Automatic adjustment system for safety line marking width based on position information

Abstract

To provide a system for automatically adjusting a safety line sign width based on positional information, that reduces the burden on operators and improves work safety, through automatization of an operation for changing a sign width of a safety line according to the number of traffic lanes of a road, including determination of a changing time point, regardless of manpower.SOLUTION: A system for automatically adjusting a safety line sign width based on positional information, comprises projectors A, B for radiating light so as to draw a safety line 5 being a line-shaped light sign extending in a width direction on a rear road surface and an adjacent lane road surface of a traveling lane of a vehicle. On the basis of positional information on the vehicle, the system is capable of automatically switching between: a mode of radiation for a sign width of the safety line 5 to the rear road surface of a traveling lane 2 using the projectors A, B; and a mode of radiation for a sign width of the safety line 5 from the rear road surface of the traveling lane 2 astride a road surface of an adjacent lane 3 .SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic adjustment system for safety line marking width based on position information, and more specifically, to an automatic adjustment system for safety line marking width based on position information that has a function of automatically adjusting the marking width (illumination width) of a safety line that is illuminated on the road surface to warn following vehicles of an overtaking ban, etc., when workers are removing snow or spraying antifreeze. [Background technology]

[0002] Work vehicles are used for road maintenance such as snow removal, spraying antifreeze, and cleaning on expressways, and these tasks are often performed while the work vehicle is traveling. In such cases, the work vehicle usually travels at a slower speed than ordinary vehicles, so it is necessary to inform the drivers of following vehicles that work is being performed in order to prevent rear-end collisions, etc. Also, depending on the type of work, it may be necessary to prohibit the work vehicle from overtaking for safety reasons.

[0003] In order to address this situation, the invention of Patent Document 1 (JP 2020-97324 A) proposes and puts into practical use "an on-board road marking device that is mounted on a vehicle and emits light so that a line-shaped light marking is drawn along the width direction of the travel lane on the road surface behind the vehicle in the direction of travel, the on-board road marking device having a light-projecting unit that emits light so that the line-shaped light marking is drawn on the road surface of the travel lane and the road surface of an adjacent lane adjacent to the travel lane."

[0004] This device can draw a line-shaped green light marking (safety line) on the road surface behind the work vehicle in the direction of travel on the road surface of the driving lane and adjacent lanes, thereby alerting drivers of following vehicles traveling in the driving lane and adjacent lanes to the presence of a work vehicle.

[0005] With this device, when a road has multiple lanes, the width of the safety line marking can be changed so that the safety line is extended to cover not only the lane on which the work vehicle is traveling, but also other lanes. However, the operator must determine the need for the change and perform the change manually, which places a significant burden on the operator and increases the risk of operational errors. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-97324 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] As described above, in the case of conventional safety line marking devices, the switching operation to change the safety line marking width according to the number of lanes on the road was performed manually by the operator, who had to determine when to switch, which placed a significant burden on the operator and also risked operational errors.

[0008] Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to provide an automatic adjustment system for safety line marking width based on position information that can reduce the burden on operators and improve work safety by automating the operation of changing and adjusting the safety line marking width in accordance with the number of lanes on a road, including determining the time of change, without manual intervention. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The invention described in claim 1 for solving the above problem is a system for automatically adjusting a safety line marking width based on position information, the system including a floodlight that irradiates light so as to draw a safety line, which is a linear light marking extending in a width direction on a road surface behind a vehicle's driving lane and on the road surface of an adjacent lane, and A marking width illumination mode for the safety line on the rear road surface of the driving lane by the projectorThe first irradiation mode is and a marking width illumination mode for the safety line extending from the rear road surface of the driving lane to the road surface of the adjacent lane. The second illumination mode is and can be automatically switched based on the vehicle's location information, For the automatic switching, a GPS in-vehicle terminal and an operation unit that switches between the first irradiation mode and the second irradiation mode by the floodlight are included, and the operation of switching between the first irradiation mode and the second irradiation mode by the operation unit is performed based on a control signal transmitted from the GPS in-vehicle terminal based on position information of the vehicle acquired by the GPS in-vehicle terminal. This is a system for automatically adjusting the safety line marking width based on position information.

[0011] In one embodiment, the GPS vehicle-mounted terminal includes a location information acquisition unit that acquires location information and a control unit, and the control unit includes a kilometer post information storage unit that stores the marking width switching point of the safety line by linking it to a kilometer post, and a vehicle position specified by the location information transmitted from the location information acquisition unit, the kilometer post information storage unit that stores the vehicle position specified by the location information transmitted from the location information acquisition unit, the kilometer post information storage unit that stores the vehicle position specified by the location information transmitted from the location information acquisition unit, the kilometer post information storage unit that stores the vehicle position specified by the location information transmitted from the location information acquisition unit, the kilometer post information storage unit that stores the vehicle position specified by the location information transmitted from the location information acquisition unit, the kilometer post information storage unit that stores the vehicle position specified by the location information transmitted from the location information acquisition unit, the kilometer post information storage unit that stores the vehicle position specified by the location information transmitted from the location information acquisition unit, the kilometer post information storage unit that stores the vehicle position specified by the location information transmission ... The width of the safety line A verification unit that verifies the switching point, and based on the verification result, the operation unit The first irradiation mode and the second Lighting Mode of and a control signal transmitting unit that transmits a control signal for switching.

[0012] In one embodiment, a one-lane illuminating projector and a two-lane illuminating projector are provided as the floodlights. In that case, The first irradiation mode In the above case, the one lane illumination projector is used, The second irradiation mode The above-mentioned two-lane illumination floodlight is used in the above case. Alternatively, The first irradiation mode In the above case, the one lane illumination projector is used, The second irradiation mode In this case, both the one-lane illumination floodlight and the two-lane illumination floodlight are used.

[0013] In one embodiment, the light projector In the first irradiation mode 1 lane illumination and In the second irradiation mode It is equipped with a single floodlight that can be switched to illuminate two lanes. Effect of the Invention

[0014] The position information-based automatic safety line marking width adjustment system of the present invention is as described above, and the illumination mode switching operation for changing and adjusting the safety line marking width in accordance with the number of lanes on the road, including the judgment of the time of the switching operation, can be automated by utilizing position information and kilometer post information without human intervention, thereby greatly reducing the burden on the operator and improving work safety. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an image diagram showing the configuration of a system for automatically adjusting a safety line marking width based on position information according to the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a safety line marking width automatic adjustment system based on position information according to the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a functional block diagram of a main part of a system for automatically adjusting a safety line marking width based on position information according to the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the automatic adjustment system for safety line marking width based on position information according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. The position information-based automatic adjustment system of the present invention is equipped with floodlights A and B (there may be only one floodlight) that emit light so as to draw a safety line 5, which is a linear light marking extending in the width direction, on the road surface behind the driving lane 2 of a vehicle, which is a work vehicle 1, and on the road surface of an adjacent lane 3, as shown in Fig. 1. The system is characterized in that the illumination mode of the marking width on the road surface behind the driving lane 2 on which the work vehicle 1 equipped with the floodlights A and B is traveling (one-lane illumination mode, left side of Fig. 1) and the illumination mode of the marking width spanning from the road surface behind the driving lane 2 to the road surface of the adjacent lane 3 (two-lane illumination mode, right side of Fig. 1) are automatically switched based on the position information of the work vehicle 1 and kilometer post information.

[0017] The reason for switching the marking width of the safety line 5 in this way is that in the one-lane section shown on the left side of Fig. 1, it is sufficient to mark the safety line 5 by illuminating only the road surface behind the driving lane 2 in which the work vehicle 1 is driving, whereas in the two-lane section shown on the right side of Fig. 1, it is necessary to mark the safety line 5 not only on the road surface behind the driving lane 2 in which the work vehicle 1 is driving, but also on the road surface of the adjacent lane 3. Also, widening the marking width in a one-lane section should be avoided since it may cause problems for the driving of vehicles driving in the oncoming lane 4.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the present system, and as shown therein, the present system includes projectors A and B, a GPS vehicle-mounted terminal 11, and an operation unit 12 that switches the irradiation modes of projectors A and B.

[0019] 1 and 2 show an example in which a floodlight A for 1 lane irradiation and a floodlight B for 2 lane irradiation are provided as floodlights, and the two floodlights A and B are used to switch between irradiation modes, but a single floodlight capable of changing the irradiation range may be used. When two floodlights A and B are used, as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to use only the floodlight A for 1 lane irradiation in the 1 lane irradiation mode and both the floodlight A for 1 lane irradiation and the floodlight B for 2 lane irradiation in the 2 lane irradiation mode, or to use only the floodlight A for 1 lane irradiation in the 1 lane irradiation mode and only the floodlight B for 2 lane irradiation in the 2 lane irradiation mode. For example, the configuration of the floodlight in the invention of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 can be used as the floodlights A and B.

[0020] The GPS vehicle-mounted terminal 11 includes a position information acquisition unit (GPS receiver) 13 that acquires position information from GPS satellites 10, and a control unit 14. The control unit 14 includes a kilometer post information storage unit 15 that stores the marking width switching points linked to kilometer posts, a comparison unit 16 that sequentially compares the position of the work vehicle 1 based on the position information sent from the position information acquisition unit 13 with the marking width switching points stored in the kilometer post information storage unit 15, and a control signal transmission unit 17 that transmits a control signal for switching the irradiation mode to the operation unit 12 based on the comparison result (Figure 3).

[0021] The operation of the automatic safety line marking width adjustment system based on position information according to the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to the flow chart in Fig. 4. When the operator of the work vehicle 1 switches on the GPS vehicle-mounted terminal 11, the position information acquisition unit 13 having a GPS receiving function receives a signal from the GPS satellite 10 to acquire the position information of the work vehicle 1 (step S1), and sequentially supplies the position information to the collation unit 16 (step S2). Each time position information is supplied, the collation unit 16 performs a determination process as to whether the location of the work vehicle 1 is a marking width switching point or not, i.e., a point where the road changes from one lane to two lanes, or a point where the road changes from two lanes to one lane (step S3).

[0022] If the result of the above determination is that the location does not correspond to a mark width switching point, the process returns to the position information acquisition step (step S3 No), and if the location corresponds to a mark width switching point (step S3 Yes), a control signal for switching the irradiation mode is transmitted from the control signal transmission unit 17 to the operation unit 12 (step S4). Then, the operation unit 12 that has received the control signal switches the irradiation mode (step S5). When switching the irradiation mode, for example, the GPS in-vehicle terminal 11 may notify the driver of the work vehicle 1 by voice and text, 100 m before the switching point.

[0023] The above explanation is for a road with two lanes, but there may be cases where the road has three or more lanes. Normally, the work performed by worker 1 affects driving lane 2 and adjacent lane 3, so it is sufficient to warn following vehicles in driving lane 2 and adjacent lane 3, and therefore it is sufficient to mark the safety line in driving lane 2 and adjacent lane 3. Of course, if necessary, the safety line can also be marked up to the third lane. In that case, a floodlight with a wider illumination range should be used, or additional floodlights should be installed. [Industrial Applicability]

[0024] The position information-based automatic safety line marking width adjustment system of the present invention is as described above, and the illumination mode switching operation for changing the safety line marking width in accordance with the number of lanes on the road, including the judgment of the time of the switching operation, can be automated without human intervention by utilizing position information and kilopost information, which has the effect of greatly reducing the burden on the operator and improving work safety, and has great industrial applicability. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1 Work vehicle 2 Travel lanes 3 Adjacent lanes 4 Oncoming traffic 5. Safety Line 10 GPS satellites 11 GPS vehicle terminal device 12 Control section 13 Location information acquisition unit 14 Control section 15 Kilometre post information storage unit 16 Matching section 17 Control signal transmitter

Claims

1. A system for automatically adjusting a safety line marking width based on position information, the system being equipped with a floodlight that projects light so as to draw a safety line, which is a linear light marking extending in a width direction on a road surface behind a vehicle's driving lane and on the road surface of an adjacent lane, a first illumination mode, which is an illumination mode for a marking width of the safety line onto a road surface behind the driving lane, and a second illumination mode, which is an illumination mode for a marking width of the safety line extending from the road surface behind the driving lane to a road surface of an adjacent lane, can be automatically switched based on position information of the vehicle; A system for automatically adjusting a safety line marking width based on position information, comprising, for the automatic switching, a GPS in-vehicle terminal, and an operation unit that switches between the first illumination mode and the second illumination mode by the floodlight, wherein the operation of switching between the first illumination mode and the second illumination mode by the operation unit is performed based on a control signal transmitted from the GPS in-vehicle terminal based on position information of the vehicle acquired by the GPS in-vehicle terminal.

2. 2. The automatic safety line marking width adjustment system based on position information as described in claim 1, wherein the GPS in-vehicle terminal includes a position information acquisition unit that acquires position information and a control unit, and the control unit includes a kilopost information storage unit that stores the marking width switching points of the safety line by linking them to kiloposts, a comparison unit that compares the vehicle position identified by the position information sent from the position information acquisition unit with the marking width switching points of the safety line stored in the kilopost information storage unit each time, and a control signal transmission unit that transmits a control signal for switching between the first illumination mode and the second illumination mode to the operation unit based on the comparison result.

3. 3. The system for automatically adjusting a safety line marking width based on position information according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a one-lane illuminating floodlight and a two-lane illuminating floodlight are provided as the floodlights.

4. An automatic adjustment system for safety line marking width based on position information described in claim 3, wherein the one-lane illumination spotlight is used in the first illumination mode, and the two-lane illumination spotlight is used in the second illumination mode.

5. An automatic adjustment system for safety line marking width based on position information as described in claim 3, wherein the one lane illumination spotlight is used in the first illumination mode, and both the one lane illumination spotlight and the two lane illumination spotlight are used in the second illumination mode.

6. 3. The system for automatically adjusting a safety line marking width based on position information as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the floodlight is a single floodlight that can be switched between one lane illumination in the first illumination mode and two lanes illumination in the second illumination mode.

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