System for detecting vehicle traveling in reverse direction and in forward direction

Abstract

To provide a system for detecting a vehicle traveling in a reverse direction and in a forward direction, which is capable of eliminating erroneous detection of the vehicle 100% and inability to determine whether the vehicle is traveling in the reverse direction or in the forward direction on an expressway.SOLUTION: A system for detecting a vehicle traveling in a reverse direction and in a forward direction, comprises: a transmitting and receiving unit that receives information from four photo-electric sensors consisting of a light emitting and receiving device and a reflection plate; and an information processing unit that determines whether the vehicle is traveling in the reverse direction or in the forward direction based on the received information, wherein: the information processing unit determines whether the actuation of the four photo-electric sensors is abnormal or normal from the received information; the information processing unit performs software-control to maintain a vehicle detection state for a predetermined time from a time when the vehicle detection information is received from the photo-electric sensors; when all of three photoelectric sensors are in a non-detection state and do not output detection information about the vehicle, the information processing unit controls the vehicle to be in the non-detection state by software even if the vehicle is in a vehicle detection state by software; and the information processing unit performs control to determine whether the vehicle is traveling in the reverse direction or forward direction based on the order of the vehicle detection information from the three photoelectric sensors of the determination target at the vehicle detection starting time and the order of the vehicle detection ending time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wrong-way / forward-traveling vehicle detection system that is unaffected by weather conditions and vehicle configurations and can stably detect vehicles traveling in the wrong direction or forward direction on a one-way road without erroneous detection. [Background technology]

[0002] There is no end to the dangerous cases of vehicles driving the wrong way on one-way roads such as expressways. For this reason, wrong-way driving detection devices have been disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a reverse-running prevention device that includes: a receiving unit that is installed near the exit of a one-way road, emitting radio waves into a detection area of ​​the one-way road and receiving reflected waves from vehicles within the detection area; an identification unit that identifies the traveling direction of the vehicle traveling on the one-way road by detecting the phase of a pair of signals output from the receiving unit; a first measurement unit that measures the speed of the vehicle based on the pair of signals output from the receiving unit; a second measurement unit that measures the time the vehicle is detected based on the output signal of the identification unit; and a third measurement unit that measures the distance in the vehicle traveling direction in the detection area based on the output signals of the first and second measurement units, and further includes detection means including at least one of an infrared sensor and an ultrasonic sensor installed facing the detection area; and heavy rain detection means that counts the output signal of the identification unit for a certain period of time and activates the detection means when the count value exceeds a reference value.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a wrong-way driving warning system that includes three or more sensors that are lined up on the roadside and detect the presence of a vehicle within a detection range, a calculation unit that calculates a first section speed based on the detection time difference and distance for at least two of the sensors that detected the vehicle when the three or more sensors detect the vehicle in order from downstream to upstream in the forward direction, and a determination unit that determines the presence or absence of a wrong-way driving vehicle based on at least the first section speed.

[0005] Patent Document 3 discloses a road information display device with a wrong-way driving reporting function, which is connected via a communication line to a central control device installed in a road management office or the like and displays road information by remote control, and which comprises a warning means having a display surface for forward driving vehicles and a display surface for wrong-way driving vehicles that display normal road information, a wrong-way driving detection means that acquires vehicle information and detects wrong-way driving vehicles, and a display control means that displays road information from the central control device on the display surface for forward driving vehicles and, upon receiving a wrong-way driving detection signal from the wrong-way driving detection means, displays display items related to wrong-way driving vehicles on the display surface for forward driving vehicles and the display surface for wrong-way driving vehicles, and the wrong-way driving detection means is equipped with an image processing function that determines the direction of movement of a wrong-way vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-267208 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2018-14042 A [Patent Document 3] Utility Model Registration No. 3141167 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The invention of Patent Document 1 had the problem that when microwaves are used on trucks carrying cargo of various shapes, the surfaces are uneven, causing the reflection direction to be scattered, making it difficult to achieve 100% detection accuracy and resulting in false detection.

[0008] The invention in Patent Document 2 is a system that uses sensors to take into account two section speeds and make a judgment; the distance between sensors can be several tens of meters, and multiple sensors must be installed, which increases installation costs; furthermore, in the case of trucks carrying cargo, the uneven surface causes the reflection direction to be diffused, making it difficult to achieve 100% detection accuracy and resulting in false detections.

[0009] The device proposed in Patent Document 3 uses an image processing function to determine the direction of travel of a wrong-way vehicle, which has the problem that it becomes difficult to make the determination when weather conditions are poor, such as in heavy rain or snow.

[0010] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and an objective of the present invention is to provide a wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system that can completely eliminate erroneous detection or inability to determine whether vehicles are traveling the wrong way or in the right direction on expressways. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In the present invention, forward driving has the opposite meaning to reverse driving, and means driving in a specified direction on a one-way road for vehicles only.

[0012] The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system according to claim 1 is a wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system that detects wrong-way and forward running of vehicles traveling on a one-way vehicle-only road by using photoelectric sensors, and is provided with: a light emitter / receiver box mounting body in which four light emitter / receiver boxes, each having a light emitter / receiver installed therein, are arranged and fixed, which is provided on one road side of the vehicle-only road; a reflector box mounting body in which four reflector boxes, each having a reflector installed therein, are arranged and fixed, which is provided on the other road side at a position opposite to the light emitter / receiver box mounting body; a control panel having a transceiver unit that receives information from four photoelectric sensors consisting of the four light emitters / receivers and four reflectors, and an information processing unit that determines wrong-way running or forward running from the information received by the transceiver unit; and the information processing unit executes a photoelectric sensor selection step that determines whether the operation of the four photoelectric sensors is abnormal or normal from the received information, and selects three photoelectric sensors determined to be normal in a predetermined order, and When the transmitting / receiving unit receives first detection information for the same vehicle output from each of the three photoelectric sensors, a detection information maintaining step is executed in which the first detection information is maintained in software by setting a timer for a predetermined period of time that is set based on a preset inter-vehicle distance from the time of reception of the first detection information, and while the first detection information is maintained in software, a determination step is executed in which the transmitting / receiving unit determines whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction based on one of the order in which the transmitting / receiving unit received the first detection information for the same vehicle from each of the three photoelectric sensors and the order in which the transmitting / receiving unit no longer receives detection information for the same vehicle from each of the three photoelectric sensors, whichever is the one that results in only one direction, and after the determination step of whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction, a detection information maintenance reset step is executed in which a timer setting for maintaining the first detection information, which was set in software, is reset.

[0013] The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system described in claim 2 is characterized in that in claim 1, the positional relationship between the reflector facing the light emitter / receiver is a first form in which the light beams of the projected and reflected light are horizontal, or a second form in which the light beams of the projected and reflected light are obliquely vertically.

[0014] The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system described in claim 3 is characterized in that in the second form of claim 2, when the light emitter / receiver is installed above and the reflector is installed below, a cylindrical body with both ends open is provided, with its front end near the front end of the reflector inner box and its rear end at the rear of the reflector inner box, forward of the reflector.

[0015] The wrong-way / forward-running vehicle detection system described in claim 4 is characterized in that, in claim 1 or 2, the direction of light projected and reflected between the light emitter / receiver and the reflector is oblique in a plan view to the traveling direction of the vehicle-only road.

[0016] The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system described in claim 5 is characterized in that in claim 1 or 2, a heater is installed inside the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body and inside the reflector internal box mounting body. Effect of the Invention

[0017] The invention described in claim 1 is an invention that makes a judgment based on information from three photoelectric sensors, but the transceiver unit constantly receives information from four photoelectric sensors, and the information processing unit constantly judges from the information received by the transceiver unit whether each of the four photoelectric sensors is operating normally or has become abnormal, and in the unlikely event that one photoelectric sensor becomes abnormal, the remaining three normal photoelectric sensors are selected, and the information from the three normal photoelectric sensors is constantly processed to determine whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction.

[0018] In addition, even though the light emitted from the spotlight of the photoelectric sensor is blocked by the vehicle due to the brightness of the orange side lights of a large truck over 6 m, the light receiving unit of the photoelectric sensor receives an amount of light that is not significantly different from the amount of light emitted, so the photoelectric sensor outputs information that the vehicle has not been detected and transmits it to the transmitting / receiving unit, and the risk of the information processing unit making an erroneous judgment or being unable to make a judgment based on the information can be eliminated by program, resulting in the effect of making a reliable judgment.

[0019] In addition, when the cabin of the driver's seat of a light truck and the luggage loaded at the rear of the bed are separated in the front-rear direction, one photoelectric sensor outputs the first detection information from the cabin to the transceiver unit, then does not output detection information in the separation range, and then outputs and transmits detection information from the loaded luggage. Then, the order in which the three photoelectric sensors output the detection information of the vehicle is the first, second, third, first, second, and third photoelectric sensors, and while the output of detection information by the photoelectric sensors normally ends in the order of the first, second, and third forward running, the output of the first photoelectric sensor comes after the third photoelectric sensor, indicating reverse running, so that the program can eliminate the risk that the information processing unit will be unable to make a judgment, and a reliable judgment can be made.

[0020] In addition, if the system uses two photoelectric sensors for detection, for example, if the second photoelectric sensor first detects a fallen leaf or a bird, and then immediately after that the first photoelectric sensor detects a traveling vehicle, and then the first photoelectric sensor again detects a traveling vehicle, the order will be reverse driving and then forward driving, which poses the risk that the information processing unit will be unable to make a judgment. However, the information processing unit determines whether the vehicle is traveling in the reverse direction or forward driving based on the order in which the three photoelectric sensors receive the same direction, from the order in which the transmitter / receiver units of the three photoelectric sensors start receiving the vehicle detection information for each of the three photoelectric sensors, as well as the order in which the transmitter / receiver units of the three photoelectric sensors finish receiving the vehicle detection information for each of the three photoelectric sensors, thereby achieving the effect of not being adversely affected by birds or fallen leaves.

[0021] The invention described in claim 2 detects a traveling vehicle with horizontal light or oblique light. In particular, when the light is obliquely emitted, for example, by setting the light emitter / receiver side above the top end of the guardrail and the reflector side below the bottom end of the guardrail, the light is projected onto, for example, the bed or tailgate of a light truck, so that the photoelectric sensor outputs only vehicle detection information for one light truck, and the risk of the information processing unit becoming unable to make a judgment can be eliminated by the program, resulting in the effect of making a reliable judgment.

[0022] The invention described in claim 3 has the effect of preventing, for example, the reflective plate installed below the lower end of the guardrail, where dirty water from the roadway is splashed by passing vehicles and enters the interior of the reflector mounting box, where it hits the reflector and dirtying it, causing the light to be scattered and resulting in a false detection by the receiving unit of the photoelectric sensor. However, this false detection can be prevented by making the dirty water hit the eaves part and fall to the ground, preventing it from reaching the reflector.

[0023] The invention described in claim 4 has the effect of reducing the influence of the side lights of a large truck at night, since the light receiving portion of the photoelectric sensor does not receive the light from the side lights of the large truck in a front-facing state.

[0024] The invention described in claim 5 is such that condensation is likely to form inside the box inside the light emitter / receiver or inside the box inside the reflector when there is a large temperature difference between day and night. If condensation forms on the surface of the light emitter / receiver or the surface of the reflector, the light will be diffused and detection that suits the actual conditions will not be possible. However, by installing a heater inside, it is possible to suppress the drop in the air temperature inside the box inside the light receiver or the box inside the reflector, thereby preventing the occurrence of condensation. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of a highway parking area as an example of a location where the wrong-way / proper running vehicle detection system of the present invention is installed. [Diagram 2] 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1, and is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a wrong-way / proper running vehicle detection system of the present invention is installed on a one-way vehicle-only road on the entrance side of a parking area on a highway, and a vehicle running in the correct direction is running. [Diagram 3] 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1, and is an explanatory diagram of a situation in which a wrong-way driving / proper driving vehicle detection system of the present invention is installed on a one-way vehicle-only road on the entrance side of a parking area on a highway and a wrong-way driving vehicle is driving. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the wrong-way / forward vehicle detection system of the present invention when it is installed so that the light beam of the photoelectric sensor is directed horizontally. [Diagram 5]FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a case where the wrong-way / forward vehicle detection system of the present invention is installed so that the light beam of the photoelectric sensor is oblique. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory diagram showing a case in which four light emitters and four light receivers and four reflectors are installed in the wrong-way / forward vehicle detection system of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the control board and wiring relationship of the wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the front view of the light emitter-receiver sides of four photoelectric sensors of the wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system of the present invention. [Figure 9] 8A and 8B are explanatory views of the light emitter-receiver side of the photoelectric sensor in FIG. 7, in which (a) is an explanatory view seen from the right side, and (b) is an explanatory view seen from a vertical cross section of the center part in the left-right direction. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is an explanatory cross-sectional view in the front-to-rear direction of the cross beam portion that fixes the light-emitting / receiving device box with the light-emitting / receiving device installed inside to the upper wall portion; (a) is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the area in the center in the left-right direction of the bottom wall portion where there is an air hole that connects with the inside of the leg portion; (b) is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the area in the upper wall portion that contacts the bottom wall portion of the light-emitting / receiving device box where there is an air hole that connects with the inside of the light-emitting / receiving device box; and (c) is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the area where there is no area that connects with the inside of the light-emitting / receiving device box and no area that connects with the inside of the leg portion. [Figure 11] 1A is a plan view of the upper wall portion, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the bottom wall portion when the cross beam portion is cut at approximately the center in the vertical direction. [Figure 12] 1A is an explanatory diagram of a light-emitting and receiving box with a photoelectric sensor installed therein, (a) is an explanatory diagram from a plan view, (b) is an explanatory diagram of a cross section of approximately the center in the left-right direction, and (c) is an explanatory diagram from a front view. [Figure 13] 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams of a reflector-equipped box with a reflector installed therein, in which (a) is an explanatory diagram of a cross section at approximately the center in the left-right direction, and (b) is an explanatory diagram as seen from the front. [Figure 14] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a reflector-inside box that is tilted so that the light emitter / receiver of the photoelectric sensor faces upwards, where (a) is an explanatory diagram of a cross section at approximately the center in the left-right direction, and (b) is an explanatory diagram as seen from the front. [Figure 15]1 is an explanatory diagram of the traveling direction of a large truck equipped with a plurality of side lights and the positional relationship between first to third photoelectric sensors. [Figure 16] FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing the output status of vehicle detection information over time when photoelectric sensors 1 to 3 detect a large truck traveling in the correct direction at night with its side lights always on, and a status where the vehicle detection information is not output and the vehicle goes into a non-detection state. [Figure 17] FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of software processing by the information processing unit. (a) is an explanatory diagram of information processing in which a timer is set and, upon receiving the first detection information of a vehicle, the first detection information is maintained for a predetermined period of time on a software basis regardless of the detection information from the photoelectric sensor. (b) is an explanatory diagram of information processing in which, after the vehicle has driven away and reception of detection information has ceased, the timer setting is immediately reset after the determination is completed regardless of whether the timer setting time has elapsed. [Figure 18] 1 is an explanatory diagram of the direction in which a light truck with luggage loaded on the rear of its bed is traveling and the positional relationship between first to third photoelectric sensors. [Figure 19] FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of a situation in which photoelectric sensors 1 to 3 detect a light truck carrying luggage behind the bed with a space between the cabin and the bed in the fore-and-aft direction and traveling in the correct direction, and vehicle detection information is output over time, but no vehicle detection information is output. [Figure 20] FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of software processing by the information processing unit. (a) is an explanatory diagram of information processing in which a timer is set and, upon receiving the first detection information of a vehicle, the first detection information is maintained for a predetermined period of time on a software basis regardless of the detection information from the photoelectric sensor. (b) is an explanatory diagram of information processing in which, after the vehicle has driven away and reception of detection information has ceased, the timer setting is immediately reset after the determination is completed regardless of whether the timer setting time has elapsed. [Figure 21]FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of when a vehicle blocks the light emitted by the first photoelectric sensor immediately after a fallen leaf blocks the light emitted by the second photoelectric sensor, where (a) is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship between the fallen leaf, the direction in which the truck is traveling, and photoelectric sensors 1 and 2, and (b) is an explanatory diagram of the output status of vehicle detection information over time when photoelectric sensors 1 and 2 detect a fallen leaf and a light truck traveling in the correct direction in (a), and a situation in which the vehicle detection information is not output and the vehicle enters a non-detection state. [Figure 22] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of when a vehicle blocks the light emitted by the first photoelectric sensor immediately after a fallen leaf blocks the light emitted by the second photoelectric sensor, in which (a) is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship between the fallen leaf, the direction in which the truck is traveling, and photoelectric sensors 1 to 3, and (b) is an explanatory diagram of the output status of vehicle detection information over time when photoelectric sensors 1 to 3 detect a fallen leaf and a light truck traveling in the forward direction in (a), and a situation in which vehicle detection information is not output and the vehicle enters a non-detection state. [Diagram 23] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of execution steps executed by an information processing unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system 1 of the present invention is a system aimed at 100% detection of vehicles 10 traveling in the wrong direction on a vehicle-only expressway. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system 1 is installed, for example, in a one-way lane on the entrance side to a parking area on the expressway.

[0027] As shown in Figs. 1 to 7, the wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system 1 of the present invention is a wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system that detects wrong-way and forward running of a vehicle 10 traveling on a one-way road by a photoelectric sensor 2, and includes a light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5 on one road side of the road, in which four light emitter / receiver internal boxes 4, each having a light emitter / receiver 3 installed therein, are arranged and fixed, and four reflector internal boxes 7, each having a reflector 6 installed therein, are arranged and fixed, on the other road side opposite the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5. and a control panel 20 having a reflector-in-box mounting body 8 fixed in place by the reflector, a transmitting / receiving unit 22 receiving information from four photoelectric sensors 2 consisting of the four light emitters / receivers 3 and the four reflectors 6, and an information processing unit 23 determining whether the vehicle is traveling in the reverse direction or forward direction from the information received by the transmitting / receiving unit 22. The information processing unit 23 determines whether the operation of the four photoelectric sensors 2 is abnormal or normal from the received information, and selects three photoelectric sensors 2 determined to be normal in a predetermined order in a photoelectric sensor selection step 61. When the transmitting / receiving unit 22 receives the first detection information K for the same vehicle 10 outputted from each of the three selected photoelectric sensors 2, a detection information maintaining step 62 is executed in which the first detection information K is maintained by software for a predetermined time period set based on a preset inter-vehicle distance from the time of reception of the first detection information K by using a timer setting. In a state in which the first detection information K is maintained by software, a determination step 63 is executed in which the vehicle 10 is determined to be traveling in the reverse direction or forward direction based on one of the order in which the transmitting / receiving unit 22 received the first detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2 and the order in which the transmitting / receiving unit 22 stopped receiving the detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2, whichever is the one that results in only one direction. After the determination step 63 of whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the reverse direction or forward direction, a detection information maintaining reset step 64 is executed in which the timer setting for maintaining the first detection information K set by software is reset.

[0028] The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system 1 of the present invention is a wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system 1 that detects wrong-way and forward running of a vehicle 10 traveling on a one-way vehicle-only road by a photoelectric sensor 2. As shown in Figures 4 to 6, 8, and 12 to 14, the wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system 1 uses a recursive reflection type photoelectric sensor 2 consisting of a combination of a light emitter / receiver 3 and a reflector 6, and includes a light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5, a reflector internal box mounting body 8, and a control panel 20.

[0029] The positional relationship between a light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5, which is provided on one side of the vehicle-only road and has four light emitter / receiver boxes 4 with light emitters / receivers 3 installed therein, lined up and fixed therein, and a reflector box mounting body 8, which is provided on the other road side opposite the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5 and has four reflector boxes 7 with reflectors 6 installed therein, lined up and fixed therein, will be described in terms of the vertical positional relationship and the horizontal positional relationship between the light emitter / receiver 3 in the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5 and the reflector 6 in the reflector box mounting body 8.

[0030] First, the vertical positional relationship will be described. The vertical positional relationship between the light projector / receiver 3 and the reflector 6 facing the light projector / receiver can be in a first form in which the light projected and reflected light are horizontal as shown in FIG. 4, or in a second form in which the light projected and reflected light are oblique as shown in FIG. 5. In the first form, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, both the light projector / receiver 3 and the reflector 6 are installed above guardrails 41a and 41b to make the light projected and reflected light horizontal, and in the second form, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the light projector / receiver 3 is installed above guardrail 41a and the reflector 6 is installed below guardrail 41b to make the light projected and reflected light oblique. Either form may be used.

[0031] In the first form, the guardrails 41a, 41b protect the reflector 6 from dirt-containing water on the highway that is splashed up by the traveling vehicle 10 and small objects such as pebbles. However, as shown in Figures 18 and 19, when there is a longitudinal distance W between the cabin 43b of the light truck 10b and the loaded luggage 45, a problem may occur in that the photoelectric sensor 2 outputs the detection information K in the order of forward travel, reverse travel, and then forward travel. In the second form, the lower cargo bed can be detected even when there is a longitudinal distance W between the cabin 43b of the light truck 10b and the loaded luggage 45, so the photoelectric sensor 2 outputs only the detection information K. However, if the photoelectric sensor 2 is provided below the guardrail 41b, a problem may occur in that dirt-containing water on the highway that is splashed up by the traveling vehicle 10 and small objects such as pebbles will hit the reflector 6.

[0032] The problem in the first embodiment can be solved by the program in the information processing section 23, and details will be explained in the explanation of the information processing section 23.

[0033] On the other hand, as a countermeasure to the problem of the second form, as shown in Fig. 14(a) and (b), if a cylindrical body 31 is provided in the reflector box 7, it is possible to prevent water containing dirt on the highway splashed up by the traveling vehicle 10 and small objects such as pebbles from hitting the reflector 6 provided in the rear end of the reflector box 7. Therefore, in the case of the second form, when the light projector / receiver 3 is installed above and the reflector 6 is installed below, a cylindrical body 31 with both ends open is provided with a front end near the front end of the reflector box 7 and a rear end at the rear of the reflector box 7 and in front of the reflector 6. The front end of the cylindrical body 31 is shaped like a eaves with the upper side protruding forward, similar to the shape of the front end of the reflector box 7. By forming it like an eaves, water that hits the eaves can be dropped to the ground without entering the cylindrical body 31.

[0034] In order to maintain the cylindrical body 31 in a stable position in the reflector inner box 7, a rigid cylindrical body support 31a is installed internally, the outer peripheral edge of which contacts the inner wall surface of the reflector inner box 7 and which has a hole in the center through which the cylindrical body 31 is inserted.

[0035] Next, the positional relationship in the left-right direction will be described. The positional relationship in the left-right direction with respect to the reflector 6 facing the light projector / receiver 3 may be in a form A in which the light beam direction of the photoelectric sensor 2 is set at a substantially right angle to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 as shown in Fig. 15 or 18, or in a form B in which the direction of the light projected and reflected between the light projector / receiver 3 and the reflector 6 is set in an oblique direction V in a plan view with respect to the traveling direction U of the vehicle-only road as shown in Fig. 2 or 3. Either form may be used.

[0036] In both the case of form A and the case of form B, as shown in Figures 15 and 16, in the case of a large truck 10a, which is said to be a box truck having a length of 6 m or more, two or more side lights 44 that light up in orange are attached to one side in order to indicate the size of the truck to other vehicles at night. However, there is a problem in that the receiver 17 of the photoelectric sensor 2 receives the amount of light from the side lights 44.

[0037] In the case of configuration A in which the direction of the light projected and reflected between the light emitter / receiver 3 and the reflector 6 is perpendicular to the traveling direction U, the vehicle is susceptible to the influence of the amount of light from the side lights 44 of the large truck 10a at night, but in the case of configuration B in which the direction is oblique V to the traveling direction U of the vehicle 10, the vehicle is less susceptible to the influence of the amount of light from the side lights 44 of the large truck 10a at night. In either case, the program of the information processing unit 23 can completely eliminate the influence of the amount of light from the side lights 44, and details will be given in the description of the information processing unit 23.

[0038] The photoelectric sensor 2 is a regressive reflection type consisting of a combination of a light emitter / receiver 3 as shown in FIG. 8 and a reflector 6 as shown in FIG. 13, and uses red visible light, which has a long wavelength among visible light, so that it is not affected by weather conditions such as fog, heavy rain, frost, and heavy snow.

[0039] As shown in Figures 6 to 8 and 13, the wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system 1 is equipped with a control panel 20 having a transceiver unit 22 that receives information from the four photoelectric sensors 2 consisting of the four light emitters / receivers 3 and the four reflectors 6, and an information processing unit 23 that determines whether the vehicle is running wrong-way or forward from the information received by the transceiver unit 22.

[0040] 7, the power supply unit 25 in the control panel 20 is connected to a 200V commercial power supply 50a, and 200V power lines 37 are connected between the control panel 20 and the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5, and between the 200V commercial power supply 50b and the reflector box mounting body 8, respectively, and a communication line 36 for transmitting an electric signal from the photoelectric sensor 2 is connected between the control panel 20 and the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5. The commercial power supplies 50a and 50b can be secured from outdoor lights.

[0041] Next, the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5 will be described. As shown in Fig. 4, Fig. 6 or Fig. 8, the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5 has an overall shape of a substantially T-shape, and four light emitter / receiver internal boxes 4 with light emitters / receivers 3 mounted therein are arranged and fixed to the upper surface of a cross beam portion 11 corresponding to the horizontal line of the T-shape, and a leg portion 13 corresponding to the vertical line of the T-shape, fixed to the lower surface of the cross beam portion 11, is attached to a pole of a guardrail 41a. Since the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5 is not erected on the ground, concrete construction work is not required, and the installation can be easily performed.

[0042] The cross beam portion 11 is made of a rigid metal and is a long cylindrical body with a rectangular cross section as shown in Figures 8 to 11, with the openings at both left and right ends covered with cover plates and the inside being hollow, and as shown in Figure 10(a) or Figure 11(b), an air vent 33 is provided in the left and right center of the bottom wall portion 11b to connect the leg portion 13 to the cavity, and as shown in Figure 10(b) or Figure 11(a), an air vent 34 is provided in the upper wall portion 11a which is in contact with the bottom wall portion 4b of the light emitter / receiver box 4 to connect the inside of the light emitter / receiver box 4.

[0043] The leg 13 is made of a rigid metal, and is a rectangular, long cylindrical body as shown in Fig. 8 and Fig. 9, with its upper end connected to the cross beam 11 by welding, and is a hollow cylindrical body. A ventilation hole (not shown) is provided below the side wall 4c, and a heater 32 for heating air is installed above the ventilation hole and below the upper end as shown in Fig. 9(b). The leg 13 is fixed to the guardrail 41a parallel or obliquely in a plan view via a mounting member as shown in Fig. 4 or Fig. 5.

[0044] Four light emitter / receiver internal boxes 4 are installed, and the detection of a traveling vehicle 10 is performed by the four photoelectric sensors 2, and the detection information K detected by the four photoelectric sensors 2 is transmitted to the transmitter / receiver 22 of the control unit 21 provided in the control panel 20. The light emitter / receiver internal boxes 4 are made of a metal having rigidity, and are long cylindrical bodies with a rectangular cross section as shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 12. The light emitter / receiver internal boxes 4 are internally provided with the light emitters / receivers 3 of the photoelectric sensors 2 as shown in Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 9(a), the front end has an upper wall portion 4a protruding forward from the bottom wall portion 4b like an eave, and the front end of the side wall portion 4c is formed so as to cover the space between the front end of the upper wall portion 4a and the front end of the bottom wall portion 4b, and as shown in Fig. 8 or Fig. 12(a), a rectangular opening is formed in front view, and as shown in Fig. 12(b), the rear end opening is covered with a lid, and the inside is a hollow cylindrical body. In addition, the rear half of the upper wall 4a is cut and removed of its metal portion, and instead a transparent cover plate 4d made of a transparent resin plate is fixed with fastening means such as bolts and nuts. The power-on / power-off indicator lamp 27 of the photoelectric sensor 2 installed inside can be seen through the transparent cover plate 4d. And, as shown in Fig. 12(a), the bottom wall 4b visible through the transparent cover plate 4d is provided with an air hole 35 that can communicate with the air hole 34 provided in the upper wall 11a of the cross beam 11.

[0045] Next, the reflector box installation body 8 will be described. As shown in Fig. 4 to Fig. 6, the reflector box installation body 8 has an overall shape of a substantially T-shape, and four reflector boxes 7 with reflectors 6 installed therein are arranged and fixed to the upper surface of a cross beam portion 12 corresponding to the horizontal line of the T-shape, and legs 14 corresponding to the vertical line of the T-shape fixed to the lower surface of the cross beam portion 12 are attached to the pole of the guardrail 41b. Since it is not erected on the ground, concrete construction work is not required, and it can be easily installed.

[0046] The cross beam portion 12 has the same configuration as the cross beam portion 11 of the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5, is made of a rigid metal, is a long cylindrical body with a square cross section, and has openings at both left and right ends covered with cover plates and is hollow inside. Like the cross beam portion 11 of the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5, a ventilation hole (not shown) is provided in the left-right center to connect the leg portion 14 to the cavity, and a ventilation hole (not shown) is provided in the upper wall portion that comes into contact with the bottom wall portion of the reflector internal box 7 to connect to the interior of the reflector internal box 7.

[0047] The leg 14 has the same configuration as the leg 13 of the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5, is made of a rigid metal, is a long cylindrical body with a rectangular cross section, and is a hollow cylindrical body whose upper end is connected to the cross beam portion 12 by welding. As with the leg 13 of the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5, a ventilation hole (not shown) is provided under the side wall, and a heater 32 (not shown) for heating air is provided above the ventilation hole and below the upper end. The leg 14 is fixed to the guard rail 41b parallel or obliquely in a plan view via a mounting member as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5.

[0048] The reflector inner box 7 has four reflectors 6 installed at positions where the reflectors 6 can reflect the light emitted from the light emitter / receiver 3. The reflector 6 is a plate having a flat surface that can mirror-reflect the light emitted from the light emitter / receiver 3 at a certain angle from a smooth surface.

[0049] Here, the statutory useful life (residential buildings) of a light steel frame building constructed with steel materials more than 3mm and less than 4mm thick is 27 years, and the statutory useful life (residential buildings) of a heavy steel frame building constructed with steel materials more than 4mm thick is 34 years. Then, the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5 having the cross beam portion 11 and the leg portion 13, and the reflector internal box mounting body 8 having the cross beam portion 12 and the leg portion 14, which are fixed to the guardrail 41a or 41b, are both made of a rigid metal, are structures consisting of a long, tubular body with a rectangular cross section and a plate thickness of, for example, 2.3 mm or more, and are fixed by a fixing method such as welding that takes into consideration bending strength, tensile strength, etc., so that the service life of the light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 5 or the reflector internal box mounting body 8, which consists of a long, tubular body with a rectangular cross section made of steel material with a plate thickness of 2.3 mm, will be at least 10 years, taking into account the service life of the light steel frame construction and the heavy steel frame construction.

[0050] Next, the control panel 20 will be described. As shown in Fig. 7, the control panel 20 includes a power supply unit 25 connected to a commercial power supply of 200V, a display screen 26, and a control unit 21 having a transmission / reception unit 22, an information processing unit 23, a display unit 24, and a storage unit 28. The transmission / reception unit 22 receives information from the four photoelectric sensors 2 consisting of the four light emitters / receivers 3 and the four reflectors 6, the information processing unit 23 judges whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction from the information received by the transmission / reception unit 22, the display unit 24 displays on / off indication of the power supply unit 25 and the result of the judgment by the information processing unit 23 of whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction on the display screen 26, and the storage unit 28 stores a program to be executed by the information processing unit 23.

[0051] The transmitter / receiver unit 22 receives detection information from the photoelectric sensor 2, and can also transmit information such as the results of the information processing unit 23's determination of whether the photoelectric sensor 2 is normal or abnormal, and the results of determination of whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the correct direction or the wrong direction, via the network to a location where an expressway monitoring officer is located.

[0052] Next, the information processing unit 23 will be described. As shown in Fig. 23, the information processing unit 23 executes a photoelectric sensor selection step 61 for determining whether the operation of the four photoelectric sensors 2 is abnormal or normal from the received information, and selecting three photoelectric sensors 2 determined to be normal in a predetermined order. When the transceiver unit 22 receives the first detection information K for the same vehicle 10 outputted from each of the three selected photoelectric sensors 2, it executes a detection information maintenance step 62 for maintaining the first detection information K by software using a timer setting for a predetermined time period set based on a preset inter-vehicle distance from the time of receiving the first detection information K. With the output information K maintained by software, a determination step 63 is executed to determine whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction based on the order in which the transceiver unit 22 received the first detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2 and the order in which the transceiver unit 22 stopped receiving the detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2, whichever is the one that results in only one direction. After the determination step 63 of whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction, a detection information maintenance reset step 64 is executed to reset the timer setting for maintaining the first detection information K, which was set by software.

[0053] The information processing unit 23 is a computer, and the programs to be executed by the computer that is the information processing unit 23, namely, a program to execute the photoelectric sensor selection step 61, a program to execute the detection information maintaining step 62, a program to execute the judgment step 63, and a program to execute the detection information maintaining reset step 64, are stored in a memory unit 28.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 23, among the execution steps 60, the photoelectric sensor selection step 61 is always executed, and the detection information maintenance step 62, the judgment step 63 and the detection information maintenance reset step 64 are repeatedly executed for each vehicle 10.

[0055] First, a description will be given of the photoelectric sensor selection step 61. The photoelectric sensor selection step 61 executes information processing for determining whether the operation of the four photoelectric sensors 2 is abnormal or normal from the received information, and for selecting three photoelectric sensors 2 determined to be normal in a predetermined order.

[0056] First, the information processing to determine whether an abnormality is present or not targets all traveling vehicles 10, including those traveling in the forward direction as well as those traveling in the reverse direction, and constantly receives information from the four photoelectric sensors 2. It monitors whether there are any photoelectric sensors 2 that output detection information K of the vehicle 10 when the vehicle 10 is not traveling, and whether there are any photoelectric sensors 2 that do not output detection information K of the vehicle 10 when the vehicle 10 is traveling. If a specific photoelectric sensor 2 generates an abnormal state several times, information processing is performed to determine that the photoelectric sensor 2 is abnormal.

[0057] The information processing unit 23 then processes so as not to use information from the photoelectric sensor 2 determined to be abnormal, and performs information processing to select three photoelectric sensors 2 in a predetermined order from among the four or three photoelectric sensors 2 determined to be normal. The predetermined order may be, for example, a predetermined order of the first photoelectric sensor 2a, the second photoelectric sensor 2b, the third photoelectric sensor 2c, and the fourth photoelectric sensor 2d, and the three normal photoelectric sensors 2 are automatically selected in the predetermined order. This eliminates the need for a person to monitor the state of the photoelectric sensors 2 every day, thereby realizing a maintenance-free system.

[0058] Next, the reason why it is better to use three photoelectric sensors 2 for detecting the vehicle 10 in the information processing unit 23 instead of two will be explained. As a comparative example, when two photoelectric sensors 2 are used for judgment, for example, as shown in Figures 21(a) and (b), the photoelectric sensor 2b which is the second of the two photoelectric sensors 2a and 2b in the forward running direction detects a fallen leaf 55 or a bird first and outputs detection information K5, and immediately thereafter the first photoelectric sensor 2a detects a traveling vehicle 10c and outputs detection information K6, and then the second photoelectric sensor 2b detects the vehicle 10c and outputs detection information K7. In this case, the order in which the photoelectric sensors 2a and 2b output the detection information is that the two photoelectric sensors 2 are traveling in reverse first, and then in forward running order. Since the number of photoelectric sensors 2 which output the forward running order and the number of photoelectric sensors 2 which output the reverse running order are the same, two each, the information processing unit 23 will be unable to make a judgment, or will erroneously judge that the vehicle is traveling in the reverse direction when it is actually traveling in the forward direction.

[0059] In contrast to this, if three photoelectric sensors 2 are used for judgment, for example, as shown in Figures 22(a) and (b), the photoelectric sensor 2b in the second position will first detect a fallen leaf 55 or a bird and output detection information K5, immediately thereafter the first photoelectric sensor 2a will detect a traveling vehicle 10c and output detection information K6, after which the second photoelectric sensor 2b will detect the vehicle 10c and output detection information K7, and further the third photoelectric sensor 2c will detect the vehicle 10c and output detection information K8. Then, the order in which the photoelectric sensors 2a, 2b, and 2c output detection information is first two photoelectric sensors 2 in reverse running, then three photoelectric sensors 2 in forward running, and then the order in which the three photoelectric sensors 2 stop outputting detection information is also forward running, so the information processing unit 23 judges whether the vehicle is running in reverse or forward running based on the order in which the transmission / reception unit 22 receives the detection information from the three photoelectric sensors 2 in the same direction, thereby avoiding an inability to judge or an erroneous judgment. Therefore, the reliability of the judgment is higher when using three photoelectric sensors 2 than when using two photoelectric sensors 2.

[0060] Next, the detection information maintaining step 62 will be described. In the detection information maintaining step 62, when the transmitter / receiver 22 receives the first detection information K for the same vehicle 10 outputted from each of the three selected photoelectric sensors 2, information processing is executed to maintain the first detection information K by software using a timer setting for a predetermined time period set based on a preset inter-vehicle distance from the time of receiving the first detection information K.

[0061] In the case of the recursive reflection type photoelectric sensor 2 consisting of the combination of the light emitter / receiver 3 and the reflector 6, the sensor emits and receives the reflected light, detects the change in the amount of light, converts it into an electrical signal, and outputs it, but the form and shape of the side view of the vehicle 10 traveling on the expressway are various. Therefore, even if the photoelectric sensor 2 functions normally, when it is used to determine whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the wrong direction or forward direction based on the information output from the photoelectric sensor 2, a problem occurs in that it may be impossible to determine. Two cases where the above problem occurs are described below.

[0062] The first case is a case where the receiver 17 receives light from the vehicle 10 and makes a false detection. As shown in Fig. 15, for example, in the case of a large truck 10a, which is a box truck having a length of 6m or more, two or more orange side lights 44 that are always on at night are attached to each side to show the size of the truck to other vehicles at night. The photoelectric sensor detection height H for the large truck 10a is set to be slightly higher than the height of the side lights 44.

[0063] Then, when the photoelectric sensor 2 receives the light of the side lamps 44 as reflected light at night, the amount of reflected light received by the receiver 17 should decrease when the light is blocked, but since the amount of reflected light does not decrease, the photoelectric sensor 2 does not output the detection information K due to the amount of light not being blocked. As a result, as shown in Fig. 16, until a large truck 10a passes, the photoelectric sensor 2 outputs the detection information K1 because the light is blocked by the cabin 43a, does not output the detection information K because the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 17 has not decreased due to the influence of the light amount of the side lamps 44, and outputs the detection information K9 because the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 17 decreases between the side lamps 44.

[0064] For this reason, as shown in FIG. 16, when detecting the cabin 43a of a large truck 10a traveling at night, the first photoelectric sensor 2a to the third photoelectric sensor 2c output detection information K1 in the order of forward travel, which is received by the transceiver unit 22. However, for example, if the second photoelectric sensor 2b or the first photoelectric sensor 2a outputs detection information K9 of the vehicle 10 after the timing S1 at which the third photoelectric sensor 2c ends its detection information K1, then the transceiver unit 22 will receive the detection information K9 of the vehicle 10 in the order of reverse travel, which causes a problem in that the information processing unit 23 will be unable to make a judgment.

[0065] The second case is a case where erroneous detection occurs when the cabin 43b of the light truck 10b is placed apart from the loaded luggage 45. The photoelectric sensor detection height H for the light truck 10b is set to be above the tailgate of the light truck 10b as shown in FIG.

[0066] As shown in Figure 18, when a light truck 10b has cargo 45 loaded on the bed at a distance from the cabin 43b in the fore-and-aft direction, as shown in Figure 19, the photoelectric sensor 2 outputs detection information K3 of the cabin 43b until a light truck 10b passes, and when the gap W between the cabin 43b and the cargo 45 is reached, the photoelectric sensor 2 no longer outputs detection information K and enters a non-detection state N, and then outputs detection information K10 of the cargo 45.

[0067] Then, as shown in FIG. 19, the first photoelectric sensor 2a to the third photoelectric sensor 2c output detection information K3 in the order of forward running, and the transceiver unit 22 receives it in the order of forward running. However, when the third photoelectric sensor 2c stops outputting detection information K during the interval W starting from the timing S2 at which the detection information K3 of the cabin 43b ends and enters a non-detection state N, the second photoelectric sensor 2b outputs detection information K10 of the loaded luggage 45, and the transceiver unit 22 receives the order of reverse running, causing the information processing unit 23 to become unable to make a judgment.

[0068] Therefore, in order to solve the problems in the two cases described above, i.e., to avoid the inability to make a judgment due to the influence of the side lights 44 in the side view of the large truck 10a or the influence of the distance between the cabin 43b of the light truck 10b and the loaded luggage 45, the information processing unit 23 executes information processing, as shown in Figure 17 (a) or Figure 20 (a), to generate software maintenance information J that software-maintains the first detection information K for a predetermined period of time set based on a preset inter-vehicle distance from the time of reception of the first detection information K by setting a timer, when the transceiver unit 22 receives the first detection information K for the same vehicle 10 outputted by each of the three selected photoelectric sensors 2.

[0069] By generating the software-based maintenance information J, even if the order in which the photoelectric sensor 2 outputs the detection information K of the vehicle 10 is either in the forward running order or in the reverse running order, as shown in Figure 17 (a) or Figure 20 (a), the information processing unit 23 can extend the range of the non-detection state N in which no detection information K is output between two pieces of detection information K by setting a timer for the first detection information K, thereby making it possible to maintain the first detection information K in a software manner, thereby achieving the effect of preventing an inability to make a judgment.

[0070] Next, the determination step 63 will be described. In the determination step 63, while the initial detection information K is maintained by software, information processing is executed to determine whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction based on the order in which the transmission / reception unit 22 received the initial detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2 and the order in which the transmission / reception unit 22 stopped receiving the detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2, whichever is the only order.

[0071] As shown in FIG. 17(a) or FIG. 20(a), even when the information processing unit 23 is generating the software maintenance information J, the transmission / reception unit 22 is constantly receiving information from the photoelectric sensors 2a, 2b, and 2c.

[0072] The information processing unit 23 then determines the order in which the first detection information K for each vehicle 10 was received as the order in which it was transmitted from the photoelectric sensor 2 and received by the transceiver unit 22, and as for the order in which the detection information K was no longer received, a timer is set for a predetermined time after the end of the detection information K, and if the transceiver unit 22 does not receive new detection information K within the timer set time, it determines that the vehicle 10 has passed through the detection range of the photoelectric sensor 2, and determines the order of the photoelectric sensor 2 when the transceiver unit 22 no longer received the detection information K corresponding to the time when the vehicle 10 passed through.

[0073] Then, it is determined whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction based on the order in which the transmitting / receiving unit 22 receives the first detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2 and the order in which the transmitting / receiving unit 22 stops receiving the detection information K for the same vehicle 10 from each of the three photoelectric sensors 2, whichever is the one that results in only one direction. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 is forward or in the wrong direction without causing an inability to determine.

[0074] Next, a description will be given of the detection information maintenance reset step 64. The detection information maintenance reset step 64 executes information processing after the reverse or forward running determination step 63 to reset a timer setting for maintaining the initial detection information K, which is set by software.

[0075] If the timer setting time for maintaining the detection information K is too long and none of the photoelectric sensors 2a to 2c for the vehicle 10 traveling in front have output detection information K, but software maintenance information J for maintaining the initial detection information K of the vehicle 10 in software is maintained, when the photoelectric sensor 2 outputs detection information K of the following vehicle 10 and the transceiver unit 22 receives it, the detection information K is continuously maintained in software, and even though two vehicles 10 have been detected, the software processes it as if only one vehicle is traveling.

[0076] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17(b) or FIG. 20(b), the information processing unit 23 executes information processing to forcibly reset the software-maintained information J, which is the initial detection information K of the vehicle 10 traveling in front, at timing F when the information processing unit 23 has completed determining whether the vehicle 10 is traveling in the wrong direction or forward direction, even if the timer setting time has not elapsed, in other words, to terminate the software maintenance of the detection information K.

[0077] As a result, after the vehicle 10 traveling ahead has passed all of the photoelectric sensors 2a to 2c, the software can also be made to match the actual situation in which the vehicle 10 has passed all of the photoelectric sensors 2a to 2c, so that the forward / reverse direction of the following vehicle can also be properly determined.

[0078] Further, heaters 32 are provided inside the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5 and the reflector box mounting body 8. The heaters 32 are provided inside the leg parts 13 of the light emitter / receiver box mounting body 5 and the leg parts 14 of the reflector box mounting body 8.

[0079] The heater 32 may be, for example, a nichrome heater using a nichrome wire. The heater 32 is connected to a power supply unit 25 of the control panel 20 connected to a commercial power supply unit 50a of an outdoor light or the like, or to a commercial power supply unit 50b of an outdoor light or the like, and may be always on, or may be controlled to be on or off by providing an on / off switch.

[0080] On the emitter / receiver 3 side, the warm air heated by the heater 32 flows from the opening at the upper end of the leg 13 through an air vent 33 provided in the bottom wall 11b of the cross beam 11, through an air vent 34 provided in the upper wall 11a of the cross beam 11, and through an air vent 35 in the bottom wall 4b of the receiver box 4 which is connected to the air vent 34, thereby filling the receiver box 4. Similarly, on the reflector 6 side, the warm air flows from the opening at the upper end of the leg 14 through an air vent provided in the bottom wall of the cross beam 12, through an air vent provided in the upper wall of the cross beam 12, and through an air vent in the bottom wall of the reflector box 7 which is connected to the air vent, thereby filling the reflector box 7.

[0081] Generally, when the temperature drops from a state in which the air contains a lot of water vapor, the water vapor that cannot be contained in the air turns into droplets and condenses. However, the heater 32 can fill the receiver box 4 and the reflector box 7 with warm air, thereby preventing condensation on the lens of the emitter / receiver 3 and the surface of the reflector 6. [Explanation of symbols]

[0082] 1. Wrong-way / forward-way vehicle detection system 2 Photoelectric Sensor 3 Emitter / receiver 4 Emitter / receiver internal box 4a Upper wall 4b Bottom wall 4c Side wall part 4d transparent cover plate part 5 Emitter / receiver internal box mounting body 6 Reflector 7 Box with internal reflector 8 Box mounted body with reflector inside 10 Vehicles 10a Large Trucks 10b Light truck 10c Track 11 Cross beam section 12 Cross beam section 13 Legs 14 Legs 16 Floodlight 17 Receiver 20 Control Panel 21 Control section 22 Transmitter / receiver 23 Information Processing Section 24 Display section 25 Power supply section 26 Display screen 27 Lamp 28 Memory section 31 Cylindrical body 31a Cylindrical body support 32 Heater 33 Ventilation holes 34 Ventilation holes 35 Ventilation holes 36 Communication lines 37 Power line 41 Guardrail Cabin 43 44 Side light 45 Cargo 50a commercial power supply 50b commercial power 60 Execution steps 61 Photoelectric Sensor Selection Steps 62 Detection information maintenance step 63 Judgment Step 64 Detection information maintenance reset step H Photoelectric sensor detection height K Detection Information N Non-detection state J Software Maintenance Information U Direction of travel V Diagonal W Spacing

Claims

1. A wrong-way / forward-running vehicle detection system that detects wrong-way and forward-running vehicles traveling on a one-way road using a photoelectric sensor, a light-emitter / receiver box mounting body provided on one road side of the vehicle-only road, the light-emitter / receiver boxes each having a light-emitter / receiver mounted therein being arranged and fixed; a reflector-equipped box mounting body, which is provided on the other road side at a position opposite to the light-emitting / receiving box mounting body and has four reflector-equipped boxes arranged and fixed therein; a control panel having a transceiver unit that receives information from four photoelectric sensors each consisting of the four light emitters and receivers and four reflectors, and an information processing unit that determines whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction based on the information received by the transceiver unit; The information processing unit includes: a photoelectric sensor selection step of determining whether the operation of the four photoelectric sensors is abnormal or normal based on the received information, and selecting three photoelectric sensors determined to be normal in a predetermined order; When the transmitting / receiving unit receives initial detection information for the same vehicle outputted from each of the three selected photoelectric sensors, a detection information maintaining step is executed in which the initial detection information is maintained by software for a predetermined time period set based on a preset inter-vehicle distance by setting a timer from the time of reception of the initial detection information, a determination step of determining whether the vehicle is traveling in the wrong direction or in the forward direction based on one of the order in which the transceiver unit receives the first detection information for the same vehicle from each of the three photoelectric sensors and the order in which the transceiver unit stops receiving the detection information for the same vehicle from each of the three photoelectric sensors, while maintaining the initial detection information in a software manner; A wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system, characterized in that after the step of determining whether the vehicle is going wrong-way or forward, a detection information maintenance reset step is executed to reset a timer setting for maintaining the initial detection information, which is set by software.

2. 2. The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system according to claim 1, characterized in that the positional relationship between the reflector facing the light emitter / receiver is a first form in which the light beams of the projected and reflected light are horizontal, or a second form in which the light beams of the projected and reflected light are obliquely directed in the vertical direction.

3. The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system according to claim 2, characterized in that in the second form, when the light emitter / receiver is installed above and the reflector is installed below, a cylindrical body having both ends open is provided, the front end of which is near the front end of the reflector inner box and the rear end of which is at the rear of the reflector inner box, forward of the reflector.

4. 3. The wrong-way / forward-running vehicle detection system according to claim 1, wherein the direction of the light projected and reflected between the light emitter / receiver and the reflector is oblique to the direction of travel of the vehicle-only road in a plan view.

5. 3. The wrong-way / forward running vehicle detection system according to claim 1, wherein a heater is provided inside said light emitter / receiver internal box mounting body and inside said reflector internal box mounting body, respectively.

Images