Traffic light control systems and on-board controllers

Abstract

The present invention relates to a traffic light control system and an on-vehicle controller. The traffic light control system includes a processor configured to adjust a green time of a traffic light based on vehicle classification information about each vehicle in a vehicle group approaching an intersection. The vehicle classification information indicates whether the vehicle is an environmentally friendly vehicle or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a traffic signal light control system and a vehicle-mounted controller. Background Art

[0002] This type of technology has been proposed, which, when a controller of a probe vehicle that controls a leading traveling vehicle executes a traffic light control strategy for not dividing a vehicle group including the probe vehicle as a leading vehicle due to a red light signal, extends the green light time so that the traffic light is green when the vehicle group enters an intersection (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-123894 (JP 2002-123894 A)). Summary of the Invention

[0003] The controller sets the green time of the traffic light at the intersection without considering the environmental load of each vehicle in the vehicle group. For this reason, the control of the traffic flow of the vehicle group in consideration of the environmental load is not achieved.

[0004] The present invention provides a traffic light control system and an on-vehicle controller capable of controlling the traffic flow of a vehicle group in consideration of environmental loads.

[0005] A first aspect of the present invention relates to a traffic light control system. The traffic light control system includes a processor configured to adjust a green time of a traffic light based on vehicle classification information about each vehicle in a vehicle group approaching an intersection. The vehicle classification information indicates whether the vehicle is an environmentally friendly vehicle or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle, wherein the environmentally unfriendly vehicle is not the environmentally friendly vehicle.

[0006] In the traffic light control system according to the above aspect, the green time of the traffic light is adjusted based on vehicle classification information for each vehicle in a vehicle group approaching an intersection. The vehicle classification information indicates whether the vehicle is an environmentally friendly vehicle (relatively low environmental load) or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle (relatively high environmental load). Therefore, it is possible to set the green time of the traffic light while taking into account the environmental load of each vehicle in the vehicle group. Consequently, it is possible to control the traffic flow of the vehicle group while taking into account the environmental load of each vehicle in the vehicle group.

[0007] In the traffic light control system according to the above aspect, environmentally friendly vehicles may include battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles, and environmentally unfriendly vehicles may include engine vehicles. In this case, the environmentally friendly vehicles may further meet at least one of an efficiency requirement of a vehicle energy efficiency greater than or equal to a predetermined efficiency and a vehicle weight requirement of a vehicle weight less than or equal to a predetermined vehicle weight. In this way, each of the vehicles can be classified as either an environmentally friendly vehicle or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle.

[0008] In the traffic light control system according to the above aspect, the processor can be configured to control the traffic light so that the green time of the traffic light is longer when the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio is low (which is the ratio of the number of environmentally friendly vehicles to the sum of the number of environmentally unfriendly vehicles) than when the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio is high. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of exhaust emissions of the entire vehicle group with a low environmentally friendly vehicle ratio and reduce the environmental load as a whole.

[0009] In the traffic light control system according to the above aspect, the processor may be configured to adjust the green time of the traffic light based on the vehicle classification information about each of the vehicles in the vehicle group only when the traffic congestion level is higher than or equal to a predetermined level.

[0010] A second aspect of the present invention relates to an on-vehicle controller. The on-vehicle controller is mounted on a vehicle and is configured to transmit vehicle classification information about the vehicle to a traffic light control system according to the above-described aspect. Thus, using the traffic light control system according to this aspect of the present invention, it is possible to adjust the green time of a traffic light based on the vehicle classification information for each vehicle in a group of vehicles approaching an intersection. The vehicle classification information indicates whether the vehicle is an environmentally friendly vehicle (relatively low environmental load) or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle (relatively high environmental load). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements, and wherein:

[0012] Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a traffic light control system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0013] Figure 2 is a flowchart showing one example of a green time setting routine executed by the management device; and

[0014] Figure 3is a flowchart showing another example of the green time setting routine executed by the management device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Embodiments of the present invention will be described.

[0016] Figure 1 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a traffic light control system 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The traffic light control system 20 according to this embodiment includes a plurality of traffic light controllers 22 and a management device 30.

[0017] Although not shown in the drawings, each of the traffic signal controllers 22 includes a microcomputer including a central processing unit (CPU) (the CPU is an example of a processor), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory, input and output ports, a communication port, etc. Each of the traffic signal controllers 22 controls a plurality of ( Figure 1 In the figure, there are four) traffic lights 12. Here, the intersection 10 includes not only a crossroad (four-way intersection), but also a three-way intersection, a five-way intersection, a rotary intersection, etc. For the sake of convenience of description, the crossroad intersection 10 will be described in the embodiment. Each of the traffic light controllers 22 is capable of wirelessly communicating with the on-board controller 42 of each vehicle 40 and the management device 30. Each vehicle 40 is configured as an engine vehicle, a battery electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle or a fuel cell electric vehicle, which travels by using power from an engine and / or a motor and includes an on-board controller 42 that controls the vehicle 40. Although not shown in the figure, the on-board controller 42 includes a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input and output ports, communication ports, etc. The on-board controller 42 is capable of communicating with the traffic light controller 22. The on-board controller 42 sends vehicle classification information, etc. to the traffic light controller 22 corresponding to the intersection 10 in the direction of travel. The vehicle classification information includes information about the type of vehicle (engine vehicle, battery electric vehicle, hybrid electric vehicle, or fuel cell electric vehicle), efficiency information about the vehicle energy efficiency ηv, and vehicle weight information about the vehicle weight Mv. The vehicle energy efficiency ηv is, for example, the fuel efficiency of engine vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles, or the power efficiency of battery electric vehicles. The vehicle energy efficiency ηv and the vehicle weight Mv may be standard values ​​of the vehicle 40 or may be estimated values ​​that are periodically estimated.

[0018] Although not shown in the figure, the management device 30 includes: a computer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, flash memory, input and output ports, communication ports, etc.; and a storage device such as a hard disk drive and a solid-state drive (SSD). The management device 30 can wirelessly communicate with the traffic light controller 22.

[0019] Next, the operation of the traffic light control system 20 thus configured will be described. Figure 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a green time setting routine executed by the management device 30. The target direction (for example, according to Figure 1 This routine is repeatedly executed for each of the intersections 10 while switching the target direction in the order of the upward direction, the downward direction, the left direction, and the right direction.

[0020] When executing Figure 2 When executing the green time setting routine, the management device 30 first inputs the traffic congestion level Lv in the target direction near the intersection 10 (step S100). Here, the traffic congestion level Lv is input from an information center or the like via communication.

[0021] Subsequently, the management device 30 determines whether the traffic congestion level Lv in the target direction near the intersection 10 is higher than or equal to the threshold value Lvref (step S110). Here, the threshold value Lvref is a threshold value used to determine whether the traffic congestion level Lv is high to a certain extent. When the management device 30 determines that the traffic congestion level Lv in the target direction near the intersection 10 is lower than the threshold value Lvref, the management device 30 sets the normal time Ts1 for the green light time Ts of the traffic lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10 (step S140) and ends the routine. The management device 30 periodically sends the green light time Ts in each direction of travel at the intersection 10 to the traffic light controller 22 corresponding to the intersection 10. The traffic light controller 22 controls the traffic lights 12 by using the green light time Ts in each direction of travel from the management device 30. In this way, the traffic flow of the vehicle group is controlled.

[0022] When the management device 30 determines in step S110 that the traffic congestion level Lv in the target direction near the intersection 10 is higher than or equal to the threshold value Lvref, the management device 30 inputs the ratio Rv of environmentally friendly vehicles within a predetermined distance (e.g., approximately 100 meters) before the intersection 10 in the target direction (step S120). In an embodiment, the management device 30 classifies each of the vehicles 40 as an environmentally friendly vehicle or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle that is not an environmentally friendly vehicle based on information received from the on-board controller 42 of the vehicle 40 via the traffic light controller 22. Environmentally friendly vehicles include battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles. Environmentally unfriendly vehicles include engine vehicles. A value calculated as a ratio of the number of environmentally friendly vehicles to the number of vehicles (the sum of the number of environmentally friendly vehicles and the number of environmentally unfriendly vehicles) is input as the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv.

[0023] Subsequently, the management device 30 determines whether the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is lower than a threshold value Rvref (step S130). Here, the threshold value Rvref is a threshold value used to determine whether the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is relatively low. When the management device 30 determines that the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is higher than or equal to the threshold value Rvref, the management device 30 sets a time Ts1 for the green time Ts of the traffic lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10 (step S140) and ends the routine. On the other hand, when the management device 30 determines that the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is lower than the threshold value Rvref, the management device 30 sets a time Ts2 that is longer than time Ts1 by ΔTs for the green time Ts of the traffic lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10 (step S150) and ends the routine. Here, the time ΔTs can be a constant time or a time that increases as the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv decreases relative to the threshold value Rvref.

[0024] When the traffic congestion level Lv is low or when the number of environmentally friendly vehicles is large (the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is high) even when the traffic congestion level Lv is high, the exhaust gas emission of the entire vehicle group within a predetermined distance before the intersection 10 in the target direction is estimated to be not so large. However, when the traffic congestion level Lv is high and the number of environmentally unfriendly vehicles is large (the environmentally unfriendly vehicle ratio Rv is low), the exhaust gas emission of the entire vehicle group is large, which is estimated to be undesirable for the environment. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the traffic congestion level Lv in the target direction near the intersection 10 is higher than or equal to the threshold value Lvref and the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv within the predetermined distance before the intersection 10 in the target direction is lower than the threshold value Rvref, the green time Ts of the traffic signal 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10 is extended compared to when the traffic congestion level Lv is lower than the threshold value Lvref or when the traffic congestion level Lv is higher than or equal to the threshold value Lvref and the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is higher than or equal to the threshold value Rvref. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the exhaust gas emission amount of the entire vehicle group having a low environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv, and reduce the environmental load as a whole.

[0025] With the traffic light control system 20 according to the above-described embodiment, when the traffic congestion level Lv in the target direction near the intersection 10 is higher than or equal to the threshold value Lvref, and the ratio Rv of environmentally friendly vehicles in the target direction within a predetermined distance before the intersection 10 is lower than the threshold value Rvref, the management device 30 extends the green time Ts of the traffic light 12 in the target direction and in the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10, as compared to when the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is higher than or equal to the threshold value Rvref. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of exhaust gas emissions of the entire vehicle group having a low environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv, and to reduce the environmental load as a whole.

[0026] With the traffic light control system 20 according to the above-described embodiment, when the ratio of environmentally friendly vehicles Rv within a predetermined distance before the intersection 10 in the target direction is lower than the threshold value Rvref, the management device 30 extends the green time Ts of the traffic lights 12 in the target direction and in the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10, compared to when the ratio of environmentally friendly vehicles Rv is higher than or equal to the threshold value Rvref. Alternatively, at the intersection 10, in a pair of the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction (for example, in Figure 1 The upward and downward directions in Figure 1Between the left direction and the right direction in the road, the green light time Ts of the traffic light 12 in a pair of directions in which the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is low can be longer than the green light time Ts of the traffic light 12 in a pair of directions in which the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is high.

[0027] By the traffic light control system 20 according to this embodiment, the management device 30 executes Figure 2 Alternatively, the management device 30 may execute Figure 3 Green light time setting routine. Figure 3 The green time setting routine is the same as Figure 2 The green time setting routine is the same as that of FIG. 1 , except that the process of step S130 is replaced by the process of step S132. Figure 3 The same step numbers in the green light time setting routine indicate Figure 2 The same process of the green light time setting routine is performed, and its detailed description is omitted.

[0028] exist Figure 3 In the green time setting routine, when the management device 30 inputs the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv in step S120, the management device 30 determines whether the input environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is greater than or equal to a threshold value Rvref2 (step S132). Here, threshold value Rvref2 is a threshold value used to determine whether the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is relatively high. If the management device 30 determines that the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is lower than threshold value Rvref2, the management device 30 sets time Ts1 for the green time Ts of the traffic lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target at the intersection 10 (step S140) and ends the routine. On the other hand, if the management device 30 determines that the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is greater than or equal to threshold value Rvref2, the management device 30 sets time Ts2, which is longer by ΔTs than time Ts1, for the green time Ts of the traffic lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target at the intersection 10 (step S150) and ends the routine. In this case, the time ΔTs may be a constant time, or may be a time that increases as the environmentally-friendly vehicle ratio Rv increases relative to the threshold value Rvref2 .

[0029] In this modification, when the management device 30 sets the green time Ts for traffic lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction at intersection 10 based on the comparison result between the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv and the threshold value Rvref2, the management device 30 transmits an instruction to notify the reason for the green time Ts to the traffic light controller 22. The traffic light controller 22 then controls the traffic light 12 using the green time Ts and, if necessary, displays the reason for the green time Ts on the display of each of the vehicles 40 (at least the environmentally unfriendly vehicles), for example, a message such as "Because the environmentally unfriendly vehicle ratio is high, the green time is extended." With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the environmental load by encouraging drivers of environmentally unfriendly vehicles to purchase environmentally friendly vehicles.

[0030] In the traffic light control system 20 according to this modification, Figure 3 In the green time setting routine of FIG. 3 , when the ratio of environmentally friendly vehicles Rv within a predetermined distance before the intersection 10 in the target direction is higher than or equal to the threshold value Rvref2, the management device 30 extends the green time Ts of the traffic signal lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10, compared with when the ratio of environmentally friendly vehicles Rv is lower than the threshold value Rvref2. Alternatively, at the intersection 10, in a pair of the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction (for example, in FIG. 3 ), the green time Ts of the traffic signal lights 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction are extended. Figure 1 The upward and downward directions in Figure 1 Between the left direction and the right direction in the vehicle, the green time Ts of the traffic light 12 in a pair of directions in which the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is high can be longer than the green time Ts of the traffic light 12 in a pair of directions in which the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv is low.

[0031] By using the traffic light control system 20 according to this embodiment or the above-mentioned modification, Figure 2 or Figure 3In calculating the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio Rv in the green light time setting routine, the management device 30 assumes that battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles are environmentally friendly vehicles, and assumes that vehicles other than environmentally friendly vehicles are environmentally unfriendly vehicles. Alternatively, battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles that meet the efficiency requirement that the vehicle energy efficiency ηv is higher than or equal to the threshold ηvref may be assumed to be environmentally friendly vehicles, battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles that meet the vehicle weight requirement that the vehicle weight Mv is less than or equal to the threshold Mvref may be assumed to be environmentally friendly vehicles, or battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel cell electric vehicles that meet both the efficiency requirement and the vehicle weight requirement may be assumed to be environmentally friendly vehicles.

[0032] In the traffic light control system 20 according to this embodiment or the above-mentioned modification, the management device 30 Figure 2 or Figure 3 In the green time setting routine of FIG. 1 , the green time Ts of the traffic signal light 12 in the target direction and the direction opposite to the target direction at the intersection 10 is set using the traffic congestion level Lv in the target direction near the intersection 10 and the ratio of environmentally friendly vehicles Rv in the target direction within a predetermined distance before the intersection 10. Alternatively, the green time Ts of the traffic signal light 12 may be set by using only the ratio of environmentally friendly vehicles Rv without using the traffic congestion level Lv.

[0033] In the traffic light control system 20 according to this embodiment or the above-mentioned modification, the management device 30 performs a traffic signal control on each of the intersections 10. Figure 2 or Figure 3 Alternatively, each of the traffic signal controllers 22 may execute a green light time setting routine for a corresponding one of the intersections 10. Figure 2 or Figure 3 Green light time setting routine.

[0034] The corresponding relationship between the main elements of the embodiment and the main elements of the present invention described in the Summary of the Invention does not limit the elements of the present invention described in the Summary of the Invention, because the embodiment is an example for specifically describing the aspects of the present invention described in the Summary of the Invention. In other words, the aspects of the present invention described in the Summary of the Invention should be interpreted based on the description therein, and the embodiment is merely a specific example of the aspects of the present invention described in the Summary of the Invention.

[0035] The embodiment of the present invention has been described above; however, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and can of course be modified into various forms without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0036] The present invention can be used in the industry of manufacturing traffic signal light control systems and vehicle-mounted controllers.

Claims

1. A traffic light control system, characterized in that include: a processor configured to adjust a green time of a traffic signal light provided at a corresponding intersection based on vehicle classification information about each of vehicles in a vehicle group approaching the intersection, the vehicle classification information indicating whether the vehicle is an environmentally friendly vehicle or an environmentally unfriendly vehicle, wherein the environmentally unfriendly vehicle is not the environmentally friendly vehicle, wherein the processor is further configured to: adjust the green time of the traffic light based on the vehicle classification information about each of the vehicles in the vehicle group only when the traffic congestion level is higher than or equal to a predetermined level, wherein when the traffic congestion level is lower than the predetermined level, set the green time of the traffic light to a normal time; The processor is further configured to control the traffic light so that the green time of the traffic light is longer when the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio is low compared to the green time of the traffic light when the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio is high, wherein the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio is a ratio of the number of the environmentally friendly vehicles to the sum of the number of the environmentally friendly vehicles and the number of the environmentally unfriendly vehicles, Among them, when the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio is higher than or equal to a threshold value, the green light time of the traffic light is set to the normal time; on the other hand, when the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio is lower than the threshold value, the green light time of the traffic light is set to be longer than the normal time by the following period of time, where the period of time is a time that is extended as the environmentally friendly vehicle ratio decreases relative to the threshold value.

2. The traffic light control system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The environmentally friendly vehicles include battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles; and The environmentally unfriendly vehicles include engine vehicles.

3. The traffic signal light control system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The environmentally friendly vehicle is a vehicle that further satisfies at least one of an efficiency requirement that the energy efficiency of the vehicle is higher than or equal to a predetermined efficiency and a vehicle weight requirement that the vehicle weight is less than or equal to a predetermined vehicle weight.

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