Traffic control system

• US 6,459,403 B1
• Filed: 09/25/2000
• Issued: 10/01/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Electric Industries Limited (Sumitomo Corporation)
• Inventors: Kyoto, Michihisa, Nakahara, Tsuneo, Otani, Shunji
• Primary Examiner(s): Sotomayor, John B.
• Application Number:
  US09/668,173
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 342/70, 342/71, 342/72, 342/57, 342/58, 342/61, 342/69, 342/29, 342/357.07, 342/357.08, 342/357.09, 342/357.1, 342/357.13, 342/455, 342/456, 342/457, 342/463, 340/436, 340/903, 340/905, 340/906, 340/914, 340/917, 701/120, 701/214, 701/27, 701/98
• US Class Current: 342/52
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/90 using synthetic aperture techniques , e.g. synthetic aperture radar [SAR] techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 using optical or ultrasonic detectors

Abstract

A satellite 10 in the sky has an imaging radar and a captured image data transmitting means, and captures an image of a predetermined subject area A including roads R. According to the captured image data concerning the subject area A, a traffic control section 21 grasps the state of traffic in the subject area A, and estimates a state of congestion according to thus grasped state of traffic. Also, according to thus estimated state of congestion, the traffic control section 21 sets parameters such as on/off times of signals. Thus set parameters are sent from the traffic control section 21 to their corresponding signals. The on/off of each signal is controlled according to the set parameters. Hence, the state of traffic in a wide area can be grasped quite accurately, and traffic can be controlled according to thus grasped state of traffic.

Claims

1. A traffic control system comprising:

imaging means, disposed in a flying object, for capturing an image of a predetermined subject area including a road from thereabove and outputting thus captured image data;

captured image data transmitting means, disposed in said flying object, for transmitting via a wireless communication line said captured image data outputted from said imaging means;

captured image data receiving means for receiving said captured image data transmitted from said captured image data transmitting means;

traffic state grasping means for grasping a state of traffic in said subject area according to said captured image data received by said captured image data receiving means; and

traffic control means for controlling traffic according to said state of traffic in said subject area grasped by said traffic state grasping means.

2. A traffic control system according to claim 1, wherein said traffic control means controls a parameter of a signal so as to regulate the number of passing vehicles.

3. A traffic control system according to claim 1, further comprising traffic region data extracting means for extracting data of a vehicle traveling region from within said captured image data according to map data;

wherein said traffic state grasping means grasps data concerning a traffic volume in said vehicle traveling region according to data of said vehicle traveling region extracted by said traffic region data extracting means.

4. A traffic control system according to claim 1, further comprising traffic region data extracting means for extracting data of a parking region from within said captured image data according to map data;

wherein said traffic state grasping means grasps data concerning a vehicle in said parking region according to data of said parking region extracted by said traffic region data extracting means.

5. A traffic control system according to claim 1, wherein said imaging means is an imaging radar mounted in said flying object.

6. A traffic control system according to claim 1, further comprising congestion information providing means for providing a driver with traffic congestion information according to said state of traffic grasped by said traffic state grasping means.