Traffic Control Device With Dynamic Passage Scheduling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing traffic control devices at intersections lack a method to efficiently manage vehicle passage times, leading to unnecessary waiting periods and impaired traffic smoothness, as they do not specify intersection-passage time points for vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A traffic control device that sets areas within an intersection, collects vehicle information, calculates passage schedules, determines potential collisions, sets passage ranks based on priority levels, and adjusts schedules by delaying vehicles with lower ranks to prevent collisions, ensuring smooth traffic flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If passage schedules are determined only on the basis of advancing directions without specifying intersection-passage time points, then the control method is simple, but the waiting period becomes longer than necessary and traffic smoothness is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces time point parameters (passage schedules specifying when vehicles should pass through the intersection) to the existing control method. The control device determines both the passage sequence and specific passage time points for each vehicle, transforming the control approach from purely directional sequencing to time-aware schedule management, thereby reducing unnecessary waiting while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The passage schedules are dynamically adjusted based on real-time vehicle information including location, speed, and passage direction. The control device calculates optimized passage time points for each vehicle considering its current state and the passage sequences of other vehicles, enabling adaptive time management that reduces waiting periods while preventing collisions
2Productivity
If passage schedules are optimized to reduce waiting periods, then traffic smoothness is improved, but the complexity of the control system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control system segments the intersection into multiple areas and divides passage schedules into two distinct time period components: passage-scheduled area time periods and passage-in-progress area time periods. This segmentation allows the system to manage complex multi-vehicle coordination by handling each area and time period separately, reducing overall control complexity while maintaining traffic smoothness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a passage schedule calculation unit as an intermediary component that acts as a mediator between vehicle information collection and collision determination. This unit calculates optimized passage schedules based on vehicle locations, speeds, and directions, serving as a bridge that coordinates multiple vehicles without requiring direct complex interactions between them, thereby improving traffic smoothness while managing system complexity
3Reliability
If passage schedules are adjusted by delaying vehicles with low passage ranks, then collision possibility is prevented, but the waiting period increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control device performs preliminary determination of passage ranks and schedules before vehicles enter the intersection. By pre-calculating the optimal passage sequence and time points for each vehicle based on their approaching trajectories, the system prevents collision scenarios before they occur while minimizing the delay imposed on vehicles, as adjustments are made proactively rather than reactively
Data Source
AI summary
A traffic control device includes: a passage schedule calculation unit which calculates, on the basis of vehicle information about vehicles that enter an intersection, passage schedules according to which the vehicles pass through the intersection; a collision determination unit which determines, on the basis of the passage schedules, whether the vehicles have a possibility of a collision; a passage rank setting unit which sets passage ranks for the vehicles if there is the possibility of the collision; and a passage schedule adjustment unit which calculates an adjustment period on the basis of a result of comparing the passage schedules for the vehicles determined to have the possibility of the collision, and delays, by the adjustment period, a passage schedule for a vehicle that has a low passage rank among the vehicles determined to have the possibility of the collision, to adjust the passage schedule.