiation source is a tubular halogen lamp whose surface is coated with an infrared radiation material. According to this configuration, snow melting and ice melting are effectively performed by infrared rays.

10 Freezing prevention device 11 Heater part (infrared irradiation part)
12 Heater 124, 124a Mirror unit 1241 Wide mirror part (Direction width setting part)
1242 Narrow mirror part (Direction width setting part)
125 Halogen lamp (infrared radiation source, first and second infrared radiation sources)
13 Supporting parts 132, 132a, 132b, 132c Upright part 133 winch (height adjustment part)
134 pulley (height adjustment part)
135 wire (height adjustment part)
14 Mounting tool (Mounting part)
141 Ring body (height adjustment part, orientation adjustment part)
142 Positioning member 1422 Arc hole (direction adjustment part)
143, 143 ', 143''connection part 2 vehicle detector 21 light-receiving side part (vehicle detector)
211 cylinder 211 'dummy body 81 roadbed 812 support plate 100 control unit 101 power supply control unit 103 timer 1021 snowfall meter (weather information acquisition unit)

Claims (14)

1. A cylindrical body standing upright in front of the vehicle passage, and a plurality of light emitting sections and light receiving sections directed to the front side in the inner space of the cylindrical body are arranged in the vertical direction and the cylindrical body In the anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector that detects a passing vehicle through a front transparent window,
   Supported by a support portion disposed in the vicinity of the standing position of the cylindrical body and in a direction substantially parallel to the vehicle path with respect to the cylindrical body, and a lower end side portion of the cylindrical body and a lower end of the cylindrical body An infrared irradiation unit having an infrared irradiation source for irradiating infrared rays toward a predetermined irradiation area including a predetermined range in front of
   A weather information acquisition unit that acquires at least weather information related to snowfall;
   A vehicle detector freezing prevention comprising: a control unit that supplies power to the infrared irradiation unit when it is determined that it is snowing based on the weather information acquired by the weather information acquisition unit apparatus.
2. The infrared irradiation unit includes first and second infrared irradiation sources, and the predetermined irradiation area is at least a part of the first and second irradiation areas irradiated by the first and second infrared irradiation sources. The anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to claim 1, wherein
3. The support portion includes first and second support portions that support the first and second infrared irradiation sources, and the first and second infrared irradiation sources are disposed in the vehicle path with the cylindrical body interposed therebetween. The anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to claim 2, wherein the anti-freezing device is disposed on both the left and right sides substantially parallel to the vehicle.
4. The first and second infrared radiation sources are supported by the support portion provided upright at one of the left and right sides substantially parallel to the vehicle passage with the cylinder interposed therebetween. The anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to claim 2.
5. The first infrared irradiation source is supported at a higher position than the second infrared irradiation source, and the irradiation capability of the first infrared irradiation source is higher than the irradiation capability of the second infrared irradiation source. The vehicle detector anti-freezing device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein:
6. At least one of the first and second infrared irradiation sources includes a plurality of infrared irradiation sources in the vertical direction, the lower infrared irradiation source irradiates infrared rays to the predetermined irradiation area, and the upper infrared irradiation source The anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to claim 2, wherein infrared rays are irradiated to a side surface at a substantially intermediate position in the height direction of the cylindrical body.
7. 7. The vehicle detector according to claim 6, wherein the control unit sets a power supplied to the lower infrared irradiation source to be larger than a power supplied to the upper infrared irradiation source. 8. Freezing prevention device.
8. The infrared irradiation unit includes an attachment unit that attaches the infrared irradiation source to the support unit in a predetermined posture, and the attachment unit includes a height adjustment unit that adjusts the height of the infrared irradiation source, and the infrared irradiation source. The vehicle detector anti-freezing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a direction adjusting unit that adjusts the direction of the vehicle detector.
9. 9. The vehicle detector anti-freezing device according to claim 1, wherein the infrared irradiation source includes a directivity width setting unit that forms two infrared light irradiation areas of different sizes. .
10. The anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the weather information acquisition unit is a snowfall detector that detects the presence or absence of snowfall.
11. 11. The vehicle detector according to claim 10, wherein the control unit ends power supply to the infrared irradiation unit after a predetermined time has elapsed since the meteorological information acquisition unit detected the end of a snowfall state. Freezing prevention device.
12. The infrared irradiation unit is erected on a roadbed having a predetermined width and a predetermined bulk for forming the vehicle passage, on which the cylindrical body of the vehicle detector is erected. The anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to any one of 1 to 11.
13. The anti-freezing device for a vehicle detector according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the infrared radiation source is a tubular halogen lamp having a surface coated with an infrared radiation material.
14. A cylindrical body standing upright in front of the vehicle passage, and a plurality of light emitting sections and light receiving sections directed to the front side in the inner space of the cylindrical body are arranged in the vertical direction and the cylindrical body In a vehicle detector freezing prevention method for detecting a passing vehicle through a front transparent window,
    The presence or absence of a snowfall state is determined based on at least weather information related to snowfall acquired by the weather information acquisition unit, and when it is determined that it is a snowfall state, in the vicinity of the standing position of the cylinder and on the cylinder On the other hand, the power to the infrared irradiation source is arranged in a direction substantially parallel to the vehicle passage and irradiates infrared rays toward a predetermined irradiation area including a part of the lower end side of the cylinder and a predetermined range in front of the lower end of the cylinder. A method for preventing freezing of a vehicle detector, characterized in that supply is performed.

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