Apparatus and program for controlling traffic signal in road construction section

• US 20090256722A1
• Filed: 04/07/2009
• Published: 10/15/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Mase, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 8,130,119 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/907
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/07 Controlling traffic signals
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0955 transportable

Abstract

A traffic signal control apparatus acquires position information and travel condition information from vehicles around a construction section of a road in wireless communication, and determines a traffic congestion condition at the positions of those vehicles based on the acquired information. The traffic signal control apparatus then controls traffic signals set up on ends of the construction section in a manner that eases the traffic congestion condition around the construction section based on the determination result of the traffic congestion condition.

Claims

1. A traffic signal control apparatus that controls traffic signals disposed on both ends of a construction section, the apparatus comprising:

a vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring, from a vehicle in a proximity of the construction section, information regarding a vehicle position and a travel condition of the vehicle through wireless communication;

a determination unit for determining a congestion condition at the position indicated in the information regarding the vehicle position that is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit based on the information regarding the travel condition of the vehicle that is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit; and

a control unit for controlling a signaling condition of the traffic signals based on a determination result of the determination unit so as to ease a traffic congestion around the construction section.

2. The traffic signal control apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires vehicle speed information as the information regarding the travel condition of the vehicle, and

the determination unit determines whether or not the traffic congestion at a position that is indicated in the information regarding the vehicle position based on the vehicle speed information.

3. The traffic signal control apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the vehicle information acquisition unit acquires a stop time of the vehicle as the information regarding the travel condition of the vehicle.

4. The traffic signal control apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the control unit takes a road environment around the construction section into consideration for controlling the signaling condition of the traffic signals.

5. A program product stored in a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions, when executing causing a computer to perform steps of a method, the method comprising:

providing a vehicle information acquisition unit for acquiring, from a vehicle in a proximity of a construction section, information regarding a vehicle position and a travel condition of the vehicle through wireless communication;

providing a determination unit for determining a congestion condition at the position indicated in the information regarding the vehicle position that is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit based on the information regarding the travel condition of the vehicle that is acquired by the vehicle information acquisition unit; and

providing a control unit for controlling a signaling condition of the traffic signals based on a determination result of the determination unit so as to ease a traffic congestion around the construction section.