Traffic signal control system

Abstract

To provide a traffic signal control system for performing signal control to prevent entrance of a vehicle to a crosswalk when a pedestrian is at a stop on the crosswalk.SOLUTION: A moving pedestrian is detected from a video acquired by a pedestrian detection section so as to measure a movement speed of the pedestrian on a crosswalk from detection information of the pedestrian W. When the movement speed of the pedestrian is equal to or less than a threshold, it is determined that the pedestrian is at a stop so as to determine the occurrence of an emergency state. When signal lights are not under all-red lighting control at timing of occurrence of the emergency state, switching is performed from lighting control according to normally set seconds S1 to lighting control according to minimally-set seconds S2 in a step ST25. Thus, a stage is advanced to the all-red lighting control in the signal lights as rapid as possible, thereby to secure safety of the crosswalk H.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a traffic signal control system that detects pedestrians on a crosswalk and controls the illumination of traffic lights at an intersection based on pedestrian detection information. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a pedestrian signal control system equipped with a signal control device that terminates the green signal of a pedestrian signal lamp if there are no pedestrians who have not reached a detection position set in the middle of the crosswalk using an image input unit that captures an image of the crosswalk. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-81567 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the pedestrian signal control system of Patent Document 1, in cases where a pedestrian crossing the crosswalk is hit and run by a moving vehicle, or if a pedestrian collapses on the crosswalk due to a seizure or the like and is unable to move, the green light is not terminated, but the signal is turned on by switching from a green light to a red light after the green time set in the current indication table has elapsed.

[0005] If the light is switched to red based on the thus set indication table, the pedestrian who has fallen and is unable to move will be left behind on the crosswalk and may come into contact with a vehicle passing through on a green light, creating an extremely dangerous situation.

[0006] In particular, when a pedestrian falls on the road, it is more difficult for the driver to see the pedestrian than when the pedestrian is standing, making accidents more likely to occur.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a traffic signal control system that solves the above-mentioned problems and performs signal control to prevent vehicles from entering a crosswalk when a stationary pedestrian is detected on the crosswalk. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the traffic signal control system of the present invention has a control unit installed in a housing equipped with an opening and closing door, the control unit is connected to a pedestrian detection unit that detects pedestrians crossing a crosswalk and to signal lights, and controls the lighting of the signal lights in accordance with a stored indication table consisting of a plurality of stages.The traffic signal control system is characterized in that when it determines, based on detection information from the pedestrian detection unit, that an emergency has occurred in which the pedestrian has stopped on the crosswalk, it switches the lighting control of the signal lights from one that follows the normal set number of seconds in the indication table to one that follows the shortest set number of seconds, and after reaching a stage where the lights are all lit in red, continues the stage where the lights are all lit in red for a predetermined time greater than or equal to the normal set number of seconds. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the traffic signal control system of the present invention, when a pedestrian is unable to move on a crosswalk due to a seizure, accident, or the like, the safety of the pedestrian can be ensured by controlling the signal to prevent vehicles from entering the crosswalk.

[0010] In addition, by reporting an emergency situation involving a pedestrian on the crosswalk to an emergency center or nearby passersby, rescue efforts for the pedestrian left on the crosswalk can be carried out quickly. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a system configuration diagram of a traffic signal control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram of a control device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the control device. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a current display table. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a flowchart for determining whether or not an emergency has occurred based on pedestrian detection information. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of the lighting control of the signal lamp when an emergency occurs. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. Figure 1 is a system configuration diagram of a traffic signal control system installed at an intersection, and Figure 2 is a system configuration diagram of the control device.

[0013] The traffic signal control system installed at intersection C where a main road D1 and a secondary road D2 intersect is composed of signal lights 10 placed on both the main road D1 and the secondary road D2, pedestrian detection units 30 that detect pedestrians crossing the first crosswalks H11, H12 on the secondary road D2 and the second crosswalks H21, H22 on the main road D1, and a control device 40 that is connected to the signal lights 10 and each pedestrian detection unit 30 and controls the lighting of the signal lights 10 in accordance with a preset indication table T.

[0014] At an intersection C, a pair of signal lamps 10 are installed on either side of a road D, a main road D1 on the side with heavy traffic and a secondary road D2 on the side with light traffic.

[0015] These signal lights 10 are composed of a first pedestrian signal light 11 that turns on red and blue lights for pedestrians W crossing the first crosswalks H11 and H12, a second pedestrian signal light 21 that turns on red and blue lights for pedestrians W crossing the second crosswalks H21 and H22, and automobile signal lights 12 and 22 that turn on red, yellow and blue lights for vehicles traveling on the main road D1 and secondary road D2.

[0016] Pedestrian detection units 31 to 34 are installed at the four corners of intersection C on pillars on which traffic lights 10 are mounted, and each has crosswalks H11, H12, H21, and H22 as its detection area R, and detect pedestrians crossing crosswalk H.

[0017] The control device 40 is housed in a box-shaped housing 41 fixed to a pillar on which one of a pair of automobile signal lights 12 at an intersection C is installed, for example, and various setting operations can be performed by opening an openable / closable door 42 on the front of the housing.

[0018] All of the traffic lights 10 and pedestrian detection units 30 installed at intersection C are connected to the control device 40 as shown by the connecting lines in the upper left corner of Figure 1, but the connecting lines other than the upper left corner are omitted from the illustration.

[0019] 3 is an external perspective view of the control device 40, and a communication unit 43 that has been waterproofed so that the surface is flush is fitted into the outer surface of an opening / closing door 42 disposed in front of the control device 40. This communication unit 43 is composed of a monitor unit 431, a speaker unit 432, a microphone unit 433, and a camera unit 434. Via the communication unit 43, passersby in the vicinity can report to the emergency center or talk to an operator at the emergency center.

[0020] The monitor unit 431 is, for example, a color TFT display, and employs a touch panel type such as a pressure-sensitive type. Alternatively, in order to prevent damage, reinforced glass or reinforced plastic may be placed on the outer surface of the opening and closing door 42, and the monitor unit 431 may be placed inside it.

[0021] Moreover, for the speaker unit 432, the microphone unit 433, and the camera unit 434, a general-purpose loudspeaker, a small sound-collecting microphone, and a small camera with a wide-angle shooting range can be appropriately adopted, which are used when conducting a web conference, etc. Note that the camera unit 434 does not necessarily have to be provided.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, the communication unit 43 is connected to the control unit 44 via a connector unit (not shown) on the back, and the control unit 44 is connected to the signal light unit 10 and the pedestrian detection unit 30, and performs tasks such as controlling the lighting of the signal light unit 10, detecting pedestrians by the pedestrian detection unit 30, and determining whether or not an emergency has occurred.

[0023] Furthermore, the control unit 44 is connected to a communication unit 45, and the communication unit 45 is connected to an external center G, for example, an emergency center, via a communication network N. Note that communication between the control device 40 and the external center G or the pedestrian detection unit 30 may be either wireless communication or wired communication.

[0024] A window is provided in the center below the opening / closing door 42, and a rectangular sub-door 46 that opens and closes about a vertical axis (not shown) is provided to cover this window. A switch unit 47 that can be used when the sub-door 46 is open is connected to the control unit 44 by an elastic cable so as to be extendable from the sub-door 46.

[0025] The switch section 47 is mainly used by the manager of the control device 40, and is not particularly used by passersby using the communication section 43. The opening and closing door 42 and the sub door section 46 are provided with keyholes 48 that can be locked and unlocked with a key managed by the manager.

[0026] 4 is an example of the aspect table T stored in the control unit 44 of the control device 40, where a straight line in the aspect table T represents a green light being lit, a dotted line represents a flashing green light, a wavy line represents a yellow light being lit, and a double line represents a red light being lit. This aspect table T is made up of a number of stairs K, and at the stairs K1, for example, lighting control is set such that all the signal lamps 10 turn on the red light. When the control device 40 is powered on, lighting control is started for the signal lamps 10 in order, starting from the stairs K1.

[0027] For example, at staircase K2, lighting control is set so that the pedestrian signal light 11 and the automobile signal light 12 turn on the green light, and the pedestrian signal light 21 and the automobile signal light 22 turn on the red light.

[0028] At the staircase K3, lighting control is set such that the pedestrian signal lamp 11 flashes green, the automobile signal lamp 12 lights green, and the pedestrian signal lamp 21 and the automobile signal lamp 22 light red. Similarly, at the staircases K4 to K10, lighting control is set based on the aspect table T shown in FIG. 2.

[0029] Each of the stairs K1 to K10 is set with a normal setting number of seconds S1 for which each signal light 10 in normal operation is kept lit, and the total number of seconds obtained by adding up the normal setting numbers of seconds S1 for these stairs K1 to K10, i.e., the time it takes for the stairs K1 to K10 to go through one cycle, is defined as one cycle time.

[0030] After the final floor K, floor K10, the process returns to floor K1, the first floor K, and this cycle is repeated in sequence. These normal set seconds S1 can be set to values ​​that vary depending on the time of day, day of the week, etc. Furthermore, it is also possible to change the normal set seconds S1 as appropriate so as to optimize the traffic volume and occupancy rate based on the detection information from vehicle detectors installed on the main road D1 and secondary road D2 (not shown).

[0031] The control unit 44 also sets a minimum set number of seconds S2 for each of the stairs K1 to K10. The minimum set number of seconds S2 for the stairs K1 and K6 is set to a number of seconds that is at least equal to or greater than the minimum number of seconds required for a pedestrian to cross the main road D1 and the secondary road D2 safely. This number of seconds is set according to the widths of the roads D1 and D2. For example, if the main road D1 is at an intersection C with a crosswalk that is 20 meters wide, the minimum set number of seconds for the stairs K6 is set to 20 seconds.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the process performed by the control unit 44 to determine whether or not an emergency has occurred based on the detection information of a pedestrian W crossing the crosswalk H input from the pedestrian detection unit 30.

[0033] In step ST11 after startup, an image of detection area R of crosswalks H11, H12, H21, and H22, indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1, is acquired from pedestrian detection units 31-34, which are image sensors. Then, in step ST12, a moving pedestrian W is detected from within the acquired image, and the movement speed of the pedestrian W is measured from the detection information of the pedestrian W.

[0034] The process proceeds to step ST13, where it is determined whether or not the moving speed of the pedestrian W is equal to or lower than the threshold and has continued for a predetermined time, that is, whether or not the pedestrian is in a stopped state.

[0035] In step ST13, if the movement speed of the pedestrian W is equal to or less than a threshold value, for example, 1 km / h, and remains at or below 1 km / h for 3 seconds, the pedestrian is determined to be stopped, and the process proceeds to step ST14, where it is determined that an emergency has occurred, and this is reflected in the flow processing of Figure 6 described later.

[0036] The process of determining whether an emergency has occurred may be such that it is determined that the pedestrian W has not moved at all, that is, that the speed of 0 km / h has continued for a predetermined period of time.

[0037] In step ST15, it is determined whether the emergency situation continues, that is, whether the state in which the pedestrian W is not moving continues, and if it continues, step ST15 is repeated. If the pedestrian W moves and the emergency situation ends, the process proceeds to step ST16.

[0038] The determined emergency situation ends when the fallen pedestrian W starts to move on his / her own, or when he / she is moved by a passerby or a rescue worker in an ambulance.

[0039] In step ST13, even if the movement speed of the pedestrian W does not fall below the threshold, that is, if the pedestrian W is moving at a normal speed, the process proceeds to step ST16, where it is determined whether the pedestrian W continues to be detected within the detection area R.

[0040] If the detection of the pedestrian W continues in step ST16, the process returns to step ST12, and steps ST12 to ST16 are repeated. Then, if the detection of the pedestrian W becomes impossible in step ST16, that is, if the pedestrian W moves out of the detection area R, the control unit 44 determines that the pedestrian W has completely crossed the crosswalk H, and the flow process ends. The flow process shown in Fig. 5 is performed for each pedestrian W who enters the detection area R of the crosswalk H.

[0041] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the lighting control of the signal lamp 10 when the control unit 44 determines that an emergency situation has occurred, which indicates that the pedestrian is stopped as described above.

[0042] In step ST21 after the start, it is determined whether or not the emergency determined in step ST14 in Fig. 5 has occurred, and if no emergency has occurred, the process proceeds to step ST22, where the current step K is advanced in accordance with the normal setting seconds S1 in the aspect table T, thereby controlling the lighting of the signal lamp unit 10. The processes of steps ST21 and ST22 are repeated until an emergency occurs.

[0043] In step ST21, if an emergency occurs, the process proceeds to step ST23. In step ST23, it is determined whether the current level K of the signal lamp 10 is level K5 or level K10, which is an all-red lighting control in which all the signal lamps 10 in the indication table T shown in FIG. 4 are turned on in red.

[0044] If the signal light 10 was controlling the lighting of stairs K5 or K10 at the time the emergency occurred, the process proceeds to step ST24, and if the signal light 10 was controlling the lighting of stairs K other than stairs K5 or K10, i.e. stairs K1 to K4 and stairs K6 to K9, the process proceeds to step ST25.

[0045] In step ST25, first, the lighting control according to the normal set number of seconds S1 shown in Fig. 4 is switched to the lighting control according to the shortest set number of seconds S2. The current floor K is advanced in steps according to the switched shortest set number of seconds S2, lighting control of the signal lamp 10 is performed, and steps ST23 and ST25 are repeated until the current floor K reaches floor K5 or floor K10.

[0046] In step ST24, the current step K state of step K5 or step K10, which is the all red lighting control, is maintained for a predetermined time period of at least 3 seconds, which is the normally set number of seconds, for example 30 seconds, and it is determined whether or not the state has continued for 30 seconds.

[0047] A state in which pedestrian W is stopped on the crosswalk H means that there is a high possibility that pedestrian W will come into contact with a moving vehicle or have collapsed due to a seizure or the like. Based on the detection of this state, the signal lamp 10 is controlled to keep all red lights on for a predetermined period of time to prevent vehicles from entering the intersection C. By continuing this all red light, at least passing vehicles will not come into contact with pedestrian W who has collapsed on the crosswalk H.

[0048] If the full red illumination does not continue for the predetermined time, the process proceeds to step ST26, where it is determined whether the emergency has been lifted. This determination is linked to step ST15 in the flow chart of FIG.

[0049] Therefore, in step ST15 shown in FIG. 5, the emergency state is lifted, and thus the process proceeds to step ST16. Also in step ST26 shown in FIG. 6, the process proceeds to step ST29, which will be described later.

[0050] In step ST24, if the current state of the stairs K5 or stairs K10, which is the all red lighting control, continues for a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step ST27, where flashing control is started. The flashing control is a lighting control in which the red or yellow light of the automobile signal lamps 12, 22 is flashed, and the traveling vehicle enters the intersection C after slowing down or stopping temporarily.

[0051] The reason for performing flash control after the full red light has been lit for a predetermined period of time in this manner is that if a pedestrian W has fallen injured, for example in a collision with a vehicle, the signal lamps 10 are advanced up the ladder K to the full red light control as quickly as possible to first ensure safety on the crosswalk H. This enables nearby pedestrians to move the injured person out of the crosswalk H. However, if the injured person has suffered an injury to the head or the like, it may be more appropriate not to move the injured person immediately, and so flash control after the full red light is maintained until an ambulance arrives.

[0052] Furthermore, by continuing the full red lighting control of signal lamp 10, nearby passersby will be aware that the injured person has collapsed on crosswalk H, and even if the control is subsequently switched to flashing light control due to a warning from passersby or the action of a preceding vehicle, drivers of passing vehicles will be able to recognize the injured person who has collapsed and will not come into contact with him. Note that if the full red lighting at intersection C continues for a long period of time, intersection C will become a bottleneck and congestion will occur, so it is necessary to switch to flashing light control at an appropriate time.

[0053] After the flash control is started in step ST27, the process proceeds to step ST28, where it is determined whether the emergency situation has been lifted. This determination of whether the emergency situation has been lifted is linked to step ST15 in the flowchart of FIG. 5, similar to step ST26.

[0054] In step ST15 shown in FIG. 5, the emergency state is lifted, and the process proceeds to step ST16. In addition, in step ST28 shown in FIG. 6, the process proceeds to step ST29.

[0055] Then, in step ST29, lighting control is started from staircase K5 or staircase K10 according to the display table T. Since there is a possibility that pedestrian W is still present on the crosswalk H immediately after the emergency is lifted, after performing all-red lighting control for a predetermined time, for example 10 seconds, lighting control according to the normal set number of seconds S1 is started from staircase K5 or staircase K10. In this way, after restoring to normal lighting control, the process returns to step ST21, and thereafter steps ST21 to ST22 are repeated until an emergency occurs.

[0056] Incidentally, the process for determining whether an emergency has occurred shown in FIG. 5 is carried out independently of the control of the traffic light 10. Therefore, even if, for example, a pedestrian ignores the red light of the pedestrian traffic lights 11, 12 and comes into contact with a vehicle traveling straight and is unable to move, the full red lighting control and flashing control of the traffic light 10 will be executed in accordance with the flow processing in FIG. 6.

[0057] In addition to the flow processing shown in Figures 5 and 6, the control unit 44 of the control device 40 has a function of automatically reporting to an external center G, such as an emergency center, via the communication unit 45 and the communication network N when the above-mentioned emergency occurs.

[0058] The control unit 44 transmits the captured video of the emergency occurrence to an emergency center together with pre-stored position information of the intersection C. By checking the video of the emergency occurrence, an operator can recognize how the pedestrian became unable to move and can promptly dispatch an ambulance or the like to the intersection C. Furthermore, the captured video of the emergency occurrence may be transmitted to the police, which is an external center G, to help identify the vehicle that caused the collision accident or the like.

[0059] Furthermore, when an emergency occurs, the operator at the emergency center can communicate with the person who found the injury and with passersby via the communication unit 43. When an emergency occurs, there may be cases where no one notices the injured person. In this case, the occurrence of the emergency can be notified to passersby in the vicinity via the communication unit 43, mainly the speaker unit 432.

[0060] The operator can display his / her own image and various information shared with the operator's PC on the monitor unit 431, such as a simplified diagram of intersection C, and can appropriately converse with the discoverer or passersby about the situation at the scene and instructions on where to evacuate injured persons, etc.

[0061] Note that the communication unit 43 can normally display text information for calling attention on the monitor unit 431, or output audio information for calling attention from the speaker unit 432. Alternatively, the communication unit 43 can be made available for use when an emergency occurs.

[0062] According to the traffic signal control system of the present invention, when a pedestrian W is unable to move on a crosswalk H due to a seizure, a collision accident, or the like, the safety of the pedestrian W can be ensured by implementing signal control to prevent vehicles from entering the crosswalk H.

[0063] In addition, by reporting an emergency situation involving pedestrian W on crosswalk H to an emergency center or nearby passersby, rescue operations can be carried out quickly for pedestrian W who is left behind on crosswalk H. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 10 Signal lights 30~34 Pedestrian detection section 40 Control device 41 Case 42 Opening and closing door 43 Communications Department 44 Control section 431 Monitor section 432 Speaker section 433 Microphone section C intersection G External Center H. Crosswalk K ladder S1 Normal setting seconds S2 Minimum setting seconds T Current Display Table W Pedestrian

Claims

1. A traffic signal control system comprising: a control unit provided in a housing having an opening / closing door; the control unit being connected to a pedestrian detection unit that detects pedestrians crossing a crosswalk and to a signal lamp; and controlling the illumination of the signal lamp according to a stored indication table consisting of a plurality of stages, a traffic signal control system which, when it is determined based on detection information from the pedestrian detection unit that an emergency has occurred in which the pedestrian is stopped on the crosswalk, switches the lighting control of the signal lamp from the normal setting number of seconds in the indication table to the shortest setting number of seconds, and, after a level at which the all-red lights are lit is reached, continues the all-red lights for a predetermined time equal to or longer than the normal setting number of seconds.

2. The traffic signal control system according to claim 1, characterized in that the control unit switches to flashing control including flashing yellow or flashing red after the signal lamp has remained in a full red lit state for the specified period of time.

3. The traffic signal control system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the pedestrian's movement speed is measured from the detection information, and the occurrence of the emergency is determined based on whether the movement speed is below a threshold value, or whether the movement speed is 0 km / h and continues for a predetermined period of time.

4. 3. The traffic signal control system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, when determining that the emergency has occurred, notifies an external center via a communication line.

5. A communication unit having a speaker unit is provided on the outer surface of the opening and closing door, 5. The traffic signal control system according to claim 4, wherein when it is determined that the emergency has occurred, the occurrence of the emergency is notified via the speaker unit.

6. The communication unit includes a monitor unit and a microphone unit in addition to the speaker unit, 6. The traffic signal control system according to claim 5, wherein when it is determined that the emergency has occurred, communication with the external center is made possible via the communication unit.

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