An intelligent traffic control system in a coal mine

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of coal mine underground intelligent traffic control systems, belong to coal mine underground automation control technical field, comprising: three groups of mine traffic lights, coal mine underground intelligent traffic control terminal, with the PLC control box connection, inside integrated embedded computer;PLC control box, with three groups of mine traffic lights connection, inside integrated traffic light control basic program module;Intelligent traffic control server group provides vehicle positioning real-time data and data structure processing;Communication network components, adopt underground ring network, build the bidirectional data transmission link of coal mine underground intelligent traffic control terminal, intelligent traffic control server group;By setting the red and green light intelligent scheduling mechanism based on personnel vehicle positioning data and mine camera visual AI identification, get rid of traditional fixed cycle open-loop control, realize the orderly scheduling of who first to who first pass, avoid vehicle invalid waiting, relieve roadway traffic congestion, greatly improve coal mine underground transportation efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of underground automation control technology in coal mines, specifically to an intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines. Background Technology

[0002] In the operation of auxiliary transportation roadways in coal mines, existing underground traffic lights adopt a traditional open-loop control mode, lacking intelligent scheduling logic that links with actual underground transportation conditions, and rely entirely on preset fixed switching cycles. Regardless of the real-time distribution density, direction of travel, and driving status of personnel and vehicles in the roadway, the traffic lights switch at fixed intervals, without a feedback and adjustment mechanism based on on-site data. This easily leads to ineffective vehicle waiting and reduces the overall efficiency of auxiliary transportation. Furthermore, the existing traffic light control system lacks independent operational guarantees. When communication or positioning links fail, traffic scheduling is prone to failure, causing roadway congestion or even safety accidents. At the same time, the system does not reuse existing underground hardware resources, resulting in high deployment costs. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the problems of existing technologies, this invention provides an intelligent traffic control system for underground coal mines, comprising: Three sets of mine traffic lights are installed at the intersections of three roadways in the coal mine, in each direction of oncoming traffic, to execute traffic light switching control commands and provide feedback on the operating status. The intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine integrates an embedded computer to read vehicle information, directly collect three video signals and perform on-site video AI analysis. Based on the analysis results, it adjusts the control data in the PLC control box to change the on / off duration of traffic lights. When the network is down or the AI ​​and vehicle positioning data fail, the PLC control box is automatically triggered to operate in a timed and time-sharing mode. The PLC control box is connected to three sets of mine traffic lights. It integrates a basic program module for traffic light control, realizing traffic light interlocking, three-way green interlocking, and all lights turning off and alarming in abnormal conditions. The intelligent traffic control server group is connected to the intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine and provides vehicle positioning information. The communication network component utilizes an underground ring network to establish a two-way data transmission link between the intelligent traffic control terminal and the intelligent traffic control server group in the coal mine, as well as the connection between the PLC and the camera.

[0004] Furthermore, the three sets of mine traffic lights are independently arranged for the first, second, and third oncoming vehicle directions at the intersection of the three-way roadways, and are installed on special explosion-proof brackets on the side wall of the oncoming roadway or above the intersection, with the height meeting the visibility distance requirements for underground vehicles. Mining cameras are installed near the intelligent traffic control terminal in underground coal mines, arranged to cover all directions of oncoming traffic. They are used to collect images of vehicles in the roadway to support visual AI recognition, and at the same time detect the actual colors displayed by traffic lights and compare them with control commands to prevent the risk of three directions being green at the same time.

[0005] Furthermore, the three sets of mine traffic lights are independently arranged for the first, second, and third oncoming vehicle directions at the intersection of the three-way roadways, respectively, and are installed on the side wall of the roadway or above the intersection in the oncoming vehicle direction, with the height meeting the visibility distance requirements for underground vehicles. Mining cameras are installed near the intelligent traffic control terminal in underground coal mines, arranged to cover all directions of oncoming traffic. They are used to collect images of vehicles in the roadway to support visual AI recognition, and at the same time detect the actual colors displayed by traffic lights and compare them with control commands to prevent the risk of three directions being green at the same time.

[0006] Furthermore, the intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine is built on a coal safety certification controller and a visual human-machine interface. It establishes a one-to-one data interaction link with three sets of mine traffic lights through an intrinsically safe interface. The traffic light control module drives the three sets of mine traffic lights to complete the red / green signal switching and has its own local parameter setting and equipment status viewing functions.

[0007] Furthermore, the intelligent traffic control server group includes a location service relay server and an intelligent traffic control host; The location service relay server connects to the existing vehicle positioning hardware underground to obtain real-time vehicle location coordinates, speed and direction of travel data, and sends them to the intelligent traffic control host after simplification of the format. The intelligent traffic control host receives simplified vehicle positioning data and visual AI recognition data, generates traffic light control commands through intelligent scheduling algorithms and issues them, and has its own storage module and open remote access interface.

[0008] Furthermore, the location service relay server's simplification of the vehicle location data format includes: The core information is filtered, including the vehicle's unique identifier, real-time location coordinates, speed, direction of travel, and data collection time. The original coordinates are converted into a format of tunnel number + distance along the tunnel + lateral offset, with the wellhead or the starting point of the designated tunnel as the reference origin. The speed unit is standardized to meters per second, and the timestamp is in millisecond format. The coordinate and speed values ​​are retained to one decimal place, generating structured data.

[0009] Furthermore, the intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine is directly connected to three sets of mine traffic lights through multiple independent serial ports, and communicates with the intelligent traffic control server group through the underground ring network; the existing underground vehicle positioning hardware is directly connected to the underground ring network, and the system adopts predictive scheduling to achieve zero-wait passage at three-way intersections.

[0010] Furthermore, the intelligent traffic control host compensates for vehicle positioning data lag errors through timestamps and speed parameters, accurately judges vehicle distribution and driving status within the traffic dispatch area based on the maximum underground vehicle operating speed of 10m / s; vehicle data is updated every 1 second, and visual AI recognition data is integrated for verification, and when a single data point detects a target, the corrected positioning data is used as the standard.

[0011] Furthermore, the calculation process of the intelligent scheduling algorithm includes: Data preprocessing and validity verification: Unify the timestamp format, remove invalid positioning data that exceeds the lane boundary, has abnormal speed, or has ambiguous direction, and filter low-confidence visual AI recognition results; Vehicle location fusion and matching: Based on the three-way traffic dispatch unit, the unified positioning coordinates and AI pixel coordinates are used. If the overlap is ≥80%, it is determined to be the same vehicle. Traffic light control logic calculation: Determine the priority of three-way traffic based on who arrives first, calculate the minimum safe passage time, and maintain the red light for directions without a destination. Control command optimization and output: Prioritize traffic safety and generate standardized commands containing device ID, switching action, and duration; Dynamic feedback adjustment: Iterate calculation every second and extend the passage time in the corresponding direction when congestion is detected.

[0012] Furthermore, the system features three switchable operating modes: Automatic mode: It integrates vehicle positioning data with visual AI recognition data from mining cameras, and predictively and intelligently switches between three sets of mining traffic lights to enable vehicles to pass through without waiting. Timed mode: Automatically schedules three sets of mine traffic lights according to preset fixed time rules; Manual mode: The three sets of mine traffic lights can be manually controlled locally via the control terminal's human-machine interface or remotely connected to the intelligent traffic control host.

[0013] The beneficial effects of this invention are: By establishing an intelligent traffic light scheduling mechanism based on personnel and vehicle positioning data and visual AI recognition from mine cameras, the traditional fixed-cycle open-loop control is eliminated, enabling orderly scheduling based on first-come, first-served, avoiding unnecessary waiting by vehicles, alleviating traffic congestion in roadways, and significantly improving the overall efficiency of auxiliary transportation in underground coal mines. It reuses existing underground personnel and vehicle positioning hardware and basic backbone network resources, eliminating the need for additional dedicated hardware and wiring, reducing system deployment and modification costs, and lowering the difficulty of underground construction. An independent operation mode for the intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine is set up, allowing the traffic lights to maintain traditional control functions according to a preset fixed cycle when communication is interrupted, ensuring basic traffic order underground and eliminating the safety hazards of scheduling failures. By compensating for positioning data lag errors through timestamps and speed parameters, and combining positioning data with visual AI recognition data for verification, the accuracy of traffic status judgment is improved, ensuring the rationality of traffic light scheduling. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 A schematic block diagram of the principle of the intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines provided by the present invention; Figure 2 A schematic block diagram illustrating the principle of the intelligent traffic control server provided by this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] Please see Figures 1 to 2 This invention provides an intelligent lighting and traffic control system for underground coal mines, comprising: Three sets of mine traffic lights, intelligent traffic control terminals for underground coal mines, PLC control boxes, intelligent traffic control server sets, and communication network components.

[0017] Three sets of mine traffic lights, serving as the core execution equipment of the system, are installed at the three directions of traffic flow at the intersection of three roadways in the coal mine: a three-way intersection, a three-way convergence point, and the first, second, and third directions of traffic flow on a three-way restricted section. One light is independently deployed at each direction, forming a comprehensive three-way traffic signal control system. The lights are installed on dedicated explosion-proof brackets fixed to the sidewall of the roadway or above the intersection in the direction of traffic flow. The installation height meets the underground driving visibility standards, ensuring that vehicles traveling in all three directions can clearly recognize the traffic light signals. These three sets of mine traffic lights are used to accurately execute signal switching control commands, provide real-time feedback on signal display status, fault alarms, and other operational data, and work with the system to achieve intelligent scheduling where vehicles arrive first and have zero waiting time.

[0018] The mining camera is installed separately below the intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine. It is arranged to cover the direction of oncoming vehicles without any blind spots. The lens is tilted downwards at 15-30° to aim at the center of the lane. It is used to collect images of vehicles passing through the roadway to support visual AI recognition. At the same time, it detects the actual display color of the three sets of mining traffic lights in real time and compares the detection results with the control commands to prevent the dangerous situation of three directions being green at the same time from the hardware level.

[0019] The intelligent traffic control terminal for underground coal mines integrates an embedded computer. It establishes stable wired data connections with three sets of mine traffic lights, reading only vehicle information and not personnel information. It also integrates a dedicated traffic light control module. This control terminal can directly acquire video signals from three directions, perform on-site video AI analysis, and adjust the control data in the PLC control box based on the analysis results, achieving dynamic adjustment of the on / off duration of the three sets of mine traffic lights. The control terminal is built on a coal mine safety certified controller that meets underground explosion-proof safety standards and a touch-screen visual human-machine interface. It establishes a one-to-one independent data interaction link with each of the three sets of mine traffic lights through multiple serial port expansion interfaces, ensuring that the three traffic light controls do not interfere with each other. It also features a built-in visual human-machine interface, allowing on-site setting of traffic scheduling parameters such as traffic light switching cycles and passage duration thresholds, as well as real-time viewing and troubleshooting of the operating status of the three sets of mine traffic lights and mine cameras. When communication is interrupted, AI analysis fails, or vehicle location data cannot be obtained, the control terminal automatically triggers the PLC control box, causing the system to return to the timed and timed lighting mode, ensuring uninterrupted three-way traffic dispatch.

[0020] The PLC control box is directly connected to three sets of mine traffic lights. It integrates a basic program module for traffic light control and adopts a traffic light interlocking and three-way green interlocking mechanism. When a dangerous state such as abnormal control logic or equipment failure is detected, it immediately controls all three sets of mine traffic lights to turn off and triggers an alarm, thus ensuring the safety of three-way traffic in the mine from a hardware perspective.

[0021] The intelligent traffic control server group shares a server with the underground intelligent lighting system in the coal mine, without configuring a separate dedicated server. It establishes a two-way communication connection with the underground intelligent traffic control terminal through a communication network. This server group only accesses the real-time positioning data transmitted by the underground vehicle positioning hardware and the visual AI recognition data generated after the mining camera collects the on-site images. It performs fusion analysis and calculation on the two types of data to accurately determine the vehicle traffic status in the three-way traffic dispatch area underground, generates control instructions containing three sets of mining traffic light signal switching actions and signal maintenance durations, and sends the instructions to the underground intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine. The intelligent traffic control server group includes a positioning service relay server and an intelligent traffic control host: the positioning service relay server is dedicated to interfacing with existing vehicle positioning hardware underground, acquiring core positioning data such as the vehicle's unique identifier, real-time location coordinates, speed, direction of travel, and data acquisition time, and sending it to the intelligent traffic control host after format simplification and redundancy removal; the intelligent traffic control host is the core computing unit, completing data processing and instruction generation through a preset intelligent scheduling algorithm, with a built-in large-capacity storage module for storing all system operation data, and an open remote access interface to support external device access.

[0022] The communication network component adopts an underground ring network, which serves as the basic carrier for data interaction between various components of the system. It establishes a two-way data transmission link between three sets of mine traffic lights, underground intelligent traffic control terminals, PLC control boxes, and intelligent traffic control server groups, realizing the uploading of field data and the issuance of control commands, and ensuring the real-time performance, stability, and security of data transmission. Existing underground vehicle positioning hardware can be directly connected to the underground ring network without additional modifications, maximizing the reuse of existing underground network resources.

[0023] In some embodiments, the location service relay server simplifies the format of vehicle location data by performing targeted underground traffic dispatch data optimization processing. Specifically, this includes: accurately filtering core information such as the vehicle's unique identifier, real-time location coordinates, speed, direction of travel, and data collection time from the original location data, and removing irrelevant and redundant content; uniformly converting the original coordinates into an underground-specific coordinate format of roadway number + distance along the roadway + lateral offset, with the wellhead or designated roadway starting point as the reference origin; unifying the speed unit to meters per second and the timestamp to a millisecond standard format, retaining one decimal place for coordinate and speed values, and generating concise and easy-to-parse structured data.

[0024] In some embodiments, the intelligent traffic control host compensates for the lag error of vehicle positioning data through timestamps and speed parameters, accurately judges the vehicle distribution and driving status within the three-way traffic dispatch area based on the maximum operating speed of underground vehicles of 10m / s; presets the maximum vehicle speed and the boundary coordinates of the traffic dispatch area, unifies the data timestamp, calculates the transmission lag time difference and corrects the real-time vehicle position, integrates visual AI recognition data for dual verification, and uses the corrected positioning data as the standard when a single data detects a target; receives new data every 1 second, dynamically updates the vehicle status within the three-way traffic dispatch area, realizes remote predictive adjustment of three sets of mine traffic lights, adapts to the sparse operation characteristics of underground vehicles, and achieves zero-waiting passage at three-way intersections.

[0025] In some embodiments, the intelligent scheduling algorithm is a dedicated algorithm adapted to the three-way vehicle traffic scenario in underground coal mines. Its core principle is "first come, first served" and "no waiting without vehicles." The algorithm's calculation process includes: Data preprocessing and validity verification: Unify the timestamp format, remove invalid positioning data that exceeds the lane boundary, has abnormal speed, or has an unclear driving direction, and filter low-confidence visual AI recognition results; Vehicle location fusion and matching: Based on the three-way traffic dispatch unit, the unified positioning coordinates and AI pixel coordinates are used. If the spatial location overlap is ≥80% under the same timestamp, it is determined to be the same vehicle. Traffic light control logic calculation: Collect the arrival time of vehicles from three directions, determine the priority of passage in the three directions according to who arrives first, and calculate the minimum safe passage time by combining vehicle speed, traffic volume and lane width. The red light is maintained for the direction without a target. Control command optimization and output: Taking traffic safety as the core, handle the three-way logical conflict, generate standardized commands containing device ID, switching action and maintenance duration and send them to the three sets of mine traffic lights; Dynamic feedback adjustment: Iterates calculations every second, and automatically extends the travel time in the corresponding direction when congestion or vehicle queues are detected, to prevent congestion from worsening.

[0026] In some embodiments, the system is configured with three flexibly switchable operating modes, which can be seamlessly switched through a control terminal human-machine interface or a server remote interface: Automatic mode: The system's normal operating mode integrates vehicle positioning data and visual AI recognition data, and predictively and intelligently switches three sets of mining traffic lights to achieve zero-wait passage for vehicles in three directions and zero-wait passage in cross directions, thus breaking away from traditional fixed-cycle control. Timed mode: Automatically schedules three sets of mine traffic lights according to preset fixed time rules, adapting to the fixed traffic patterns of underground vehicles in operation scenarios; Manual mode: Emergency dispatch mode, which can be controlled locally through the control terminal or remotely connected to the server to perform operations such as forced red light, green light, and locking of three sets of mine traffic lights, adapting to special scenarios such as equipment maintenance and tunnel construction.

[0027] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent traffic control system for underground coal mines, characterized in that, include: Three sets of mine traffic lights are installed at the intersections of three roadways in the coal mine, in each direction of oncoming traffic, to execute traffic light switching control commands and provide feedback on the operating status. The intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine integrates an embedded computer to read vehicle information, directly collect three video signals and perform on-site video AI analysis. Based on the analysis results, it adjusts the control data in the PLC control box to change the on / off duration of traffic lights. When the network is down or the AI ​​and vehicle positioning data fail, the PLC control box is automatically triggered to operate in a timed and time-sharing mode. The PLC control box is connected to three sets of mine traffic lights. It integrates a basic program module for traffic light control, realizing traffic light interlocking, three-way green interlocking, and all lights turning off and alarming in abnormal conditions. The intelligent traffic control server group is communicatively connected to the underground intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine, providing vehicle positioning information; The communication network component utilizes an underground ring network to establish a two-way data transmission link between the intelligent traffic control terminal and the intelligent traffic control server group in the coal mine, as well as the connection between the PLC and the camera.

2. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The three sets of mine traffic lights are independently deployed for the first, second, and third oncoming vehicle directions at the intersection of the three-way roadway. They are installed on the side wall of the roadway or above the intersection in the oncoming vehicle direction, and the height meets the visibility distance requirements for underground vehicles. Mining cameras are installed near the intelligent traffic control terminal in underground coal mines, arranged to cover all directions of oncoming traffic. They are used to collect images of vehicles in the roadway to support visual AI recognition, and at the same time detect the actual colors displayed by traffic lights and compare them with control commands to prevent the risk of three directions being green at the same time.

3. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The intelligent traffic control terminal for underground coal mines is built on a coal safety certification controller and a visual human-machine interface. It establishes a one-to-one data interaction link with three sets of mine traffic lights through an intrinsically safe interface. The traffic light control module drives the three sets of mine traffic lights to complete the red / green signal switching and has its own local parameter setting and equipment status viewing functions.

4. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The intelligent traffic control server group includes a location service relay server and an intelligent traffic control host. The location service relay server connects to the existing vehicle positioning hardware underground to obtain real-time vehicle location coordinates, speed and direction of travel data, and sends them to the intelligent traffic control host after simplification of the format. The intelligent traffic control host receives simplified vehicle positioning data and visual AI recognition data, generates traffic light control commands through intelligent scheduling algorithms and issues them, and has its own storage module and open remote access interface.

5. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 4, characterized in that, The location service relay server performs format simplification processing on vehicle location data, including: The core information is filtered, including the vehicle's unique identifier, real-time location coordinates, speed, direction of travel, and data collection time. The original coordinates are converted into a format of tunnel number + distance along the tunnel + lateral offset, with the wellhead or the starting point of the designated tunnel as the reference origin. The speed unit is standardized to meters per second, and the timestamp is in millisecond format. The coordinate and speed values ​​are retained to one decimal place, generating structured data.

6. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The underground intelligent traffic control terminal in the coal mine is directly connected to three sets of mine traffic lights through multiple independent serial ports, and communicates with the intelligent traffic control server group through the underground ring network. The existing underground vehicle positioning hardware is directly connected to the underground ring network. The system adopts predictive scheduling to achieve zero-wait passage at three-way intersections.

7. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 4, characterized in that, The intelligent traffic control host compensates for vehicle positioning data lag errors by using timestamps and speed parameters. Based on the maximum operating speed of underground vehicles (10 m / s), it accurately judges the vehicle distribution and driving status within the traffic dispatch area. Vehicle data is updated every second, and visual AI recognition data is integrated for verification. When a target is detected by a single data point, the corrected positioning data is used as the standard.

8. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 4, characterized in that, The calculation process of the intelligent scheduling algorithm includes: Data preprocessing and validity verification: Unify the timestamp format, remove invalid positioning data that exceeds the lane boundary, has abnormal speed, or has ambiguous direction, and filter low-confidence visual AI recognition results; Vehicle location fusion and matching: Based on the three-way traffic dispatch unit, the unified positioning coordinates and AI pixel coordinates are used. If the overlap is ≥80%, it is determined to be the same vehicle. Traffic light control logic calculation: Determine the priority of three-way traffic based on who arrives first, calculate the minimum safe passage time, and maintain the red light for directions without a destination. Control command optimization and output: Prioritize traffic safety and generate standardized commands containing device ID, switching action, and duration; Dynamic feedback adjustment: Iterate calculation every second and extend the passage time in the corresponding direction when congestion is detected.

9. The intelligent transportation control system for underground coal mines according to claim 1, characterized in that, The system has three switchable working modes: Automatic mode: It integrates vehicle positioning data with visual AI recognition data from mining cameras, and predictively and intelligently switches between three sets of mining traffic lights to enable vehicles to pass through without waiting. Timed mode: Automatically schedules three sets of mine traffic lights according to preset fixed time rules; Manual mode: The three sets of mine traffic lights can be manually controlled locally via the control terminal human-machine interface or remotely connected to the intelligent traffic control host.

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