JP2003196690A - Vehicle passage monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: In a device for monitoring vehicle passage in a predetermined lane, a control rod for preventing passage does not hinder a sensor for detecting passage. A vehicle comes in contact with a control rod (22) and a control rod (2).
2 may be turned to the release position C in a horizontal plane.
At this time, a part of the plurality of sensors 30 of the exit detector 24 that detects the exit of the vehicle may detect the presence of the vehicle by the control rod 22. When the control rod 22 is at the release position C, the output of the sensor 30a at the position where the control rod 22 is detected is excluded, and the exit of the vehicle from the predetermined lane is determined based on the outputs of the other sensors.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for monitoring a vehicle passing through a predetermined lane.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At a toll gate on a toll road, an ETC (non-stop automatic) that collects the toll by communicating between a roadside device installed at the toll gate and an in-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle using the toll road Toll collection system) has been put into practical use in recent years. ETC toll booths have a lane width that allows vehicles to pass one by one, an entry detector that detects the entry of vehicles into this lane, and a vehicle for controlling the passage and stopping of vehicles based on information from the entering vehicles. The vehicle includes a launch controller and an exit detector that detects exiting the lane after passing through the launch controller. The start control machine includes a control rod that opens and closes, and the control rod closes the lane in a closed state to prevent a vehicle from passing. In addition, the vehicle is allowed to pass by turning and moving upward from the closed state to the open state.

Further, the control rod is capable of turning rearward in the traveling direction of the vehicle when receiving a force of a predetermined value or more in the traveling direction of the vehicle. This protects the control rod and the vehicle from being damaged more than necessary when the vehicle collides with the closed control rod, for example, when the vehicle accidentally enters the ETC lane. ing. Once in the released state, it remains in this position until it is manually returned to its original position.

[0004]

In the device for monitoring vehicle passage provided in the above-mentioned ETC or the like, when the control rod turns in the traveling direction of the vehicle and reaches the position for releasing the lane, the control rod exits. There is a problem in that it is impossible for the vehicle exit determination to be accurately made by the detection of the sensor of the detector.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle passage monitoring device capable of determining whether a vehicle is leaving, even when the control rod is in a released state. And

[0006]

A vehicle passage monitoring apparatus according to the present invention comprises an exit detection unit for detecting the exit of a vehicle from a lane to be monitored, and a plurality of sensors for detecting the presence or absence of the vehicle. When the control rod is at the release position, the determination unit that determines the passage of the vehicle based on the output of the sensor other than the sensor that detects the control rod as the vehicle is provided.

The released state of the control rod can be detected based on the turning angle of the control rod. Also, when some sensors detect the presence of a vehicle continuously for a predetermined time or more,
It can also be determined that the control rod is in the released state. Further, when the control rod is in the released state, the sensors that determine the presence of the vehicle by the control rod are known in advance. Therefore, when these sensors continuously detect the presence of the vehicle for a predetermined time or longer, the control rod is in the released state. You can also judge that.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an ETC including a vehicle passage monitoring device according to this embodiment. The ETC control function unit 10 receives a signal from each device having an individual function, and controls each device based on this signal. Normally, a communication radio unit (roadside device) 12 installed near a predetermined lane in which an ETC is installed communicates with an in-vehicle device 14 mounted on a passing vehicle to obtain information and contract about this vehicle. Get information, etc. The acquired information is sent to the ETC control function unit 10.

On the upstream side of the ETC lane, an entry detector 16 for detecting entry of a vehicle into the lane is installed. The approach detector 16 is arranged on the side of the lane, irradiates the vehicle body with infrared rays, and determines the passage of the vehicle by observing the reflection. It is also possible to arrange an infrared ray emitting section on one side of the lane and a light receiving section on the opposite side, and determine the passage of the vehicle when the infrared ray is blocked by the vehicle. When the entry of the vehicle is detected, this information is sent to the ETC control function unit 10. A timing determination unit 18 that measures the timing for determining whether or not the vehicle can pass is provided downstream of the approach detector 16. The timing determination unit 18 uses the approach detector 1 described above.
6 has a configuration similar to that of FIG. 6, detects that the vehicle has reached the position where it is provided, and outputs this information to the ETC control function unit 1
Send to 0. The ETC control function unit 10 receives the necessary information from the vehicle-mounted device up to this point, and if the information can permit the passage, the passage of the vehicle is permitted.
However, if the necessary information is not received at this time, the start controller 20 blocks the passage of the vehicle as described later.

The start controller 20 includes an ETC control function unit 10
The control rod 22 (see FIG. 2) is operated based on the information from the vehicle to regulate the passage of the vehicle. The control rod 22 has a passage blocking position A which is a position extending in a direction crossing the lane,
The vehicle is moved from this blocking position to the passage permission position B which is rotated upward in the plane orthogonal to the lane. Start controller 20
An exit detector 24 for detecting exit of the vehicle from the ETC lane is installed downstream of the vehicle. The exit detector 24 has the same configuration as the approach detector 16 described above. When the exit detector 24 detects the exit of the vehicle,
The ETC control function unit 10 finishes the processing regarding this passing vehicle. Further, the ETC has a roadside display 26 for informing the driver of the vehicle of information.

FIG. 2 shows a start controller 20, particularly a control rod 22.
FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of As mentioned above, the control rod is ETC
It is possible to take a passage blocking position A that extends in a direction traversing the lane 28 and that blocks the passage of a vehicle, and a passage permitting position B that allows the vehicle to pass by turning upward from this position. Further, when the vehicle comes into contact with the control rod 22 at the passage blocking position A, the control rod 22 turns to the release position C in order to prevent the vehicle or the control rod from being seriously damaged. Specifically, when a predetermined force is applied to the control rod 22 along the traveling direction of the vehicle, the mechanism fixing the control rod until then is released, and a structure for turning the control rod 22 is incorporated in the support mechanism. There is. When the control rod 22 reaches the release position C, the vehicle can pass through. The control rod 22 that has reached the release position C will not be returned to the passage blocking position A unless it is manually returned.
Maintain the release position C.

The exit detector 24 has a plurality of sensors 30 arranged in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. The sensor 30 detects the presence or absence of a vehicle passing through the ETC lane 28 at the height where the sensor 30 is installed. However, as described above, when the control rod 22 turns to the release position C, the control rod 22 is positioned at a part of the detection positions of the sensor 30, and these sensors 30 send out signals that detect the vehicle. Resulting in. Therefore, in this embodiment, the following configuration is provided so that the control rod 22 is not detected as a vehicle. Further, when the control rod 22 is in the release position C, the sensor that detects the presence of the vehicle is known in advance, and when these sensors are distinguished from other sensors, they are referred to as the control rod position sensor 30a.

A release sensor 32 for detecting that the turning angle of the control rod 22 in the horizontal plane exceeds a predetermined value and has moved to the release position C is arranged. The signal of the release sensor 32 is sent to the exit detector 24. While the release sensor 32 detects that the control rod 22 is at the release position C, it is based on only the detection result of the other sensor 30 regardless of the detection result of the sensor 30a at the control rod position. The passage of the vehicle is detected and the result is transmitted to the ETC control function unit 10.

FIG. 3 is a chart showing a control flow relating to the exit detection of the vehicle in the exit detector 24. In the initial state, the output of the exit detector is off (S100). When any of the sensors 30 is turned on (S102), it is determined whether the control rod 22 receives a release signal indicating that the control rod 22 is in the release position C (S10).
4). If no release signal is received, exit detector 24
As a result, a signal indicating that the vehicle has exited is sent to the ETC control function unit 10 (S108). On the other hand, if the release signal is received, it is determined whether the sensor other than the sensor 30a at the control rod position is on (S106), and if it is on, exit is determined (S108), and it is off. If so, the process returns to step S100.

From the above, it is understood that in this embodiment, the release sensor 32 functions as a release detector that detects the release state in which the control rod has moved to the release position. Further, the exit detector 24 functions as an exit detection unit that detects exit of the vehicle from the lane of the ETC, and other than the part of the sensors that detect the control rod as the vehicle when the released state is detected. It is also understood to include a determination unit that makes a passage determination based on the output of the sensor.

Embodiment 2. In this embodiment, the method of detecting the release position C of the control rod 22 is different from that of the first embodiment described above. In this embodiment, the release sensor 32 is not provided and the release position C is determined according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

In the initial state, the output of the exit detector 24 is off (S110). Control rod position sensor 30
When a is turned on (S112), the output of the exit detector 24 is turned on and the exit of the vehicle is controlled by the ETC control function unit 10
A detection signal is sent to (S114). The ON state of the sensor 30a at the control rod position continues for a predetermined time or longer (S11).
6), it is determined whether the outputs of the other sensors 30 are off (S118). Control rod position sensor 3
If all the sensors other than 0a are off, it is determined that the control rod is in the release position C (S120), and if not, it is determined that the vehicle actually exists. When the control rod position sensor 30a is turned off (S122), the initial state is restored (S124).

When it is determined that the control rod is in the release position C (S120), the vehicle exit determination method is the same as in the first embodiment. That is, the control rod position sensor 3
Exit is determined when a sensor other than 0a is on.

As described above, in this embodiment, by executing the flowchart shown in FIG.
The function of the release detector that detects when the control rod has moved to the release position is achieved. That is, the exit detector functions as a release detector.

Embodiment 3. In this embodiment, the detection signal from the release sensor 32 can be transmitted to the ETC control function unit 10 instead of being sent to the exit detector 24. In this case, the output of each sensor 30 of the exit detector 24 is also transmitted to the ETC control function unit 10. Then, while the release state is being detected in the ETC control function unit 10, the vehicle exit determination is performed based on the outputs of the sensors other than the control rod position sensor 30a.

That is, in this embodiment, the exit detector 24 and the ETC control function unit 10 function as an exit detection unit for detecting the exit of the vehicle.

Fourth Embodiment In this embodiment, similarly to the second embodiment, the release sensor 32 is not installed, and the release state of the control rod is determined based on the output of each sensor 30 of the exit detector 24. The difference from the second embodiment is that the output of each sensor 30 is sent to the ETC control function unit 10, and based on the outputs of these sensors, the ETC control function unit 10 controls based on the processing shown in FIG. The release status of the rod is determined. Therefore, in this embodiment, the ETC control function unit 10 functions as a determination unit that determines the passage in the released state.

In this embodiment and the second embodiment,
When not only the control rod position sensor 30a but also an arbitrary small number of sensors are continuously turned on, it is possible to determine the vehicle exit based on the outputs of sensors other than these sensors. In this case, it is possible not only to detect that the control rod is in the released state but also to deal with a case where a malfunction occurs due to dust on some of the sensors.

[0024]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, it has the following effects.

When the control rod is in the released state, the passage determination of the vehicle is made based on the output of a sensor other than the sensor that detects the control rod as a vehicle, and the passage determination is made even in the control rod released state. Made possible.

Further, the release state is detected by the turning angle of the control rod, and the detection with a simple structure is achieved.

Further, when a part of the sensors of the exit detection unit detects the presence of the vehicle for a predetermined period of time, it is necessary to add a new hardware configuration by determining that the control rod is in the released state. Disappear.

The sensor referred to when the control rod is in the released state is a sensor for detecting the control rod as a vehicle when the control rod reaches the released position in advance, thereby reducing the calculation processing load. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of this embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a determination process for leaving the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart regarding determination of a control rod release state.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ETC control function section, 20 start controller, 22 control rod, 24 exit detector, 30 sensor, 30a control rod position sensor, 32 release sensor, A passage blocking position, B passage permitting position, C release position.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A control rod that opens and closes based on information from a vehicle passing through a predetermined lane, and a plurality of sensors that detect the presence or absence of a vehicle on the downstream side of the control rod in the vehicle traveling direction. An exit detection unit that detects exit of the vehicle from the predetermined lane based on the above, and the control rod turns in the vehicle traveling direction from the state in which the predetermined lane is closed to release the vehicle so that the vehicle can pass. Is a vehicle passage monitoring device that is movable to a position and in which the control rod is detected as a vehicle by some sensors of the exit detection device in the release position, the control rod being released to the release position. A release detector that detects the state, and the exit detection unit, when the release state is detected, the passage judgment based on the output of the sensor other than the part of the sensor that detects the control rod as a vehicle. Including determination unit, which performs a vehicle passing the monitoring device. 2. The vehicle passage monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the release detector detects the release state based on a turning angle of the control rod. 3. The vehicle passage according to claim 1, wherein the release detector detects the release state when a part of the sensors of the exit detector detects the presence of a vehicle continuously for a predetermined time or more. Monitoring equipment. 4. The release detector detects the presence of a vehicle when the control rod is at a release position. The release sensor releases the vehicle when a predetermined sensor continuously detects the presence of the vehicle. The vehicle passage monitoring device according to claim 1, which detects a state.