Road shoulder collapse risk evaluation system

Abstract

To evaluate a potential road shoulder collapse risk of a road.SOLUTION: A system for evaluating a road shoulder collapse risk in a predetermined area of a road 6 on which a vehicle 5 travels includes: a storage server 4 for preserving an evaluation result of the road shoulder collapse risk; a first information acquisition device 1 for acquiring information to recognize a moisture amount on a road surface in the predetermined area of the road 6; a second information acquisition device 2 for acquiring rainfall information in an adjacent area of the predetermined area on the road 6; and an evaluation device 3 for evaluating the road shoulder collapse risk in the predetermined area of the road 6 based on the moisture amount information acquired from the first information acquisition device 1 and the rainfall information acquired from the second information acquisition device 2, so as to preserve the evaluation result in the storage server 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a road shoulder collapse risk assessment system. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 describes a road damage detection device that has a simpler configuration, is less susceptible to the influence of the environment during detection, and is capable of detecting road damage with higher accuracy.

[0003] This patent document describes that attention is focused on the longitudinal acceleration of a traveling vehicle, and road damage is determined to exist in a location where there is a change equal to or greater than a threshold value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-194450 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The technology in Patent Document 1 detects apparent abnormalities such as unevenness or inclination of the road surface, but it cannot evaluate the potential risk of road shoulder collapse in a specified area of ​​the road.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a road shoulder collapse risk assessment system that assesses the potential risk of road shoulder collapse. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is a system for evaluating the risk of shoulder collapse in a specified area of ​​a road on which a vehicle travels, and is characterized by comprising an accumulation server that stores the evaluation results of the risk of shoulder collapse, a first information acquisition device that acquires information for recognizing the amount of moisture on the road surface in the specified area of ​​the road, a second information acquisition device that acquires rainfall information for an area on the road neighboring the specified area, and an evaluation device that evaluates the risk of shoulder collapse in the specified area of ​​the road based on the moisture amount information acquired by the first information acquisition device and the rainfall information acquired by the second information acquisition device, and stores the evaluation results in the accumulation server.

[0008] According to this configuration, it is possible to evaluate the potential risk of road shoulder collapse in a specified area of ​​the road based on the moisture content information of the road surface and the rainfall information.

[0009] Furthermore, if the evaluation results are notified to, for example, a road management organization (such as the Japan Highway Public Corporation), it will be possible for the road management organization to promptly carry out road inspection and repair work on roads that require it. It will also be possible to ensure the safe travel of vehicles traveling on the road by providing the road management organization with the evaluation results of the potential risk of shoulder collapse in specified areas of the road.

[0010] In the above road shoulder collapse risk assessment system, the assessment device includes a first assessment unit that determines whether moisture is present on the road surface in a predetermined area of ​​the road, a second assessment unit that determines whether the amount of rainfall from the current time until a predetermined time ago is zero if the first assessment unit makes a positive assessment, a first processing unit that stores in the accumulation server an assessment result that there is a risk of road shoulder collapse in the predetermined area of ​​the road if the second assessment unit makes a negative assessment, a third assessment unit that determines whether a predetermined time or more has passed since the end of rainfall if the second assessment unit makes a negative assessment, and The system may include a fourth judgment unit that judges whether it is within a predetermined time from the start of the rain, a fifth judgment unit that judges whether moisture is present on the road surface of the road in an area adjacent to the predetermined area when the third judgment unit or the fourth judgment unit judges yes, and a second processing unit that stores in the accumulation server an evaluation result that there is no risk of shoulder collapse when the fifth judgment unit or the fourth judgment unit judges no, and when the fifth judgment unit judges yes, the system may be configured to transition to the first processing unit and store in the accumulation server an evaluation result that there is a risk of shoulder collapse.

[0011] This configuration is advantageous in assessing the potential risk of road shoulder collapse of the road with high accuracy.

[0012] In addition, in the above road shoulder collapse risk assessment system, the first information acquisition device may be configured to include an on-board camera, an on-board microphone, an on-board global positioning system, an on-board acceleration sensor, and an on-board vehicle speed sensor.

[0013] With this configuration, it becomes clear that the accuracy of determining whether or not moisture is present on the road surface in a predetermined area of ​​the road is improved.

[0014] In addition, in the above-mentioned road shoulder collapse risk assessment system, the second information acquisition device can be configured to be a communication device that acquires the rainfall information by communicating with an information provision system that provides rainfall information for areas neighboring the specified area on the road.

[0015] This configuration clearly improves the accuracy of rainfall information for areas adjacent to a given area on the road. Effect of the Invention

[0016] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a road shoulder collapse risk assessment system that assesses the potential risk of road shoulder collapse. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of one embodiment of a road shoulder collapse risk assessment system according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the road shoulder collapse risk assessment system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a road for explaining the mechanism of road shoulder collapse. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing conditions for evaluating a risk of road shoulder collapse. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing conditions for evaluating a risk of road shoulder collapse. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing conditions for evaluating a risk of road shoulder collapse. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0019] One embodiment of the present invention is shown in Figures 1 to 6. The road shoulder collapse risk assessment system of this embodiment includes a first information acquisition device 1, a second information acquisition device 2, an evaluation device 3, and an accumulation server 4, as shown in Figure 1.

[0020] The first information acquisition device 1 is an on-board camera, an on-board microphone, an on-board global positioning system (GPS) device, an on-board acceleration sensor, an on-board vehicle speed sensor, etc., and sequentially collects various data regarding the road surface as the vehicle 5 travels, and transmits the collected information to the evaluation device 3 in response to a request from the evaluation device 3.

[0021] The vehicle-mounted camera is an imaging device that captures images (still images or video images) of the area ahead of the vehicle 5. Specifically, the vehicle-mounted camera is a video camera incorporating an imaging element (CCD: Charge-Coupled Device, CMOS: Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) or the like.

[0022] The images captured by the vehicle-mounted camera are analyzed by the evaluation device 3 to detect the amount of moisture on the surface of the road 6 and the amount of rainfall. A known method can be used as a specific method for analyzing the images.

[0023] In addition, the on-board microphone detects sounds around the vehicle 5. The on-board global positioning system device detects positioning information related to the vehicle position (e.g., latitude, longitude, altitude). The on-board acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the vehicle 5 (longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration, vertical acceleration, etc.). The on-board vehicle speed sensor detects the running speed (vehicle speed) of the vehicle 5.

[0024] The second information acquisition device 2 is a communication device that acquires rainfall information by communicating with an information provision system (not shown) that provides rainfall information in a predetermined area of ​​the road 6 on which the vehicle 5 is traveling and in a neighboring area (before or after) the predetermined area, and transmits the rainfall information to the evaluation device 3 in response to a request from the evaluation device 3. An example of the information provision system is a private or public weather forecast center.

[0025] The evaluation device 3 consists of a known electronic control unit (ECU) and evaluates the potential collapse risk of the shoulder of the road 6 from the moisture content information and rainfall information of the road surface 6 based on various information acquired through the first and second information acquisition devices 1, 2 and a predetermined program, and stores the evaluation information in the accumulation server 4.

[0026] The ECU includes a central processing unit (CPU), a non-volatile storage device (Read Only Memory: ROM), a temporary storage device (Random Access Memory: RAM), and the like.

[0027] The ROM stores various control programs and maps to be referenced when executing the various control programs. The CPU executes calculations based on the various control programs and maps stored in the ROM. The RAM is a memory that temporarily stores the results of calculations by the CPU, data input from each sensor, and the like.

[0028] The accumulation server 4 accumulates the results of the evaluation by the evaluation device 3 one by one.

[0029] Now, an example of a road 6 with a series of slopes on the road shoulder will be described with reference to Fig. 3. On the left road shoulder of the road 6 in the vehicle travel direction, there is a valley-side embankment slope 7A and a valley-side natural slope 7B that slope downward to the left. Also, on the right road shoulder of the road 6 in the vehicle travel direction, there is a mountain-side cut slope 8A and a mountain-side natural slope 8B that slope upward to the right.

[0030] In such a road 6, there is a risk that the valley side shoulder of the road 6 will collapse due to loosening of the ground of the valley side embankment slope 7A and the valley side natural slope 7B. The present invention makes it possible to evaluate the above-mentioned potential risk of road shoulder collapse before such a collapse occurs.

[0031] Next, the operation of the evaluation device 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in Fig. 2. The flowchart shown in Fig. 2 starts when the power supply (not shown) of the evaluation device 3 is turned on.

[0032] First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not moisture is present on the road surface in a specified area of ​​the road 6 based on various information acquired through the first information acquisition device 1 mounted on multiple vehicles 5 traveling on the road 6.

[0033] If the determination in step S1 is negative, the process returns to step S1, whereas if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step S2.

[0034] In step S2, it is determined based on the rainfall amount information acquired through the second information acquisition device 2 whether or not there is no rainfall on the road surface in the predetermined area of ​​the road 6 from the current time until a predetermined time has elapsed.

[0035] If the judgment in step S2 is positive, that is, if it is not raining but the surface of a specified area of ​​the road 6 is wet, the process proceeds to step S3, where it is evaluated that there is a risk of the shoulder collapsing, the evaluation result is stored in the accumulation server 4, and this flowchart ends.

[0036] On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S2 is negative, the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the end of rainfall.

[0037] If the determination in step S4 is negative, the process proceeds to step S5, whereas if the determination is positive, that is, if the amount of moisture on the road surface of the predetermined area of ​​the road 6 is large compared to the amount of rainfall, the process proceeds to step S6.

[0038] First, in step S5, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of rainfall. If the determination in step S5 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S6, whereas if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0039] In step S6, it is determined whether moisture is present on the road surface of an area adjacent (in front or behind) the predetermined area on the road 6 on which the vehicle 5 is traveling. If the determination in step S6 is negative, that is, if there is no difference between the amount of moisture on the road surface of the predetermined area of ​​the road 6 and the amount of moisture on the road surface of the adjacent area of ​​the road 6, the process proceeds to step S3 described above. On the other hand, if the determination is negative, that is, if there is a difference between the amount of moisture on the road surface of the predetermined area of ​​the road 6 and the amount of moisture on the road surface of the adjacent area of ​​the road 6, the process proceeds to step S7.

[0040] In step S7, it is evaluated that there is no risk of the road shoulder collapsing, and the evaluation result is stored in the accumulation server 4, and this flowchart is terminated.

[0041] In the flowchart of FIG. 2, step S1 corresponds to the first judgment section described in the claims, step S2 corresponds to the second judgment section described in the claims, step S3 corresponds to the first processing section described in the claims, step S4 corresponds to the third judgment section described in the claims, step S5 corresponds to the fourth judgment section described in the claims, step S6 corresponds to the fifth judgment section described in the claims, and step S7 corresponds to the second processing section described in the claims.

[0042] Next, a situation in which the risk of road shoulder collapse is evaluated will be described with reference to Figures 4 to 6. Each item in the tables shown in Figures 4 to 6 is created based on information acquired through the first information acquisition device 1 and information acquired through the second information acquisition device 2 of multiple vehicles 5.

[0043] Fig. 4 shows a situation in which the road surface of a specified area of ​​the road 6 is wet (water present, see the circle in the figure) after 10:00, even though it is not raining. This is assumed to be caused by water such as groundwater intermittently flowing onto the road surface of the specified area of ​​the road 6 from the mountain side slope (the mountain side cut slope 8A and the mountain side natural slope 8B that slopes up to the right). In this situation, it is evaluated that there is a risk of the shoulder of the specified area of ​​the road 6 collapsing after 10:00 (see the dotted area in the figure).

[0044] FIG. 5 shows a situation in which the road surface of a specific area of ​​road 6 is dry after 3 p.m., but the road surface of the area adjacent to the specific area of ​​road 6 is wet (a situation with moisture, see the circle in the figure). This is assumed to be due to moisture around road 6 concentrating on the road surface of the area adjacent to road 6, or a decrease in the drainage function of the area adjacent to road 6. In such a situation, it is assessed that there is a risk of the shoulder of road 6 collapsing in the area adjacent to road 6 after 3 p.m. (see the dotted area in the figure).

[0045] FIG. 6 shows a situation in which rain has continued to fall since 11:00, but the surface of road 6 is dry between 12:00 and 14:00, but the amount of moisture on the surface of the area adjacent to the specified area of ​​road 6 is high compared to the amount of rainfall. This is presumably due to moisture around road 6 concentrating on the surface of the area adjacent to road 6 and a decrease in the drainage function of the area adjacent to road 6. In this situation, it is evaluated that there is a risk of the shoulder of road 6 collapsing in the area adjacent to road 6 between 12:00 and 14:00 (see the dotted area in the figure).

[0046] As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the risk of shoulder collapse in a specified area of ​​the road 6 is evaluated from the moisture content information and rainfall information of the road surface in the specified area of ​​the road 6, so that it is possible to evaluate the potential risk of shoulder collapse in the specified area of ​​the road 6.

[0047] In the road shoulder collapse risk assessment system configured as described above, for example, the first information acquisition device 1 can be mounted on a vehicle 5, while the second information acquisition device 2, evaluation device 3 and accumulation server 4 can be equipped in a vehicle information collection center not shown.

[0048] The vehicle information collection center may be, for example, an institution managed by a private sector, and may have a function of acquiring vehicle information, driving information, and road surface information of the road 6 on which the vehicles 5 are traveling through the first information acquisition device 1 of the multiple target vehicles 5, and a function of notifying the multiple vehicles 5 and a road management institution (such as the Japan Highway Public Corporation) not shown in the figure of the acquired road surface information.

[0049] When operated in this manner, for example, it becomes possible for the road management agency to quickly carry out road inspection and road repair work on roads 6 where such work is necessary, and the road management agency can provide vehicles 5 traveling on the road 6 with the results of an assessment of the potential risk of road shoulder collapse in specified areas of the road 6, thereby ensuring the safe travel of vehicles 5.

[0050] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and a range equivalent to the claims.

[0051] For example, in the above embodiment, although not shown, it is also possible to connect a video display device (dedicated display, in-vehicle car navigation system) or an audio output device (dedicated speaker, in-vehicle music speaker) to the evaluation device 3 to visually or audibly convey the evaluation results to the driver. [Industrial Applicability]

[0052] The present invention can be suitably used in a road shoulder collapse risk assessment system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1 First information acquisition device 2 Second information acquisition device 3. Evaluation equipment 4. Storage Server 5. Vehicles 6 road 7A Valley side embankment slope 7B Valley side natural slope

Claims

1. A system for evaluating a risk of road shoulder collapse in a predetermined area of ​​a road on which a vehicle travels, comprising: An accumulation server for storing the evaluation result of the risk of road shoulder collapse; a first information acquisition device for acquiring information for recognizing a moisture amount on a road surface in a predetermined area of ​​the road; A second information acquisition device that acquires rainfall information for an area adjacent to the predetermined area on the road; and an evaluation device that evaluates the risk of road shoulder collapse in a specified area of ​​the road based on the moisture content information acquired by the first information acquisition device and the rainfall information acquired by the second information acquisition device, and stores the evaluation results in the accumulation server.

2. In the road shoulder collapse risk assessment system according to claim 1, The evaluation device includes a first determination unit that determines whether or not moisture is present on a road surface in a predetermined area of ​​the road; a second determination unit that determines whether or not the amount of rainfall from the current time until a predetermined time ago is zero when the first determination unit makes a positive determination; a first processing unit that stores in the accumulation server an evaluation result indicating that there is a risk of a road shoulder collapse in a predetermined area of ​​the road when a positive judgment is made by the second judgment unit; a third determination unit that determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the end of rainfall when a negative determination is made by the second determination unit; a fourth determination unit that determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of rainfall when a negative determination is made by the third determination unit; a fifth determination unit that determines whether or not moisture is present on a road surface in an area adjacent to the predetermined area on the road when the third determination unit makes a positive determination or when the fourth determination unit makes a positive determination; A second processing unit stores an evaluation result that there is no risk of road shoulder collapse in the accumulation server when the fifth determination unit makes a negative determination or when the fourth determination unit makes a negative determination, A road shoulder collapse risk assessment system characterized in that, if the fifth judgment unit makes a positive judgment, the system transitions to the first processing unit and stores the assessment result that there is a risk of road shoulder collapse in the accumulation server.

3. In the road shoulder collapse risk assessment system according to claim 1 or 2, A road shoulder collapse risk assessment system characterized in that the first information acquisition device includes an on-board camera, an on-board microphone, an on-board global positioning system, an on-board acceleration sensor, and an on-board vehicle speed sensor.

4. In the road shoulder collapse risk assessment system according to claim 1 or 2, A road shoulder collapse risk assessment system characterized in that the second information acquisition device is a communication device that acquires the rainfall information by communicating with an information provision system that provides rainfall information for areas neighboring the specified area on the road.

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