JP2012221091A - Traffic signal control device and traffic signal control system using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A traffic light control device that controls a traffic light switching time for each traffic light according to a vehicle traffic volume.
A traffic signal control device 100 is provided corresponding to an intersection 2 formed by roads 1a and 1b, and controls traffic signals 3a to 3d for vehicles at the intersection 2. 6a to 6d, the image processing unit 7 processes the images captured by the cameras 6a to 6d, recognizes the traffic situation and the number of stopped vehicles for each route of the vehicle, and then the signal lighting time determination unit 8 The lighting times of the vehicle traffic signals 3a to 3d were calculated, and the signal control unit 9 controlled the lighting of the vehicle traffic signals 3a to 3d based on the calculated lighting time.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic signal control device that is arranged near an intersection and switches traffic signals with a time distribution suitable for traffic of vehicles and pedestrians, and a traffic signal control system using the traffic signal control device.

A conventional traffic light is configured to switch between blue and red lighting for each preset time regardless of the amount of vehicle traffic.
However, with this method, a route with a lot of traffic is stopped and a route with little or no traffic is turned into a green light. There may be a problem that the traffic light is switched to red before it can.
For this reason, in the case of an intersection traffic signal for a priority road with a high traffic volume and a road with a low traffic volume, a sensing signal is used, and the priority road can always be driven by a green light, and a route with a low traffic volume. The vehicle was stopped at the signal stop position by an infrared sensor installed at the upper part of the stop position, and only when that was the case, the signal on the route with less traffic was blue.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-29091 (pages 2 and 3, FIG. 1)

Since the conventional sensing type signal can only determine whether or not the vehicle has stopped on the stop line, the traffic signal cannot be switched due to the large amount of vehicle traffic on each route. In addition, because the signal switching time is constant, when the number of vehicles passing from a route with low traffic volume is small, the green light time is unnecessarily long, or conversely, the green light time is too short. Will occur.
At present, there is no mechanism to collect the situation of each intersection in a certain area in one place and perform the optimal switching control of the traffic lights comprehensively. At the time when each traffic light is set, the red light or blue light Switching. For this reason, although a certain route is congested, another route that can be a detour may not be used.

In Patent Document 1, the traffic volume of road vehicles is measured by an imaging means and transmitted to a centralized monitoring center. In the centralized monitoring center, in order to reduce traffic congestion based on the transmitted traffic volume, It describes what controls the blinking time all at once.
However, in the thing of patent document 1, the blinking time of each traffic signal is controlled at the same time based on the traffic volume of the vehicle at the centralized monitoring center, and not for each individual traffic signal.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and obtains a traffic signal control device that controls the switching time of a traffic signal for each traffic signal according to the vehicle traffic volume and a traffic signal control system using the same. Is aimed at.

The traffic signal control apparatus according to the present invention is a traffic signal control apparatus that is provided corresponding to an intersection and controls the traffic signal at the intersection. The camera section photographs the vehicle flowing into the intersection for each route. The image processing unit that processes the captured video and recognizes the traffic situation of the vehicle for each route and the number of stopped vehicles, the necessary lighting of the traffic light from the traffic situation of the vehicle for each route recognized by the image processing unit and the number of stopped vehicles A signal lighting time calculation unit that calculates time and a signal control unit that performs lighting control of the traffic light according to the lighting time of the traffic light calculated by the signal lighting time calculation unit are provided.

  As described above, the present invention is a traffic signal control apparatus that is provided corresponding to an intersection and controls traffic signals at the intersection, and is a camera unit that photographs a vehicle flowing into the intersection for each route, and is photographed by the camera unit. The image processing unit that processes the captured video and recognizes the traffic situation of the vehicle for each route and the number of stopped vehicles, the necessary lighting of the traffic light from the traffic situation of the vehicle for each route recognized by the image processing unit and the number of stopped vehicles A signal lighting time calculation unit that calculates time and a signal control unit that performs lighting control of the traffic light according to the lighting time of the traffic light calculated by the signal lighting time calculation unit, so that the vehicle can be passed efficiently It becomes possible.

It is a general view which shows the intersection where the traffic signal control apparatus by Embodiment 1-Embodiment 2 of this invention is arrange | positioned. It is a block diagram which shows the traffic signal control apparatus by Embodiment 1- Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the traffic signal control apparatus by Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the traffic signal control apparatus by Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the fixed area containing the intersection where the traffic signal control apparatus by Embodiment 4 of this invention is arrange | positioned.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an overall view showing an intersection where a traffic light control apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is arranged.
In FIG. 1, roads 1 a and 1 b form an intersection 2. The vehicle traffic lights 3 a to 3 d and the pedestrian traffic lights 4 a to 4 d are arranged at the intersection 2. At the intersection 2, pedestrian crossings 5a to 5d are provided. The cameras 6a to 6d are arranged so as to photograph road conditions and pedestrian crossing conditions.

The traffic signal controller 100 that controls the vehicle traffic signals 3a to 3d and the pedestrian traffic signals 4a to 4d is configured as follows.
As the camera unit 6, cameras 6a to 6d are arranged. The image processing unit 7 acquires a camera video and performs image processing. The signal lighting time determination unit 8 (signal lighting time calculation unit) determines the switching time of the traffic light based on the result processed by the image processing unit 7. The signal control unit 9 receives the determination result of the signal lighting time determination unit 8 and performs switching control of the vehicle traffic signals 3a to 3d and the pedestrian traffic signals 4a to 4d.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a traffic light control apparatus according to the first to second embodiments of the present invention.
2, 3a to 3d, 4a to 4d, 6a to 6d, 7 to 9 and 100 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 2, the image processing unit 7 is arranged to receive video from the cameras 6 a to 6 d, perform image processing, and output the processing result to the signal lighting time determination unit 8. The signal control unit 9 is arranged to receive the output of the signal lighting time determination unit 8 and control the vehicle traffic lights 3a to 3d and the pedestrian traffic lights 4a to 4d.

Next, the operation will be described.
The cameras 1a to 1d in FIG. 1 take images of a vehicle flowing into the intersection 2 or a stopped vehicle. The image processing unit 7 captures images taken by the cameras 1a to 1d, and detects the number of stopped vehicles on the stopped route and the number of passing vehicles on the passing route by image processing. Then, it is transmitted to the signal lighting time determination unit 8.
Upon receiving this determination result, the signal lighting time determination unit 8 performs the switching process of the traffic lights 6a to 6d immediately after the number of vehicles on the route that is currently passing or when there are no passing vehicles, is stopped. Make sure that the route is on the road.
In addition, when there is no stopped vehicle on a route that is stopped by a red signal, it is possible to pass the vehicle efficiently by allowing the traffic signal on the route with a large amount of traffic to pass without switching.

  According to the first embodiment, the image processing unit detects the vehicle traffic on each route at the intersection, the stopped vehicle, and the like, and the signal is switched according to the number of vehicles. Since the traffic light switching control was performed over time, the inefficiency of turning a green line on a route with low traffic volume or continuing a green signal even though all vehicles that had stopped at a red light passed through the intersection. Disappear.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment, the method for efficiently passing the vehicle at the intersection has been described. In the second embodiment, the same configuration is used to switch the pedestrian traffic light so that the pedestrian can safely cross the pedestrian crossing. Is about.
Hereinafter, the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
The pedestrian crossing situation of the pedestrian crossings 5a-5b at the intersection 2 is photographed with the cameras 1a-1b in FIG. Images captured by the cameras 1 a to 1 d are captured by the image processing unit 7, the pedestrian crossing situation is monitored, and the fact that there is a pedestrian crossing is transmitted to the signal switching time determination unit 8.
When it is still transmitted from the image processing unit 7 to the signal switching time determination unit 8 that there is a pedestrian crossing, even after a certain period of time when the pedestrian signal blinks blue and then switches to the red signal. Continues to flash blue.
In addition, after confirming that the pedestrian has crossed and no pedestrians are crossing with the signal from the image processing unit 7, the pedestrian crosses the pedestrian crossing safely by switching the pedestrian signal to red. It becomes possible to do.
Note that the second embodiment can be used simultaneously with the first embodiment.

  According to the second embodiment, the pedestrian crossing situation is captured by the camera, the pedestrian crossing situation is determined by the image processing unit, and the pedestrian signal is switched. When an important pedestrian is confirmed, it becomes possible not to perform signal switching until the crossing is completed, and the pedestrian can cross safely.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a traffic light control apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.
3, 3a to 3d, 4a to 4d, 6a to 6d, 7 to 9 and 100 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 3, the image storage unit 10 is provided in the traffic signal controller 100. This image accumulating unit 10 obtains and accumulates a video recording unit that always records video captured by the camera and video before and after the event from the video recording unit according to the abnormal situation of the intersection received from the image processing unit 7. Part.

In the first embodiment, the method for efficiently passing the vehicle at the intersection has been described. However, the third embodiment relates to a method for taking pictures before and after the occurrence of an abnormal condition at the intersection, and for investigating the cause of a traffic accident or the like. Is.
Embodiment 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 using FIG.
The cameras 1a to 1b in FIG. 1 always take images of the intersection 2, the image processing unit 7 receives the images of the cameras 1a to 1d, performs image processing, and monitors the abnormal situation at the intersection 2. When the occurrence of an abnormal situation is confirmed, a road situation abnormality occurrence signal is transmitted to the image storage unit 10.

In the image storage unit 10 of FIG. 3, the video stored by the recording unit is always recorded by the video recording unit, and the video stored when the road condition abnormality occurrence signal is received from the image processing unit 7 is recorded. The video from the minutes before the occurrence of the abnormal event to the minutes after the occurrence of the abnormal event is cut out by the storage unit, and is always stored separately from the recorded video.
As a result, the accumulated video can be used when investigating the subsequent cause of an abnormal event such as a traffic accident occurring at the intersection 2.
The third embodiment can be used simultaneously with the first and second embodiments.

  According to the third embodiment, the video of the intersection taken by a plurality of cameras is subjected to image processing, an abnormal event such as a traffic accident at the intersection is detected, and the video before and after the occurrence of the abnormal event is accumulated. It can be used for accident cause analysis.

Embodiment 4 FIG.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a traffic light control apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.
4, 3a to 3d, 4a to 4d, 6a to 6d, 7 to 10 and 100 are the same as those in FIG. In FIG. 4, the traffic signal control devices are arranged at the intersections A, B, C, and D, respectively. The central processing unit 11 collects the image processing results of the traffic signal control device 100 at an intersection in a certain area, calculates switching times for traffic signals at a plurality of intersections so that traffic in the area is not locally congested, A signal switching control command is transmitted to the traffic signal control device at each intersection.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a certain area including an intersection where a traffic light control apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention is arranged.
In FIG. 5, there are intersections A, B, C, D, and E within a certain area. There is an increase in stopped vehicles at intersection A.

In the first embodiment, the method of efficiently passing the vehicle at one intersection 2 has been described, but in the fourth embodiment, the situation of a plurality of intersections scattered in a certain area is given to one central processing unit 11. Collected and comprehensively adjusted the flow of vehicles throughout the region to alleviate local congestion.
The fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 and FIG.
The cameras 1a to 1d in FIG. 1 take images of a vehicle flowing into the intersection 2 or a stopped vehicle. The image processing unit 7 captures images captured by the cameras 1a to 1d, and detects the number of stopped vehicles on the stopped route and the number of passing vehicles on the passing route by image processing. To the central processing unit 11.

The central processing unit 11 receives the image processing result from the image processing unit 7 at the intersection in the whole area, and grasps the number of vehicles at each intersection. In addition, if there is an intersection where the number of stopped vehicles starts to increase, signal switching control is instructed by transmitting signal switching time to the traffic light control devices at the inflow side intersection and the passing destination intersection.
For example, in FIG. 5, when an increase in the number of stopped vehicles is confirmed at intersection A, signal switching control that suppresses inflow to intersection A is performed on traffic signal controller 100 at intersection E that is an inflow-side intersection with respect to intersection A. The signal control is instructed to pass a large number of vehicles from the intersection A to the traffic signal control devices 100 at the intersections B to D, which are the intersections to pass.
By doing so, it becomes possible to facilitate the passage of vehicles throughout the region.
The fourth embodiment can be used simultaneously with the first to third embodiments.

  According to the fourth embodiment, the vehicle traffic volume and the number of stopped vehicles detected by the image processing unit at each intersection are transferred to the central processing unit that centrally monitors the intersection situation in a certain region, and the central processing unit By controlling the traffic lights related to the traffic in the area, it is possible to guide the vehicle from the overcrowded area to the area with few vehicles in the entire area, and to keep the traffic flow in the entire area smoothly.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Road 2 Intersection 3 Traffic light for vehicles 4 Traffic light for pedestrians 5 Crosswalk 6 Camera part 7 Image processing part 8 Signal lighting time determination part 9 Signal control part 10 Image storage part 11 Central processing unit 100 Traffic signal control apparatus

Claims (5)

A traffic signal control device that is provided corresponding to an intersection and controls the traffic signal at the intersection,
A camera unit for photographing the vehicle flowing into the intersection for each route;
An image processing unit that processes video captured by the camera unit and recognizes the traffic situation of each vehicle and the number of stopped vehicles,
A signal lighting time calculation unit that calculates a required lighting time of the traffic light from the traffic situation of each vehicle recognized by the image processing unit and the number of stopped vehicles;
And a signal control unit comprising a signal control unit that performs lighting control of the traffic light according to the lighting time of the traffic light calculated by the signal lighting time calculation unit. The camera unit is arranged to photograph the pedestrian crossing situation of the pedestrian crossing arranged at the intersection,
The image processing unit processes an image of a pedestrian crossing situation of the pedestrian crossing photographed by the camera unit, recognizes the presence or absence of a pedestrian in crossing,
The signal lighting time calculation unit calculates the blue lighting time of the traffic light so that the pedestrian can complete the crossing when there is a pedestrian in the crossing,
The signal control device according to claim 1, wherein the signal control unit controls the signal according to the blue lighting time of the traffic light calculated by the signal lighting time calculation unit. A traffic signal control device that is provided corresponding to an intersection and controls the traffic signal at the intersection,
A camera unit for photographing the pedestrian crossing situation of the pedestrian crossing placed at the intersection,
An image processing unit that processes an image of the pedestrian crossing situation of the pedestrian crossing photographed by this camera unit, and recognizes the presence or absence of a pedestrian during the crossing,
When there is a pedestrian in the crossing, a signal lighting time calculation unit that calculates a blue lighting time of the traffic light so that the pedestrian can complete the crossing,
And a signal control unit comprising a signal control unit that controls the signal according to the blue lighting time of the signal calculated by the signal lighting time calculation unit. A recording unit for recording images taken by the camera unit;
And an accumulating unit that acquires and accumulates a recorded image corresponding to the abnormal situation from the recording unit when an image captured by the camera unit is processed by the image processing unit and an abnormal situation of vehicle traffic is recognized The traffic light control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: From the traffic light control device according to claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 4 arranged at each intersection in a certain area, a central processing unit that collects the traffic situation of vehicles and the number of stopped vehicles for each route,
The traffic signal control system, wherein the central processing unit instructs each traffic signal control device of a switching time of each traffic signal so that traffic congestion does not occur in the area.

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